Classic Game Room - ATARI 2600 PRO-LINE TRAK-BALL review

[@oldscool75]

I can't say it enough u guys in Classic Gameroom are the best, I consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to classic gaming but you always pull out things that I never had a clue exsisted...like the Vextrek, etc. keep up the excellent work that you all do. It is appreciated!

[@Frisenette]

Did you try cleaning it out? After plus 30 years the rollers would probably benefit from a cleanup.

[@davidjwidmann]

I had this. When I retired my 2600, I used it as a mouse on my 1040ST for a while. It saved me from having to pick up the mouse two or three times in order to get the cursor all the way across the screen.

[@Fanvadenaxar]

I like your latest reviews, true and classic. You definatly review some more of the old gaming hardware!

[@robertmiles9942]

You appear to have the old version that is missing the mode switch - it runs in joymode only, which is definitely not as precise, especially at low speed, as true trackball mode. True trackball mode would also require the special TB-modified versions of the ROMs for the games, however.

[@MaximRecoil]

You need "Missile Command TB" for the Atari 2600 (you can get it online at the AtariAge store). It was hacked (from the standard Missile Command cartridge) by Thomas Jentzsch to have true analog trackball support like the original arcade game; rather than simply reproducing the 8-way, single-speed control of a joystick; which is what happens when you use the trackball with the standard Missile Command cartridge (or any other cartridge that doesn't specifically have analog trackball support).

[@paulmccormacksvideogamesan2912]

Ya know man, I'm a fan of yours , largely because of how you talk. Dont take that in a strange way, just being honest, good job!

[@BoringBoy8400]

i got super lucky and found an actual atari2600 track ball made by atari. it works great and the ball is very responsive. found it in a swapmeet and to my surprise it was well taken care of.

[@Duck_Half]

Nice to see you adding some gameplay in your hardware reviews :o

[@jiggafoo]

oh man, i remember finding one of these on clearance for under $10 at KB Toys... worked great with my Commodore.

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

In that case, it's too bad EA's version of Marble Madness on the C64 didn't have a native Trak-Ball mode. Maybe the C64 - or the game itself - considers it to be a Commodore Mouse [which I think was directly supported].

[@machineregime5428]

I remember a pizza shop I went to as a kid had a flat pac-man arcade table controlled by a track ball that is probably a serious collectors item now but I hated it. For a quarter you could control pac-man and walk away with pinch marks and blood blisters.

[@mbz25]

I love your reviews. Its really funny when you review something like a cable.

[@filecore]

Great vid. I have just picked up a NOS CX-80 trakball. Tried it with 2600 Centipede and was very disappointed. Thought my Trakball was broken through lack of use. Plugged in my 7800 and 7800 Centipede was great! That's more like it! 2600 Missile Command also very good! Guess 2600 Centipede just not that good with it. Thanks for the hints/tips. Keep the great vids coming!

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

It isn't an amateur product nor flimsy by any means. You can set it in your lap with the overhang so it sits atop your legs. There's also a switch to toggle between Joystick Mode and pure Trak-Ball Mode. Dan Kramer did a great job designing this product as well as his more famously praised 5200 Trak-Ball controller. The problem was Atari didn't release updated versions of Missile Command, Centipede, or Millipede for the 2600 to take advantage of the Trak-Ball controller nor did GCC include native Trak-Ball support in the later 7800 Centipede version. Thankfully, AtariAge [.com] does make cartridges - and the ROMs are out there too - of 2600 "Missile Command - TB" that natively supports the Trak-Ball [as well as Atari ST and Amiga mice]. And Kenfused has a ROM of 7800 Centipede that also supports the Trak-Ball. The 5200 and Atari 8-bit computer versions of these titles did include native Trak-Ball support. You can use this Trak-Ball controller [the CX22] with Atari 8-bit computers as well although Atari also made the CX80 that cosmetically matched the XL line better.

[@boostermcblast2197]

The CX 22 trakball shown here is the early version _without_ a switch for true trackball mode. Later CX 22 trakballs have the switch, a white bottom and no "2600"-Logo.

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

@@boostermcblast2197 some of those models *do* have the switch on them like the later CX22s that didn't say "Atari 2600" on them. Regardless, the switch can be modded into it as AtariAge user BigO has successfully done and allowed it to work in "Trak-Ball" mode for the hacked 2600 games, Centipede-TB on the 7800 [which is sold in the AtariAge Store], and with Atari 8-bit computer/XE Game System titles such as Missile Command, Centipede, and Slime.

[@ShamrockParticle]

Great video, thanks!! Yeah. The analog sensors are loaded with more dust... I recall a switch on some models where one setting makes game play jerky. And you're right, that IS a cue ball. I bought a unit once then ordered an 8-ball as a cheap thrill. Didn't put it in, only because the original has more value. Atariage had some games that make good use of it too.

[@MarkTheMorose]

I used to use an Atari Trak-ball with Marble Madness on my Amiga. Mind you, the design of the trackball in the video is different from the one I have; I don't know if it's a redesign, since it was boxed in Atari computer-style packaging. There was a switch - probably it went in the little hole that CGR stuck his finger in in the base of the trackball in the video - to change between trackball and joystick mode. This was supposed to make it work better on joystick games, I think.

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

It sounds like you had the Atari CX80 Trak-Ball. It's faster than the CX22. It's all black and the fire buttons are shaped like triangles.

[@MarkTheMorose]

@@TheJeremyHolloway That sounds like the one. A quick picture search on the internet confirms. I have a couple around somewhere.

[@DudeX01]

This review really brings me back to my childhood. What was with the hat on the missle command game cartridge? I always wondered that.

[@BoxcarWillie42]

Very educational! I wonder if this controller would work for 2600 Crystal Castles Great CGR review!!

[@homeelectricco]

This one is rare because the bottom half is dark plastic just as the top and wording on top of unit is different..... everyone I've seen has a white bottom half. .....I've bought and sold a lot of these and after cleaning up and cleaning the fire button contacts they work fine. I actually think they work better than the CX-80 ( black one )

[@googaagoogaa12345678]

i would think so also anyone notice that 2600+2600=5200 and that 2600+2600+2600 (or2600+5200)=7800 so would the jaguar be the atari 10400?

[@bloozkat6731]

Never really thought about the progressive numerical evolution of the various Atari Game Systems over the years, but this math and how the system designers mind-set was probably thinking during that time, actually makes sense! Thanks!

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

No. Atari Corp switched over to feline names for game systems starting with the Lynx, the unreleased Panther, and then the Jaguar and the unreleased JagDuo and Jaguar II. The Atari 520ST [m/fm/e] computer represented its 512K RAM while the 1040ST [f/fm/e] signified its standard 1MB of RAM.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I'm wondering if the 7800 games supports track balls? If so, maybe the game Crossbow which was an arcade game with a light gun would benefit? I read today that Missile Command for the 400/800 allows a track ball because the programmers made their own to play the game. So it would be interesting to see if this or others mentioned in the comments would work on that system for games like that.

[@MazdaArai]

Classic Game Consoles Are AWESOME!!!

[@ShamrockParticle]

They often have far more games that, despite lesser graphics, feel more Imaginative.

[@nephildevil]

centipede = sheer brilliance

[@DarthMink]

mark pretty much never gives a game a bad review but he doesn't take any shit when it comes to controllers and stuff.

[@extreme1131]

After video of atari 2600 rewiew i really want this console

[@Copper20]

Mine just says Atari Trakball. It's got the same ball color but the buttons aren't as flimsy. The bottom is white though.

[@YadonTheCat]

Great, now I want a trakball controller with an 8-ball in it

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

You can "mod" it with an 8-ball or any other billiard ball. Do a Google image search...

[@Ch4osWe4veR]

Can this by any chance be used with Marble Madness on Genesis?? I'm,guessing not, but its worth a shot..

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

If it did, it would have twice the speed/resolution of the Sega Sports Pad which was designed for the Sega Master System. I've heard conflicting claims about whether the EA version of Marble Madness for the Sega Genesis or Tengen Japan's version of it supports the Sega Sports Pad. It might be worth a shot though! Maybe someone could fire up both ROMs on an EverDrive and connect both controllers to the Genesis/MegaDrive and test it out for sure...

[@dave4shmups]

@nairbzaid Thank you for that, I had no idea why the video wasn't playing!

[@wisteela]

Great video. I will have to see if I can get one of these cheaply here in the UK.

[@iespostavid]

That is Atari's rarer 1st model without the true trackball switch. Same as the Wico Trackball. They're just outputting joystick pulses. BUT now, 5-6 years after you made this, the newer model of this Trak-Ball and the larger Atari model with the almost triangle buttons that have the JS/TB switch can play (in true arcade trackball mode) hacked versions of 7800 Centipede (even 2 players same time!, co-op and fight), and 2600 hacked Missile Command, Millipede, Centipede, Reactor, Nexar, Star Wars Arcade: AtariAge.com Forums, & search for: 2600 trak ball

[@retrogamerfamily]

so basically you need an SDcart to experience it.

[@iespostavid]

Retro Gamer Girl and Dad : You can have a real cartridge made, but if you get more than 4 different converted games at around $20 each, an $80 Harmony cart + an SD card will play almost every game and demo made. (Some demos are not US 60Hz NTSC tv region, but 50Hz PAL like Europe and Australia. )

[@MykGerard]

I have it. It does have the analog/digital trackball/joystick switch.

[@homeelectricco]

not this first model .... it has the words " joystick - trackball " molded in the plastic where the slide switch would be ... but doesn't have the slide switch

[@xZ3r0Zx]

Awesome review Mark

[@samueljacobs4161]

Just in case anyone didn't know, the company called Atari Inc in Texas is incorporated from the actual Atari Corporation that exists only in Japan, and that makes this a 2nd party device. They never endorsed or licensed this thing, and they never released special controller pads that emulating arcades. Atari Inc was always experimenting with these products and that's why it seems like they're of cheap quality, but Nintendo still released some of the crappiest accessories in history, making Atari more consistently capable of producing decent low-budget but functional peripheral devices.

[@tbb033]

2nd party would really be homebrew, not whatever nonsense you're thinking of 1st party makes the hardware and some software 2nd party uses the hardware 3rd party makes additional sofrware

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

What? Atari was an American company. Both Atari Inc and Atari Corp. It was not a Japanese company even when Namco owned the Atari Games Corporation/Tengen which had been the former arcade division of Atari Inc. The El Paso plant was a manufacturing subsidiary of Atari Inc when it was still owned by Warner Communications, later known as Time Warner, and now known as "WarnerMedia" since AT&T acquired the company 2+ years ago. This was a 1st party device which was designed by Dan Kramer of the Atari Inc Consumer Engineering Department located in Sunnyvale California.

[@RichardCraig]

Wow, I used to have one of these! I used it on my Commodore 64... I used to lightly flick the buttons and they'd make this funny *boing* noise.

[@lurkerrekrul]

Mine had a switch for joystick or TB mode, but the only game I ever found that worked in TB mode was Red Alert for the C64. I modded mine to add a second switch and two more buttons so I could also use it as an Amiga mouse. BTW, the "mystery slot" is just the underside of the support for the third support roller for the ball. Atari also made an all-black version with triangular buttons. It was even less precise than this version and felt even cheaper!

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

I would love to see pictures of your modded Trak-Ball. Please post them somewhere. There's a Trak-Ball fans group on Facebook devoted to [mostly] Atari Trak-Balls or you could post them over at AtariAge's real website.

[@lurkerrekrul]

I'll have to find my Track-ball first. Also, I think I routed some of the wires under the board, so I might have to take the board out to see much. As I recall, I followed an article in (I think) Transactor magazine for how to do it. The only thing I did differently was to install a switch to toggle the mod on or off. Actually, two switches, since I didn't have a single switch with enough contacts. I'm not entirely sure it was Transactor magazine though, because I know that was one that I didn't normally get. Someone might have given me a copy, or I might have heard it had the mod in it and bought that one issue. I lost many of my magazines when the basement partially flooded, so I'm sure I don't have the physical copy any more. There are PDF copies online, but I'd have to download them all and skim through them to find it. As I recall, it was more like a newsletter than a typical magazine and I seem to recall it having a lot of technical info in it.

[@tarstarkusz]

There are hacks of centipede and other 2600 games which use the trackball natively.

[@arvelos76]

2:41... "...and a mistery slot that you can put your finger into. Its like the painbox in Dune." lol

[@NightSprinter]

The games you tested this with have been hacked by the wonderful folks over at the Atari Age forums to make proper use of it.

[@djb1ge]

The 2600 had A LOT of different controllers. I wonder if it was expensive to have one back in the day.

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

They were about $40 or so when they were new, from my recollection. The Atari CX53 Trak-Ball Controller for the 5200 was about $100 at the time.

[@Potts2700]

I love ur reviews. Anybody that can make a 7min review on a product like this needs to get paid and rewarded for their efforts. you sould be paid by sega and nintendo to review their new products awesome only watch Classic Game Room!! Life with out it. I dont know! But its pretty sweet with it!!! review on bro. Cover vitura cop one

[@blazecrespo1]

Atari needs to make a comeback. A MAJOR comeback.

[@TheCRTman]

If you really want a good track-ball for Atari 2600, First: get a ColecoVision, Second: the Expansion Module 1, Third: get the Roller Controller, Fourth: get some Atari 2600 games that could use a track-ball and there you go! ;)

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

The Coleco Roller Controller isn't supported by any Atari 2600 games. There are now several Atari 2600 games that support Atari's CX22 and CX80 Trak-Ball controllers in native Trak-Ball mode. AtariAge sells them in cartridges and the ROMs can be acquired if you have a Harmony or UNO SD Cartridge Adapter.

[@antonshtuchka2605]

"It's like the pain box in DUNE" HAHHAHAHAHah :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D .... god, I'm getting old...

[@riverdealer]

the reason the trackball doesn't work as good as it would with an arcade machine is how it is designed. the trackball has 3 rollers, (vertical, horizontal, and diagonal), the diagonal is for stability and the vertical and horizontal are for movement. the horizontal/vertical rollers have a notched disc at the end of the shaft where a light is shined on an optic and the notches block and let light through. because most atari games were designed for the joystick, and the joystick gives a constant signal whereas the trackball gives alternating signals which is the equivalent of tapping the joystick repeatedly

[@mikeiliadis]

Awesome review!!!!

[@wabbit234]

Move the slider to the end and back to around the start. The clip should play.

[@McSlapped]

i love the scratch thing at the beginning and then some salsa music

[@digitalnativedance]

Lovely reference to Dune

[@lurkerrekrul]

I never got to play Missile Command or Centipede in the arcade. The only trackball game I ever played was Crystal Castles, and I didn't like using the trackball for that game at all. I'd played it on the C64, so I was familiar with the game. I started it up, gently rolled the trackball in the direction I wanted to go and the stupid bear just fidgeted a little. I rolled the ball a little harder and he took a single step. I gave the ball a spin like I was spinning a globe and he took a few steps and stopped. To get him to keep moving, you had to spin the ball like you're revving up a gyroscope. Needless to say my game lasted all of about 30 seconds. I have one of these trackballs, although mine is white and brown. I used it mainly for Breakout style games on the C64 which only had joystick control, like Arkanoid II. It wasn't great, but it was better than using a joystick. I eventually modded it according to a magazine article as that I could use it as an Amiga mouse. I added a second set of buttons and a switch to disable the mod. It worked decently on games like Arkanoid (I still prefer a paddle controller) and was pretty good on the game Vektor Storm. I tried it on some other mouse-driven games and didn't like it much. Games like Lemmings were better with the mouse.

[@bajan13ken]

Does it work with games that use paddles? Since a trackball is really closer to an analog joystick than a d-pad, although perhaps it emulates a discrete joystick/d-pad and ... doesn't?

[@FernandoGonzalez-so8ql]

Will this work with Retron77? Also good is with Millipede for 2600? Thanks for the show

[@notyoursavior78]

I had a different trackball than that one for the Atari 2600. It was heavier and a little bigger.

[@AltimusPrimeG1]

The one I have Just has ATARI and track ball on it no 2600 or Pro Line, mine I think was re-released when the 7800 came out, it was also made in Mexico not Texas. From what I have read it was a cue ball that was used for the ball itself. I remember when I took mine apart I used to use the ball as a practice cue ball back in the 90’s, not realizing that is what it actually was. I am missing the ball from mine now as it got lost when I moved in the 2000’s so will need to get a new “cue ball” to use it again. 😂

[@iscrewy]

That's centipede? I always thought it was that game where your eating fruit to get bigger and each fruit adds a new circle/square on the thing's body. :P

[@Ollie7475]

@IAmClearlyTheBest, what about the European Atari 7800 controller?

[@ChrysostomosChristidis]

@oldscool75 You are just correct! CGR made me get my sega megadrive fixed up and started me up with classic games again! THANKS MARK!!!

[@Tmal10]

I have 2 atari 2600s in old shoeboxes somewhere and a ton of games for them. I dunno what happened to my controllers though, i've only got the wheel controllers with the pong logo on them.... could always use a megadrive one i guess....

[@googaagoogaa12345678]

For mame on my pc I used to play missile command and millipede with my 360 controller but I now use my trackball mouse and it is so much f**king better with a trackball I wish I could find the real cabinets eventually though

[@Montecarlo10254]

If it wasn't for atari, nintendo and sega wouldn't exist today.

[@CodedErrors]

will a collecovision trackball wokwith the atari with the colecovsion power supply in it

[@walkerctranger]

Wont the colecovision roller controller work with it? They have the same cord

[@atm94404]

I would love to see a review of the 5200 trackball. It is by far the best trackball ever made for a console. Plus, if Mark started using that for his 5200 game reviews he wouldn't have to spend 80% of them trashing the controller (we get it, Mark).

[@123stephenno]

try using the super trak ball and the colexco roller controoller they work just da the same

[@battlin]

i have this but mine doesnt say 2600 or proline but its starting to die in a way since trackball part on the switch doesnt work properly so i have to use joystick mode wich works ok but it does say on the back made in mexico

[@eyeballbud]

While flipping it over on the back, it looked like there was a switch on the bottom. What is it?

[@lurkerrekrul]

+Chris Duckworth The Atari trackball had two modes; Joystick and trackball. The switch was to toggle between the two modes. In joystick mode, it behaved like a joystick and worked with any joystick game. When you roll the ball it's the same as if you were pushing a joystick in that direction. In trackball mode, it was basically an upside-down mouse, registering both the direction you rolled the ball and the speed. There were never any Atari 2600 or 7800 games that supported trackball mode, and only a few on the Atari 8-bit computer line.

[@macuser7048]

does it work with Marble Madness on Sega Genesis?

[@christo930]

How does it work with Crystal Castles?

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

Sadly, none of the versions of Crystal Castles on the Atari 2600 or Atari's 8-bit computers support native Trak-Ball mode. Supposedly, the kernel on all of those versions are "too busy" to allow native support. The second part of the explanation is if it were added, when you spun the Trak-Ball, Bentley Bear would fly through the entire maze because the CPU would be too bogged down tracking him. There's even 2 versions for the Atari 8-bit computers because Atari Corp wanted a new version designed for the XE Game System but its kernel is too busy. The unofficial Atari 5200 version is a port of the earlier 8-bit computer version and it doesn't have native support either for the same reason. The Atari ST version has mouse support though but that was a 16/32-bit computer platform, of course...

[@sectorsix1]

The holes in it is for weights u can buy

[@rokcetmakesgarbage]

thank you so much!

[@MrAaron5402]

hey do u know were i can find a Atari 2600 RF coacsule

[@SufferDYT]

@jowrab you mean trackball mouses?

[@Monacomaverick]

Hmmm.. I wonder what it would be like with the Trak Ball and a Sega Genesis....

[@thayt1m]

Looks really like a fun job! xD

[@Monacomaverick]

What is with KZbin lately? Mark's videos load up to 20 seconds and then freeze while it's still buffering. I know it wasn't always like this..

[@xxXST0N3DXxx]

atari always my favorite =)

[@bsilver887]

where did you find "The Rise and Fall of the Game Room"? I wanted to watch it

[@0rreborre]

@Artheido WTF is the seekbar? xD

[@Diskoboy1974]

What about games that support paddles like Breakout, Super Breakout, and Warlords?

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

You play those games with Paddles then. On the 5200 with the CX53 Trak-Ball Controller, you can play Super Breakout, Castle Crisis [Warlords], Galaxian, Space Invaders, Missile Command, Pole Position, Centipede, Millipede, Tempest, RealSports Tennis, and numerous other games with native [analog] Trak-Ball support.

[@ChicagoMel23]

Someone says Firefly and I’m Immediately wanting a game for the tv series lol. Even though the series was far more recent

[@Zoey2k1]

A PRO accessory for a PRO system! 5/5

[@Zawicki1]

@oldscool75 You mean Vectrex?

[@I.rod.2022]

el paso tx.? hey I live there!

[@SlyTF1]

I may get this...if I can find a cheap one

[@tbb033]

Can that ball be hit with some retrobrite? It's so yellow!

[@Ollie7475]

@6Mega6Man6, I live in the US too.

[@MrTelecasterIV]

thats because back in the days we had to use our immagination, and create our own adventures. now we dont have to do that anymore, a shame!

[@6Mega6Man6]

@Ollie7475 Do you live in Europe? because I live in the US and if I wanted to get it, I'd have to import it, therefore making it ass expensive.

[@BBC600]

What's the song in the background??

[@Supersourcrout]

@oldscool75 Its VeCtreX not vextrek or whatever you call it.

[@wingnut4427]

I'm wanting to do a MOD to change mine to USB.. anyone know where I can find a tutorial on it ?

[@vasquez123100]

@SaturdayVoodoo yeah i hope he puts a video or says what happend on one of his videos

[@Jayman7070]

2:33. My god, this is the early form of 343 guilty spark. It's going to kill us all

[@DarthDJJD]

DITTO! There are times that I just want to play a game for 15 minutes, without having to read a manual or play a movie just to play it. Yes, the graphics are not that great, but they are simple and great gameplay.

[@MrMakeman]

I wasn't born in the Atari ages, but damnit I like them better than all this overhyped Halo shit.

[@plurp7]

i think her name is Velma, Mark... seriously. thanks for posting!

[@Flip896]

He does because if you watch the video where he buys a new console you see him at work editing the videos.

[@bchow398]

I used to do that job and her name was Stephanie.

[@6Mega6Man6]

@Ollie7475 You bought it?

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

I found this girl I liked on facebook, I tracked her down and accidentaly met her in her college we are now going out AWESOME STALKER SKILLS BITCHES!!!

[@wiredupretro]

I am proud of you. Let's see... that was in 2013. Are you still with this girl you stalked?

[@TransitJoey1997]

Hummm, I thought you think that was a complete piece of junk. I heard you said that while you was viewing the Wii Classic Controller and the Classic Controller Pro.