My Arcade Atari Gamestation Pro is awesome! (Night Driver!)

[@djwrahfael]

This retro atari console from My Arcade is reaIly good. I'm reliving my childhood!

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

I agree, I okay this thing constantly. Never thought I'd find a modern alternative to the 2600 joystick that felt so good

[@domeshtan1677]

You might want to try playing Circus Atari with the controller wired with a USB C cable (and the joystick set to off). I thought the paddles were not that great at first playing Circus Atari. I used to be able to roll the score. I tried it again when I had it wired and I had about a 7,000 point game no problem. Also make sure your tv is set to game mode.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Good idea! I'll give that a shot, thanks!

[@ferndog1461]

Can you test Kaboom ? That's my childhood friends Tourny game.

[@OscarInAsia]

When I was a kid I got the "Sears Video Arcade II" instead of a branded Atari 2600. It was still made by Atari and was based on the Atari 2800 (in Japan). The point is it had a joystick/paddle combo (on the same stalk!). To me it was the best Atari joystick... used them for years on my c64 as well. 😊

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

I've heard of the 2800 but never seen one. That controller sounds awesome!

[@MotownBatman]

New Sub! Detroit, Mich. I just ordered a GS Pro on Amazon "ReNewed" for $50.00; it should be here Friday. I got it for my Dad, he's EOL, and he can't leave the bed. So I figured with the Wireless Controllers, he can play OUTLAW with my lil ladies, like we used to on my 7800. YOU are the FIRST Review to say anything about the Sync issue, I had no idea... That being said, Dad nor the Kiddos have the Attention Span to play for an Hour and see the Glitch.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Thanks ... eerrr ... Batman! Glad you liked my video, it's definitely a good piece of hardware. And with the SD card you could load up piles of games for your dad no worries.

[@daviddahlstrom192]

This is actually a pretty nice unit. The SD card option lets you play pretty much every Atari 2600 game made with little to no fuss, and the joysticks are close enough to the original form factor to work nice enough. In fact, one of my pleasant surprises with the stick is that the diagonals work extremely well making jumping in one of my favorite 2600 games, Mountain King, finally a pleasure to control. The paddles are pretty nice too, though not quite as smooth as a wired controller, but adequate. The only unfortunate thing is that paddles only work on the included games and not games added via the SD card. Hopefully, a future firmware update might address that. One bizarre thing in the video though is that he plays the 1976 arcade version of Night Driver but says the only other versions of the game for home were on the Evercade and the C64, when the Atari 2600 version (which even supports the paddle controller) is right there in the menu (and came out in 1980, two years before the C64 version). Kind of weird. As far as the "laggyness" goes, if anyone encounters this (I did big time), make sure your TV is set to its game mode as that is the most likely reason why.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Ahhh good catch there David, yes when I said Night Driver only came out on Evercade or C64 I meant the arcade version, my flub there. I confess I've never been a fan of the 2600 port. But I totally agree on the joysticks these things are great! Cosmic Ark is finally playable for me cuz I found trying with a d-pad over the years just wasn't doing it for me. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed on a firmware update.

[@MaximumRD]

As much as I love the LOOK of the 2600+ I have very few original carts and the 2600+ wont work with my Harmony cart anyway so for me, I'd probably get more value from the GAMESTATION PRO. Plus being able to add other ROMS and use different controllers is nice as I have seen in several other videos about this system.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

I'm with you Rob. I see the 2600+ has a place and I'm happy for those that are thrilled about it but honestly this Gamestation is the answer to my dreams.

[@MaximumRD]

@@DowntheRabbitHole0 Cool, also FYI you might already know but I just read this comment about the Gamestation on AA that may be of use to you. "By accident today, I discovered that if you want to return to the built-in games list from the SD cart games list, you just have to press the home button on the console. The controller home button only returns you to the SD card list, if you have selected it after booting, it will not return you to the built in games."

[@Gen-X-Memories]

Do you think with any updates the 2600+ might be able to use the harmony cart?

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

@@Gen-X-Memories I think AtariAge has a thread about the 2600+ WILL play Harmony carts so long as only one game is loaded on the Harmony. Maybe check there?

[@jeng1395]

I can’t wait to get mine! I had debated getting the new 2600, but when I saw how to change the games on the cartridges, I said “I’m buying this to feel young again, I don’t want to put on my old lady glasses to change the games!” Anyway, saw it in Amazon for $57 and figured it will suit my purposes. All I’m really dying to play is Breakout.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

You'll definitely enjoy Breakout on this one, the paddle imon the joystick is very good plus it has an option but n Settings to adjust paddle sensitivity. I hope you love yours as much as I love mine

[@atworkstation]

Got mine a couple weeks ago, and added a lot of games on my SD card and updated the firmware in the process.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

You're gonna love it .... This thing is amazing!

[@bubbarivas7479]

How do you add games on a SD card?

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Hi Bubba, you need to call the folder on the SD card games and then anything for the 2600 needs to be called .a26 on the end ... NES games need to be called .nes on the end and Genesis games need to be called .bin on the end .... MAME games can remain zipped.

[@JackHammer77]

Does the 1-hour joystick syncing issue occur only when you're playing with the white or orange ring colors selected? (I always play with the rotating rainbow and haven't encountered that problem once, myself.) I'd also be curious to know if you encounter it when using a USB-C to USB-C cable connecting the joystick directly to the console. Enjoyed your video 🙂

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Thanks Jack! Actually MyArcade just released a new firmware so I'm going to test if a) it still loses synch after an hour like before and also b) I'll try the ideas you had about wired and rainbow colors. Research coming.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Still desynchronizes out after an hour .... I'll mess around with different color modes and wired in my next test.

[@JackHammer77]

@@DowntheRabbitHole0 Yeah, your experience was the first I'd heard about regarding the syncing problem, and I didn't think it was one of the issues being addressed in the first firmware update. I wonder if you just (unfortunately) ended up with a lemon.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

@@JackHammer77 if so, that Costco guy I quoted from Reddit says I'm not alone

[@CatsGamesWhatever]

Neat looking console. Was it expensive?

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

It's about ninety bucks US .... Was one twenty in Canadian dollars and worth every penny.

[@OldGameFiction]

I just bought one of these on the cheap from Ebay without controllers. Seller was offering at least 10 of them. Maybe people picking up extra joysticks or overstock? I heard an Xbox style controller will work so I'll give it a go.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Yup I remember GenX Grownup showed his XBox controller plugged into it and working great. You won't be disappointed!

[@domeshtan1677]

If you love your Night Driver I made a few videos with examples of custom .cfg files to remap controls for Mame games added to the Micro SD card. Fixed some missing features on some but I've made about 3 different .cfg files for Night Driver. For a single stick (going by memory here) I have C trigger for 1st gear, Up for 2nd gear, B button for 3rd gear and down for 4th gear. (So if its too complicated to remember you still have 2nd and 4th gear like an up/down shifter). I forgot how game difficulty was mapped at the moment but only 2 of the 3 seem to be selectable. (It's an emulator thing). For a PlayStation Classic controller i have mapped X for 1st gear, O for 2nd gear, Triangle for 3rd gear and R2 for 4th. There is also a dual joystick .cfg where one stick acts like the 4-way shifter but its hard to control.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Aaaaaannnnnd SUBSCRIBED! Awesome stuff man! Hey one game I can't get working on the Gamestation Pro's version of MAME is Atari's Video Pinball. It loads but the flippers don't do anything and I can't launch the ball. IO assume it's another config problem. Is that something you can adjust? Great work by the way.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

and I'm following your AtariAge post about this as well :)

[@domeshtan1677]

@@DowntheRabbitHole0 You can check out one of my later videos about an easier way to remap stuff. I got the hang of it by that point and found out how certain controlers could be used on Mame078b to make .cfg files faster. I only emulate what I own so I don't know how the controls are laid out for defaults. I would be guessing stuff is probably mapped to the keyboard keys. If they are, if you use a hex editor to track down values of where things are they probably won't have that "80" byte before whatever value it's mapped to. I see 80 02 come up a lot which I think means to use some default joystick mapping. That's my guess but I see it a lot.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

@@domeshtan1677 Okay I think I'm a little out of my depth here. I tried to create my own cfg file for Atari Video Pinball (using MAME078b) using your directions and it's not working. I opened the original videopin,cfg file I had then I also made a different version where I mapped Left Flipper to the Letter E and Right Flipper to the letter F (kinda like you did with gears in Monte Carlo) but when I compare both cfg files in HxD I don't see anything different bewteen them. Also in your video, you show HxD going as far down the list as 00000650 whereas when I open videopin.cfg HxD only goes as far down as 00000450. Either I'm doing something wrong or this cfg file is smaller? You couldn't make me a cfg file for Video Pinball could you? I just want the A button on the Gamestation to be left flipper and the C trigger to be the right flipper (and I guess Down on the joystick to be the plunger). You could just post it in your thread on AtariAge where I can grab it there if you like.

[@domeshtan1677]

@@DowntheRabbitHole0 Yep, I'll post it on AtariAge in a couple places. If you mapped the flippers to E for left and F for right the changed file will show 04 at location 245 (04=E on the keyboard) and the right flipper would show 05 at location 253 (05=F on the keyboard). I mapped 3 different .cfgs for Video Pinball. The way you wanted (A and C buttons for flippers, Down to launch, Up to nudge but it doesn't seem to do anything from what I can tell). Another .cfg I mapped Left and Right on the stick for flippers. A 3rd .cfg I did for PlayStation Classic and Xbox where L2 and R2 act as the flippers. (Bumper buttons on Xbox controllers). Hopefully you have the old artwork file for the game as well. Hard to tell what's going on without it.

[@thomasfinnigan8340]

If you make a folder and call "2600 Paddle Controller" and put paddle game roms in the folder, you'll have paddle support.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

After GenXGrownup mentioned that it was one of the first things I did. Incredible to be able to play homebrew paddle games using that excellent controller.

[@mkevina-nyc]

The controller is not too bad but it feels cheap, especially the trigger. Hopefully they will fix the mono audio and be able to save the last LED state with a firmware update. I am not a big fan on RGB for Atari. Overall it's a good console when you put extra games on a SD card.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Darn right, I am loving this. I didn't even notice the mono audio thing till people mentioned it. Can't wait for that firmware upgrade.

[@wolfshanze5980]

They fixed the mono audio and expanded support for the SD card... go get the 1.30 firmware update. Available now.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

@@wolfshanze5980Yup I got it and it's glorious! I love the fact I can get to either menu with just two buttons now

[@Graytail]

You say the controller feels loose, how would you compare it to the USB stick reproductions? I have a few of those and I find them quite tight feeling, with snappy microswitches, a very different feel to the originals but far more durable I think.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Looser than a classic 2600 and even the FlashBack joysticks. The recent Flashback X has a somewhat loose feel and these are close to that, albeit a bigger "gate" and therefore feeling more deliberate if that makes sense?

[@flyhouseoftruth470]

Your complaining about the lag from wireless and HDMI is really funny in a strange way. Have you played the actual Atari 2600? The one with the switch through TV antenna on channel 3? I remember having to jiggle the power and reset switches to get a picture on screen and freezing up or glitching out in the middle of a game.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

Oh yes indeed I did ... we had a 2600 in 1980 hooked up to our Zenith TV with the slider switch proper old school. Loved it!

[@Graytail]

One of the arcade games I'd have had to check is Crystal Castles, because all the emulators get it just so wrong, the controls just feel bad on every emulator I've tried.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

It's not a great Crystal Castles experience using this joystick instead of a trackball ... same with arcade Missile Command.

[@Graytail]

@@DowntheRabbitHole0 Just as well Marble Madness isnt on there then eh?

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

@@Graytail true, I really wish New Wave Toys would make a mini version of Marble Madmess, seems like a winner to me

[@SeñorDossierOficial]

Gamestation pro vs Atari 2600+

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

A million times better than 2600+

[@wolfshanze5980]

The ONLY reason to get a 2600+ is if you ALREADY have a large collection of Atari 2600 cartridges. If not, the Gamestation Pro is a million times more logical to get than the 2600+.

[@SeñorDossierOficial]

@@wolfshanze5980 oh thanks

[@XV250]

I own both. They are both good but very different - apples vs. oranges. - Get the Plus if you are into collecting carts or already have a bunch of carts. - Get the Pro if you don't have a lot of carts already, and just want to play old school games.

[@SeñorDossierOficial]

@@XV250 thanks :3

[@yulienherrero8652]

I have a dude, I dont Know how I can add or dowload more games for this console

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

There's quite a few videos that show how, I recommend GenXGrownUp because he went into a good amount of details

[@BaDik_Jacob]

It's good but I'd stick with the VCS. Although the GSP controller is a beauty.

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

If I could get the VCS in Canada, I'd consider it (grumble grumble)

[@flyhouseoftruth470]

The only reason I would want one of these is for Atari 2600 Phoenix and that one isn't on it. All these games are really bad. No Colecovision Donkey Kong, the best donkey kong for ease of play where I can actually get through all 3 levels.

[@auggieaxiom5726]

a joy for minutes and minutes

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

LOL maybe for the youngins but I'm loving reliving my childhood here

[@MobileDecay]

Ah, the year of Atari RGB puke. 😊

[@DowntheRabbitHole0]

LOL