The New Atari 2600+ Head 2 Head with the Atari 7800 -

Yes, it's another Atari video! This week, I am covering the brand new #atari 2600+. It's more than a review, though. I am testing a few lesser known games and putting some special controllers through their paces!
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[@kavanoz64]

This is the mother of all Atari 2600+ reviews!

[@10MARC]

Well thank you!

[@bpet122]

What a great review, I've watched tons of reviews of the 2600+ but don't remember hearing about the inverted button issue on the 7800 stuff. Thanks for all the info and comparisons, hopefully they have fixed that.

[@10MARC]

I am really super surprised that more people did not call out the inverted buttons. Thanks for the kind words!

[@onidensetsu3721]

Liked & subscribed for the honest 2600+ review & testing. I hear there's a firmware update in the works. Maybe we can get an update video? Looking forward to Amiga stuff thanks for keeping it retro.

[@10MARC]

Hey thanks for the sub! I do try to toss Atari stuff in now and again.

[@Tony-ub7xf]

Nice work. I also enjoyed the quick demos of 7800 games I’ve collected but never knew how to play. Good review!

[@10MARC]

I sometimes think I should do more Atari game reviews, specifically some of the really excellent titles. But it is hard enough getting my regular videos out!

[@markracer3281]

You just earned yourself another sub! And my 2600+ e.t.a is this weekend... Now it's time for a P&J samwich...🙂

[@10MARC]

Thanks! You should have a lot of fun with your new 2600+

[@coffeecuparcade]

Nice checking compatibility with everything, I am sure that is helping out Atari get these fixed in future firmwares. I just dug (see what I did there?) out my collection of 2600 and 7800 carts and controllers so I will be giving a few more a go that I havent seen tested yet. Cheers man!

[@10MARC]

I just heard about the new Firmware update coming out in a few weeks! I think it will address several of the issues I ran into.

[@coffeecuparcade]

I'm starting to hear about a firmware as well. Need to go find the details!@@10MARC

[@a4000t]

hey,seaquest seems to be the swim scene of jungle hunt basically?

[@10MARC]

Much better, actually. It is so smooth, and the difficulty ramps up nicely without becoming impossible. Getting to the divers on time is a blast.

[@retrowarp6528]

Very nice review, thank you. So I bought 7800 for Christmas. For Robotron,Defender, Joust etc.I use a jrok multi Williams.

[@10MARC]

Very nice, and excellent choice in games

[@urbanknish]

Great video. I really hope that they fix these issues with the firmware update because I'm tempted to mod my 7800 now...!!! You have great taste in games. I love both Tac-scan and Robotron.

[@10MARC]

I think a lot will be fixed. I do hope they get the keypad working. Star Raiders is a fun game too.

[@plechaim]

Its great to see an ATARI company existing again and making hardware. Now if only another computer company beginning with A could manage that...

[@10MARC]

For sure. This new "Atari" has suddenly gone from absurd things like the "VCS" trying to compete with modern consoles, Atari Hotels and NFT's to actually doing something people are interested in.

[@NRG_Ghostman]

Just to let you know your friend who made your mod for you 7800 you said his name is rod hull and you sent a picture. Well that Picture is of Rod Hull a british comedian and entertainer with his puppet emu. Well Rod died in 1999 when he fell off his roof adjusting his TV aerial. So your man was joking with ya. Other then that great video. I have a atari 2600+ since release i now have about 20 games. And im going to start a new youtube and twitch account and start live streaming retro games including the atari. Might hit you up with a friend request somewhere on social media would love to talk atari.

[@10MARC]

Yes I know that. Rod Hull is his handle - he runs "The Future was 8 Bit" and presents himself online as rod Hull as a running joke. He is really quite a great guy.

[@jasonmann3775]

Interesting find on Tac Scan! Atari site lists it as compatible with 2600+? I was looking to get with the paddle controls.

[@AmigaLove]

Something you don't hear every day from an Amigan in reference to the Atari 2600, in deeply reverent tones, "Look at those graphics! Look at those color bars here." What a joy that was to watch and listen to. My Atari 2600+ has been en route for, well, about 16 decades now. I was notified a couple of weeks ago that it was scheduled, but delayed. It's... a thing. I knew at the beginning that my Harmony cartridge wouldn't work, but I do hope that's a fixable problem some day purely via firmware. If it isn't? I won't cry. I've got a handful of games I *really* want to play anyway, and I look forward to playing a couple of OG 7800 carts I picked up just for this system: Dark Chambers and Joust. Also have some "New Atari" games planned for it, like Crystal Castles. And finally plenty of OG 2600 games, including Haunted House. All in all, I mainly got the + for its HDMI port, and the new controller sounded pretty nice. How 'bout dem LEDs!?

[@10MARC]

I have always thought the colors of the 2600 were really good. Demon Attack, Spider Fighter, and a ton of other games just knew how to pull incredible graphics out of that thing. And the sprites and graphics can be so smooth and fast when codes correctly! Dark Chambers is quite fun!

[@AmigaLove]

@@10MARC Doooood, Spider Fighter! I was so obsessed with that game when I was a 4th or 5th grader - somewhere in there. They had this contest where if you got some big score, you were supposed to take a photo of yourself next to the TV screen showing the score. I did this. My TV was actually B/W iirc. But Atari carts were DESIGNED to work with both color and B/W because B/W was actually quite common still in the early 80s. Anyway, I took the photo (my brother snapped it for me with a Kodak). I never sent it in.... Fast Forward 35+ years later. Someone on Ebay had the actual real deal patch Activision would ship you if you hit that score. And, it came with a reprint of the form letter they mailed with it. So yeah, I have that god damn patch now. Dang right! =D

[@markwrightrf]

I dig this, Doug. See what I dig there? ;-) Jay "Manic" Miner - 2600 - 400/800 - 1000/500/2000 - from racing the beam to display list interrupts and copper magic. Great video as always.

[@10MARC]

For sure! And I am sure "Dig Dug" was named after me...

[@keithmcgerr3056]

I dig that!

[@alk7934]

Not an Atari console man myself, but good to see that they are trying these days. For awhile no one could do anything good with the Atari brand. I hope they work to improve the firmware and what not. Now we need an 800xl rerelease.

[@10MARC]

I wonder if they will ever bother with an 8 bit or ST "Mini" - I kinda doubt it. Luckily the Atari 8 bits are easy to find. I bought four in the last three years and I was not even trying!

[@alk7934]

​@@10MARCYeah they do seem to crop up a lot. I would like to get an 800XL one day. I love the 1200XLs but they go for a bit of a chunk!

[@BrianJNelson]

The only thing I don't like about this unit is the fact that some of my favorite games won't work. I love Pitfall 2 and Robot Tank and neither work, which sucks. There are several others on the compatibility list as well, but those are the most notable ones for me. I have to admit though, this is still a mostly decent unit for newer collectors, and the addition of 7800 compatibility and the hot swapping function are great.

[@SuperVstech]

I had my VCS, we upgraded to the 7800, I hated the joysticks and the overlays… no idea where that unit is… I still have my vcs hough.

[@10MARC]

If you had the Overlays I bet that was an Atari 5200. I have one of those, too - the ones with the built in keypads that were hardly used for anything useful. Great console, but it was HUGE!

[@SuperVstech]

@@10MARC yup, i think you are right.

[@HoldandModify]

I remember Atari. My Grandmother had one. ;)

[@10MARC]

Before my Atari we used to hit around a rock with dinosaur bones. Good times.

[@HoldandModify]

lol@@10MARC

[@Devillin]

Do you know if the controllers for the retro-7800 work on the 2600+?

[@keithmcgerr3056]

Great vid, without Jay Miner & Chuck Peddle, things would be so different. long live the heavy sixer, light sixer, & to all versions new & old!

[@10MARC]

Oh for sure. They had such an influence on the early computer industry and do not get enough credit

[@MotownBatman]

New Sub: Dryden, Mich. I still have my Christmas '89 Atari 7800 on my Desk, Still Holding E.T! I'm waiting for the 2600+ to drop or maybe get a Refurb/Return from amaz for Half-Off. But It looks beautiful

[@10MARC]

I think the price is reasonable, all things considered. Not much more than a real 2600 was 40+ years ago! I wish I would have bought a 7800 back in the day - but I was too busy on my C64 and Amiga to think about consoles back then. It had (and has) some really great games!

[@MotownBatman]

@@10MARC LOL I cant argue the Price being reasonable. I just grew up Poor, Oldest of 5; and now I have 3 lil ladies myself. My dad waiting to get the 7800 for the 1989 Christmas $79 Sale just was the being of my dad training my Cheapness LOL

[@skrumy70]

My + won’t play Astrosmash. The Home Screen comes up but, the game won’t play. Works fine on my 7800.

[@10MARC]

The new unofficial firmware updates fix a lot of this stuff. I will probably update using one of these if Atari does not hurry and release an official one.

[@skrumy70]

I have a correction. Forgot that this game could use paddles. On the 2600+, you can only use paddles

[@youtube-ventura]

Hey Robin, I don't know what settings you have on your TV, but the Atari 2600 plus looks terrible on your setup. For example, in Food Fight, your character just has a white blob head, however on my setup, I can easily make out the detail of the eyes. The level of detail and crispness of graphics between what you're showing here and what I'm seeing on my TV are night and day. I just wanted to point that out because I don't want your audience to think there's little difference between HDMI out on the 2600 plus and composite out on the 7800; there is a drastic difference.

[@youtube-ventura]

My bad, I meant Doug :)

[@SuperCreen]

Xenophobe reminds me a bit of "Project Firestart" on the C64

[@10MARC]

Huh. Never heard of it. I will have to check that out! I used to play a ton of Xenophobe on my Amiga

[@SuperCreen]

Oh I loved "Project Firestart" on the 64! (And I still do ;-) ) I still remember I drew a map of the spaceship with all its corridors and elevators so I could actually escape after triggering the self destruct 😀. Great game with a great storyline! (A bit like 'Alien')@@10MARC

[@Squale.]

Ata..what ??? 🤣

[@10MARC]

Oh I know...