Were These Recent Atari Products Worth Buying?

In this video I want to take a look back at a couple things I had previously reviewed on the channel. Mainly the My Arcade Atari Gamestation Pro, The 2600 Plus, and The Atari 400 Mini console. Let's see if I feel the same about them and if I've been using them since getting them for the channel.
As a bonus I also talk about a few of Atari's game releases. This ranges from the XP line, to the pre order type stuff, and the modern releases on todays biggest and best consoles and Steam. Let's find out which purchases I've been enjoying, and which ones I no longer use!
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#atari #retrogaming #myarcade #2600plus #videogames #atari400mini

[@astra6712]

A modern Atari Lynx release would be appreciated

[@Tyrannt316]

I think this is a great, honest assessment of Atari's recent efforts. The GSP is the instrument that brought me back to Atari. I only have a few cartridges from way back, so I've been able to dive right into Atari's history and play so much with my GSP. I've also bought the Mr. Run and Jump and Berserk cartridges because I do plan on buying a 2600+ at some point as well.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I'm glad that you decided to come back and check Atari out. I think that you are the best audience for the Game station Pro and I'm glad it did its intended purpose. Glad to have you in the hobby!

[@Tyrannt316]

@@TheAtariNetwork only problem now is I'm constantly either at my computer adding games with screenshots to the GSP (thanks to the community firmware) or scouring eBay for cartridges!

[@TheAtariNetwork]

@@Tyrannt316 your officially in it now lol

[@retrojoe85]

Yeah, despite my inital excitement for the 2600+ (which I never bought), just today one my friends gave me an AV-modded 2600 as a gift! Can't wait to play all my childhood cartridges! 🧡

[@silverwings21]

10:06 I got the Atari 7800 Re-releases: "Fatal Run", "Ninja Golf", & The NES-esque controller; the last 2 just arrived today for me. I was hoping you were gonna review those in this video.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Unfortunately I didn't order those initially as they should work as intended and I have the originals. But if there are issues with the new releases I'll report on it!

[@ztothepunk]

Just ordered a game station pro on ebay so I can have a simple plug and play in the living room and to play with my kid when he gets a little older.

[@shelby_snake]

Atari’s 8 bit and ST computer lines are some of the most fun you will have with anything wearing the Atari badge. Lots of great arcade conversions in addition to more involved computer games than you got on the consoles of the era. I want a 400mini to help take the strain off my current 130XE.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Any thoughts on the XEGS? Should I go for something like a 130XE?

[@jbponzi1]

I agree with your assessment. Looking forward to what Atari will do next. As a huge Atari fan since the beginning to the CX-2600 in 1977, I am well used to waiting and waiting and waiting.

[@KrunchyTheClown78]

I preordered ninja golf two months ago, and got it yesterday. Also bought Mr. Run and Jump, and got that one right away. Good video, a lot of really good points.

[@dpgreene]

I preordered the euro pad controller and got it yesterday! I’m happy they are rereleasing 7800 games too but I have them all already!

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Let me know how your experience with the new 7800 stuff is going guys!

[@KrunchyTheClown78]

@@TheAtariNetwork Going great! The games work fine, no problems there. So far everything is solid :)

[@TheAtariNetwork]

@@chriskutz7144 to be fair I loaded those particular roms myself it still comes with a selection of them, just not many of that quality in my opinion...

[@jh5124]

I pre-ordered Food Fight an 7800 controller extension cable and two of the euro style 7800 controllers from Atari a couple months ago. They shipped about a month late but I received all 4 a few days ago. Hopefully Atari has caught up with you as well. Enjoy your content.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Thank you!

[@BrigetteSinging]

I bought the VCS at a recent sale. Could I emulate it? Sure. But it feels so nostalgic and yet so new. I did not have enough money as a kid to own any of the consoles mentioned so it’s wonderful to catch up on what I missed out on so many decades ago. I don’t regret the VCS and hope they continue to include in their ecosystem. Great reviews. Love this channel.

[@mixedhairless]

For 40 bucks the gamestation for me is worth it, I haven’t purchased anything else. Waiting on the MyArcade new handhelds

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Trust me that's a lot cheaper than at release. And that's more inline with what it should've always cost. The new handheld looks fantastic!

[@Jolt7800]

Always appreciate the honest feedback from the Atari Network. I think we have all been caught up in the excitement of getting something, only to balance out our opinion at some point. I am still interested in the Atari 400 mini, and as of today it is on sale on Amazon for $102. But I am still undecided as I have several retro purchases that I have not used yet.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Yeah if you're not touching a lot of the other stuff then the 400 mini might end up sitting. I think 60 dollars would be a sweet spot for that thing. But if you have no interest in the 8 bits then pass it by. Thanks as always for watching Jolt!

[@pierregareau5812]

You're right about ordering directly, I order the ATARI 400 mini from Amazon and I got it on the day it was promise to be delivered, I liked my ATARI 400 Mini, a lot of fun games that I didn't know they existed, thanks for the video Jon !

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Thanks for checking it out Pierre

[@lothar71]

I think the GSP is the best product they put out for someone who doesn't have an atari collection. I love it and highly recommend it. it's worth it for both the playing atari roms and also arcade / mame roms.

[@artmonie8993]

Hi Atari Network,I was waiting for this Related products, Thanks for your honesty I will pay attention to the 2600+😊

[@dpgreene]

I just got my preordered two button “Euro pad” controller yesterday after several months. They did communicate “June” and got a heads up at shipping for what that’s worth. Been happy with the 2600+ but I’d like an official firmware update. Ive been holding off getting the unofficial from atariage but I’m getting impatient.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

And I don't blame you for being impatient. I'm not sure what the hold up is on releasing an official firmware. But they need to do it soon. The euro pads were my go to for a long time and I have no doubt you'll be happy. I paid more for mine unfortunately.

[@PG-gs5vb]

The firmwares at AtariAge are official, just not final. But I've tried most of them and did not encounter any issues, each was better than the previous one. The latest experimental firmware is a must, especially for 7800 PAL games.

[@urbanknish]

Very good assessment. I have had almost the same experience with everything you said, especially about the Gamestation controllers. I was extremely dissatisfied with the 400 mini's joystick though and that system collects dust along with the the Atari Gamestation The 2600+ became a daily driver for me too. It's not perfect either. The wait times for the games to start is one big issue. The other one is that some carts are super clean and work in real Atari but will not work. Also, none of my Champ games for 2600 work on it either. But overall, it does what it does well. Fingers crossed for better firmware one day.

[@VEGANVANIA]

The current model of the Atari Flashback Gold... still circa one hundred dollars... 😢

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Yeah I've kinda been watching for a price drop or a good deal but that doesn't look like it's gonna happen

[@brotherblue3340]

I bought everything in this video and I am happy with all of it. However I regret buying the game station and retron 77.

[@stephengiacobozzi7785]

I got a Sears Light Sixer (Atari 2600)

[@jeremiahthomas8140]

I picked up a Gamestation Pro for cheap. I have not grabbed a 2600+ or 400 Mini, yet.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Best way to get a GSP honestly

[@johnrussell8086]

I'm waiting for the game station pro to be delivered. I held off just to see what the community would do with it. I'm fully aware of what it is and the controller in my mind might not be as bad as I have noticed a few reviewers hold it wrong. I grip a joystick. I'm think of the plus also I have a small collection however it's very difficult to see them on the Tv now due to the rf cable and this might be my long term solution

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Let me know how your experience with the GSP is or if you ever get that 2600+!

[@johnrussell8086]

@@TheAtariNetwork I will do 👍

[@DuckMcKrush]

I bought the GSP because I thought it would be a great to play Atari titles without having to build a cartridge library all over again. I rarely play it these days mainly because of the controller. I did test it with a PS4 controller I borrowed and that was an improvement. I absolutely love my 400 mini and play it frequently. Honestly I play most of my Atari titles on my Switch version of Atari50. Though it is missing some great titles from Activision & Imagic. Looking forward to October DLC release with Intellivision titles.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Yeah I have a feeling that the GSP is lacking longevity for most people... Thanks for the insights, I have high hopes for the DLC as well!

[@marklechman2225]

Once I fixed the CX Stick I began to play my 400 Mini a lot more, and I actually own a working 400, 800 and 5200 but I have multiple gaming areas in the house and the Mini was a great way to play those games with minimal headaches - no regrets on that purchase. I also picked up a 2600+ but since I’ve had issues with several of my carts, I haven’t really touched it much. Plus I have my original 7800 hooked up to my main game TV anyway so no big loss. The Gamestation, however, is kind of meh. It’s essentially a Flashback in a nicer box. The included SD a lot is the only reason to pick one of these up. And yes, those controllers are pretty weak, and while I can use a modern controller instead, it’s still not an ideal solution. Plus it was released too early, there were several issues that should have been addressed before shipping. Most of these have been fixed with firmware updates but I still think they should have play-tested the console a bit more before introducing it to the public. I’d say the machine I play most now is my VCS, although I know that wasn’t a recent release. I still think it’s a fantastic little machine that does so much, it’s totally worth the premium price tag.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I've been enjoying my VCS a lot too. Thanks for the input and thanks for watching!

[@artmonie8993]

Your Channel is a great way to stay inform.

[@adm712]

My brief grades with recent Atari pickups: 2600 +- I give it a B. Only thing preventing it from an "A" is that we should not have to do firmware update out of box. I did receive my 7800 goodies yesterday (game pad,Ninja Golf) and they did a great job. 400 mini- I give it a C. I appreciate what they were trying to do and it's not a "bad" system. I just prefer original 8 bit hardware to this. Didn't buy the Game Station Pro.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Thanks for the input. If I had real 8 bit hardware I'm sure I would use my mini a lot less.

[@Sam3344]

I’ve preordered some of their latest games and not a single one has arrived. One was ordered last August with an estimated shipping date of January of this year….

[@TheAtariNetwork]

And that's an issue. Successful companies can't operate like that they're alienating too many people...

[@IvoryTowerCollections]

I've only purchased a few of the AtariXP releases and they took a while but I did get them. I also bought the 2600+ when it was released and updated it, but I still don't use it and just find it easier for me to plug in my actual 7800 and just use the s-video output I have on it. Also allows me to use my flash carts on it easier as well. But for folks that don't have a console or a reliable one to use, the 2600+ is the easiest and likely lowest cost to entry to get back into it.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I didn't realize the flash carts didn't work on the 2600+ until I tried to use one in it the other day. They probably won't ever work either which sucks

[@IvoryTowerCollections]

@@TheAtariNetwork Correct, although there are a few carts that do work due to how those flash carts function. The old Mateos 16 in 1 and Dragon Fly carts for the 7800 do work as they preload the game on the cart before the 2600+ comes up to dump that data and then proceed to run the emulation to play the game. I also know that the creator of the Harmony is creating something to allow it to have multiple games that you can use a dip switch selector to pull up specific games in a similar manner to Ataris 10 in 1 and other multicarts that use switches to select banks to read the game data from.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Looks like I'm on the hunt for a dragonfly!

[@IvoryTowerCollections]

@@TheAtariNetwork Good luck with that, they haven't been sold for over 2 years now and getting them second hand is likely to cost a lot given the fact that prior to the 7800GD, the DragonFly was the most able flash cart for the 7800. But, the DF can ONLY play 7800 games and does not support 2600 games. Still, when it was available, it was a beast and still quite capable even today.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

@@IvoryTowerCollections yeah I wanted one a few years back but settled on the concerto

[@shelby_snake]

I have a 130XE because I like how it looks with the ST, it’s the perfect little brother. However, the 130XE is known for having a terrible keyboard (best electronics sells some good contact replacements that help a lot here), problematic RAM chips, and the cart port is in a silly position. I’m not sure about the XEGS, some games require the keyboard so that might limit you a little. The XEGS looks aesthetically awesome, I’ve never used one though. The 800xl is probably the best way to go in terms of reliability and everything, but it doesn’t look quite as pleasing as other iterations. I recommend picking up a Side3 cart for it to load games.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Thanks for the input!

[@catholicactionbibleonlyist1813]

I would like to get a Atari flashback

[@TheAtariNetwork]

I have two right now, the first one that I don't recommend and the 5 or 6. I believe the modern ones are decent with HDMI out. I'll have to get one and review it.

[@MrDintheD]

​@@TheAtariNetwork I like my flashback 5 because of the wireless controllers. Not sure if any of the newer models have them.

[@BrianJonson]

I was expecting a mention of the Atari VCS. Did you get that?

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Yes I did and I'm sorry I included it on another video so I didn't mention it here. If you're interested this was my most recent update on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/imaXq5aVo9FseLM

[@coach_troy]

I highly agree with your assessment. The gsp sits in the closet. The 2600+ sees regular use. Preordering dors take time... Still waiting on some things. I didnt get the 400 mini. I'm more interested in grabbing a C64 mini with a keyboard. Just waiting to find one cheap.

[@a-bas-le-ciel]

So if Flashback 16 comes out, maybe then (and only then) paddle controllers will REALLY WORK straight out of the box... ? Flashback 15 is still messed up, even if it is on the software level, in getting the rotation to work properly...

[@JumboJosh-lv3mo]

The best way to play these games is simple, just get the Atari flashback classics complete for 40 bucks. 150 games total, with arcade, 2600, 5200, and M-network games along with prototypes and rpm hacks, yars’ return is better than official sequels.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Thanks for the tip I'll have to check that release out.

[@greybush38]

If you figure in the cost of things now, are high yes but look at the future with these toys.. I bought all the Atari Flashbacks from the crappy 1st 7800 looking one out to the Flashback X, paying under $100.00 for each. Now those toy are tripple that and more these days. Think about that!

[@TheAtariNetwork]

It's true. Well the crappy early ones are pretty cheap but the later ones seem to be holding their value to this point

[@CP-ih6zq]

Yeah the Gamestation controller issues got me mad. I watched plenty of reviews when it came out and everyone was praising the controller. I couldn’t understand why it was so bad and so many said it was good. Nothing compares to the original paddle controllers.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Yeah I really needed to clarify that I was wrong about the controllers. Sorry. I think the ability to play paddle games blinded us but really there was no excuse. I've since learned from it and won't jump to such conclusions again when I know deep down it's not that good...

[@bmca8876]

I bought the 2600+ from Amazon,I was very pleased with it until I tried my own cartridges in it and something got damaged in the cartridge slot, they work perfectly in my original 2600, Amazon give me a refund but wouldn't replace,Atari didn't help,

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Doesn't surprise me that Atari wouldn't help honestly. Their customer service is lacking. I'm sorry that you had a bad experience, I wish it had gone better for you. Hopefully this isn't a common issue

[@JesterEric]

2600+ was a big disappointment for me. Many issues with Pal cartridges displaying the wrong colours and 7800 releases having many problems. It had obviously not been tested properly and still no official firmware update

[@PG-gs5vb]

The experimental firmware available at AtariAge forums fixes nearly all of the problems with 7800 PAL carts, including wrong palette. It's not a final release but it is official and works pretty well.

[@rhindlethered]

I will take issue with your advice regarding buying from Amazon vs. pre-ordering from Atari. Everything I could have bought from Amazon, but pre-ordered from Atari, arrived in about the same amount of time as they did for those who did buy from Amazon. You need to look at *which* titles Atari seems to have difficulty fulfilling. It is always the Special Editions ('Save Mary', the SE 'Mr. Run & Jump') as compared to the standard issues meant for the mass market (hence being available at Amazon). I believe these SEs are manufactured by a different group (Atari XP, the same ones who made the 50th Anniversary set) and they seem to be the problem there. The second point I would like to make concerns packaging. Everything I ordered from Atari arrived *very* well packaged. They come in a box with decent padding around all sides and *nothing* arrived damaged. Everything I ended up buying from Amazon arrived in either a padded envelope or (worse) two pieces of corrugated cardboard glued together. I was lucky and only my standard copy of 'Mr. Run & Jump' arrived damaged and I got a full refund. (Technically bought that one from Woot!, but it was shipped by Amazon.) Others were not so lucky, as I saw numerous complaints from people who had to return their Atari carts or consoles multiple times before they got one from Amazon that arrived undamaged.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

There are positives and negatives to everything but I don't think that just because something is a special edition, that makes it okay to delay shipping or take a long time to ship. At least not without proper communication that is clear and up front. My experience with Amazon has been positive but I could see those issues coming up. Amazon does use cheaper packaging. My argument there would be that in every case Amazon refunded them (that I've seen) but if you're unsatisfied with an Atari product you have to jump through several hoops. I read about a few of these cases on Facebook and had one experience myself. This is derived from my own experience but I had an issue where I needed to return a product to Atari and it took 4 days to get a response. Then another 5 to get a response after that one. Once the issue was dealt with I received a refund in the wrong amount, which took weeks to correct. Your points are valid and I would just recommend doing ample research and making sure you know any such risks, delays and issues that could arise. I personally would gamble with Amazon more so than Atari direct at this point. But people will read this and say that I'm hating Atari. I don't. I love their games and products but I also won't make excuses for them in cases that they fail.

[@rhindlethered]

@@TheAtariNetwork To be clear, I don't think you're hating on Atari at all. But my experience with them has been nothing but positive (except for those SE delays). I can't talk to what happens when something arrives damaged from Atari because that hasn't happened yet across multiple orders. And, yes, Amazon's returns are great, but are necessary far too often. (They recently had to send me a second $100 Switch Collector's Edition because they didn't package it properly. They let me keep the first one. A win? Sure. An unnecessary hassle? Yes.) I'd prefer to have confidence that they will ship items safely than the knowledge it will all work out in the end. My point about the SEs was that I think people shouldn't worry about long delays for any item available at Amazon. If they have to get it to Amazon, they will get it to you. It's the specialty stuff you should be concerned about because the only person they are responsible to is you. I didn't mean to imply that the delays on the SEs are *okay*. I'm saying the worries about delays shouldn't extend to products they make available widely.

[@TheAtariNetwork]

Gotcha. I appreciate the well thought out points and opinions and I'm always happy to discuss or even debate respectfully. But it sounds like our views are pretty well aligned honestly. Thanks for the input

[@danielktdoranie]

Keep in mind people you can emulate these and many other systems on the computer you already own for free

[@TheAtariNetwork]

And there's nothing wrong with emulating these games in my opinion. The devs no longer profit in most cases and not everybody has money to burn!