Why AtGames is a Hated Company

You may have heard of the company AtGames. They make those cheap Plug N Play consoles that feature retro games. You typically hear a lot of bad things about AtGames and their products, but do they deserve the hate?
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:10 Atari Flashback
3:12 Sega Genesis
5:07 Bandai Namco Arcade Blast
7:50 Ms Pac-Man
9:55 Conclusion
10:37 Outtro
Special thanks to the following users from pexels.com for the stock footage:
84LENS, 霍天赐, A frame in motion, Ahmet Akpolat, Andrew Hanson, Anna Hinckel, Anvar Tushakov, Artem Podrez, Caleb Oquendo, Cottonbro, Cristian Dina, Curtis Adams, DAV Grup 1, David McBee, Distill, Drones Scot, Edward Jenner, EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA, Ekrulila, Evgenia Kirpichnikova, Free Videos, George Morina, Glen McBride, Jack Sparrow, Joseph Redfield, Kampus Production, Karolina Grabowska, Kelly, Kindel Media, Ksenia Chernaya, MART PRODUCTION, Mikhail Nilov, Miguel Á. Padriñán, Mike B, Monstera, Nazim Zafri, Nicole Michalou, Pavel Danilyuk, Pete Wales, pickarick, Pixabay, Polina Tankilevitch, Pressmaster, Ricky Esquivel, RODNAE Productions, Ron Lach, Sora Shimazaki, Steve B, Thirdman,Tiger Lily, Tima Miroshnichenko, Tom Fisk, Tony Schnagl, Vlada Karpovich, Yan Krukov, Yaroslav Shuraev
Special thanks to streambeats.com for the music used in this video.

[@JohnMartin-ll9cw]

I'd have to say that AtGames deserves all the hate. Especially because they killed off Ms. Pac-Man.

[@legendsflashback]

2018 AtGames products were A+ once hacked

[@nunyabaznus7851]

Pac-Mom is hilarious though. a modern pacman for modern times. a 25 year old PacIncel living in his single mothers basement.

[@ajboomer1347]

It also depends on what part of the market you look at.

[@NitwitsWorld]

@@nunyabaznus7851deez nuts 😅

[@conradojavier7547]

We get Pac-Mom, & Pac-Kid as Lame Replacements of Ms. Pac-Man, & Jr. Pac-Man.

[@infinitecanadian]

I like how Namco wanted people to get what they ordered. That is the sign of a company that cares about its customers.

[@bigbabatunde1218]

Namco were pisssed that their IP went to someone else.

[@jbasher94]

@@bigbabatunde1218I’d be too in this case, basically AtGames bought out seven of the original share holders (GCC?) who only held royalty rights, and tried to use those royalty rights as creative license/ distribution rights, which rightfully belong to NBEA. But the judge awarded all rights to AtGames. I feel like this was sparked by how AtGames had garnered a fairly negative rep for lying to its consumers, and repeatedly offering lackluster consoles, and NBEA saw this as coming back to reflect on them by proxy, so they chose to try to stop it. Which a company their size could easy shake such a thing off if it were really only about optics tbh. Could be wrong.

[@bigbabatunde1218]

@@jbasher94 I heard something about AtGames collecting outstanding debts for Ms Pac Man, so ended up owning the rights. Doesn't make any sense if that's true. Just goes to show that in US court cases, money talks regardless of who's right or who owns what. See Trip Hawkins and EA and how they won their battle with Sega when they reverse engineered the Mega Drive to forcibly cut Sega out of their own console's cartridge manufacturing strategy.

[@cpman1987]

What is going on with his teeth?! They look rotten!! 😮😢 🦷 👄

[@infinitecanadian]

@@cpman1987 I wouldn't know.

[@BenHughes81]

Something interesting about the Atari Flashback 2 is that it can be modded to allow the use of real Atari 2600 cartridges.

[@ultralance]

Yeah, they'd planned to include a cartridge port but they ended up pulling the feature last minute to lower production costs. But the inner circuit board still has the pinout for where a cartridge slot would go - you just gotta solder one in and cut a hole in the case so games can go in. lmfao

[@nunyabaznus7851]

do you know if other consoles would work for a donor cart slot, like a coleco gemini or sears video arcade. @@ultralance

[@louistournas120]

@@nunyabaznus7851 You want to take a card slot from a Coleco Gemini and soldier it on the AtGames? Don't do it. Old hw should be kept and maintained.

[@Youtube.Commen-tater]

​@@louistournas120I crammed a flashback 2 into a light sixer. I had to saw off some of the switch controller board, but I did pull out the ICs.

[@maxxdahl6062]

@@nunyabaznus7851 You can buy an actual connector you don't need to sacrifice a console.

[@sspotter1978]

This Flashback is a product of the old AtGames. You should see the incredible pinball and game cabinets they produce now. They have a new 4k line now too as well. It's been a sea change in the mindset, creativity and execution over there.

[@pojr]

I've heard good things about the AtGames legends pinball machine and arcade cabinets, haven't tried them. I wish I reflected on these when I made this video

[@sspotter1978]

@@pojr It'll give you a great topic for another video. AtGames Redemption!

[@PhilipMarcYT]

Even if that's true, I'd not trust AtGames nor support them based on their arrogant, shady business, and cheapskate methods. They went through so many Sega Genesis consoles and did a horrible job... Disgraceful.

[@sspotter1978]

@@PhilipMarcYT Admittedly, the Genesis consoles were not up to snuff, but that's the same timeframe roughly. Look at the new Flashback 50 Gold. It's a very solid setup that you can add games to via OTG and the firmware allows you to do this. Like I said, a different company now.

[@bradleydavis6463]

AtGames did not make the Atari Flashback 1 or 2 devices. AFB 3-7 were okay plug-and-play emulation-based units with composite video. The AFB 8 was first to feature HDMI and had some decent RF wireless controllers. AFB 9 also had wireless controllers, hdmi and added an SD card, uses the Stella emulator but paddles did not work correctly. The last 2 iterations, AFB X and AFB 50th Anniversary edition, are very similar but with updated aesthetics. They also use Stella 3.9 and have HDMI, but no more wireless controllers or SD cards. Paddles work, but not wonderfully. The last three or four models especially are generally pretty nice to get your 2600 fix without a lot of fuss.

[@nightwheel]

I was specifically coming here to say this. The first two Atari Flashback consoles were done by Atari with the help of Legacy Engineering. Legacy Engineering even came up with the Atari 2600-on-a-chip used for the Flashback 2/2+. Additionally, the Atari Flashback 2/2+ is intentionally designed to where you can mod in a cartridge slot. You have to provide your own cartridge slot but inside the console. There's a silkscreen diagram of how to wire in the cartridge slot. Also a fun fact, the Atari flashback 2 actually was illegally cloned at one point. In the late 2000s, Kroger was selling some Atari Flashback 2s. Which was a surprise to the person who ran Legacy Engineering. Because Atari never reached out to him to do another run of Atari 2600-on-a-chips at that time. Atari and Legacy Engineering ended up suing Kroger over the sales of illegal clones.

[@SoulforSale]

My only issue with the @tGames products was that there were so many two player titles on the flashbacks that only had one controller

[@pojr]

Yeah that seems kinda backwards 😂

[@metronome8471]

The first 2 flashback consoles were not by @tgames. They were by Legacy Engineering with license from Atari Interactive( Infogrames). R.I.P. Curt.

[@emmettturner9452]

AtGames had nothing to do with the Atari Flashback and Atari Flashback 2, which means they don’t deserve the credit for the only two that were worth anything. AtGames only took over with the Flashback 3, which was the first emulation version. So, yeah: AtGames’ Atari Flashback products were emulation from the very start.

[@thecommercialarchive]

Atgames did not make the first two Atari Flashbacks, the first Atari Flashback they released was the Flashback 3.

[@pyiffer]

It really does make you wonder about Sega and Namco systems…considering the unlicensed emulation consoles were able to emulate genesis games nearly perfectly at the time….and given the age of the Namco arcade games emulation of the arcade games should have been easy. (Never mind the fact that most of them ran on the same hardware in the arcades.)

[@kjetilfrugard8395]

Would be interesting to check out their later products. I have read that they have got their act together the last 3-4 years and the emulation they are using are all around better the reputation suggest. Think they even hired some noteworthy guy from the retro game scene at some point.

[@thomgizziz]

they now sell virtual pinball machines and mame arcades... they are probably the best priced ones out there and quality is more than fitting the price. all you have to do is search for atgames and you can see what they do now.

[@longWriter]

There's some audio lag in the AtGames Legends Ultimate's emulation of Atari arcade titles, but otherwise it's pretty good.

[@pojr]

Agreed. Wouldn't mind checking them out, and I wish I talked more about them in this video

[@ArcadeFreak-gw5rp]

Your right about the plug and plays but people don’t hate them no more, they released amazing products after that. They released legends ultimate, legends pinball, legends pinball mini, legends mini which are all amazing machines

[@8bitrocketstudios]

For all they kind of sucked at and mistakes they made in the past, the At Game Ultimate Arcade is awesome. Probably the bets Mulli-cade for under $500 and easily mudded to play every arcade game imaginable.

[@legendsflashback]

2018 AtGames products were A+ once hacked

[@smallspacearcade8158]

Latest firmware has messed up the BYOG function on the legends....no longer what it was. Best to not update if you haven't already.

[@legendsflashback]

@@smallspacearcade8158 the 2018 legends was the best imo after 1 update

[@diegolastra]

I would love to read from someone working at AtGames. How things work inside, what’s the CEO like and why they make the decisions they make, etc.

[@thomgizziz]

they now sell virtual pinball machines and mame arcades... they are probably the best priced ones out there and quality is more than fitting the price. all you have to do is search for atgames and you can see what they do now.

[@EvangeRei]

I've heard some stuff about their crappy work with Sega plug'n'plays, but somehow I missed that big of a story with Bandai Namco.. thanks for the enlightening!

[@will_it_work]

AtGames didn't make the Flashback 1 or 2. They didn't get involved until Flashback 3.

[@legendsflashback]

Who made 1 7800 and 2 2600?

[@thumpdrum]

Considering the flood of illegal Android boxes coming out of Amazon, and the fact that this story is a few years old already, AtGames has more than made up for this early mistake with their arcade cabinets.

[@MrBluesMessiah]

Exactly. I couldn't believe this video wasn't made in 2018. To completely ignore the past 5 years just seems intentionally dishonest.

[@DidYouReadEULA]

Yep. Love my Legends Pinball machine.

[@pojr]

Yeah if I could do the video again, I would have reflected on their recent achievements

[@kyles8524]

hate to tell you man but its not illegal if the emulator isnt using the same source code as the console,I while back there was a website letting you download all the AAA games and I looked at the DMCA(Digital Management Copyright Act) and they are letting you download the games that arent updated and not the ones being sold on steam etc so for instance if steam is selling a v 1.05 and they have v 1.04 on the site its legal to download...looked around a little more and saw the ROMs and it said its been deemed legal for "testing purposes" as long as the emulator isnt using the same source code.If you look into those companies websites they strictly say they are selling you the work they put into those little boxes and not the roms because it is illegal to download roms and sell them as roms.I know its a gray area but you cant be taken to court over it.its still illegal to download music and movies though lol I looked that up as well

[@Soundtrackspecialist]

AtGames had nothing to do with the Flashback 1, the Flashback 2, the Flashback 2+. There were designed by the legendary (and late) Curt Vendel of Legacy Engineering on the behalf of ATARI Interactive, Inc. in New York City (Curt was NY state based as well). The Flashback 2 went through a few revisions including one that fixed the missing speech in QUADRUN. Both the Flashback 2 and the Flashback 2+ recreate the 2600 via an ASIC specifically designed by Curt Vendel (with assist from others). At Games, Inc. took over with the Flashback 3. Most ATARI collectors stick to the Flashback 2/2+ and even, in a surprising fashion, to the Flashback 1 (despite being a NES on a chip) because of the 7800 inspired case.

[@CommodoreFan64]

I had been working a 2nd part time job for a few years for Dollar General around the time AT@Games released the awful mini Genesis console with the cart port, and wireless IR controllers, and corporate had us trying to push those like crazy over the Christmas season, and we could not keep them in stock, but yep right after Christmas about 80% of what we had sold was returned to my store with pissed off customers, as 1/2 the advertised games on the thing where not even original SEGA Genesis games, but weird no name filler titles made in some Chinese sweatshop with sloppy QC, not mention the other issues, so for that alone AT@Games gets all the hate they deserve along with the whole Namco Pacman, and Ms. Pacman debacle. So I say 🖕'm!!!

[@thetechn1que518]

Great video! I wish you’d included some of the audio from the AtGames Genesis just so people could understand how crazy bad it is. It may actually sound worse than the Sega Smash Pack emulator on Dreamcast.

[@legendsflashback]

2018 AtGames products were A+ once hacked

[@metronome8471]

There may be a sound fix for the genesis emulator @tgames uses. This was easier to use to patch on the portable they made years ago on the sd slot .

[@markianclark9645]

​@@legendsflashback...yes some call it hacking...but it's just adding games to a folder you create on the SD card...ATGames knew what they were allowing the community to do unofficially...play every MegaDrive game in Europe and every Genesis game in north America...mine says MegaDrive but the software is Genesis...if i kept it standard MD i could only play the built in games and the cartridges...instead i have the lot...when the mini came out around the same time...there was no point to buy it...the ATGames does the same and cartridges...i'm fine with the sound

[@legendsflashback]

@@markianclark9645 indeed

[@markianclark9645]

@@legendsflashback i suppose it is hacking..the community had to update the firmware for us by rewriting it to unlock the SD card option which was greyed out if i recall..then we wrote the new firmware to the onboard chip..i can't remember where i downloaded it from..whoever did it i'm grateful..if only i could figure out how to grab Boxart for all the ROMs..that's my weakness with all emulation..

[@Kilroy_5150]

Having bought an AtGame Legends Pinball and Legends Ultimate, I can attest to both arrogance/ignorance of their sales and tech crews. Sending me wrong parts and getting an attitude about it pretty much sealed it for me.

[@pojr]

Doesn't surprise me, but sad to hear. I have heard their new stuff is pretty good though.

[@TheWrightClanX5]

Aah AtGames - the LJN / Blast Entertainment of the mini consoles realm 😅

[@riversarcadereview385]

the catch for GCC royalties for Ms. Pac-Man were written as "Coin Operated" games only

[@Frank-sp7vu]

I actually have the Atari Flashback, and it's actually decent. Finding a 2600 and a compatible TV would be near impossible, so it's nice to see the they were capable of bringing back all those great titles to a home console. In the end though, it is just another cheap novelty toy but was actually fun for $25.

[@juandiegotorres9632]

What are the last two themes that play at the end of every video?

[@Retro6502]

AtGames had nothing to do with the original Atari Flashback and Atari Flashback 2. Those were made by Legacy Engineering. AtGames involvement didn't start until the Flashback 3.

[@pac-kikin]

This company still has the rights to Ms.Pac-Man but they haven't done anything thing with her yet, they might be a fraud.

[@thinkhector]

Namco still owns the publishing rights, and At@ames owns the copyright. So At@ames can't make a penny of their license until Namco decides to publish a Ms.Pac-Man game or toy. And Namco has no intention of ever doing so.

[@nunyabaznus7851]

Namco should get the medal of honor for the most ultimate badass move of any video game company ever, actually re-programming 30 year old games with alternative sprites, just as a "Get Rekt N00b" to AtGames.

[@VOAN]

@@thinkhector So in theory Ms. Pac-Man is now in limbo. Sad indeed.

[@vincenzomottola7778]

Does AtGames also own the rights to Ms. Pac-Man's game design, levels and code? If yes, then Namco couldn't publish Ms Pac-Man with Ms. Pac-Man herself replaced

[@thinkhector]

@@vincenzomottola7778 That's right. Namco could not publish Ms.Pac-Man by just replacing her sprite with Pac-Mac. The code belongs to At@ames.

[@bes03c]

It is always a good day when POJR drops a video. You can rest assured that it will be unique.

[@stonent]

That day is called Wednesday. :)

[@Callum-M.]

*Thursday

[@stonent]

@@Callum-M. Pretty sure it's Wednesday when he releases his stuff..

[@pojr]

I love hearing that, thank you!!

[@donkeyparadise9276]

What's your high score in Ms pacman? I've been practicing that game a lot lately.

[@colinwatt9387]

I imported the Activision Flashback Blast as a present for my sister; it has that exact same genesis type controller and works really well. She was particularly impressed with the rewind feature.

[@pojr]

The controller is alright from what I remember. I believe AtGames did release a module that has the arcade versions too. Mine had the NES ROMs.

[@colinwatt9387]

​@@pojr The D pad felt really good on it; ironhically, I bought a PC compatible Genesis type controller and the D pad is pretty poor.

[@djjava303]

I feel a compulsion to offer some counterpoint- at games did do some things that were really important, including proving the business model that compilation systems can be commercially successful and including a working cartridge port on their genesis(not needed to sell compilation system, but a welcome addition to newcomers to the system). A lot of the mini consoles, no doubt, took lessons from what did and didn’t work from atgames releases. At games also has a pretty incredible product with their legends pinball ecosystem… arguably, besting arcade 1up. I’m not a fanboy, but I think they are a company that at least deserves partial credit for what they’ve done

[@superbros64deluxe]

You didn't mention (or know?) That ATgames is actually a console publisher/developer too. Thier Atari flashback collection (including games from all 3 collections) were released on Vita, ps4, switch.

[@Thenostolgicdude]

They definitely redeemed themselves with the legends ultimate, legends ultimate mini & the legends pinball! I have all 3 and they are beyond fantastic!!!!

[@James-cf2mr]

Hi POJR, Thanks for the video! I had heard of AtGames and their poor sound emulation in the past, so I've always avoided them. Thanks for the summary about Ms. Pacman too, that is so weird about the copyright situation. I know this is off topic, but I was wondering, do you intend to do a video on the Atari 2600+? I really enjoyed some of your videos on Atari compilation games for other consoles, so I was curious if you would do a video on the 2600+. You were the first person that came to my mind when I heard about it a couple weeks ago. Thanks, and keep up the nice work!

[@legendsflashback]

2018 AtGames products were A+ once hacked

[@James-cf2mr]

Good deal, thanks for letting me know! I was unaware that they could be hacked.

[@legendsflashback]

@@James-cf2mr yeah they grade A unhack but gbatemp forum has thread how hack 2018 Legends 50 and 2018 Genesis legends makes them A+

[@pojr]

Hi James. Really glad to hear! I just made a video on the 2600+ today.

[@legendsflashback]

@@pojr indeed great video

[@jbasher94]

AtGames deserved every ounce of hate, think of it this way; with the Arcade machine pitch to Namco, the “suped up” console they gave/sold the YT reviewer, and the Atari Flashback console, they clearly showed that they have talented, skilled devs working for them. This is their two sins in that regard; 1.) They were cheapskates, selling handhelds that didn’t even emulate Genesis/ Mega Deive properly, and I don’t mean 25FPS in some titles, I mean horrible sound emulation, input lag, and many many dropped frames. Plus, with the arcade lie, they didn’t want to put in the budget, or effort into delivering on promises they made. 2.) Since they were cheapskates, they made these otherwise talented devs work on dumping NES roms on a NES on a chip. If they’re willing to lie to customers, and skimp, they most likely micromanaged their team to death, and underpaid them for it. So yes, AtGames, the corporation and its upper brass deserves all the hate they get imo. Decent video, I can tell you just need more experience, specifically in how to making a closing segment, as not to be harsh but that was the weakest point of it, it lasted no longer than a minute, and didn’t end on a conclusive note. Subbed!

[@pfdtx4633]

My problem with AtGames is with the Atari Flashback Gold paddles. Impossible to play Kaboom! as it was on the OG 2600. There has been a recent firmware update, but still has some work left. The paddles have potentiometers so there continues to be an issue the the emulator interpretations.

[@jimcampbell]

I love your videos and watch them regularly. One technical suggestion/question it seems like the mic setup for your intros is either different or maybe you’re processing the audio differently than the rest of the narration? The majority of the video sounds great but the intros have a bit of an unnerving or ASMR thing going on where you hear all the tiny movements of your mouth. I can literally hear you smile. Ha. Maybe a different mic setup could fix that? I’m not a sound technician but I’m guessing there must be an easy solution since the rest of your videos don’t have the same problem as the intros.

[@syntaxerror9994]

Looking at their product evolution up to the Namco Debacle, it sounds like some transition in management control occurred midway. My guess is a new CEO with shady business practices.

[@ivansotelo4622]

At games is the reason why we don't have ms pacman in smash, nor remakes of the 3d games, nor rereleases of her character

[@razielthomas]

I agree that during the Flashback and the Blast mini consoles Atgames was terrible. They've done amazing though with their Legends Ultimate series. I own both the Legends Ultimate Arcade and Pinball cabinets. They give a more realistic arcade feel and are super easy to add new stuff to. Worth checking out if you get a chance.

[@thedrunkmonkshow]

I knew about GCC owning the rights to Ms Pac Man and Pac Jr but I didn't know about the controversy with AtGames or that being a catalyst that reignited the conversation. I wonder if AtGames legitimately has a deal with GCC or if GCC is being held hostage contractually with AtGames? If it's the latter, then couldn't GCC take AtGames to court for fraudulently entering into contract with them under false pretenses? The whole replacement of Ms Pac Man with Pac Mom just doesn't sit well with me and feels weird as hell especially since she's been part of the whole Pac Man lore now for 40 years. It would be like if something happened with Minnie Mouse where Disney replaces her with Lindsey Mouse who wears a checkerboard dress instead of polka-dots lol 😂

[@fudgemonkeyz69]

Alright sure, AtGames was able to make some passable Atari consoles, but to be frank, the Atari 2600 has the processing power of a medieval abacas. Even I could probably replicate it with a few twigs and rubber bands. I might need some glue and a hamster running on a wheel. 💀

[@thebigredsky]

I remember as a kid owning a Sega Genesis plug and play made by At games and loving it, dispite it being garbage with audio issues and a really bad UI.

[@infinitecanadian]

I have a PAP Gameta II Plus, which is a handheld which looks like the PSP. It plays 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit GBA titles as well as arcade titles; it also has audio recording, a camera, a TF-CARD slot, and TV in/out. It even has E-Book support. Okay, okay: it is Chinaware, but it is kinda neat. I have a couple complaints about it, however, the first being that the buttons are too closely placed and are kinda loose. The second is that some of the games (like Golden Sun, which I really like) run slow. Still, it has everything but the kitchen sink and is kinda neat. I also have a ZX Spectrum Vega, which isn't that great because it doesn't have a full keyboard, but the games are fun.

[@rolenta24]

AtGames had nothing to do with the first two Flashbacks. They started with Atari Flashback 3.

[@john2001plus]

I still have my 10-game plug-and-play from over 20 years ago. The Pole Position is very good.

[@boredstudent]

I remember seeing those Sega Genesis flashback consoles at either CVS or Walgreens. They never interested me.

[@ravensmadhouse75]

Thanks POJR. AtGames is capable of making good products, but that one little screw-up with the Namco handheld forever tarnished their reputation. Had I been the judge is the case of Namco vs. GCC, I would have given Namco complete rights to Ms. PAC-MAN and told GCC to go screw themselves.

[@DE-GEN-ART]

to be fair, genesis emulation is hard to get the sound right, you would need to do a little more than slaping an open source emulator on a single board computer,

[@patg108]

They're a mixed reputation, their Intellivision, colecovision and numbered Atari flashbacks are good bang for the buck. Their smaller ones in controllers/joysticks are the shadier ones. So its hate is more towards the modern and cheaper stuff. They don't contain every game but the flashbacks can probably be modded to contain the entire library (especially ones with the sd cards slots) And as far as originals, you can get a better picture by avoiding the original manual AV switches and going with a adapter from RCA Jack to a Coaxial adapter (physically the same as a composite or component but). Especially on a CRT tv (not certain how well that'd work on hdtvs though but many still contain coax as a option, hard to find one that doesn't). Technically any console that ever had a RF box option can do that (but most support better options even without modding like composite). Combine that with a Coax A-B box (preferably one that can do multiple inputs or a multi in coax splitter and you've got a good cheap setup for the pre-nes generation.

[@patg108]

and that blast plug n play has different versions that look identical some are actually the arcade version. If they had advertised the nes version instead of just having arcade games it wouldn't be a issue.

[@lessons9745]

I'm getting the Atari flashback 50th Gold for Christmas. I hope it's good after I do the firmware update for the paddles

[@JeremyLeePotocki]

There were several other plug and plays AtGames made that were positive to a degree those were the Colecovision & Intellivision Flashbacks while they were not perfect on some games (a couple of games did not play at correct speeds) they did contain some very popular commercial homebrews that made them a great deal. However even though they sold well they never followed up with any new of them nor made anymore then that initial run.

[@pojr]

I didn't talk about the intellivision or colecovision ones because I haven't played them, but I've always been curious about them. Might be a cool video to do.

[@JeremyLeePotocki]

@@pojr If you do try to get either them make sure you get the Dollar General exclusive versions they got the bonus games.

[@Tamarocker88]

This was a very shallow representation of AtGames. They have released MANY more products and there have been many more controversies, examples of misleading advertising, corner cutting, poor performance, and solid products alike. Their issues with securing licensing continue to this day. Take a look at their AtGames Legends quarterly announcement videos... Comments are turned off because they hate receiving honest criticism about their cheap and often times crappy decisions and products. And that's coming from someone who loves one of their little SMS/GameGear handhelds as well as a modified AtGames Legends Pinball machine.

[@leonarddurecki5988]

I bought an AT Games Genesis which I was looking forward to playing and as soon as I started Sonic I knew something was very wrong, I never bought another AT Games product.

[@TheTurnipKing]

emulation wasn't massively practical at the time of the first Flashback. Nes on a Chip hardware on the other was cheap as hell, but hard to get licenced software for. However, the 2600 and NES are a good compromise because the architecture is based around a very similar CPU, so porting licenced atari games was fairly practical. Most of the code didn't really need to be changed, it just needed to be adapted where the hardware was different. Reverse engineering the Atari's TIA for the later iterations probably wasn't difficult once they'd proven themselves to the rights holder with the first.

[@ShanetheFreestyler]

I find the court cases around Ms. Pac-Man pretty interesting. Like, how can courts not award BNEI the rights to their own product? I know Namco didn't create Ms. Pac-Man, but it's obviously based off their property, created off their license of Pac-Man to Midway who then sub-licensed to GCC. From how I understand it, by all accounts, BNEI should own Ms. Pac-Man outright! Then again, the courts who decided BNEI doesn't own their own characters are the same ones who decided SEGA doesn't own their own characters and allow one man to destroy an entire series! (Two if you count Sonic Chronicles!)

[@bigbabatunde1218]

US courts have history making unbelievable decisions on some cases. Just look at the Fighters History rip off of Street Fighter 2 case and how EA reverse engineered the Mega Drive to cut Sega out of cart production for games to be released on their own system. Two cases where the courts favoured the copyright infringing wrong doers. The US court system is an unregulated mystery.

[@Solidier1]

Despite using roms of Nes games, I actually have no problem with them. I was gladly I gotten to play Pacman even though it was a Nintendo version and not the Arcade version.

[@legendsflashback]

2018 AtGames products were A+ once hacked

[@johncamp8520]

I have the later version of the Megadrive (Genesis) flashback, the one with the SD card slot. So I can still use original cartridges and now I can add tons of games via SD card too. For £80 I think it's pretty good.

[@pojr]

Good point, I should have mentioned this in the video. Plus you could play carts on it, unlike the genesis mini.

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

How the Hel did AtGames wind up winning royalties from Ms. Pacman?!? I don't know copyright laws well but AtGames didn't even exist when Ms. Pacman was made.

[@jamesbevan4479]

I remember the first (and only) time I bought an AtGames console, in 2009/2010 it was one of the megadrive knockoffs that supported cartridges. It had sega on the box, so I thought yeah why not... Oh the regret. Pre loaded games didn't run properly, the music for sonic and knuckles was off, half my cartridges wouldn't load properly. It was a harsh lesson in doing research before buying.

[@jeenkzk5919]

This explains why I can’t find Miss Pac-Man on the switch or any other current gaming consoles for that matter. This means that we might not have versions of it for sometime. That’s an absolute shame. I guess emulation is about the only way we can have it through Mame. i’ve also been playing junior Pac-Man, which I argue is the best Pac-Man game. Ms. Pac-Man is superior to the original Pac-Man, but I will die on that hill that Junior Pac-Man is the best.

[@SuperMaryu767]

I got the atgames Sega genesis as a birthday gift and I was surprised to see it having 50 sega genesis games with 2 player function. however the 2 player function not only didn’t work, it got confused with the 2 wireless signals which resulted with one or the other player moving and doing actions which were not pressed. The audio was bad and the graphics visually glitches in some games like comix zone. I was bummed that the 2 player function was nearly not useable and plugging in actual Sega genesis Controllers don’t work.

[@zimtage1744]

I love atgames. You can mod almost every device they make

[@jfroco]

I purchased the 'AtGames Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player' several years ago. After installing the Neto Boot Loader, it transformed into a decent Sega Genesis handheld. Nowadays, there are certainly better alternatives available, of course.

[@TheCoopsCorner]

AtGames is like the predecessor to DotEmu. They get the rights to a lot of stuff, and then butcher it. DotEmu got some great licensing deals over the years, but constantly released it all with subpar emulation (SNK and Irem collections really showed this, as did the Raiden Legacy collection). And worse still, when the issues were pointed out by those who bought their products, DotEmu would only release one or two patches that fixed nothing with the emulation, and then abandon the project. Raiden Legacy had four different releases, and none of then ran right. AtGames was the same way, but worse. They'd just abandon one product and then make a followup that you had to pay full price for again... and again... and again. They released updated consoles so quickly, that there were times you could find multiple versions of the same retro collection on store shelves (I remember seeing three different Atari Flashbacks being sold on Walmart shelves more than once, and two different Genesis collection systems). So yeah, AtGames deserves the hate it gets when it comes to the quality of their stuff. 90% of their output is garbage, and the 10% that isn't is only because the games are so old, that it's hard to screw up the emulation (though they sure tried at times).

[@RandellVandergriff]

I love their arcade machine.

[@jimcampbell]

One unintended side note: the controllers on (some of?) the Atari flashback consoles work on vintage Atari, and considering the old Atari 2600 controllers are notorious for being glitchy and wearing out, you can get pretty good replacement controllers by buying a used flashback online. That’s what I did. Ha.

[@vincenzomottola7778]

If you don't know, the Atari Flashbacks from AtGames, like the Genesis Classic Game Console, had incorrect sound emulation, which would be fixed on the newer Atari Flashbacks. But I wonder if anyone didn't mind the Atari Flashback's sound emulation issues, unlike the Genesis Classic Game Console from AtGames?

[@JaxTheEpic]

Pingas

[@turbinegraphics16]

I find it real odd how you summarize the video at the end, we just watched it so why do we need that. I did buy an At games sega and it was crap, being officially licensed I thought there would be some quality control.

[@xargos]

Somehow I wasn't aware of what AtGames did with Ms Pac-Man. I already couldn't stand them, but that makes things even worse. As far as why they did better with the Atari 2600, I'd say it's probably because it's a much simpler system than the Genesis or arcade machines. If I'm not mistaken the original Flashback, something they didn't even make, is the only one that even attempted 7800 games so I'd say the 2600 is their limit.

[@welovemrp00]

I didn't know about the flashback 2. I think I might pick one of those up

[@TheAtariSan]

If i remember right, the flashback 2 was $180 in Canada, too expensive back in summer 2008.

[@Metal-Josh]

I think AtGames aren’t bad products. More like, pour business decisions. Our house has 3 devices. As I said in my other comment, the revised HDMI Genesis flashback. The last genesis handheld (with the Neto Bootloader makes this device better), I know I have a thing for the Genesis. And we have a Atari Blast device, it doesn’t get much play, but it does what it sets out to do I’m curious about their arcade hardware. I heard the quality is decent, high price tags though

[@glennshoemake4200]

NAMCO MUSEUM 1 and 2 features NES versions of the games but the games are still fun to play.

[@VOAN]

The thing is they are not misleading compare to the Blast product.

[@brothersly8294]

Thanks POJR.. getting a kick out of watching you videos... someone my sons age take on retro games. On his birthday we play a game that was Released at the age I was at the time. cool thing for Retro Dads to do with their kids

[@adamgenard3188]

Wow that's a fantastic idea to help foster a common passion with your son. More dads should be like this. Props to you my man. ...Sadly for me it would only be a cool thing until my wife rolls her eyes at me for "living in the past" again and my son becoming bored out of his mind within minutes lol

[@pojr]

Really glad to hear, thank you!!

[@waynerowlinson6177]

I have most of the TV Plug N Play games, as well as most of the AtGames Atari Flashback consoles up to (I think) the Flashback 8. I also have 2 different AtGames Sega units. The Blast plug n play units were on sale a few years back for 6 dollars at Walmart and I picked up all of the ones they had at the time (7, I think). Anyways, what I'm saying is I have a lot of AtGames products, and can say that for the most part, the Atari Flashback consoles from 2 up seem to be decent and are a lot of fun. I also have fun with some of the old TV Plug N Play units. The Sega units really were awful sounding. I can't speak for the Blast units as I never even opened them. I ordered them and THEN watched some reviews. Better to keep them in the packaging.

[@BeefJerkey]

I have the Atari Flashback 5. Controllers didn't hold up well. Games ran mostly fine but a couple had slowdown problems. The unreleased prototypes and fan-made games included were definitely interesting. Now? It doesn't work at all. Now, that might be because someone plugged the wrong power supply into it, but I don't know if that actually happened or not. The console really does seem cheaply made, though, maybe it just died for no reason. I'm thinking of getting an original 2600.

[@BusyAir]

I've got their Legends Pinball cabinet and it's pretty impressive for what it is. The stuff you're talking about here is old news.

[@MattyIcecubes]

Hear me out here, At Games' Legends Pinball is an awesome video pinball arcade; but it'll set you back the better part of $1000. But that's all they make that's actually good.

[@nicocucsi]

I had the first genesis AtGames console you've shown here, and it sat on fire with one particular cartdridge...

[@SaanMigwell]

I think you might be confused about what emulation is. Atariflashback 1 is a perfect example of an emulator. It emulates the atari on a NES SOC. The emulation in that console was terrible, but it was emulation. Same deal is happening when you play the switchonline retro releases. Your switch is emulating the hardware of the NES via coding. This is actually how we determine a machine is touring complete. Can it pretend to be another machine? Yes, or no? If it can it's complete, if it can't it's not.

[@BigAl2k6]

I came across your channel some time ago and i gotta say you keep knocking it out of the park. You are criminally underrated, and every video you make ends up being fascinating and entertaining. Keep it up!

[@thomgizziz]

Is he? He is making a claim that atgames is hated but even in the comments you can see that isn't true. He click baited you and then tried to convince you to believe a reality that he was creating... you are pretty daft if you think what amounts to propaganda to get clout and money is a good thing.

[@welliben]

The Flashback 2 wasn't designed by AT Games (manufactured perhaps, but the design was from Legacy Engineering iirc), which probably explains why it is the best Flashback and the rest are mainly steaming garbage.

[@ShinGoukiSan]

The Flashback 2 can also have a Cartridge Slot soldered in.

[@michaelkeudel8770]

I was happy with my Ultimate until a few days ago, the 5.70 firmware update borked about 90% of my BYOG games, pissed.

[@PhilipMarcYT]

Can't you downgrade? PlayStation consoles tend to work better on lower firmwares for more "access." 😅

[@michaelkeudel8770]

@@PhilipMarcYT they don't provide access to the firmware, it's OTA/Online only. Without the 5.68 firmware, there isn't a damn thing anyone can do.

[@cooltaylor1015]

I don't care what anybody says, the AtGames Sega Genesis mini was a good buy. I had a stack of Sega games and no way to play them for years. Never could find a Genesis to buy locally, and had no way to purchase online. Then the AtGames Genesis showed up in Dollar General, and I was able to play! I was also able to use my old controllers. The sound was horrible,yes. But until I was able to finally get an ebay account and buy a real Genesis, it was my only way to play dozens of games I already owned. The built in controllers are trash tho. Nearly as bad as the sound. I've also heard good things about certain Atari Flashbacks, but I have no personal experience. An Atari group I'm in on Facebook swears by them. Modded though.

[@Lightblue2222]

You state that AtGames utilized emulation on their later Genesis model because they couldn't handle hardware. ? To correct you the original AtGames Genesis is also emulation. It's an old emulator called Firecore. Known for its bad sound. Their later Genesis system used better sound emulation. But they've always been using emulators, never hardware. From what I've known. Thx. But please correct me if I'm wrong!

[@Steam_D-5-1]

I used to own an At-games Sega Genesis for Christmas.

[@Metal-Josh]

I need to address this. We know the chips or emulation weren’t good on the AtGames Genesis consoles. However, I still need to say this. In 2018 (probably when the Sega’s own Genesis Mini was in development) AtGames revised their HDMI flashback. THIS WAS THE ONE YOU NEEDED! Fixed the emulation, I’ve even heard it’s on par with the Genesis Mini, PLUS 2 wireless 6 button controllers. Best part!, SD card slot for Roms!!! Every official Genesis game rom works and most unofficial games too

[@bigbabatunde1218]

That's the mythical one that no one can get a hold of now, so everyone else just has to take the word of those who do have it as being better. Probably is though as the frame rate issues on their first HD model made some games, including Sonic 1 and 2 unplayable due to the levels of on screen jerkiness, a jerkiness that wasn't even there on the older wired controller models. Plenty of other games did play well on the original HD release though such as Kid Chameleon, Eswat and Baku Baku Animal.

[@Metal-Josh]

@@bigbabatunde1218the revised one, the one I have, the sd card feature was also implemented for software updates, though was only the one for enabling accessing the Roms. Wouldn’t play them until that update. I noticed a slight lag in sound, by like a couple frames, maybe even less. But I do noticed when playing Sonic. You’ll pick up a ring THEN you hear the “chime” is slightly delayed. This is FAR from being a problem. And I am aware at how small the window was to get the console in the first place. I got mine as the Sega model was out.

[@bigbabatunde1218]

@@Metal-Josh Some units pop up on eBay but deemed to be too risky buying that way as there's a whole bunch of the previous HD models out there and some sellers may have the updated version's photo up when it's not that model they're selling. Be very hard to argue that it's not what was purchased when the two models are almost identical in small uploaded snaps and descriptions. Maybe one day I'll pursue it but as of now I have a load of other retro gear to get through.

[@Earths1stgamer]

The AtGames Genesis model 1 ok its got a Rom cap and it wont play everything but most games do work and the controllers work fine so is it junk or for what you pay is it up to expectation ? i think people got there moneys worth i know i feel at 80? dollars theres something thats going to be sub par im a realist 😂

[@jarmelatodyssechutminds126]

Whenever I think about atgames as a company. I think of the Sega ones specially the crappier ones. Very unforgiving.

[@CrashFan03]

i believe the main reason atgames never fixed the genesis sound is because the hardware they used wasn't actually made by them. i believe the hardware is some form of genesis on a chip hardware used in bootleg clone consoles that atgames bought up a surplus of and packaged them in varying shapes and forms. and it's impossible to tweak the sound manually because the chip is covered by epoxy

[@metronome8471]

Tectoy seemed to use the same tech.

[@CrashFan03]

@@metronome8471 definitely

[@CrashFan03]

@@metronome8471 i presume the tech is extremely cheap (hence why bootleggers use it)

[@amitzdullnicker2k]

Thank you for the interesting video! 👍🏻

[@TheHangarHobbit]

Say what you want about atgames but I picked up an atgames Atari Flashback a couple years ago at a Dollar General for $25, and for playing games like Jungle Hunt and Haunted House? It works fine. The only complaints I might have is the Space Invaders was the NES not 2600 but it plays fine and it was RCA only but I was fine with that for such a cheap price.

[@Thehauntedbubos-so3zo]

Just wanting to say that the Atari blast that wasn't mentioned in the video has the same audio problem as the genesis ones

[@Thehauntedbubos-so3zo]

By the way i grew up with those genesis stuff and ended up liking the bad sound as it didn't bother me in the first place

[@SauceTheSecond]

​@@Thehauntedbubos-so3zosame. You could get ones with wired consoles and I don't actually mind it

[@bigevil66623]

If I may post an overall critique, your conclusion leaves a lot to be desired. I feel like you could have gone into a lot more detail in your explanation with your opinion with the facts that are there. Otherwise, I did find this video very informative with one tiny detail missing from the AtGames Sega (gen 2 and beyond) machines. They do run with a regular Sega Controller (from the original Sega Genesis). It's nothing to get burned about as I think that could have easily been missed or chopped in editing. I personally ended up using that because their wireless controllers were complete garbage.

[@KrGsMrNKusinagi0]

I loved the flashback consoles but just for my CRT TV it was a great way to play them.. I kinda avoided the genesis ones.. I dont think it was so misleading i just assumed they were some version of the game..

[@StarRightStarTight]

Cool video essay. I always wanted to hear more about AtGames -much appreciated!

[@bigbabatunde1218]

There's more to AtGames than this information.

[@StarRightStarTight]

@@bigbabatunde1218 😱😱😱 can’t wait!!!

[@bigbabatunde1218]

@@StarRightStarTight There's the AtGames handheld Mega Drive that got good reviews online despite it being the same hardware as the Firecore plug and plays of theirs that the internet was whining about. 'Bad sound' didn't seem to bother the hypocritical brigade when it came to that product as it had an SD card slot for truly unlimited theft by side loading of ROMs. AtGames did a little Master Gear handheld that contained 30 8 bit Master System and Game Gear games also. That was pretty niche and interesting. They currently have an affordable 100 game Legends Flashback plug and play that's still around in various models that few people talk about as people seem to focus these days on their higher end products.

[@stickboybob]

I have no love for at games but if you see the handheld portable sega genesis pick it up. I didnt see it in this video but its actually awesome. Good screen, great battery life and theres an sd slot with no protections whatsoever so it takes like 15 seconds of effort to add more games to it. I take it on flights with me.

[@TheRealJPhillips]

There was a revision of the Sega mini from atgames that was actually great. Ppl don't speak on it tho