46 years after it first arrived on the market, Atari are releasing a new, slightly smaller version of the classic console, and the great news – you can dig out your old cartidges and play those classic games.
The legacy game publisher announced Tuesday it had worked with European game developer PLAION to create the Atari 2600+. The $130 recreation is slightly smaller than what debuted in 1977, but it resembles the old console down to the “Power,” “TV Type,” “Game Select,” and “Game Reset” toggles.
Better yet, it can actually play old Atari 2600 game cartridges as well as later games released on the 7800, but you won’t have to jump through any hoops to get the console to support a modern TV. The console comes with HDMI output and a widescreen mode that should make it seamless to hook up to any modern screen. The device is up for preorder and is set to launch on November 17th.
There are a few other modernizations, including a USB power outlet and a choice for multiple screen resolutions. It comes with a single CX40+ joystick controller and a single game cartridge. The cartridge itself contains 10 games, including early classics like Adventure, Combat, Yars Revenge, and Missile Command. The system is packing hardware that might seem relatively old now but is miles beyond what was possible pre-1980.
Don’t be surprised if Fantha Trackers are all over this, digging out their classic cartridges and having a blast. Anyone for Frogger?