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Any update on the Flashback 2.0?


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What I've heard so far and believe to be true (everything here was discussed on this board, mostly by Curt Vendel, subject to my paraphrasing errors -- no time to look up the links)

 

1. real 2600 compatible hardware ("runs all 2600 compatible games")

2. compatible controller ports ("if you need a paddle, just plug in a paddle")

3. space on the motherboard for adding your own cartridge port ("a familiar footprint for those with soldering irons")

4. coming sometime this year, replacing the Flashback I at retail

5. other Flashback products are in the pipeline

6. homebrew titles are actively being solicited

 

Don't take anything I say as truth, though. I'm just some geek on the board who is interested in seeing this thing done right.

 

P.S. I saw a TON of Flashback consoles at Best Buy the other day. I wonder if they'll blow 'em out for $4.99 each sometime soon?

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Okay, here some more "inside info"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The console is not Flashback II

 

 

 

 

 

Its: Flashback 2.0

 

 

 

 

Whoa... phew, glad to get that off my chest

 

 

 

 

 

;-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously though, I think I've spilled enough beans to give everyone a good idea of what to expect without my main legal contact screaming through the phone at me from Atari :-)

 

 

 

Curt

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What I've heard so far and believe to be true (everything here was discussed on this board, mostly by Curt Vendel, subject to my paraphrasing errors -- no time to look up the links)

 

1. real 2600 compatible hardware ("runs all 2600 compatible games")

2. compatible controller ports ("if you need a paddle, just plug in a paddle")

3. space on the motherboard for adding your own cartridge port ("a familiar footprint for those with soldering irons")

 

836443[/snapback]

 

Why not just sell it with a cartridge port? That would be great, it'd be like the Atari Jr. all over again. Then they could even brag about it being the only system sold in four decades. I can't use a soldering gun :sad: , but then again I already own an Atari, so why do I even care :? .

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Because they don't want to deal with support requests from people trying to plug in 20-year-old roached cartridges they didn't make.

837316[/snapback]

 

Oh come on, you know very well it's the Orkin man that's supposed to supply the tech support on those particular... ummm... special edition cartridges...

 

"Hi, this is Brad. I plugged in an old Atari game I found at the flea market into the Flashback and roaches fell out of the cartridge.

 

--I'm sorry sir, tech support for those games has been outsourced to the Orkin man. Please call them for further assistance."

 

and... ick ick ick. It gives me the willies just thinking about roaches, dead or alive, pouring out of a cartridge. Especially if it's say Video Life... lol Now, Pac Man, I'd just hose down with Wasp Raid from 20 feet then use a grabber and soak it in scalding soapy water for a few days and send it in for cartridge credit, lmao

Edited by Elthesh
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Then all the weenies out there will be whining: "Where can I get new cartridges?"

 

Now if it did have a cart slot, and came with one of those stickers that are on sealed software packages that say something like" Opening this seal means that you agree that you won't whine about cartridges, and if you want them, you have to go to eBay, swap meets, Thrift stores, yard sales, and ATARIAGE.COM for any cartridges. We won't garantee the availability of cartridges, and we won't supply them and your warranty is void if you stick anything in the cartridge port, so there"

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All I can say is thank God they are using real atari/compatible hardware in the thing. As far as I was concerned the Flashback 1.0 was the anti-christ of Atari with it's "NES-on-a-chip" inside. Pure sacrelig to me. I wouldn't even buy one for $4.99. I wouldn't except one for FREE! But, if the 2.0 is as stated above, then maybe they (Atari)have a chance to redeem themselves at least in my eyes... :roll: we'll see.

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How about an "expansion port"?

 

This expansion port could be covered up and have a plastic protector over it with a label like "Do not remove". Then, simply don't document that this "expansion port" is a cartridge port.

 

Anyone who is an old school afficianado who wants a cartridge port will find it almost immediately. Anyone else will be in the dark.

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Well..from what Curt has told us.

 

The board on the FB2.0 will have the cart port location silkscreened on the main boards...but the connector itself won't physically be attached.

 

Given that, it makes me believe that to even attach the cart port, one would have to remove the main board from the FB2.0 and possibly have to keep it out as it most likely wouldn't fit inside the normal FB2.0 case with a cart port added to it.

 

I have seen the thing, but I don't know anything more than you guys do already about it. But from what I have seen, I am fairly certain the Cart port has to be soldered onto the main board, and even then, I don't know that the main board will still fit or allow access to the cart port once back in the FB2.0 casing.

 

Aside from this speculation, I know that currently, the FB2.0 will get is first real public appearance at the 2005 OVGE in June! Sorry, have to promote the show you know?

:cool:

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How about an "expansion port"?

 

This expansion port could be covered up and have a plastic protector over it with a label like "Do not remove".  Then, simply don't document that this "expansion port" is a cartridge port.

 

Anyone who is an old school afficianado who wants a cartridge port will find it almost immediately.  Anyone else will be in the dark.

839220[/snapback]

 

I think this is a cool idea! I guess whether or not it's actually a good idea remains to be seen, but I don't see why it wouldn't be. Just my two cents.

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There's little point in installing a cartridge connector and then trying to pretend it isn't there. It costs money to install, so if Infogrames doesn't want more than a few hundred people to know about it then they have no reason to spend money on it.

 

Even if they did try this, it wouldn't work. It wouldn't take much imagination for people to realize what the connector might be for. Word would get around pretty quickly.

 

However, I think it would be pretty cool if they included the connector and proudly advertised it. Not being limited to the built-in titles would carry a lot of appeal. I bet a sizeable number of people have old Atari games they'd like to play again. They would take interest in a small modern A/V equipped console to play those old cartridges with. I imagine most people don't feel like messing with their old VCS units, if they still have them, because either they've misplaced some pieces or they can't hook it up. But their willingness to buy retro units shows they are indeed interested in having a way to play those old games.

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There's little point in installing a cartridge connector and then trying to pretend it isn't there.  It costs money to install, so if Infogrames doesn't want more than a few hundred people to know about it then they have no reason to spend money on it.

 

Even if they did try this, it wouldn't work.  It wouldn't take much imagination for people to realize what the connector might be for.  Word would get around pretty quickly.

 

However, I think it would be pretty cool if they included the connector and proudly advertised it.  Not being limited to the built-in titles would carry a lot of appeal.  I bet a sizeable number of people have old Atari games they'd like to play again.  They would take interest in a small modern A/V equipped console to play those old cartridges with.  I imagine most people don't feel like messing with their old VCS units, if they still have them, because either they've misplaced some pieces or they can't hook it up.  But their willingness to buy retro units shows they are indeed interested in having a way to play those old games.

842890[/snapback]

I agree that it would be cool, but it's not going to happen. Why would Infogrames be interested in supporting old cartridges? They don't make any money from their sales, and the cartridges' 20+ year age guarantees there would be some reliability issues. The modern Atari would be deluged with tech support calls and product returns through no fault of their own.

 

The closed system model gives them complete control over the software included. That's the way they like it.

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Well..from what Curt has told us.

 

The board on the FB2.0 will have the cart port location silkscreened on the main boards...but the connector itself won't physically be attached.

 

Given that, it makes me believe that to even attach the cart port, one would have to remove the main board from the FB2.0 and possibly have to keep it out as it most likely wouldn't fit inside the normal FB2.0 case with a cart port added to it.

 

I have seen the thing, but I don't know anything more than you guys do already about it. But from what I have seen, I am fairly certain the Cart port has to be soldered onto the main board, and even then, I don't know that the main board will still fit or allow access to the cart port once back in the FB2.0 casing.

 

Aside from this speculation, I know that currently, the FB2.0 will get is first real public appearance at the 2005 OVGE in June! Sorry, have to promote the show you know?

:cool:

839254[/snapback]

 

 

Great, now I hafta take leave and go to this thing, instead of the one in August. :D

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There's little point in installing a cartridge connector and then trying to pretend it isn't there.  It costs money to install, so if Infogrames doesn't want more than a few hundred people to know about it then they have no reason to spend money on it.

 

Even if they did try this, it wouldn't work.  It wouldn't take much imagination for people to realize what the connector might be for.  Word would get around pretty quickly.

 

However, I think it would be pretty cool if they included the connector and proudly advertised it.  Not being limited to the built-in titles would carry a lot of appeal.  I bet a sizeable number of people have old Atari games they'd like to play again.  They would take interest in a small modern A/V equipped console to play those old cartridges with.  I imagine most people don't feel like messing with their old VCS units, if they still have them, because either they've misplaced some pieces or they can't hook it up.  But their willingness to buy retro units shows they are indeed interested in having a way to play those old games.

842890[/snapback]

I agree that it would be cool, but it's not going to happen. Why would Infogrames be interested in supporting old cartridges? They don't make any money from their sales, and the cartridges' 20+ year age guarantees there would be some reliability issues. The modern Atari would be deluged with tech support calls and product returns through no fault of their own.

 

The closed system model gives them complete control over the software included. That's the way they like it.

842905[/snapback]

 

 

Then again, they could release 10-20 game multicarts every year at christmas time. That's fewer games to support. I could see Atari doing something like that.

 

The multi carts would be cheap to produce and easy to support. If I were running their marketing group, That's what I'd consider. I have come across many people out there that are nostalgic about their atari's. Last month, I ran across a 50-60 yr old woman who just bought a 2600 and muilticart on eBay to satisfy her nostalgic urge. For every one like her there must be hundreds more that would buy one in a store if it were available to them. A multicart would easily fetch $20-30 each at a much lower unit cost than the entire console. The multi's would also fuel console sales, natch.

 

As for the support calls, they could simply supply a placard stating that the vintage carts are not supported. Then on the tech-support line, the menu would have a statement regarding there is no free support for solving vintage cartidge issues. If you want to use em, and have issues with them you have to "pay" for support. That would be more than fair. That may even finance the free support for the rest of the users.

 

If Atari handled this all right, it would lay the ground work for their comeback in the console business as a console maker.

 

Oh, If I were their marketing VP, I also change the Logo back to original. The new one reminds me of bell bottom jeans...cringe!!!!! :x

 

 

Atari, Are you listening?

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Then again, they could release 10-20 game multicarts every year at christmas time.  That's fewer games to support.  I could see Atari doing something like that. 

 

The multi carts would be cheap to produce and easy to support.  If I were running their marketing group, That's what I'd consider.  I have come across many people out there that are nostalgic about their atari's.  Last month, I ran across a 50-60 yr old woman who just bought a 2600 and muilticart on eBay to satisfy her nostalgic urge.  For every one like her there must be hundreds more that would buy one in a store if it were available to them. A multicart would easily fetch $20-30 each at a much lower unit cost than the entire console.  The multi's would also fuel console sales, natch.

 

As for the support calls, they could simply supply a placard stating that the vintage carts are not supported.  Then on the tech-support line, the menu would have a statement regarding there is no free support for solving vintage cartidge issues.  If you want to use em, and have issues with them you have to "pay" for support.  That would be more than fair.  That may even finance the free support for the rest of the users.

 

If Atari handled this all right, it would lay the ground work for their comeback in the console business as a console maker.

 

Oh, If I were their marketing VP, I also change the Logo back to original.  The new one reminds me of bell bottom jeans...cringe!!!!! :x

 

 

Atari, Are you listening?

842953[/snapback]

 

You know, I can totally see many of the same arguments being made in some boardroom back in the late '70s around the time of the gradual move away from dedicated consoles. :-)

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Well..from what Curt has told us.

 

The board on the FB2.0 will have the cart port location silkscreened on the main boards...but the connector itself won't physically be attached.

 

Given that, it makes me believe that to even attach the cart port, one would have to remove the main board from the FB2.0 and possibly have to keep it out as it most likely wouldn't fit inside the normal FB2.0 case with a cart port added to it.

 

I have seen the thing, but I don't know anything more than you guys do already about it. But from what I have seen, I am fairly certain the Cart port has to be soldered onto the main board, and even then, I don't know that the main board will still fit or allow access to the cart port once back in the FB2.0 casing.

 

Aside from this speculation, I know that currently, the FB2.0 will get is first real public appearance at the 2005 OVGE in June! Sorry, have to promote the show you know?

:cool:

839254[/snapback]

 

 

Great, now I hafta take leave and go to this thing, instead of the one in August. :D

842922[/snapback]

 

 

Hope to see you there. :)

 

-S

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Well..from what Curt has told us.

 

The board on the FB2.0 will have the cart port location silkscreened on the main boards...but the connector itself won't physically be attached.

 

Given that, it makes me believe that to even attach the cart port, one would have to remove the main board from the FB2.0 and possibly have to keep it out as it most likely wouldn't fit inside the normal FB2.0 case with a cart port added to it.

 

I have seen the thing, but I don't know anything more than you guys do already about it. But from what I have seen, I am fairly certain the Cart port has to be soldered onto the main board, and even then, I don't know that the main board will still fit or allow access to the cart port once back in the FB2.0 casing.

 

Aside from this speculation, I know that currently, the FB2.0 will get is first real public appearance at the 2005 OVGE in June! Sorry, have to promote the show you know?

:cool:

839254[/snapback]

 

 

Great, now I hafta take leave and go to this thing, instead of the one in August. :D

842922[/snapback]

 

 

Hope to see you there. :)

 

-S

843568[/snapback]

 

Can't miss me. I'm the one that looks like a teenager with the "Say hello to my little friend, Megaman" shirt on, and a Dale Earnhardt Jr hat on.

 

Yeah, if they installed the cart, word will get out pretty quickly that the cartridge slot exists, then people will try all their old carts. If they do this, and word does get out, I think they should make the connector as high quality as they can, so people won't complain if their cartridge works or not. Things like, install a tiny metal edge (or make the pins pointed), so it cuts through the dirt that was on the cart for so many years, then it'll make the connection and work. Also, use metal that doesn't oxidize.

Edited by keilbaca
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There is no reason to include a port. The above is absolutely correct regarding what would give them less skeletons to deal with...and the solution of just including the capability on the board is sufficent. Many people are handy with a soldering iron...and any modification of their product would remove any liability to them.

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There is no reason to include a port.  The above is absolutely correct regarding what would give them less skeletons to deal with...and the solution of just including the capability on the board is sufficent.  Many people are handy with a soldering iron...and any modification of their product would remove any liability to them.

844055[/snapback]

 

Edge connectors are cheap .. .. but finding the best way to mount it to accept the force of plugging in / removing carts will be the challenge of modifying the unit. And what about those pins to open up the cart doors? Just have to wait and see.

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

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