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AtGames Fall 2017 Flashback and Portable Lineup


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Could you recommend a site to preorder the Activision Gold Flashback? Why didn't all the "golden" editions have the Activision games on them? They've already paid for the licenses so might as well push them out. Far too many SKUs creating customer confusion even among seasoned retrogamers...

I have been unable to find any site other than AtGames to order it, and of course, it has yet to say "in stock"- not to mention you'd be paying the full $80 to get it from them directly.

 

Only the "normal" Gold edition is up for pre-order on sites like Target, Best Buy, Amazon, GameStop, etc. Bed, Bath & Beyond- who typically has a healthy stock of these in stores at a discount price (plus offers regular coupons)- only is listing online the standard def Flashback 8, and Target is stocking it in-store plus the new Portable as well.

 

I agree 100% that there is some inherent confusion to this year's lineup. I am, for the most part, very happy that AtGames is clearly putting more effort into their product line this year, however, I'm also frustrated because of the varying game lineups and controllers for the different consoles.

 

Here's why I am frustrated: 1) I don't yet have a working classic Atari wired controller, which the standard def FB8 happens to have a pair of. 2) I don't yet have paddles, which are $30 apiece and out of stock at AtGames- this is the biggest incentive to go with the "Gold Deluxe" (non-Activision version), which AtGames lists at $100- when you break it down that's a decent deal, however... 3) The Activision edition is arguably the best console offered, offering a total of 10 more games than the normal Gold version... however, it jettisons some of the best titles such as Jungle Hunt, Frogger, and Space Invaders- all I wish to play in HD. 4) Pac-Man and Dig-Dug only appearing on the Portable and not on the home consoles is understandable for financial reasons for AtGames- that's why the title options fluctuate- but not offering such popular titles on the more expensive models is odd. Also, the purist in me wishes the original 2600 version was the version offered by AtGames; I think they sometimes mistrust the power of keeping it simple and true to the originals.

 

I'll probably end up swinging for the Activision version, but I wish this wasn't an oddly tough decision to make! I shouldn't have to own multiple 2017 FB's to possess all possible games and features. I hope next year the product line is less complicated. Ideally it would look something like this: 1 HD unit/ 1 SD unit/ 1 portable unit, with "deluxe" options (paddles/ wired controllers etc.) just as they offer every year. Last but not least, there should be a clear "top of the line" model which has everything the other "lesser" models has, and then some: a clear winner. It's understandable, for reasons others have articulated on these forums so well, that AtGames lacks cartridge & SD card support for the home consoles; some features such as that should be locked within specific models so future consoles can be produced. But asking whether the Activision or Gold version is better is to me like asking if apples are better than oranges.

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Hi, everyone. I am a long-time lurker, but I felt the need to post for the first time.

 

[...snip...]

 

2) I don't yet have paddles, which are $30 apiece and out of stock at AtGames- this is the biggest incentive to go with the "Gold Deluxe" (non-Activision version), which AtGames lists at $100- when you break it down that's a decent deal, however...

 

[...snip...]

 

Dr. Ferro, I wanted to mention that I noticed this morning that Sams Club now has a listing for a non-Gold Deluxe Flashback 8 edition, with wired controllers and paddles, for USD $39.98. It seems to me it might be an option for those just looking for a set of paddles, or wired controllers.

 

Here's the link:

 

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/atari-flashback-8/prod21395901.ip

 

It is showing as out of stock in all of my local Sams Club stores, and you seemingly can't order it online, either.

 

I'm hoping the physical Sams Club stores will get these in soon, as well as the Gold editions.

 

 

No worries AtariLeaf, buy them in the same store where we can buy Basic Fun MiniCades, Super Impulse Tiny Arcades, etc.

 

is-this-a-mall-2.gif

 

ComputerSpaceFan, what movie/TV show is this from? I don't recall it. My wife is a tall, pale, redhead, so it caught my attention. :)

 

 

I also would like to say thank you to all of the regular posters to this forum, and of course, to Bill L., for providing such good information and insights about the Flashback consoles.

 

Take care.

 

Pete

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Hi, everyone. I am a long-time lurker, but I felt the need to post for the first time.

 

 

Dr. Ferro, I wanted to mention that I noticed this morning that Sams Club now has a listing for a non-Gold Deluxe Flashback 8 edition, with wired controllers and paddles, for USD $39.98. It seems to me it might be an option for those just looking for a set of paddles, or wired controllers.

 

Here's the link:

 

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/atari-flashback-8/prod21395901.ip

 

It is showing as out of stock in all of my local Sams Club stores, and you seemingly can't order it online, either.

 

I'm hoping the physical Sams Club stores will get these in soon, as well as the Gold editions.

 

 

 

ComputerSpaceFan, what movie/TV show is this from? I don't recall it. My wife is a tall, pale, redhead, so it caught my attention. :)

 

 

I also would like to say thank you to all of the regular posters to this forum, and of course, to Bill L., for providing such good information and insights about the Flashback consoles.

 

Take care.

 

Pete

 

Hey Yesfan. I am a fan of Yes and prog rock music! Thanks for the interesting post. I have been anxiously waiting for the deluxe versions to show up at Sam's Club. The fact that the regular version 8 is $60 on AtGames site makes me wonder if the Deluxe Gold will be $80 then ($20 under AtGames price)? I guess we will wait and see...

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But, Apple Cider > Orange Juice in the fall! :)

And Spiced Apple Cider > all the rest, IMO. I've been addicted to Target's Market Pantry spiced cider, heavy on the Clove and Cinnamon. :D

 

Oh and Flashback stuff. Um...both my Sam's Clubs are out of stock on that model with the wired paddles. Am I hoping for too much to get a model that has it all, including a nice selection of Imagic and Activision games, as well as paddles?

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The Activision Flashback Gold flyer shows a screenshot of Pitfall!, but Pitfall! isn't in the list of games.

 

Again, old list is old (and yes, I realize it's the fault of AtGames having that outdated stuff there). We started working on the press release related to the first retailer to carry the product and it should include the final game list (which was finalized a bit back, but never published anywhere). Quick tip -- if you don't see a list with some Imagic titles on there, you know it's not up-to-date.

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Again, old list is old (and yes, I realize it's the fault of AtGames having that outdated stuff there). We started working on the press release related to the first retailer to carry the product and it should include the final game list (which was finalized a bit back, but never published anywhere). Quick tip -- if you don't see a list with some Imagic titles on there, you know it's not up-to-date.

 

In case you didn't know (though it sounds like you do), the front page at AtGames.us has a link to that flyer. It's not just buried in the /assets directory. "IN STORES SEPTEMBER, 2017"

http://www.atgames.net/#/

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>Thanks for the info Bill, as always. These are nice offerings from AtGames, and the move to HDMI finally is terrific. Just wish the HDMI "new" editions had the SD card slot.

 

 

Ditto that. Last year I got the flashback portable and love it (some incompatibile games via SD card, but overall very nice). Some years back I got the Flashback 2 console, and thought it was pretty cool at the time (and loved getting 2 NEW Atari style joysticks to use with my old heavy sixer).

Each year a new flashback console comes out, but not the one I’ve been waiting for. This years Flashback 8 has one feature I’ve wanted - HDMI connection. But the other big feature is still missing - SD Card slot. If the portable can have it, why not the console? Add an SD slot to the console version and I want one (or two)! Keeping fingers crossed for 2018.


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The Activision Flashback Gold flyer shows a screenshot of Pitfall!, but Pitfall! isn't in the list of games.

 

If you look at the top of the flyer it says "Includes 130 Atari 2600 Favorites: Pitfall, Kaboom, River Raid, Centipede, H.E.R.O., and more." I think the "more" is a continuation of the list and those that were highlighted in quotes are a part of that list. They just didn't name them again.

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>Thanks for the info Bill, as always. These are nice offerings from AtGames, and the move to HDMI finally is terrific. Just wish the HDMI "new" editions had the SD card slot.

 

Each year a new flashback console comes out, but not the one I’ve been waiting for. This years Flashback 8 has one feature I’ve wanted - HDMI connection. But the other big feature is still missing - SD Card slot. If the portable can have it, why not the console? Add an SD slot to the console version and I want one (or two)! Keeping fingers crossed for 2018.

 

 

You are definitely "preaching to the choir" here. Couldn't agree more! Hope they will finally take the next step toward putting an SD card slot in the flashbacks!

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>Thanks for the info Bill, as always. These are nice offerings from AtGames, and the move to HDMI finally is terrific. Just wish the HDMI "new" editions had the SD card slot.

 

 

Ditto that. Last year I got the flashback portable and love it (some incompatibile games via SD card, but overall very nice). Some years back I got the Flashback 2 console, and thought it was pretty cool at the time (and loved getting 2 NEW Atari style joysticks to use with my old heavy sixer).

 

Each year a new flashback console comes out, but not the one I’ve been waiting for. This years Flashback 8 has one feature I’ve wanted - HDMI connection. But the other big feature is still missing - SD Card slot. If the portable can have it, why not the console? Add an SD slot to the console version and I want one (or two)! Keeping fingers crossed for 2018.

 

Unfortunately I doubt AtGames will ever slap an SD card slot on anything that isn't a portable. Now that home consoles with HDMI are being produced, it seems unlikely they would also give us the SD capability on those, too. I loooove having that on the portable, which I got last year, as well as the FB7. This year I would probably be skipping the FB8 were it not for the HDMI and additional games. If the 8 Gold (either version) also had SD capability, I probably wouldn't see any major incentive to get another FB for awhile. Adding games to their consoles every year gives us incentives to get the new model. I probably could have articulated that better, but that's my best take on it.

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Unfortunately I doubt AtGames will ever slap an SD card slot on anything that isn't a portable. Now that home consoles with HDMI are being produced, it seems unlikely they would also give us the SD capability on those, too. I loooove having that on the portable, which I got last year, as well as the FB7. This year I would probably be skipping the FB8 were it not for the HDMI and additional games. If the 8 Gold (either version) also had SD capability, I probably wouldn't see any major incentive to get another FB for awhile. Adding games to their consoles every year gives us incentives to get the new model. I probably could have articulated that better, but that's my best take on it.

 

If that is their plan, can AtGames really ride that train forever? Switching out a few games here or there isn't going to be a big incentive to rebuying the same thing over and over and like others have said, the HDMI and save states are what is getting me to CONSIDER buying this one. Problem is you need to up your game every year to get return customers and the only other card left to play IMO is the SD card slot. Other than that, what could the 2018 version bring? The same model as this year with a handful of games swapped out? Is that their long term strategy to get us to keep coming back to the well? I doubt it and certainly not for me.

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If you look at the top of the flyer it says "Includes 130 Atari 2600 Favorites: Pitfall, Kaboom, River Raid, Centipede, H.E.R.O., and more." I think the "more" is a continuation of the list and those that were highlighted in quotes are a part of that list. They just didn't name them again.

I'm an idiot. I was looking at the list. That;s my ADD for ya.

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If that is their plan, can AtGames really ride that train forever? Switching out a few games here or there isn't going to be a big incentive to rebuying the same thing over and over and like others have said, the HDMI and save states are what is getting me to CONSIDER buying this one. Problem is you need to up your game every year to get return customers and the only other card left to play IMO is the SD card slot. Other than that, what could the 2018 version bring? The same model as this year with a handful of games swapped out? Is that their long term strategy to get us to keep coming back to the well? I doubt it and certainly not for me.

 

By the same token, they can only play the SD "card" once. And then they're right back to figuring out the next way to get people coming back, knowing that those customers might have bought their very last Flashback.

 

The ideas that come to mind are: start including homebrew games, and include well-known games from other Atari consoles like the 5200 and 7800.

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I'm surprised no one has hacked the guts out of a AFP and put it into a flashback console. The AFP already has the TV output and the SD slot. The hardest part would be to override the d-pad and buttons on the AFP to the joystick and buttons on the console. Then you would have to best of both worlds all-in-one!

 

Of course, another problem is the emulator built in the AFP does not play all games.

 

Is this possible?

Ben Heck, Neil Henry, Charles Tweedy, etc......

 

I call dibs on the first one!! :grin: :grin:

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Historically, AtGames has made the majority of their profits from annual releases of new consoles around the holidays; they obviously figure the only guaranteed way to continue making annual revenue is by including more popular titles in small increments. Unless Flashbacks experienced a severe sales decline, the SD card slot may not be considered necessary and may work against their current annual release routine.

 

Including homebrew games and 5200/ 7800 games on further consoles may be a good idea regardless of whether AtGames ever puts an SD slot on a home console. Also, units modeled more faithfully after the original units would be a big incentive, if not just for appearances (the addition of "real" wood-grain would be a good start). Cartridge support would be a huge plus, but apparently that is a more difficult/ expensive addition than a simple SD slot.

 

Personally, I am just glad that there is a company producing Atari's every year, keeping the brand alive for new generations. I wish the Flashbacks were a bit higher quality and I certainly have issues/ nitpicks with them, but it is certainly better than nothing, and they are cheap when one factors in the collective cost of acquiring a real working Atari plus the included games' value. This year alone, they added 4-29 games depending on the model of FB, added wired controllers to the standard FB, and improved wireless joysticks for the HD versions. Compared with their recent track record of "improvements" (ex.: the FB7 having a grand total of 1 additional game over the FB6), AtGames seemed to put more effort into this year's batch.

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I have been unable to find any site other than AtGames to order it, and of course, it has yet to say "in stock"- not to mention you'd be paying the full $80 to get it from them directly.

 

Only the "normal" Gold edition is up for pre-order on sites like Target, Best Buy, Amazon, GameStop, etc. Bed, Bath & Beyond- who typically has a healthy stock of these in stores at a discount price (plus offers regular coupons)- only is listing online the standard def Flashback 8, and Target is stocking it in-store plus the new Portable as well.

 

I agree 100% that there is some inherent confusion to this year's lineup. I am, for the most part, very happy that AtGames is clearly putting more effort into their product line this year, however, I'm also frustrated because of the varying game lineups and controllers for the different consoles.

 

Here's why I am frustrated: 1) I don't yet have a working classic Atari wired controller, which the standard def FB8 happens to have a pair of. 2) I don't yet have paddles, which are $30 apiece and out of stock at AtGames- this is the biggest incentive to go with the "Gold Deluxe" (non-Activision version), which AtGames lists at $100- when you break it down that's a decent deal, however... 3) The Activision edition is arguably the best console offered, offering a total of 10 more games than the normal Gold version... however, it jettisons some of the best titles such as Jungle Hunt, Frogger, and Space Invaders- all I wish to play in HD. 4) Pac-Man and Dig-Dug only appearing on the Portable and not on the home consoles is understandable for financial reasons for AtGames- that's why the title options fluctuate- but not offering such popular titles on the more expensive models is odd. Also, the purist in me wishes the original 2600 version was the version offered by AtGames; I think they sometimes mistrust the power of keeping it simple and true to the originals.

 

I'll probably end up swinging for the Activision version, but I wish this wasn't an oddly tough decision to make! I shouldn't have to own multiple 2017 FB's to possess all possible games and features. I hope next year the product line is less complicated. Ideally it would look something like this: 1 HD unit/ 1 SD unit/ 1 portable unit, with "deluxe" options (paddles/ wired controllers etc.) just as they offer every year. Last but not least, there should be a clear "top of the line" model which has everything the other "lesser" models has, and then some: a clear winner. It's understandable, for reasons others have articulated on these forums so well, that AtGames lacks cartridge & SD card support for the home consoles; some features such as that should be locked within specific models so future consoles can be produced. But asking whether the Activision or Gold version is better is to me like asking if apples are better than oranges.

Go to Sams and get the regular deluxe 8 for $40. You get both wire joysticks and paddles.

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