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Would you support a crowd funded, brand new, Atari 2600 console?


Dr Manhattan

Would you support a crowd funded new Atari 2600?  

111 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you support a kickstarter backed Atari 2600 console?

    • Yes
      92
    • No
      19
  2. 2. How much would you contribute?

    • $5-$10
      28
    • $10-$25
      15
    • $25-$50
      17
    • $50-$100
      29
    • $100-$500
      19
    • $500-$1000
      2
    • $1000 or More
      1

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Ok, go for it then

 

Not my topic. Most of my time is spent on emulation.

 

Why don't YOU try so you've got something to disprove me with?

 

The Pi already has 2600 emulation.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/28/how-to-set-up-your-raspberry-pi-to-play-atari-2600-games/

 

The Retrode already has a 2600 adapter:

http://www.retrode.org/plug-in-adapters/

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Not my topic. Most of my time is spent on emulation.

 

Why don't YOU try so you've got something to disprove me with?

 

The Pi already has 2600 emulation.

http://www.engadget....ari-2600-games/

 

The Retrode already has a 2600 adapter:

http://www.retrode.o...ug-in-adapters/

 

The layout of the Retrode site confuses me. It feels similar to how most feel about Best Electronics. Where do I buy the Retrode bundled with the 2600 adapter? And more importantly, does it dump the ROMs and dump them easily because that is what I would use it for? I'm ROM dumping retarded and would like to help Rom Hunter fill some gaps.

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The layout of the Retrode site confuses me. It feels similar to how most feel about Best Electronics. Where do I buy the Retrode bundled with the 2600 adapter? And more importantly, does it dump the ROMs and dump them easily because that is what I would use it for? I'm ROM dumping retarded and would like to help Rom Hunter fill some gaps.

Atari 2600

 

a2600_1-150x150.jpg
The 2600 adapter
snes-2600-150x150.gif
Schematic
snes-2600-brd-150x150.gif
Board layout

This adapter allows for the insertion of Atari 2600 cartridges in the Retrode’s SNES slot. Do not even think of using this with other devices than the Retrode. There is zero chance for it to work (what is a SNES CPU supposed to do with Atari code anyway), but certainly some chance to break stuff.

The interface is really simple, since the Atari 2600 cart only has 13 address and 8 data lines, VCC and GND, and that’s it. 2600′er cartridges do not contain a header (game title, etc.), so the filename will be generic.

I'm entirely skeptical that these adapters will work with any Atari game over 4kb, say for instance what if I want to dump Jr Pacman? All NES games used two ROMs and most used sophisticated mapper hardware, so there's probably a very good reason why the NES is not seeing the light of day here on the retrode site.
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Nice thought, and I'd be interested in a reasonably-priced new 2600 if it were to ever happen. But realistically, there will likely never be enough interest to develop one. We retrogamers who love the 2600 are just a tiny, tiny, infinitesimally-small lunatic fringe on the edge of the videogame market. We tend to overestimate the interest in our hobby, simply because it means a lot to us. After all the Atari Flashbacks (etc) that have been on the market, I seriously doubt there would be any public interest in this, although so far, 22 AtariAge users would like one.

 

I think a drop-in replacement motherboard for an existing Atari 2600 that's all reliable, and has Composite and S-video out would be much, much cheaper. I'd like that better than a new console anyway, as I'd get the benefit of a new console while retaining the familiar, nostalgic aesthetics of the original. Seeing as all of this is extremely unlikely, I settle for an A/V-modded Light Sixer. It fills the bill pretty well already, particularly with a Harmony Cart sticking out of it.

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Make it a portable unit. Remember Longhorn Engineer was working on a motherboard.

 

Don't forget to through in the pause button.

 

I hope one day the portable flashback will be produced: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/96356-question-fb2-portable/page__st__350__p__1316997#entry1316997

 

I'm more interested in this than any other atari related item.

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Only problem is that would require reprogramming every game to play online. Tunneling games that were designed for lan like Halo and Mario Kart DDis one thing, but Atari Space Invaders might actually be trickier. I guess MAME or some variation supports it yes? Not sure about that.

 

Maybe supporting unmodded Sega pads would be nice for 7800/5200 games and it could have some decent autofire pack ins.

 

Yeah MAME, Jnes, zSNES, and a lot of other emulators all have online support which is great. However, there is just something more special about playing the games on the "real system" and if somehow that was possible to do the online thing with that, that would be even more special. But yeah I understand what you're saying, it would require some sort of reprogramming to the games to allow such a function. :(

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Is this a real possibility, or are we dreaming? I feel like the home brews, someone should be able to put together a decent clone for the Atari console. with the ones for the nes out, I am surprised someone has yet to put one out. I would definitely support that. The Flashback sucks big time. I wasted my money on it and would have liked a new console better.. I got the nes one and it works well...an Atari one would be better.

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Why would there have to be public interest? It could be a product made just for us.

 

 

Economies of scale

 

Economies_of_scale.PNG

 

Isn't that the point to "crowd" in "crowd funded" to begin with? Any individual can approach an engineering firm (or Ben Heckendorn) with a rather large check and commission the development of a custom unit. "The public" = bigger crowd. If cost doesn't matter, then go for it and commission one.

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Economies of scale

 

Economies_of_scale.PNG

 

Isn't that the point to "crowd" in "crowd funded" to begin with? Any individual can approach an engineering firm (or Ben Heckendorn) with a rather large check and commission the development of a custom unit. "The public" = bigger crowd. If cost doesn't matter, then go for it and commission one.

 

I see your point but if it were designed for the public then at best it would be a cheap plug and play and at worst it would just be a plug.

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Is this a real possibility, or are we dreaming? I feel like the home brews, someone should be able to put together a decent clone for the Atari console. with the ones for the nes out, I am surprised someone has yet to put one out. I would definitely support that. The Flashback sucks big time. I wasted my money on it and would have liked a new console better.. I got the nes one and it works well...an Atari one would be better.

 

The O.P. seems to be an average joe. I've not seen any posts to indicate he has the skills or money to go forward. So, yes. We are just dreaming :)

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I am just surprised with the interest in the Flashbacks, and the NES clones that have come out, nobody has taken it seriously that there is a huge Atari audience out there that would sap up something like this. Why is the NES so special. Atari started it all, and there are plenty of the old carts floating around, or are they relying on the durability of the original system. You would think that some company would come out with one.

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I am just surprised with the interest in the Flashbacks, and the NES clones that have come out, nobody has taken it seriously that there is a huge Atari audience out there that would sap up something like this. Why is the NES so special. Atari started it all, and there are plenty of the old carts floating around, or are they relying on the durability of the original system. You would think that some company would come out with one.

 

Many companies did come out with one. They just came out with their clones 30 years ago. I don't see the appeal of NES clones. I rather have the original. The same with the VCS. If someone made a modern VCS clone I don't think I would be too interested. It would have to be more than a clone. I would want a pimped out modern VCS that would probably be just as expensive as the VCS originally was.

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I think some people underestimate the popularity of the Flashback Series. They're showing up on places that don't usually carry video games like Urban Outfitters and various supermarkets. I have even found them in music stores. If this product had the right marketing, and the right person to sell it, our machine could be a big success. People want to play Atari 2600. It's iconic, the games are simple and fun, and it's graphics have aged like digital art.

 

What do I want from this system? I want more than a clone. I want something superior to the original console. Here's my features wish list.

 

1. Cartridge Port

2. SD Cart Slot

3. Corded and Optional Wireless Controllers

4. Select and Reset Buttons on the controllers.

5. HDMI Port

6. Must come bundled with traditional controllers and paddles.

7. Light Sixer body design.

8. Built in games. As many as possible.

 

Here are some great suggestions from this topic:

 

Schizophretard, Gorfcadet and Roland P all mentioned scaling hardware to help with lag on flat screen TV's. That's vital for a product like this one.

 

theloon suggested the inclusion of AtariVox and SaveKey. That's a great idea and it would make this product more than just a clone.

 

Karokoenig mentioned a PAL / NTSC switch. I love this idea. And maybe it would help with selling the product around the globe?

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Guys, stop tacking on features that weren't there on the original. A cartridge port, all the original switches, and two 9-pin joystick ports, with clean composite video output is all that's needed for a clone. The average Joe is not going to pay more for a clone than the original hardware. An AOAC would be nice, but it has to be done right. The NOAC clones are really solid, but one thing annoys the snot out of me: nearly all of them got the 50% and 25% duty cycles of the rectangle waveform swapped. I'm kind of an audiophile and that one bug annoys the snot out of me, even if most gamers don't notice. Otherwise, my Yobo clone from 2005 would be perfect. An FPGA-based solution could easily be firmware upgraded via USB to fix bugs in the hardware, and Atari as well as NES clones are both possible on modern FPGA. That way, if it ha issues like Flashback 2 did with undocumented instructions or H-Move, or the NOACs with the messed up duty cycles, then issues could easily be fixed for 100% authentic excecution.

 

Maybe someday there will be a Retron4 with Atari VCS/7800 support in addition to NES, SNES, and Genesis. The Atari portion could even possibly share it's ports with the Genisis, so long as they maintain paddle support.

 

 

I remember that diagram from when I took Economics 101. Man, that class sucked! It didn't help much either that my professor was also half insane as well...

 

Either way, wood brings up a valid point: for niche market items, the manufacture cost is higher because it costs more to manufacture items in small batches. This also explains why many tech products launch with a high price tag then the price decreases as production is increased and manufacture becomes more efficient. Startup costs basically kill the profitability for small runs. It's like paying $10,000 for an injection mold then if you produce a run of 100,000 toys at a cost of $.10 per part for materials, the total production cost per toy is only $.20. But if you only sell 100, then the total cost for each toy is $100.10! Produce 1000 and it decreases to $10.10; obviously you see where I'm going with this one...

Edited by stardust4ever
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Guys, stop tacking on features that weren't there on the original. A cartridge port, all the original switches, and two 9-pin joystick ports, with clean composite video output is all that's needed for a clone. The average Joe is not going to pay more for a clone than the original hardware.

 

Screw Average Joe! I never liked the guy anyway. He's the guy that tries to sell me an E.T. with his name on it for $20. He is Storage Wars $13,000 NES-001 retro video game impaired.

 

If there weren't added features there wouldn't be much point in buying one. Besides clean composite video output is tacking on a feature that wasn't there on the original. If it can't beat buying a refurbished a/v modified original and a Harmony Cart then it is pointless. Especially if it's a crowd funded Kickstater. Why fund a Kickstarter to clone something we can already obtain? The money would be better spent on buying a refurbished a/v modified original and a Harmony Cart.

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I still think all clone systems need to upscale at this point. Nes, Sega, Atari... doesn't matter. New tvs aren't going to get better at displaying old systems, so new old systems need to get better at being displayed. Not everyone has a crt sitting around for the one afternoon you want Space Invaders to look good.

Zelda for nes looks great on my lcd when played on a Wii; from an actual nes or clone? Awful. I do have a crt in my office for my retro systems, but if a clone is going to be mass market it should support the tvs that are mass market. That isn't a "feature," that is common sense.

SD slots and wireless controllers are features, but being able to see a decent picture is mandatory. The real purpose of a device like this is to bring the games to a new gen of tv and player.

 

My thoughts anyway.

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I voted "No", but then - oddly - had to say I'd donate $5 to $10. :D

 

I just don't see the point in this at all. Original consoles can be bought easily for those who want them. For people like myself who want to play on LCD screeens, then emulators do the job just fine.

 

I own the original hardware too, but to be honest I do much of my gaming with emulators, they're just simpler to use, and less hassle. They also work great with new TV's.

 

I guess I just don't understand what a new console would do for me that I can't have already.

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