AtGames Fall 2017 Flashback and Portable Lineup

[Flojomojo]

Received the book and Activision FB yesterday. Really like the book and the I'm liking the FB as well; quite nice to have the Activision games on it.

Oooh I'm glad the Activision one is out. That's the one for me. This unofficial fan book, made for the 2005 GBA Activision Anthology, covers most of the games missing from the Atari book. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/76463-new-companion-guide-to-activision-anthology-gba/

[+Swami]

Sega FB Standard and Atari FB Standard and Portable 50% off at Walgreens with Walgreens Card for Black Friday. $35 each. I think this is probably the best deal you are going to get for them.

[atarilovesyou]

Wow, I'm way late to the FB party...that book looks great, and I'm going to grab one.

 

As far as Flashbacks go, this Activision Gold version looks like something I'd actually want to buy. Of course, I'm sure it will be tough to find But how many versions of this thing are there? Locally, I saw a FB8 at Bed Bath and Beyond, of all places. An easy pass, but the Activision one will be an auto purchase. Why? Look at that games lineup! And the fact it's HDMI means I can have it plugged into the main tv, and the remote joysticks are a definite plus (although I hear there's no menu reset access on them...).

 

I haven't bought a Flashback since the 2+ . While I'm not a fan of the constant reissues, I do like the sheer amount of games (quality games, at that) you get. HDMI, remote joysticks, this will be a lot of fun away from my CRT.

 

Now, where the hell to find the Activision one with relative ease in Canada?

[TrekkiELO]

 

This is an official book, produced in partnership with Atari and AtGames (and Prima Games, obviously). Given the time constraints, there was no time to secure additional licenses. We'll see what the future brings in terms of additional books.

 

Bought your book, it's nice, but, while I don't like Curt Vendel's political views, why is there nothing about his Legacy Engineering developing the first two plus Flashback series consoles before AtGames got involved in 2011 with an original idea by Atari from 2004, then their 2600-on-a-chip sequels, "2" that did exceptionally well at 860,000 US/domestic sold in 2005 & 2+ in 2010?! Can't wait for this lame omission/exclusion/revisionist history excuse...

 

Edited November 25, 2017 by TrekkiELO

[atarifan88]

Got mine from QVC (went with the Gold Deluxe because new paddles are hard to come by these days - AT Games never has them in stock). That being said, I wonder with the new wireless control technology they are using will make them more popular? If so, I wonder if there are plans to sell the wireless joysticks separately as replacements? Would the system recognize the new controllers immediately?

[atarilovesyou]

 

Bought your book, it's nice, but, while I don't like Curt Vendel's political views, why is there nothing about his Legacy Engineering developing the first two plus Flashback series consoles before AtGames got involved in 2011 with an original idea by Atari from 2004, then their 2600-on-a-chip sequels, "2" that did exceptionally well at 860,000 US/domestic sold in 2005 & 2+ in 2010?! Can't wait for this lame omission/exclusion/revisionist history excuse...

 

 

What? There's no mention of the Flashback 2.0, or Curt Vendel? That seems odd for a book of this type.

 

Also, did I read right: there are FOUR different version of the Flashback 8? ...and there's remote control paddles somewhere? This is getting confusing. Why not just release one? I'm sure it has been discussed, but for such a small niche you'd think this is overkill.

[+Swami]

 

What? There's no mention of the Flashback 2.0, or Curt Vendel? That seems odd for a book of this type.

 

Also, did I read right: there are FOUR different version of the Flashback 8? ...and there's remote control paddles somewhere? This is getting confusing. Why not just release one? I'm sure it has been discussed, but for such a small niche you'd think this is overkill.

It might tell them something about what level of deluxe-ness people are willing to pay for but that was probably confounded by the exclusive sales of one or another model at different retailers and different release dates. Muggles may have been unaware of other versions.

[MrBeefy]

 

What? There's no mention of the Flashback 2.0, or Curt Vendel? That seems odd for a book of this type.

 

Also, did I read right: there are FOUR different version of the Flashback 8? ...and there's remote control paddles somewhere? This is getting confusing. Why not just release one? I'm sure it has been discussed, but for such a small niche you'd think this is overkill.

Arent there more than four? FB 8 standard, FB 8 Standard deluxe, 8 gold, 8 gold deluxe, 8 activision.... well guess thats only 5..

[Velvis]

 

What? There's no mention of the Flashback 2.0, or Curt Vendel? That seems odd for a book of this type.

 

Also, did I read right: there are FOUR different version of the Flashback 8? ...and there's remote control paddles somewhere? This is getting confusing. Why not just release one? I'm sure it has been discussed, but for such a small niche you'd think this is overkill.

Remote Paddles????

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Bill Loguidice]

 

What? There's no mention of the Flashback 2.0, or Curt Vendel? That seems odd for a book of this type.

 

Also, did I read right: there are FOUR different version of the Flashback 8? ...and there's remote control paddles somewhere? This is getting confusing. Why not just release one? I'm sure it has been discussed, but for such a small niche you'd think this is overkill.

 

The book is officially licensed by Atari and AtGames. It would be odd for me to mention Flashback 1.0 - 2.0+, and, in my limited interactions with him on the subject, it appears that Curt didn't want that anyway (and he's had zero involvement since the 2+; AtGames started with the 3). If you read what I actually wrote in the AtGames chapter, you'll see that I mention specifically where AtGames comes in without making explicit reference to what came before it. If you consider that some type of serious omission, then I think you missed the point of the book. The focus here is on the individual games.

 

And yes, different retailers want different bundles. You either play the retail game or you don't get your products in the stores. This is nothing new. Sure, it's frustrating for consumers who want a specific bundle, but it's not like this is unique to AtGames. There are retailer-exclusive packages for everything these days. It's one way to stay relevant in an online shopping-centric world.

[Bill Loguidice]

My author copies arrived today (finally):

 

[Tanooki]

I know politics are taboo here for good cause, but could someone PM me what these so called bad political views are of Curt Vendel? I copied that little bit of a sentence in google and came up empty. Either way leaving it out whether atgames was involved or not seems like an issue of revisionist history ignoring the early days. Yes they had no hand in it, but it is what gave them grounds to have the project that just kept on going. Also if I recall his being the earliest it was the time you had the NOAC release which also had the pinouts on the board to allow hacking in of a cart slot to run legit stuff. Also those same roms (centipede) have been tapped for the current Bridge Direct release too for their mini arcade classic box at Walmart for $20 that's an LCD.

[atarilovesyou]

 

The book is officially licensed by Atari and AtGames. It would be odd for me to mention Flashback 1.0 - 2.0+, and, in my limited interactions with him on the subject, it appears that Curt didn't want that anyway (and he's had zero involvement since the 2+; AtGames started with the 3). If you read what I actually wrote in the AtGames chapter, you'll see that I mention specifically where AtGames comes in without making explicit reference to what came before it. If you consider that some type of serious omission, then I think you missed the point of the book. The focus here is on the individual games.

 

And yes, different retailers want different bundles. You either play the retail game or you don't get your products in the stores. This is nothing new. Sure, it's frustrating for consumers who want a specific bundle, but it's not like this is unique to AtGames. There are retailer-exclusive packages for everything these days. It's one way to stay relevant in an online shopping-centric world.

 

I haven't read the book yet...it's on my list though. Given the title, I imagined that it was going to give a retrospective of sorts....not just a glorified instruction manual for the games (but given Prima is publishing it, I don't know why I thought it would be anything more than that). I suppose if people wanted some history on the device, they'd have to go back to the complete piece of crap that was the original Atari Flashback...no thanks. If the aim of the book was a companion for 'this year's flavour' of Flashback, then no historical notes are needed...I'll read the book first before I make any more comments.

 

As far as the different price points, all that will do is make an enthusiast like me have a tougher time tracking down the Activision model. But there will just be another package next year, so it's not like that will be a long term issue. I just find it lame that the major big box stores are more likely to have the 'normal' versions...they don't carry a few of these, a few of those. They just stock the cheapest version and bank on nostalgia to do the rest. Why would I, as an enthusiast in retro gaming, want to spend money on another Flashback that doesn't carry the features of the Activision model? I wouldn't, so they lose out on the sales and I have to go to alternate means. For an item this niche, there should have been one (awesome) version out there and the price point to be set so it's not considered an impulse buy. Just my opinion. But then, I think that Curt thought along those lines as well. In any case, that i'm even considering buying one of these is a testament to ATGames finally getting it right with the features I want. Now it's just to find one...

[Bill Loguidice]

The first chapter is a general Atari 2600 history. The second AtGames chapter mostly focuses on the current AtGames Atari line-up. The other 67 chapters cover 67 first party Atari 2600 games and includes manual content, fun facts, etc. For $13 and change up to the $19.99 list price, if somehow that doesn't provide value to you, I understand.

 

I don't think there's a single technology article, book, or movie I've worked on where there hasn't been a "but what about x?" comment. I certainly understand it comes with the topic I write on.

[atarilovesyou]

The first chapter is a general Atari 2600 history. The second AtGames chapter mostly focuses on the current AtGames Atari line-up. The other 67 chapters cover 67 first party Atari 2600 games and includes manual content, fun facts, etc. For $13 and change up to the $19.99 list price, if somehow that doesn't provide value to you, I understand.

 

I don't think there's a single technology article, book, or movie I've worked on where there hasn't been a "but what about x?" comment. I certainly understand it comes with the topic I write on.

 

I think it will definitely be worth the price...most Prima books are up there comparatively speaking. I wasn't sure what the aim of the book was, and I have a better idea now...I'll comment when I have a read of the book over the holidays.

[Flojomojo]

Cute NYT piece on Atari Flashbacks.

 

The Atari I bought at Bed Bath & Beyond is the first one I’ve ever owned. Don’t get me started. My mother would never let me have one, a deprivation she and I are still working through — or at least I am. At any rate, it only intensified my craving for video games, because I had to wait to play until I went over to friends’ houses.

I remember the stiff and unforgiving Atari joysticks, the white noise of Combat, the feel of the chunky game cassettes. Back then, video games were in their gestational, Cubist period. Images rendered in rectangles and squares were good enough.

To be clear, my official position on video games in my own house is hostile and can involve shouting. I once ripped our Nintendo Wii console from our television and stormed off with it, only to a find that a small and aggrieved child had attached himself to one of my legs like a mollusk.

 

[atarifan88]

My author copies arrived today (finally):

 

 

Ordered mine today from WalMart with free two day shipping. Should make for some nice reading and a handy reference when playing the flashback. It's good to have some of those game matrices together all in a nice book!

Edited November 27, 2017 by atarifan88

[Bill Loguidice]

As is par for the course with these things, some publisher edits introduced errors (ugh!) and/or cut content for space considerations. Of the latter, I was saddened to see some tables dropped from the book that showed how the various original Atari 2600 controls and switches mapped to what is found on the current Atari Flashback series of products.

 

Anyway, I remedied that by posting the omitted tables in a blog post on Armchair Arcade. You can read them here, and I'll also post the images below:

 

[carlsson]

Back to the topic of the Sega HD, I noticed prices differ greatly even over here. While most smaller specialist vendors are selling it at 1250 - 1300 SEK, I saw one electronics giant selling it at 800 SEK. I have come to understand that while there is one official importer of AtGames' consoles, there is also a great deal of grey importing directly from AtGames which understandably doesn't entertain the official importer. I don't know if the supermarket announcing the device at 2/3 of what others are selling it for are subject to grey import or if it just is a typo in the jungle of various AtGames consoles, since they have the exact same price for the Sega SD unit to be launched. Though in the specs they differ between SD and HD.

 

While I'm not really in the market, at 800 SEK the Sega HD would be half price compared to the SNES Mini and irregardless of filler games and perhaps some minor technical issues would seem as a great choice. I do doubt that price though.

[Tanooki]

Depending on your local laws if they list it as such and you can print it out, pop up a phone, take an ad in, or it's on the sticker they'll have to honor it if it's in your hand. That's how it is where I've lived over the years in a few states/locations.

 

At that low of a price I'd probably even pop for it though I really don't want anymore little closed TV anchored consoles. I'm trying not to collect, but at that level it just kind of is what it is, and with the slot one could temporarily pick up a game to enjoy on the side in that slot. The emulation is dramatically better than the old firecore garbage. With it being android 4~ based looking at the pop ups in the menus unless it's so closed off externally, someone probably will figure out how to crack it and improve it further or store much more in there like the Nintendo offerings.

[FifthPlayer]

Where can one actually purchase the Activision edition? It's December so one would expect it to be readily available for holiday shopping.

 

Toys R Us doesn't list it. Target doesn't list it. Best Buy doesn't list it. Bed Bath and Beyond only sells the standard (non-HD) models. At AtGames' website, it is listed as out of stock. At Amazon, it's being scalped by third-party sellers for $50 over retail. I didn't bother checking eBay based on what's happening at Amazon.

 

Update: Looks like GameStop carries it.

Edited December 2, 2017 by FifthPlayer

[Bill Loguidice]

Where can one actually purchase the Activision edition? It's December so one would expect it to be readily available for holiday shopping.

 

Toys R Us doesn't list it. Target doesn't list it. Best Buy doesn't list it. Bed Bath and Beyond only sells the standard (non-HD) models. At AtGames' website, it is listed as out of stock. At Amazon, it's being scalped by third-party sellers for $50 over retail. I didn't bother checking eBay based on what's happening at Amazon.

 

Update: Looks like GameStop carries it.

 

And Wal-Mart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Atari-Flashback-8-Gold-Activision-Edition-with-Build-In-130-Games-HDMI-Output-and-Two-Wireless-Controllers/500265566

[Atariboy]

Does Wal-Mart ever carry these in-store anymore? I never see them it seems.

 

I only ever spotted the Flashback 2 which I bought when I saw it, and one year's AtGames model (Maybe the Flashback 4). With the Dollar General relationship seemingly severed (I haven't looked this Fall, but I couldn't find anything last year despite always buying them there), I don't think there's anywhere locally where I can even buy the Atari models.

 

Not a big deal with online storefronts, but I would think it can't be helping AtGames when these don't get much retail exposure.

Edited December 3, 2017 by Atariboy

[FifthPlayer]

My local GameStop had the Activision Edition in stock, and I also picked up a copy of Bill's "Flashback Essential Companion" book.

 

First impressions is that the emulation looks spot on, though the paddle games are still not as playable as on a real 2600 due to controller latency. (I'm using a set of AtGames paddles from a prior Flashback unit). Overall though, I'm satisfied with the console. It's nice to have crisp video on an HDTV, and its great to easily access the Activision and Imagic titles once again.

Edited December 3, 2017 by FifthPlayer

[atarifan88]

Good luck ordering anything from Walmart. I ordered Bill's book and it never got shipped. They told me it was a system glitch and they couldn't get it shipped, so I told them I'll take my business to Amazon from now on. Lesson learned!