Stewhain33 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Hi, Im looking to get into retro gaming, and I was wondering what console I should get. Should I get an original 2600, ColecoVision, 7800? Or should I buy a new version which accepts cartridges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Hello, and welcome aboard! Being that this is AtariAge, most of use have a deep affection for the 2600. But a lot depends on what you want to play and how you want to play it. I know this is sacreligous to some here, but if you're just looking to dip your toe in retro gaming, and you don't plan on using an old CRT television, you could do a lot worse than picking up an Atari Flashback. That would be a low-cost way to play a nice variety of Atari games. If you enjoy that enough, you could later make the larger investment into original hardware and cartridges later if you want the full retro experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derFunkenstein Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Hello, and welcome aboard! Being that this is AtariAge, most of use have a deep affection for the 2600. But a lot depends on what you want to play and how you want to play it. I know this is sacreligous to some here, but if you're just looking to dip your toe in retro gaming, and you don't plan on using an old CRT television, you could do a lot worse than picking up an Atari Flashback. That would be a low-cost way to play a nice variety of Atari games. If you enjoy that enough, you could later make the larger investment into original hardware and cartridges later if you want the full retro experience. I agree. It's a good way to figure out if it's what you really want to do with your money and time. Another option for someone uninitiated in retro gaming is a Raspberry Pi 3+ setup or maybe an Nvidia Shield. Both of those cost more than the Flashback, but they can do a lot more, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewhain33 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 What about the Retron 77? It accepts 2600 carts and it connects to a modern TV easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derFunkenstein Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 It's a little more expensive than the flashback, but if you have a big bundle of 2600 carts it seems reasonable. It's running Stella, and I seem to remember that the version of Stella is a little older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) Real hardware is fun itself but if you're unsure what games you like, try emulating on your computer first to help you decide. The consoles you mention mostly play fine with any usb controller, except for paddle games and a handfull of colecovision games. Stella is a good emulator for the 2600 and mameui64 does a fine job with colecovision and the 7800. If you want to experience the class of early 1980s video games emulate arcade games in Mame. For real hardware I'd recommend an Atari 7800 as it natively takes 2600 cartridges. The colecovision has proven to be a little unreliable. Edited February 19, 2019 by mr_me 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 What about the Retron 77? It accepts 2600 carts and it connects to a modern TV easily. It's a little more expensive than the flashback, but if you have a big bundle of 2600 carts it seems reasonable. It's running Stella, and I seem to remember that the version of Stella is a little older. Like derFunkenstein says, it's pricier than a FlashBack and doesn't come with a bunch of the classic games. Also, it pretty much requires a firmware update created by some of our enterprising users to work correctly. (see here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/281462-retron-77-community-build-image/) Finally, it's reported not to work very well with paddles, unless you use a separately-purchased adapter. Having said that, if you really want to play original Atari carts on a newer TV, the Retron 77 is probably the way to go. But if using the carts isn't that important to you, you want a bunch of classic built-in games, and you want to save some $, the Flashback may be the better choice. (Note that the Flashback 9 can't use original paddles at all, but new ones are supposedly on the way for it in the coming months. Earleir Flashbacks can use classic paddles, but don't have a SD slot to add additional games.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Hi, Im looking to get into retro gaming, and I was wondering what console I should get. Should I get an original 2600, ColecoVision, 7800? Or should I buy a new version which accepts cartridges? Probably best to think about what you really mean by "get into retro gaming." If you want to play games, you don't need original hardware. Emulation would be best. Maybe start with Console Living Room on archive.org or an Atari Flashback (hardware plug and play OR software collection) to get started. The Nintendo Switch has a whole lot of retro collections and it's new enough, it will be getting more and more games for many years. If you want to collect, then you'd better be prepared to pay out the nose for cartridges on eBay. If you don't even know what you're getting into, be prepared for a LOT of disappointment, as old games are old. https://videogamecritic.comis a good place to start for many, many game reviews. http://www.racketboy.com/guide/retro-gaming-101is another. The Atari 2600 would be a decent place to start with original hardware, I guess. But the Atari Flashback 9 is most of the experience without the collection hassles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Hi, Im looking to get into retro gaming, and I was wondering what console I should get. Should I get an original 2600, ColecoVision, 7800? Or should I buy a new version which accepts cartridges? Before you jump in, it's probably a good idea to assess what you're trying to achieve. Do you just want a taste of what the games were like? Do you want to collect, and if so, what's your scope? What eras or styles of gaming interest you? What genres of games do you enjoy most? What kind of budget are you working with? Is nostalgia a factor? I say that because classic gaming, and especially collecting, can be a pretty slippery slope. Now, to more directly answer your question... You'll probably get the most bang from your buck with the Atari 7800, given that it natively supports two formats. The quibbles I have with the 7800 are that there are a ton of different hardware revisions that came out, some of which cause some compatibility problems with some games (both 7800 and 2600). There are also certain Atari 2600 games that are known to physically not fit into the 7800 cartridge interface--namely titles from Tigervision--but you probably wouldn't miss most of those anyway. If what you really want to do is play 2600 games, just get a 2600. A 4-switch system or a 2600jr. is probably best for compatibility since some of the thicker-shelled cartridges don't fit especially well in the older 6-switch systems (they'll run, but the fit is really tight). But, OTOH, 6-switch systems tend to have better RF quality. You really can't go wrong with any of them, though. The Retron 77 could be a great way to go, as well, but reports on that thing are pretty mixed--do your homework before you go that route. The Coleco is a great system...when it runs. Games-wise, it's a great way to go, but you're going to run into reliability issues. If your budget permits, I'd go for a unit that's been modded with a new/better power switch and a AV upgrade--even perfectly working, the stock RF is just okay. There's also a 2600 adapter for the Coleco that costs basically nothing (i.e. don't spend more than, like, $20 on it), so you can still have that ever-crucial Atari compatibility. The Coleco will most likely be the most expensive of these three consoles, and its games, on average, tend to be a little more spendy as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewhain33 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 Could you get homebrew games on the flashback through the SD card slot? Astromer looks really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmack36 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (shameless plug) Another option if you are interested in the colecovision and 2600 is the CollectorVision Phoenix. It will play both from carts and sd card for Colecovision, and will play from sd card at launch for atari 2600. An cartridge adapter will also be available after launch for the ability to play actual 2600 cartridges. https://collectorvision.com/shop/colecovision/collectorvision-phoenix/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Could you get homebrew games on the flashback through the SD card slot? Astromer looks really cool. Yes, so long as you have a Flashback 9 or Flashback 9 Gold. Again, no paddle games for now, but new paddles that work with the FB9 have been promised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Black_Tiger Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Starting with emulation and sampling console libraries would be best. A soft modded Wii is supposed to be the best way to play emulated consoles on a crt tv and should still work fine on an hdtv if you leave it set to 480p. But the cheapest investment to get the most bang for buck before diving in would be to just buy a usb Sega Saturn controller and emulate on a computer you already own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Depends how far back you want to go. For me, my suggestion would be to stop at something that came out somewhere in the world in 1983 or later which would put you squarely into the Colecovision or the Famicom(NES) consoles. You're at a level where you have some pretty well detailed visuals, audio that sounds more like music than just beeps and squeaks, and you get a decent controller out of it too. The Coleco is more of an arcade buddy as most that library is tied to it, and it still gets games on the homebrew aftermarket made for it too with some consistency. The Famicom(NES) isn't really needing of much of a description considering how much people go nutty over covering Nintendo stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe C. Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 NES Sega Genesis Super Nintendo Atari 800 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCoolDave Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 NES Sega Genesis Super Nintendo Atari 800 Agree with the NES and the Sega systems. I would try to emulate 2600, 5200 and 7800 to see if this is road you want to go down. Atari 2600 even a NES could be had for under $50 depending on where you look. Get a emulator, try a few key games on each system and see what your thoughts are. Just to see if you like how these systems play. If your one wanting to go back and your only reference is a Xbox one or PS4, going to a 2600 might be really hard if you have not seen or played them. A lot of us love them but, we also grew up with them. You could always go on YouTube and look over the top games for each system and they should show a preview of how they look and about how they will play. Keep in mind some classic games go for some good money, this can be a very expensive rabbit hole to go down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBerel Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 I would echo the wii route. You can pick one up cheap, soft mod it easily and run most classic systems nicely. It's a classic system in its own right now. You can also buy a PlayStation controller adaptor for the wiimote or the GameCube control ports, then plug in any number of older PS controllers like a used arcade fight stick or something. That would probably be an easy way to cover the gamut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.