Atari 7800+

[VideoGameCritic]

I found this interesting:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/11/ ... aming-era/

I can understand the appeal of the Atari 2600+ because it was so popular, but the 7800 was more niche, and its controller was pretty bad.

Thoughts?

[BlasteroidAli]

You get it with the euro 7800 controller which was more of a NES offshoot in feel. Also, it is wireless. Other than that, it might have better firmware built in as they have had another year to get it right. I have considered getting one but .... only to play Apollos Space Cavern on my 4k tv. Essentially it is the same unit with a different controller.

I think I would prefer the 400 mini.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM1DY61OcTc That is Gen X grown ups channel. Quite a down to earth view of the console.
Meanwhile,John Hancock focuses a lot more on the games. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cF2HFjaALM&ab_channel=JohnHancock

Also, the 7800 was bigger in Europe. So it should come as no surprise that it is sold out on Amazon UK. Whereas there is still stock of the old Atari 2600 plus.

[lynchie137]

I think it's cool that it's out there if one's interested in playing 7800 games in HD. But to be honest, I'd rather run out and get the 2600+ console, as the 2600 was something I grew up with. Whereas the 7800 was just something I occasionally seen on store shelves at K-Mart or read about on game magazines. Now don't get me wrong, some of the games for it are pretty good (I'll go to my grave saying their port of Ms. Pac-Man was the best home console port of that game for the time), but it just don't have that nnostalgia factor that the 2600 has for me...

[mbd36]

I think it's cool that it's out there if one's interested in playing 7800 games in HD. But to be honest, I'd rather run out and get the 2600+ console, as the 2600 was something I grew up with. Whereas the 7800 was just something I occasionally seen on store shelves at K-Mart or read about on game magazines. Now don't get me wrong, some of the games for it are pretty good (I'll go to my grave saying their port of Ms. Pac-Man was the best home console port of that game for the time), but it just don't have that nnostalgia factor that the 2600 has for me...

I did have a 7800 for awhile as a kid because it was backwards compatible with our huge pile of 2600 games.

It was alright, but what I really wanted was a NES. That's where all the hottest new games were.

[lynchie137]

.

It was alright, but what I really wanted was a NES. That's where all the hottest new games were.

I think that's how a lot of kids felt back then. At least in my neck in the woods. We all started out on the 2600, but as soon as NES arrived, most of us wanted to make the switch to that console. And those who didn't get a NES either went for the Master System or waited until the Genesis came out. I never knew anyone who had a 7800, and to tell you the truth, I never even played a 7800 game until many years later when I discovered emulation. As you said, it's an all right system, but after spending some time with it and playing some of the games, I 've come to the conclusion that it just don't have that "wow" factor that NES games did. Yes, there's some really good games for it, but none blew my mind like the way something like the NES port of Double Dribble or Contra did. Not even Ms. Pac-Man did, though like I said before, that to me is the best home port of the game at the time, and nothing's gonna change my mind about that. Still, if I had the choice between the 7800 and playing said port of Ms. Pac-Man or the NES with something like Super Mario Bros, I think I'd be definitely going for the latter....

[Luigi & Peach]

I think it's cool that it's out there if one's interested in playing 7800 games in HD. But to be honest, I'd rather run out and get the 2600+ console, as the 2600 was something I grew up with. Whereas the 7800 was just something I occasionally seen on store shelves at K-Mart or read about on game magazines. Now don't get me wrong, some of the games for it are pretty good (I'll go to my grave saying their port of Ms. Pac-Man was the best home console port of that game for the time), but it just don't have that nnostalgia factor that the 2600 has for me...

I did have a 7800 for awhile as a kid because it was backwards compatible with our huge pile of 2600 games.

It was alright, but what I really wanted was a NES. That's where all the hottest new games were.

100% agree with this. I was unaware the 7800 even existed until my parents got one for me for Christmas. Fortunately all of my friends had an NES so I still got to play a lot of the games. I loved Food Fight on the 7800 though. The instant replay when you had a great run was an awesome feature.

[mbd36]

I think it's cool that it's out there if one's interested in playing 7800 games in HD. But to be honest, I'd rather run out and get the 2600+ console, as the 2600 was something I grew up with. Whereas the 7800 was just something I occasionally seen on store shelves at K-Mart or read about on game magazines. Now don't get me wrong, some of the games for it are pretty good (I'll go to my grave saying their port of Ms. Pac-Man was the best home console port of that game for the time), but it just don't have that nnostalgia factor that the 2600 has for me...

I did have a 7800 for awhile as a kid because it was backwards compatible with our huge pile of 2600 games.

It was alright, but what I really wanted was a NES. That's where all the hottest new games were.

100% agree with this. I was unaware the 7800 even existed until my parents got one for me for Christmas. Fortunately all of my friends had an NES so I still got to play a lot of the games. I loved Food Fight on the 7800 though. The instant replay when you had a great run was an awesome feature.

Our 2600 didn't have a good picture anymore. My mom went to Toys R Us and they sold her on the 7800 because of the backwards compatibility. Probably wanted to sell them off.

I remember the 7800 games we had were Pole Position 2, Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug and Food Fight. So the 7800 games I played weren't a big leap from 2600 even though they were very nice arcade ports. I remember PP2 being brutal on the thumb though, having to hold in that button.