Atari 2600 Plus (Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk)

Whilst the original Atari 2600 was slightly before my time, I’ve always been curious of the earliest home games that were released during late 70s and the 80s.. So I tried the Atari Flashback series and the fantastic Atari 50 collection (available on Switch, PS5 and Xbox). Whilst the flashback series are decent 'mini' consoles, their devices were not true to the original hardware in many regards, and none had the ability to accept original cartridges. That’s why I was so excited to hear that Atari, as it is in its current form, was to release the Atari 2600 plus, a console that is as close to an original Atari machine as you can get without buying an original and all that entails. The machine itself is 80 percent the size of the original device and comes as the four switched version. The build seems pretty good and the switches seem high quality. There is a HDMI port for connection to TV (I really appreciate this, since it makes it so easy to hook up to modern TVs and the HDMI cable is provided in the box). Power is provided via a USB C port, and a cable (USB A to USB C) is provided in the box too, though note that you need to provide your own USB power adapter. Also in the box is a single joystick (CX-40) that connects via an original DB9 connector (and as far as I know, original accessories from the original are compatible). The joystick seems really good, if a bit stiff... but I don't think these joysticks were ever the most comfortable input devices. Expect sore hands after a few hours of gaming. A 10 in 1 game cartridge is provided in the box and contains a few Atari classics. Choosing each game is a matter of setting the DIP switches on the back of the cart as per the instruction on the cart label. Of these games, I felt Missile command was currently my favourite. It is a pity they don't have pitfall, asteroids, space invaders or the infamous ET on this cart. Same as the original consoles, there is a cartridge port on top that you insert the cartridge into (either the new carts released by Atari, or original carts). Once the cartridge is inserted and the unit switched on you’re presented with an Atari boot screen and after 10 or 15 seconds your game is booted up and ready to play. A nice touch is the lit up Atari logo on the front of the device! As far as I can tell, without owning original hardware… the games run as original console and play as expected. I think some reviews online have suggested some slight input lag (I believe with the paddles), but I haven't had any issues with the paddles myself. My own opinion is that there is a very, very slight amount of latency, without doing any complicated latency tests, but nothing to stop you enjoying and playing the games. Input with the joystick is perfect. According to the Atari website this console uses emulation to play games. I guess this system dumps the ROM from the games cartridge onto the internal memory for the emulation software to run it, hence the slight delay at boot up. Since this is emulation and not original hardware, there may be some games that don’t run and Atari have posted a games compatibility list on their website. Whilst the build quality and function are superb, I must warn that many of the games from the 70s and 80s have not aged well. If you know what you’re getting into and are an Atari fan, I think you will love it. Otherwise, I think many will play with this an hour or two and put it away. This really is a system for people who already have a collection of Atari games cartridges, or for those who are very much into early Atari or passionate retro collectors. Further Updates: I’ve also purchased the paddles now and my first impressions are excellent. You get two paddles in the pack and a 4 game cartridge. The paddles are of very high quality and the mechanism is really nice and smooth and with just the right amount of resistance for precision during games. The single button also gives good feedback too. The games are pretty good, especially breakout, canyon bomber and video Olympics. Night driver is ok… it’s got interesting graphics but I found it hard to control. All in all the paddles are a great deal considering what you get in the box. In addition, I bought an extra Joystick and the Mr Run and Jump game. The separate joystick is as per the Joystick included with the 2600 plus console. As such is also stiff, and from what I know, this is how it was at the time of the original 2600. The fire button is nice, with good feedback. I have to say, I think I like the looser joysticks that came with the Flashback series of mini consoles...they feel a bit more comfortable to use for long gaming sessions. But still, this joystick has fantastic build quality and it does the job well. The new Mr Run and Jump game looks superb considering its simplicity. I will update this review once I have time to give it a play through.

If you have a stack of old 2600 and 7800 cartridges lying around and your original hardware has bitten the dust, this is an essential piece of kit. The tactile experience of putting the carts in really adds to the nostalgia, and the joysticks are a glorious replica of those un-ergonomic chunks of hard plastic Atari gave us back in the 70's. It's only really going to appeal to the generation wanting to relive their game playing youth or videogame archaeologists, but it's target audience will love it. IMPORTANT: There are a lot of customer reviews here that complain that their 2600+ won't load all their games. Over the years the cartridge contacts often build up a layer of dirt. Arm yourself with a box of cotton buds and some Isopropyl/lighter fluid (there are plenty of video guides are out there) and they'll clean up really nicely. I got plenty of games to load that originally refused to. Obviously there are some games that will fail after after a few decades, but I only found 2 out of around 180 that just wouldn't work after repeatedly cleaning. There are some issues with PAL games when using the firmware that comes out of the box (displaying incorrect colours or having sprites missing), but the beta update is available through the Atari age forums which fixes them. This should be officially available once it's gone through some more testing. The developers are also available on the forum to answer queries or talk about future features. Atari are currently re-releasing some classic 2600 & 7800 carts along with some new ones. This is definitely a product that Atari hasn't pushed out on the shelves and forgotten about.

The number of Atari Flashbacks and the varying games in each will make your head spin as will the price of an Atari VCS. This however a work of genius and 100% a time machine that will take you back to your childhood, or your parents childhood. Well packaged, and a thing of beauty when opened this is a near perfect replica in modern materials and slightly smaller. Great connectivity at the rear for your modern HDMI TV, yet the toggles and buttons on the front are just as a I remember them. The joysticks are pretty true to their 1980s ancestors as well, tough as hell to use, and not the most ergonomic to hold but thats the price for a piece of retro tech! What is most impressive for both the engineers who designed and manufactured this replica in 2023, and the software engineers and manufacturing back in the day, is that cartridges from 1982 actually work, the first I tried was Asteroids in perfect condition, practically unopened. The second River Raid, and this is where I would suggest you buy some rubbing alcohol or other suitable cleaner if you intend to buy or have original cartridges. I've tried a couple of River Raid cartridges without success, until I read a suggestion to clean the contacts on the cartridge with a suitable cleaner. £4 well spent on Amazon and I have a working cartridge of the Activision classic, and perhaps the best game of all time, River Raid. Honestly the feeling that clunk of the cartridge gives you as you insert it, and power the console on is hard to beat. Buy one, buy one now!

Well done Atari! This machine really does capture the experience of the original VCS/2600. The only change is the short loading time for each cartridge. But the nice Atari splash screen on power up is a nice touch. The build quality of the console feels premium and once you are loading up games, it feels authentic, you forget it's scaled down by 20%. It just feels like you are using and interacting with an original console. The switches feel identical to the original machine. The picture quality is spot on and the HDMI hook up takes all of the hassle out of connecting up to a modern TV. I didn't notice any lag while playing and all of my original cartridges loaded without issue. The joystick feels solid and authentic. Very pleased with my new Atari 2600+!

This Atari 2600+ has nice packaging, and is nicely designed on the Stella emulator system, so it work slightly different to the old heavy sixers and the like. Its a bit tricky to upgrade the firmware, as you need to get 4 downloads to get the upgrade completed, but once you have done it once, you need just one download for the operating system, on future upgrades. The other 3 programs are drivers and ways to make the connection from your PC to 2600+. Its easy to setup, but mine started at V1.00 and after the upgrade is 2.001. The 10 free games are a poor selection, so I recommend buying some old original tittles like Pacman, Frostbite, Pressure Cooker, Keystone Capers, Asteroids and Space Invaders, as some good gameplay classics, that you will play time and again. The only halfway decent game is missile command, but the others are poor unless you are playing with two players, and as the console only comes with one joystick, the 19 are not the best choices. The Atari icon that lights up at the front when in operation is a nice tough and the quality of the new joystick feels very good. All in all I am happy with the new system, as the picture is pin sharp and you can extend the old 4:3 ratio, to fill a modern 10:9 TV. I also like that the old 2600 and 7800 cart titles are supported in the main, their are a few exceptions, but the firmware upgrade sorts out a lot of the initial compatibility issues. This new system is not for everyone, but as time goes on, and new software is added to the library of programs, I am sure it will out shone the 2600. I am surprised Plaion has made this move to rerelease the 2600, but its exactly what I want and had in mind, so I am happy to have the 2600 back in my life. A tip I can suggest is using the plastic clear shield that cover the console in the box, can be used a dust cover, with a few slots cut out for the cables etc. You could also use this shield as a template to make a cover from other materials.

Do you yearn to go back to your childhood? Do you want to relive great times from the past? Do you want to recreate the look of TVs and there accessories from the 70/80s? Then this is for you. Set this up under your TV plug in the hdmi, plug in the power and attach your included controller. Push in the included games cartridge ( ensure you have selected Yars revenge, arguably one of the best games on Atari) and of you go. Your back in the 80s, hogging the family TV, surrounded by the sounds of droning from yesterday year. I love this product. It's small and neat. The controller works well (if a little stiffer than the original as my memory serves) and works easily. It is obviously emulating as there is a pause from switching on to seeing the title screen of your game, something the original never did but who cares it feels, when playing the games authentic. I have been buying from eBay some of the other games I want (like space invaders :)) and had no problems with this. I'm waiting now for the paddles etc to become available and the additional joystick and then I'm away. Please, if you remember this product with fond memories, get one you won't be disappointed. Yes the games graphics were rubbish the sound, terrible and the game play short but the memories are great and the children of today should see how lucky they are with the tech they have now!!!!

Works as Intended and simple setup, selecting games seemed a bit "upside down" when you look at the cartridge and then flip it around to change but the numbers help you realise what is what so nothing game breaking, comes with one joystick and a handful of games. If you have the original games laying around, give them a try as it technically will fit and known to play 95% of the old school games!!!!! (update firmware) A nice touch with the light up Atari logo. (see photo) It is not as heavy as the original which you will be thankful for haha Half the size keeping close to the original for HDMI. You will be happy to know it has almost everything to play, It comes with 1x HDMI Cable, 1x USB Power Cable, 1x Joystick. All you need is a USB plug. (I recommend buying one that is not cheaply made and connect it to a surge protector.) I use my old Samsung plugs that are laying around and even the surge protector power USB My favourite game is Missile Attack that comes with this Mini console. A challenging game is the Volleyball The game Im trying to figure out is Haunted House and Adventure. Some games are two player but you only have 1 controller. majority of the games are single player. Recommend for anyone who enjoys Retro games and even collecting the Mini Consoles. You can not go wrong! NOTE: There is also games coming out for the Atari 2600+ like Dark Chambers, Tiger-Helicopter, Avalanche and countermeasure 2 that says it will work with this coming in July 2025.

A great product. I added the purchase of a pair of the paddle controllers, which work great, too. Real cartridge games for the system can still be very expensive 😕, but keep searching, car boots, second hand stores, etc, sometimes a bargain will be found, especially after the application of some 'contact cleaner,' on the edge connector of the cartridge, then the games will work again.

La console est incroyable je l’ai acheté pour offrir à mon père qui a connu cette console à l’époque. Elle est parfaite tout marche parfaitement bien. Juste quand elle arrive elle est en version 1.0.0 ce qui empêche de jouer à certains jeux Atari 7800, vous devez rechercher atari 2600+ update sur votre navigateur et cliquer sur le lien du du site atari officiel puis installer l’application et suivez les indications. C’est super bien expliqué on ne peut pas se tromper. J’espère que mon père va aimer ce cadeau en tout cas pour les fan de la console d’origine foncez elle est sublime, franchement si on me coupe le wifi et que l’on me met devant ça, je m’amuserai beaucoup.

Brilliant! Well built. Slightly smaller than the original but that's kinda cool. Satisfying solid clunk when you use the switches and the LED logo is a nice touch. My old carts worked first time. But the newer 7800 carts didn't UNTIL I flashed the firmware from the factory fresh version 1.0 to the current 2.0.1.4 found on Atari's website. Very easy and quick to do. This is an absolute necessity if you want all your games to load. Otherwise all good. Let the memories roll in!

Helaas ontbreekt de hdmi-kabel.

Il nuovo Atari 2600+ riproduce perfettamente la consolle originale, con misure leggermente ridotte (del 30% circa) che la rendono un po' più piccola, più gradevole alla vista e più facile da sistemare in mostra. Anche da spenta fa un figurone sulla scrivania, veramente molto bella. La peculiarità pricipale è che permette di utilizzare tutte le vecchie cartridge originali, anche quelle nuove e le home-brew, i vecchi joystick e paddle originali, proprio come la vecchia, gloriosa consolle anni '70, ma con uscita HDMI e ingombri ridotti. Attenzione per i "puristi" dell'hardware, la funzionalità del gioco avviene tramite emulazione, non hanno ricostruito l'hardware originale: la cartuccia viene letta e caricata in memoria, quindi riprodotta tramite emulazione (in modo a noi trasparente) ma il risultato è lo stesso al 99%, anzi possiamo dire che sia migliore dell'originale perchè colori e le immagini sono molto più definiti e cristallini. Inserisci la cartuccia, accendi la consolle e dopo un paio di secondi hai il gioco a video come l'originale. Inoltre si posso usare anche le cartucce del sistema VCS 7800 (anche queste da veri collezionisti, sono stati prodotti pochi titoli, è facile collezionarle tutte). L'idea è buona perchè ci sono nel mondo tantissimi collezionisti di giochi Atari, ma col tempo le vecchie consolle stanno cominciando a dare problemi, quindi questa è la soluzione ottimale, per chi voglia ancora fruire dei vecchi giochi tramite le cartucce originali, senza ricorrere alla pura emulazione. Conclusione: + Ottima per i collezionisti di cartucce originali, soluzione molto pratica e comoda, risultato eccellente, compatibile con il 99% dei titoli (solitamente non girano le cartucce multiple con menù iniziale). + Buona così per i collezionisti più radicali, che sicuramente preferiranno il vero hardware originale, ma per preservare le consolle d'epoca, potrebbero farne un uso diciamo quotidiano come muletto e test. [Io ho anche la VCS 2600 originale, ma la tengo da parte e uso la 2600+ per praticità]. - Sconsigliata se non si ha già una buona scorta di cartucce originali e controller da far funzionare: viene venduta con una cartuccia contentente 10 giochi e un joystick. A meno che no intendiate iniziare ora la collezione di cartucce originali, ma mi sembra improbabile. + Al lacio del prodotto sono state messe in vendita anche un paio di cartucce originali nuove di zecca, più un kit con le mitiche paddle analogiche e annessa cartuccia con 4 giochi paddle, per cui possiamo tornare ai vecchi tempi con Pong , Breakout, e così via, nella maniera giusta. ++ Fattore da non sottovalutare l'estetica: è davvero, molto bella, se avete una sala hobby farà un figurone, messa in bella mostra darà un tocco vintage e ricercato.

This is a must to everyone that had an Atari (2600 or 7800) and still have old cartdriges. Being testing for a while and It just delivers what is promisses. No fancy addons, just plug the game, connect it to tv (hdmi) and power-on. The external case is just like the old one, a bit lighter i think. The lit Atari logo is a great touch The included joystick is a bit stiff, but works fine, and yes, it is compatible with the original joysticks as well. I've tested the 10 in 1 cartdrige that came and some old ones, all booted correctly and feels the same. Bottom line: A great console - i would say that it's not an evolution, the feeling is that its the old console with new hdmi connection. If you do not have old hardware to use, maybe this is not the correct console for you, there are some that comes with preinstaled games. But if you do and want the original feel, this one is old school cartdrige dependent and it does a great job on delivering that.