It’s always worth revisiting the classics, and there are plenty of retro consoles and emulators that make it possible. Atari 400 Mini But it’s a more niche product than we’re used to, and that’s what makes it so interesting: the 8-bit retro replica console has been reduced to $102 (a saving of $18). Amazon This is a limited-time opportunity, but about half of the units have already been reserved.
The Atari 400 was one of the brand’s first home consoles and computers, known for having a keyboard in addition to the iconic joystick. It was released in 1979, which is probably why I’ve never heard of most of the games in this lineup (I didn’t set foot on this planet until 1988). asteroid, Star Raiders II, centipedeand Berserker While these games are familiar to me and I’ve played some of them over the years, there are still some on this list of 25 that I simply didn’t get around to in time (you can see the full lineup in our hands-on here ).
It emulates Atari 400 games as well as subsequent titles released up until the Atari 5200. If you need more games, you can sideload additional games on a flash drive (if you have digital copies) using one of the console’s five USB ports, which you can also use to connect the included classic joystick, as well as keyboards, controllers, and other supported peripherals.
You can play in 720p over HDMI. You can choose between the classic 4:3 aspect ratio that was limiting on CRT sets of the time, or a “Pixel Perfect” mode that scales to modern displays. There’s also the option to overlay digital scanlines on your game for a really dramatic effect. You can also rewind up to 30 seconds of gameplay. It also supports snapshot saves with up to four slots per game, so you never lose your progress.
The Vergeof Andrew Webster I felt that many of the games remained enjoyable even as they aged – after all, Atari had plenty of other retro consoles to reference, including their own 2600 clones and similar offerings from long-time rivals Sega and Nintendo, so there were plenty of examples to get this right – if you already have a wealth of 8-bit treasures then you can probably pass, but if you’re looking for something unique and unusual for your collection then it’s a reasonable buy.