Thought I'd start a thread about the new Atari Gamestation Pro (GSP) from MyArcade. I've been interested in in since it was previewed at one of the American game shows earlier in the year. It's now due out within the next month and has evolved into a neat looking little unit that comes with two joysticks with spinner controls and a selection of Atari 2600, 5200, 7800 and Arcade games built in. Importantly it also has a Micro-SD card slot included as well and you can add your own Atari/Nes/Megadrive etc games to it. Amazon UK don't have a price for it yet, but Argos have it on pre-order for £119. Here's the first YouTube review of it courtesy of GenXGrownUp So what do you think folks, does this appeal to anyone here? Or how about the Atari 2600+ as an alternative?
Hmmm.... I'll keep me eyes peeled, Al... you never know, as I keep coming back to the 7800 as an attractive retro console option. Just went through that video and at 1st I didn't like the look of the poor number of 5200 and 7800 titles but of course at the back of your mind you remember that this thing has an SD card slot... lo and behold, as well as the arcade bonus titles - and other console games - you can actually add a shedful more 5200 & 7800 titles etc. It's a winner, mate. I like it. A lot
The 7800 versions of Asteroids, Centipede and Galaga are my favourites of all the home conversions. Overall, the 7800 is a cracking little system. I've now pre-ordered a GSP from Argos
The Atari2600+ is essentially a 7800 in a 2600 style case. It plays games from both systems just like the 7800, but with HDMI output. The bit I don't care for is that it is emulated, not FPGA. So I'll stick with my 7800 and it's S-video mod upscaled to VGA through my adapter/upscaler. The Game Station Pro supports the 5200 and arcade titles too and has an SD slot for future possibilities. I believe it is also emulated too... By the way, even though the Game Station is licensed from Atari and made by My Arcade it appears to be fully supported by Atari as a product along side the 2600+, and can be purchased from the Atari.com store (which has now been changed from AtariVCS.com to just Atari.com) just like the 2600+ and Atari VCS 800. https://atari.com/blogs/newsroom/my-arcade-releases-the-atari-gamestation-pro-with-200-games
That's right, both units are software based emulation rather than FPGA as the cost would be prohibitive. I'm not bothered on the methods used to emulate, as long as it feels close enough to the original. And right now, probably around 90% of my retro gaming is done under emulation anyway. What I am looking forward to is an easy way to plug a compact little unit into the living room TV or take on holiday with me and have lots of my favourite Atari games ready to play. The GSP probably fulfills that role best with it's SD card an easy use of rom files. One of the Atari team likened the 2600+ to the experience of playing your old vinyl with a new turntable and I quite like that idea. Also the 2600+ looks cute as hell with it's light up Atari logo on the front lol. As Matt says as well, the GSP looks to be getting fully promoted by Atari which although perhaps seeminly a strange move that puts it into competition with the 2600+ is a nice thing to see. On the other hand, as Atari have licensed the 2600+ to be manufactured by a third party they probably win either way and get wider brand recognition in stores and online over the Christmas holidays. I also think if Atari get things right with brining out new cartridges at a decent price they could create a decent niche market for people who collect or want to just play some old school games.
Agreed, Al. I'm looking for portability too and the joy of either rediscovery of old games (but improved in the graphics and sound departments - not to mention those controllers being so sweet) or brand new experiences as I've played next to zero 5200/7800 Atari console conversions so that's a whole lot of new Atari gaming for me ahead - game on!
The 7800 is vastly underrated I think. Not so sure about the 5200 personally with it's analogue controller and keypad. Further reports appearing now that the GSP supports the Xbox Series X wireless controller.
