Before the 1983 video game crash and Nintendo’s subsequent takeover of the industry with the NES, the Atari 2600 reigned supreme. The popular console was pretty much the poster child for ‘late 70s/early ‘80s gaming, boasting a vast library of titles that have since inspired a multitude of games for decades to come. Over 30 years after the 2600 was discontinued, it’s making a contemporary comeback.
Atari and Plaion have announced the 2600+, a modernized recreation of the four-switch model introduced in 1980. In addition to sharing the same woodgrain aesthetics and metal switches, it also includes modern features such as HDMI output, USB port, and support for multiple screen resolutions. The console comes with a new CX40+ joystick faithful to the original and supports two players.
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The Atari 2600+ launches on November 17 for $129.99. You can pre-order it now on Atari’s website. CX40 joysticks will also be sold separately for $24.99. Atari and Plaion also plan to launch the CX-30 Paddle Controller bundle that includes the paddle and a 4-in-1 game cartridge for $39.99.
Game quality is what crashed the home video game industry between Atari’s decline and Nintendo’s rise. Not that all of the games were bad, there were just so many bad games out there that buying games became a gamble that disappointed more often than not.
Nintendo improved on this by requiring games meet certain standards before they’d let someone release them for their system.
Edit: fixed typo