So glad Atari's including manuals. 👍 They are listening!

Opening boxes carefully and with a delicate touch was not something 10-year-old me would have done. 😃

Nice to see Atari actually doing something like this for their legacy hardware. I wish Nintendo and Sega would do something similar with their legacy systems, as well.

The way you open the games is SATISFYING! I also like the sleeve. Great Retro Content, Thanks Jon!👍🏻🇺🇲

The saturation of these Atari products is a surreal contrast to how little use Sega, Hori, etc., make of their back catalogue (of hardware, software and peripherals). This controller is beyond niche.

For Star Raiders, that extension cable is perfect.

Those manuals look great! They are not reproduction manuals as the original manuals were simply fold out with limited color. These new one are full color booklets! Quite the upgrade and very happy to see them included.

Love how careful you are opening the boxes. I do the exact same thing.

Does anyone else miss the cool game manuals that used to be included with games? I remember some of the really cool ones that came with early computer games and the Atari 2600 games and some early NES games. Some game creators put some really cool stuff in the manuals that made the games just that little bit extra special.

I gotta say, I really like those little game sleeves. I kinda want those for all all of my old Atari games!

The CX78+ product page is now "Add to cart" instead of "Pre-order"! Finally! (I'm in USA.)

I wish they would bring back Aquaventure, Save Mary, Saboteur & Yars' Return with permanent reissues. I don't relish the idea of paying $300+ for one of these games on the secondary market, assuming I can even find them.

I’ve had a couple of the 7800 game pad controllers for many many years and they’re what should have shipped with the 7800. Awesome controllers

After 3 weeks and 33 years a non $300 uk cx78 controller

I had a somewhat tough day, and your new video just saved the day! :-) Thank you! I think I’ll be getting the CX78+ Oh, BTW, don’t say we don’t read instructions! :-) Actually the lack of instructions was one of my strongest criticisms when they released the 2600+ (I wrote them, and I’m very happy they listened, because an Atari game without instructions is not an Atari game… how do you know how to play, or even the “game select” matrix otherwise? Besides, the art in the 2600 game instructions was beautiful!)

Thank god after 33 years a non $300 uk controller

Game changer. I use a Epyx 500 instead of the standard Atari stick. It's better but this new controller will make old games new again. Can't wait for mine. Thanks for the review.

Thanks so much for the update regarding shipping date. Looking forward to the Game Pad as my last 7800 Pro line controller is literally being held together with scotch tape.

Great video Jon, it's nice to see more love for the Atari 7800 because it just doesn't get enough love. Thank you very much!

The added music was a nice touch :) Love everything you showed off here!

Great over view and honest review. I like that you are willing to admit when you were wrong about your first impression and clarify.

Jon, I just noticed that you have a Micronauts Antron in the background, and that triggered fond memories of my collection of Micronauts toys. I love the videogame videos; any chance you and the team might tackle some toy nostalgia?

cx78 are where it’s at, props to them for doing that. The end labels of the 7800 is killing me. They knocked it out of the park with the rest but the lack of bold text and odd off centering and omission of the pro system text kills me entirely.

Good to hear we have a date now. I love how Atari includes mini sleeves for the carts. I think they would do well to put out a pack of Atari branded sleeves for collectors. Also, i wonder if you could just drill a hole in the center of the cx78 controller and just move it

The joystick extensions doN't always make sense since you still often have to use the buttons on the console itself. Glad to see they are including manuals with these games. They didn't bother to include one with Berzerk which was a bummer.

These are a God send! I have Atari joysticks that are simply worn out with dead zones , yeah originals are plenty but one never knows how much wear is on them already. With these i know i am getting a brand new controller. Assuming they work on original hardware.Thanks for covering

Looking forward to these. Fatal Run is a pretty cool game. The 2600 version is a 32KB cart. Of course, the graphics aren't as a good but it's a fairly sophisticated title. I agree, the cable in the corner on the CX78+ is not the optimal design choice.

Glad they listened about people wanting manuals included, hoping Mr Run And Jump gets the same treatment.

I received my paddles and the controller here in Australia on the 27th of May. I must be one of the lucky ones I guess.

I'm so glad that CX78+ gamepad controller works so well. I'll need those to replace the joysticks I got with my 7800 that are not working. I'll probably jet the 9-pin extensions as well. I mean where else can you get something like that these days? My old CX30 paddle controllers don't work anymore so I was glad to find the CX30+ paddle controllers on Amazon for preorder. Once I get those I'll finally be able to play Breakout on all my consoles. I can't wait! I'm well stocked with joysticks so I'll have to take a closer look at that CX40+ to see if I think it's something I want. I still have extra CX40s that haven't even been used yet. I remember Food Fight and Ninja Golf being advertised back in the day, but I was never much interested in them. I don't think I have a road race cartridge of any kind so I might be looking for that Fatal Run cart. Actually, the other two might be fun after all. I'll have to check out your play videos.

On the back of the game box, you can find 3 languages: english, french, spanish. For the US, Canada and Mexico. For English, they put the american flag. For Spanish, they put the mexican flag. For French, they put the canad… no.. the French flag. Im happy. Im French 🇫🇷😎

Hey great reviews!. I am with you that cable is in an awkward spot. When I get mine, I will mod it to come out the center. Should be pretty easy.

Good review as always, I already have the original three 7800 games so I’m not sure I need those but definitely will be grabbing a couple of those game pads soon.

Ninja Golf looks fun. It also looks like a video game you’d see Bart playing on an early episode of the Simpsons. lol

This was a real fun watch. Hopefully i will be picking up a VCS+ soon. Feels like im missing out.

These controllers were a God send back in the day, and depending on what game you played would determine whether you had the thumbs stick screwed in or not , and was certainly a lot better for playing pac man with the D-pad. The only problem I found with useing them over the last 35 years was that the wires inside the cable would break and I would have to re wire it from lime to time. But a much better controller was a sega 3 button controller modified and re wired for the 7800, it has the comfort and response that a modern controller has.

I’m go to buy the Flynn’s Arcade cap. Now that’s a big door!!!

Really hoping Atari will actually contract homebrewers for new games for the 2600/7800, even if at times a license for a popular game has to be attained.

Hey Jon, thanks for the update. 👍🏻 As a European Gen-X guy I'm used to the 78 Controller and for ages my American friends complained about not getting the pad in the US. Now you all have the opportunity to buy it (new) and everyone (except for you) starts whining about the cord placement, the length of the cord, the plastic stick... This pad is around for 40 years or so. Did no one ever notice that "flaws" before? I'm 57 and I sit cross legged in front of the TV, the way you should play Atari (in 4:3 of course) with your family and friends. Atari (or the company behind the name) did a great job so far. Being true and as close as possible to the original. That includes back pain, a numb thump and all the fun we had back in 1977

Bellissimo controller 👍🏻 Anche se commento poco ti seguo e ovviamente like📀

Thanks for another great video review!

Love the games. Already preordered Ninja Golf. I need to order the other two. I got extension cables months ago on Amazon.

wow man you sold me on that extention cable what a thing of beauty 😃

I came for the Joypad. I have an original pair I imported from Germany years ago and always liked them. However, the *only* thing I would have wanted to see changed on it is that corner wire connection. It is annoying. Purists couldn’t have legitimately cried about that because there were already other functional changes made. Had Atari released the 7800 with these controllers worldwide, that console may have yielded much more success than it did, especially if they hadn’t sat on it in warehouses for three years.

John, thank you so much for filming detailed, slow unboxings. It took me hours to verify that the plastic bag I got in my Coleco tabletop Galaxian actually was originally packaged wrapped around the UNIT and wasn't a bag for the manual, etc.. 😆🙃 👍👌🤙

as an european friend. I never looked back after having the original gamepad back in time. Since later 2600 were sold with the ugly Pro joystick - this was shifting stuff into second gear.

I loved Food Fight at the arcade "back in the day". I was never able to recreate that experience until I got an @games Legend "console" and used that with the MAME emulation to play the arcade version again.

I only have more modern systems 2000s and newer but every single one of my systems is in my TV console stand except for my GameCube which I have sitting on my coffee table. The GameCube cables are too short on the controllers and so I extend the video cable as far as it'll go to give me extra length.

atari is doing some decent things for the fans ect.....cheers atari!!

I do wish they produced an updated classic 7800 controller. I'm sure it was due to cost. But I never liked the NES-ized 7800 gamepad. It's too difficult to press both buttons simultaneously. Centipede is far superior with the classic 7800 controller. Sure it only used one button, but the way you held it gave you more control stick support.

Thanks for another great video Jon! Can't wait to see the Friday Plays on these games.

Thanks for the reply. I went ahead and ordered Ninja Golf, Fatal Run and the controller directly from Atari. Ben/Plaion/AtariAge is saying US shipments are due at the end of the month, so fingers crossed.

Great video! Very thorough review. Thank you

The extension cord is nice. The TV I played Atari on as a kid was a postage stamp compared to a modern TV.

I wish they would've reproduced the fold out poster that was in every game for 7800.

As a kid, I have always wanted the gamepad!!!

Nice review. I play with an original CX-78 JoyPad, and I do not think I have ever had a problem with the cord placement. Of course, I have also heard complaints about the buttons being too far apart, and I had never noticed that either.

Received my 7800 game pad yesterday. Overall the game pad is good. I like the design and build quality of the controller. The cable placement of the cable on the right side is not much of an issue, but I can see why it would be annoying. The thumb stick will be an adjustment. I tried different 7800 games with the thumb stick on the controller. I thought Galaga, Xevious and Food Fight worked well. Ms Pac Man, Donkey Kong need those precise moves , which no thumb stick on these games are not necessary. I will have to adjust to using the controller. Overall good. NINJA GOLF IS THE BOMB! 😁👍

The new gamepad is must for those who want to keep their collection all "Atari" and not rely on homemade controllers off of Ebay.

Love the sleeves! Never had Ninja Golf. Sold! Fatal Run was Pal only I think so I’m putting my order in asap!

The European Atari 7800 controller has been around for years. Mark Bussler of CGR used one in many of his Atari 7800 reviews. Certainly better than that terrible controller that came with it in 1986. You'll be playing that first course for hours if you don't know how to swing LOL Each area (fairway, sand bunker, water, grass) has different enemies so despite its goofy premise Ninja Golf definitely has the gameplay.

It would be nice to have the joystick with two buttons, never been keen on the D pad.

Great video Jon! That new 7800 controller looks sweet :-) Keep up the awesome work!

That's the O.G. control

I ordered two of these gamepads from Amazon back in February. Hopefully, they will ship soon! And on another note, looks like there's enough room (based on the pcb layout) to reroute the cable from the right to the center of the controller. Would need to simply create a u-notch with a soldering iron. Of course you would have an "extra" hole on the top on your gamepad. Just slap some black electrical tape on and problem solved...🙂

Gamepad looks good. Would have liked to seen a bit more of the new manuals in your review though.

Like many other people, I never got the 5200 or 7800, I had moved on to Intellivision & Colecovision at that point, but your video makes me wish I had tried it. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but the Vectrex was an underrated console, I never bought one, but they sure looked great at Sears! Maybe you will do an episode on the Vectrex one day as well...

Someone needs to 3D print a new cover so that cable can come out of the middle instead of the side. 🙂

Incredible, Jon! I can't wait to get my order now!

really amazing... i'm waiting for it

I was just looking for this info this morning! Thanks!

luckily i have the original 10ft extension cables.

Sweet! Controller looks cool! 😊

Great first look. Can you show how the CX78+ works with more 2600 games? I'm wondering how Pitfall would be with just the d-pad.

Ninja Golf and Fatal Run are both fun games. I have finished them on easier difficulties and enjoyed both quite a bit. Food Fight is good too, but Food Fight is almost universally loved.

Warning don't try to pull the plug apart from the cables, pull part by the plugs. You can accidentally break the cables on the inside and they will not work correctly after awhile.

Fatal run does remind me of road blasters.

They did up their game on those cartridges since I don’t recall them ever having it in a cardboard sleeve. I only have a loose copy of Food Fight, and having that with two other games I’ve never played is neat to see. That controller looks really interesting, and even getting an extension cable is a must because there what we did with our PS1, PS2 and GameCube systems (although we use our Wavebirds more these days when we play). We didn’t preorder anything so I’m hoping that we will be able to get what we want soon.

That wire placement would drive me nuts. Currently I don't have any games that require that controller, so I have no plans on getting one. Still, it looks pretty neat.

Woah why wasnt cable coming out of top middle, top right is by buttons too much

that looks awesome. I do love the new Atari stuff.

Drilling a top middle hole in top be easy for wire

Yes we have no bananas!!! Fun stuff! Great video!

The thumb stick: the Sega Master System initially shipped with a removable thumb stick of the same kind, and a rubbery "hub cover". It was bad. SG-1000 was worse.

I was really hoping a new console would be coming out with these controllers, but I guess a 7800+ is unnecessary if the 2600+ can play 7800 cartridges the way the 7800 Pro System could also play 2600 carts.

Wonder what the pcb looks like inside the carts Great to see atari flourishing again and some great titled getting re issued

Is it possible for Atari to release Intellivision games on Atari cartridges and add Intellivision emulation to the Atari 2600+? The hardware in the 2600+ is strong enough to run Intellivision emulation.

I always wondered about the original 7800 controllers. Certainly Atari did play testing and realized the controllers were painful to use after an hour.

I thought, "I wonder how it feels compared to the NES controller" and then, right then, you said it was comparable. Thanks for reading my mind. Great review, thanks for the shipping update too - that got muddy for me over on Atari Age. Side note: Do you do any GenX consulting? I'm a late returner to the video game party, and I'm discovering things that I didn't know were possible and I feel like a NOOB. How do I negotiating my feelings of FOMO while still relishing in the party? (this is sarcasm, btw). Thanks for

Perfect timing. I just bought some original 7800 carts and don’t have a controller. Was thinking of getting an original one but seeing this official one I want it. Do you think that if I preorder from Atari now I’d be able to score one? Been hearing about all the delays and worried it’s all sold out or not available anymore. It’s not listed on Amazon either now.

Jon, your up there with only a couple retro youtubers I care to follow regularly. I recently revisited your 2600+ firmware vid. John Hancock just released a video similarly on those new goodies. He showed the screen to Atariage for that recent update. Have you looked at that? I'm having a tough time with the learning curve. And wonder if I still need to follow your January how to? And if you did it.

Hey Jon, love your content! Quick question, any more info on the upcoming Gamestation Portable which was recently anounced?

It's also helps that the 7800 version is 8 direction instead of the arcades 64 directions which emulates like crap

I've been waiting so long to find out when the CX-78 would be available! The web page still says pre-orders, and it was supposed to be available last month. I can't order them until after they're generally available, because I need to know whether or not they will work with a C64 or C128. It should, but there are actually a LOT of Atari 2600 compatible controllers that don't work on other machines. Another thing I'm curious about is how well it can be used as a small arcade style stick - putting the controller on a table or carpet, pressing the action buttons with your second and third fingers.

I'm sixty. Sitting cross legged? Not an option. Give the cords to my sofa next to my adult beverage and pipe.

I wonder if the extension cable works with Atarivox

I guess I'm one of those guy... never happy. it's GOOD to see all those "new" controllers , accessories but.... Can we get a "new" Trak Ball ATARI 2600 ??? ... 😕

The controller may not be perfect, but it's so much better than the abomination the 7800 originally shipped with. My wrist still aches from that thing.

that wire placement could probably be 'user adjusted' with a drill or dremel do they make that as USB for the mini400 or gamestation? DB9 is so 80s

Will the 2 button controller work with the Colecovision as a 2 button controller?