You can add a single game to the Harmony cartridge and it will work.

I cant explain why but there is something that delights me about relevant branding on mundane things like cables.

The Driving controller is NOT the same as the Paddle controller! They look the same on the outside, but the Paddles have a top and bottom stop on the dial while the driving controller free-spins forever in either direction. We had both when I was a kid; the paddles got almost no use but we used the driving controllers with Indy 500 all the time.

IMO, this is a mini console done right. I know the NES Mini was supposed to be a one-and-done kind of deal, but it seems like SUCH a missed opportunity to treat them as proper retro consoles, like an alternative to the "e-Shop" model. Put an actual cart slot in them, and open up a market for classic _and original_ games! The only thing that would make it better is if it used an FPGA or ASIC for hardware-based emulation, but with support for modern niceties like upscaling, save-states, etc. Maybe even a direct composite out, so that it _could_ even work with light guns... but at least CRTs. What a love letter to the retro community that would be.

I have just completed testing all of my 2600 & 7800 games. Tested 55 Atari 2600 games which all worked. Also tested 13 Atari 7800 games. I am in PAL region. The games that failed were Xevious, Food Fight, Crossbow, Ms Pac Man, Choplifter & Joust. The games that passed were Alien Brigade, Centipede, Desert Falcon, Dig Dug, Galaga, One on One Basketball & Pole Position II.

I have just watched a 38 minutes video about a console that I had not even heard of it before. Great video, I really liked that you focused into the little details instead of just saying it looks great, it is modern, bla, bla, bla...

The Atari 2600 Junior was my first console. 🙂

Thanks for testing PAL and NTSC, I picked up a load of NTSC carts when I was in the states and had no idea about the palette changes till I got home. Knowing the plus can play my pal and ntsc carts is exactly what I wanted to know 🙂

I have to say, I really appreciate your take on this. I watched several other reviews and most of them were a bit dismissive of it, and it just felt like they didn't quite "get it". I gave my 2600 away to a friend recently, so I'm not the world's biggest fan, but I love the 2600+. It's cute, a little silly and loads of fun. Atari have obviously put a lot of thought and work into making it so accurate, right down the logo on the plugs. It's clear that somebody there genuinely cares about it, and that's awesome. Also think your review is better for having bought the retail versions. Great job!

Love your video. I was 8 years old when the Atari VCS first came out. Question, just how long is the game controller cord? People don’t sit infront of their tvs as close as they used to back in 1977

Thank you for answering my light gun curiosity. I didn’t have a way to plug hdmi to my CRT so I’m thankful someone did!

I'm probably a minority, but I'd really like to see Atari do a LYNX mini.

great video. lots of love and work went into this. Thanks.

Loving the new studio and set Rees. It's lovely to see how your channel has evolved and is constantly improving. 👍

I really liked this new format on your video, I watch a lot of long videos on youtube so that was not a problem for me. just "more quality content is more quality content", which is good!

I hope they release an Atari ST plus (with fully working keyboard and mouse), that one I would buy!

The classic Atari joystick. I went through 3 of those back in the day (used them with the 2600 and Commodore 64). We won't talk about all the time spent playing Track and Field. 🤣 I don't need to rive my childhood but darn it, I want to. So this may be in my future.

Glad I found your channel. Well done 👍

You know, I’m enjoying these videos. By the time I get my 2600 plus I PRE-ORDERED THE SAME TIME PRE-ORDERS went live… by the time I get mine I’ll have see at least a 100 videos. Did you order direct from Atari? I sure… you know I bet I don’t even want to know.

Thanks for the thorough rundown. I've been thinking about picking one of these up and think I may take the plunge. Will probably wait until the new year (unless someone gets me one for Christmas!) but this will certainly make a nice replacement for my charity shop 2600 Jr!

Fantastic video Rees. Really well covered.

Beautiful video. Very professional. Love it...❤

I hope the video pad can get working with the next update.

wow I have 10x more than that and I am a 'Commodore man' lol still nice to see a CRT get a look in :)

I would guess the real reason they don't supply a mains adapter is they don't have to certify it anywhere.

My 2600+ is powered from my home surround sound amplifier. The hdmi also plugs into that and sends the signal to the 51” display. I love it. I can’t wait for people to crack it so I can play ZX spectrum and other 8 bit games.

I can definitely see a company like Analogue potentially making an FPGA Atari console. Maybe.

I'm fairly confident the reason the lightgun didn't work is because of that box you used to convert from HDMI to composite.

Yep, 1280x720P was one of the original HDTV modes, along with 1920x1080i. So now we can play combat in HD!

Awesome video Rees. I'm planning on testing all of my carts on mine tomorrow. Also, the extra space you've got now with the new office area really makes a difference. Great stuff. 👍

Back in the day the most basic Atari 2600 came with two controllers and a set of paddles and of course the game combat

I'd be curious to know if the 7800 flashback controllers work for the two button 7800 games if you have a minute to test them out.

Hi Rees enjoyed the video like most of your videos but was surprised that you said the controler with the car on was the same. The driving controller doesn't have a potentiometer in it and it rotates all the way around, it will be interesting to try it on the 2600+ I'll have to wait until Christmas when the Mrs opens hers 😁

Just bought one of these, but don’t have an original. It would be interesting to see if the new cartridges work on an original 2600.

A handful of 3rd-party off-brand controllers also don't work, similar to the Light Gun and Star Raiders pad. I imagine it's an issue with port pinouts.

The Driving controller is not identical to the Paddles. It has infinite spin on the knob, rather than a ~340° rotation stop. Only a few games require it... Enduro ?

Oh no! The Commodore guy has to correct the Atari guy! The "Driving" paddles were very, very different. The regular paddles turned a particular distance and then stopped. The driving paddles turn a full 360 degrees and never stop. The driving paddles are also individual, not paired together.

Super review. As an old fart who still has his original 4 switch 2600 I got for Christmas in 1981 , this latest release got me exposed to new things. Your video revealed to me the Harmony Encore which I’ve now ordered. But the big question I’ve got for you is, as you have impossible mission there, I assume that it has the same play as ever where the Atari version isn’t solvable due to some of the items being inaccessible, or does there exist a fixed Atari implementation of the game. I’m torn between getting C64 version or the 7800 version , but read the Atari versions have this major bug.

Hi! I also have a PAL copy of Ace of Aces and it does work for me! Maybe give the contacts a little clean on your cart? Sadly my copy of Karateka also failed to work on the 2600+. Also I'd be interested to know what happens if you try Demon Attack because when I try to play it the graphics get stretched vertically and you can't actually see your character at the bottom of the screen anymore!

Did you try adjusting the brightness of the CRT dimming a bit.

Great review as always. I can't see the reason why not, but I would test if the CX40+ and paddles that ship with 2600+ work with 2600 and Atari XL/XE? Also, I am curious if 32-in-1 cartridge work in 2600+? It was switching to next game upon power up, rarher than using dip switches.

You mean 20 century that was made in the 20th century it is now the 21st century

Wow. In all my childhood in Spain, back then, I think I saw maximum two Atari systems. That ‘s how little they sold. Both were owned by kids with rich parents.

Does the joystick port output +5v like an original 2600? Could the lightguns and button controllers use a +5v supply from the port? You could make an add on port/box thing with +5v if that's the case?

I have just started testing some 7800 games on my 2600+. I also have PAL games (Australia). MS Pac-Man 7800 PAL does not work. I have tried Centipede & Galaga for 7800 and they both work. However the colours on Galaga don’t seem correct.

Rees - thank you for the excellent video, I've just taken delivery of a 2600+ too and it's certainly a well-designed machine and I'm very impressed. However, I am finding problems with its PAL performance, especially on my two favourite VCS games, Dodge'Em and Space Invaders. Do you have original PAL cartridges to test them and compare t9 an original VCS to see if you can see what I see? I'm finding the aspect ratio is wrong. Even when set to 4:3, it's still too wide and looks squashed. The Invaders look flat. I think I noticed this too with your Video Pinball test. It's not square enough. Also, the colour is wrong, especially the ground colour in Space Invaders. Lastly, I'm getting jerky graphics, especially in Dodge'Em. The car motion is really jumpy, on an original VCS it's not like that. You can compare this with the NTSC version on the 10-in-1 cartridge which is silky smooth. I also thought I noticed this in your Frogger test. I have sourced PAL versions of these games and loaded them into a desktop version of Stella and they exhibit the same symptoms. However, I managed to alleviate the problems by tweaking some Stella settings: Switch Correct Aspect Ratio off and increase Vertical Size by 5%. This solves the aspect ratio issue. Change the colour palette from Standard to z26. Switch Adapt Refresh Rate to on. This causes Stella to swtitchthe desktop to 50Hz for PAL games and solves the jerky graphics issue. I have already contacted Atari with these comments but would love a second opinion just to make sure it's not just me! BTW with the PAL 7800 games like Ballblazer that you found wouldn't work, the flashing that you appeared to be getting is exactly the same symptom in Stella if you set the TV system wrongly. So again, this all just points towards the 2600+ not setting the right options in its emulator for PAL cartridges. [EDIT I have since found the AtariAge forums where Plaion is actively participating, and they appear to have the refresh rate and colour palette issues in hand for the first software upgrade. Not sure if the aspect ratio issue has been taken on board.]

580th like...the robosapien behind you works??? (i have one but doesn't work anymore)...also, breakout is included in the paddles cartdridge?

It's impossible to have far too much Atari stuff. Now please, try not to trip on the stack of 800xls on my floor.

So cool to see someone into Atari! I’ve have a bit of a cartridge collection and looking forward to getting a 2600+

What a cool device! It will be interesting to see if they continue to sell games collections and such for it.

I somewhat stupidly ask my Missus to get me this for Christmas, so I've got three weeks to wait to get my hands on mine 😭🤣

While accurate, I don't know if anyone needed the power and HDMI leads to exit the top of the console. I imagine they decided this because it was a little cheaper to do, as everything is installed under the cartridge slot.

Purchased the 2600 when it first came out for my son and he never played with it. So I went back and bought the 7800 for myself and he played with that one. My question is do you think the cartridges for the newa game set will work on the old set. Plus I have 40 games from the old model. Some games were never opened so now I have something to keep me busy for the winter months.

Do the paddles work with Atari Flashback siftware on the Switch, Xbox One/Series, and PS4/5? Also can the 2600+ let you play head to head online vs remote hunan opponents?

I have the 2600+ (and a 2600) I have Pole Position II for the 7800 that is supposed to play 7800 games... Do you know if I would need a 7800 controller to play said game.

It would be interesting to know if these two 4in1 and 10in1 cartridges for the 2600+ do work on original 2600. Just curious! 😉

What is the little box you have with the cool moving blocks?

Very lovingly created mini console. I'm tempted to pick one up even though I'm not even into Atari. I really wish the mini PS1 had been designed with this much care. That would have been amazing.

If I wanted to buy the 10-in-1 cartridge or the 4-in-1 cartridge plus new paddles for use with my original console, are they compatible?

I think this is a neat little piece of hardware. Even cooler that Atari is actively developing new 2600 games. My only gripe is that I do wish it didn’t look exactly like the 2600. I think it should have gotten a bit of a sleeker design maybe a hybrid design between the 2600 and 7800. Also the dip switches are an awesome idea! Very period correct!

My paddles glitch when playing Breakout, they move without touching then the dial. I’m guessing they may be faulty rather than the console.

The image on your CRT is black and white because the 2600+ transmits a NTSC signal.

Great detailed review, I suspect this thing will live or die on future game sales I wonder if the pack in 10 games will impact that.

Was wondering if the 7800 version of xevious works on the 2600+?

Does the 10 in 1 Game Cartridge work with the original 2600?

Until recently, I had a CRT HDTV with HDMI input. If I still had it and an Atari 2600+, that might be a better test of the light gun, but I'm quite certain it would still give the same result.

Will the Sega Genesis controller work on it for Atari 7800 mode with 2 buttons support?

Great video Rees. I would have thought you'd be receiving a review copy. A couple of review videos I've watched were not comprehensive at all. Rubbish, in fact. Thanks for the review copy - here is my minimum requirement video, cheers easy.

Incredible job as always, Rees. One note, the Paddles are a gated potentiometer and the driving controllers are a separate signal no-gated potentiometer and are not compatible. Basically the driving go 360 degrees and the paddles seem to only go about 180.- Jeff

Try the track ball on centiped and millipeed

What is your serial #?

Great video dude. Disappointed to see people throwing money at the suits who pretend to be the Atari brand though.

You said the original controllers with the 7800 it was not the NES Style... At least not in America. You mentioned PAL so I assume that could have been a default controller in a PAL region. Could you about the ambidextrous joystick or was it exclusively the NES style pads? And if I was 18 when the Atari 7800 came out I would have submitted a concept for a reversible joypad so that you can play left or right handed. To either Atari or Sega, depending on whether I met my Master System owning friend or my 7800 owning friend first.

Why don't you try a CRT VGA monitor and an HDMI to VGA converter?

Have that same JVC bvm, one of my favorite crt's I own. I would like to see more 7800 games though, never knew anyone who had one or seen them while game hunting. Not sure what we missed out on for 7800.

What is that thing scrolling the green dots?

Hot-swappable cartridges is an interesting find. I don't know that I'd ever get used to it myself, having grown up back in the day when turning the console off to change games was an almost religious ritual haha

Yes, Alien Brigade is great! But anyways, too bad Atari seemingly did not test the PAL side of the world too well. Good thing you tested it on a CRT, that's what I would use it with actually (as I even use my Switch on one). Nice video, as always. Cheers!

I didn’t know about some games needing a 2 button controller.. I’ll have to pick one up now! Maybe I can pick up Alien Brigade too.. thanks for the review!

So happy to learn that it plays PAL games. I have about 60 of them in my collection. Many of them are unique to PAL countries! Yay!

Lots of info on AtariAge ATM about the progression of the 2600+ for those interested. A firmware update should be out by Christmas (fingers crossed!) fixing a few things such as adding more or fixing games (ie. additional cart formats), fixing difficulty switch mapping etc but particularly adding much better PAL support (colors and games not working) as well as some good enhancements for the 7800 (the emulator really only supports original games and more so NTSC as you have seen). For modern homebrew support is in the works for both the 2600 and 7800. They have also announced a modern joypad matching the original one you showed for 7800 games. The new Atari really do appear to want to make sure this thing works as well as it can. The 2600 emulation uses the almost latest Stella which does support everything so it's a matter of updating the dumper to better validate the cart and it will be great.

Realmente una lastima q no lea harmony.. me arrepiento de comprarla…

New firmware is 1.1 (January 2024) for Atari 2600+.

It is interesting but daft all at the same, as a console release. Surely the best idea is just to revamp the 7800 and put that out? Also as it is running Stella, you can run all these games and more using it yourself. At the current price point there is not much to warrant a purchase. The best Atari games were always the arcade ports, none of which will be rereleased. Also it does not work with Pitfall 2.

Actually, the paddle controllers and the racing controllers are different. The paddle controllers have a set amount of travel, while the racing controllers can spin in either direction forever.

👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 🍀 A T A R I F O R E V E R ! ! ! 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 🍀

Let's deep dive in the feeling about the objective fact that modern videogames are not fun anymore and they basically sucks, and overrated so much. And this is the REAL fun, the classics, the origin of the feeling and it's so cool to play with. Yesterday I played with hard core gamers, a super long 4 player warlords game and everybody was crazy about that! We had TON of frantic fun. It's not just a nostalgia obsession.

I’d love to watch the video, but it halts every 90 second to play 120 seconds of ads. 😢

I wish they'd make an Atari 5200 version, with one important change: make the joysticks auto-center. I'd buy that kit in a hot minute!

Too small. It should have been the same size like the C64 Maxi.

I googled how to buy two thousand six hundred Atari plus sized shirts and your video doesn't help

Atari 2600+ is only a F. Stella Emulador . Atari age doomsday.

its for those who want to play 2600 plus with 2600 carts on HDMI. I for one see thru it . not buying it . 7800 modded serves me better

You bought an emulator in a box. You fool. You could have got the Retron 77 that does the same thing cheaper and add your own games. Next time tell not Atari to make a FPGA system stupid.

The 7800 flashback is horrible. Not even real 7800 atari games .

Can you try the three Park Brothers Star Wars games for the 2600?

What is the point in releasing a console that does less than the original and then have the audacity to call it a plus. It just seems stupid that you have to keep the old console hanging around plugged in to play the games that don't work on the new one.