I had an Atari 400 at release. I used to love the text adventures, which were popular at the time, and eventually bought the Basic programming language cartridge so I could write my own. That got me into coding and assembly, via the intimidating 6502 assembly language cartridge. I eventually took computer science at university and became a programmer. That would have never happened without my 400 😊

Love the product, and the review, however the Atari 400 was not marketed as a games machine, that is a modern misremembering. The initial split was the Atari 800 was for business applications and the Atari 400 was for home use. And the advertisements of the time, highlighted that it was easy to use, brought the computer age home, had good graphics and sound, and the general message of the marketing is that it was a full fledged computer - my familiarity is with the US market.

Elecktra Glide is one of my favourite 8-bit games. Once you get the hang of it, it’s superb.

That Capture the Flag looks amazing! And I didn't know that Bruce Lee originated on Atari 8-bit, nor Miner 2049er! That Electra-glide looks pretty. Ooooh! Seven Cities of Gold is a VERY Snorkers game. Huzzah!

Happy you mentioned USB. This feature was so ahead of anything else out there for many years.

Great video. I wasn’t aware of the 400 mini release so thanks for the heads up. Might have to add it to my collection of original Atari kit.

Thank you for putting in the effort for this - really enjoyed it. The 400 is much more iconic than the mass-produced XL or XE series. I believe there is an 800XL in the pipeline from another company. I'm looking forward to playing the 8-bit versions of Space Harrier and Time Pilot, not to mention Atari Blast! and Last Squadron.

My top dream is ATARI 130 XE, but this is very good and nice too. 🙂

Sorry for my late response Pete! Many thanks for this video. I had no idea they were planning on making an Atari 400 mini. I still have an Atari 400 and it will be great to have a mini version of it! I have now pre-ordered one from Amazon. If the new 800XL happens as well, what a great time to be alive!

Thanks, great job! I was 10 in 1983 when we got our first video game system, the Atari 400. I was under the impression the 800 could have two cartridges under its door, versus the 400 having one. It was told to me you would put the BASIC cart in one side, and an app cart in the other. My favorite game was Star Raiders, followed by Miner 2049er. My mother loved Pac-Man and Picnic Paranoia. The stock joystick lasted about a month. A year or so later, when it was obsolete, I bought all sorts of controllers, games, and whatnot myself. I never could find or afford the upgrades that would take the system from a console base to an actual computer. Always wanted to, though. I'd never dreamt they would make a mini of this system! Nobody I knew ever had one, although many had the 2600, which explained the mini of that system. Thanks for letting me know about it! Glad I found this video!

I didn't own an Atari 400, but I used them at school, which had a selection of them along with some Apple II's. I'll always remember the 400's non-key keyboard. In retrospect, I should have asked for an Atari computer instead of an Atari 5200, since they were largely the same but the computers had a much larger game library.

The Atari 400 was my first computer growing up. I've preordered the mini and second joystick. Can't wait. Roll on April 😊

This is a great overview of the bits we know about THE400's game selection!

I still have my old Ataris (2600 & 800), such great systems :) Loved 7 Cities of Gold and MULE, hoping to see some SSI & EPYX games - like Six Gun Shootout or Temple of Apshai. Really hope to see Star Raiders make it as well.

Thanks for the crash course in the system. When I was little, my sister had an Atari 800XL but the games we had for it were purchased by my mum when she just asked "what was popular?" at the shop. So we had Ms.Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Joust, Megamania. I've only been able to play Star Raider and Miner 2049er now due to the Atari 50. This seems like an interesting collection, but I don't really see myself wanting to buy any of these mini consoles. I kind of predict some of these may be added to Atari 50 towards December, as I'm guessing they decided to give a free update to that system to get people talking about that game again around Christmas time. Who knows! I always assumed a lot of these would require a keyboard. Shows what I know. I know the keys on it don't work, but Atari Computer Mini console without Star Raiders I like a NES mini without Super Mario Bros.

i am totally for those 8 bit minis. would like the coco mini, the apple II mini, the trs 80 mini, the TI99 mini, and a mini PET, maybe even a Coleco Adam mini with built in daisy wheel printer

We had the Atari 800. Loved playing the Sierra word adventure games, PacMan, Load Runner, Castle Wolfenstein, Ultima and others. My friends came over to use the word processor program to write essays for college applications because no one also had a computer at home. Loading games with cassette tapes and floppies which took for ever. The game cartridges were much preferred. Good times!

My first PC/Game system was an Atari 800. My favorite game was Alley Cat, by Bill Williams. Also really have fond memories of playing Pathfinder, Salmon Run, Dog Daze, Duck’s Ahoy, Minor 2049er, and a bunch more. If there’s ever an Atari 800 mini, I’ll probably have to get one 😄

Brought back a lot of memories watching this. My Parents bought a 800 with the cassette player drive and a bunch of the games for when I got out of the Hospital when I was 7. We were an Atari household for a long time until my Uncle gave us his NES.

I bought both the 400 and 5200. The 5200 had analog sticks. Awesome for gameplay, but they weren't sturdy enough. Later I also bought the 800xl and 130xe. I loved Atari computers.

We got ours day zero from the Silica Shop in Sidcup which was local to us, one of the chaps there instead of us going to get it, hopped on a bus and came to our place and set it all up for little brother and I. My mum had opted for the cassette player which was heinously priced and a game called Kingdom which was pretty much along the lines of the BBC "Yellow River" where you set taxes, planting, harvesting and stuff and waited for the year to cross over and found out if you were lynched or given another year on the throne. One of the best games I ever saw was on a cassette magazine called Captain Nemo's Revenge, the graphics and sprites, controls, design were exceptional and way way past the 8 bit and wouldn't have looked out of place on a 32 bit like the Mega Drive.

In the world of computers this is so cute. The original one was so robust, me and my brother put it through its paces, especially when it was deopped a few times. Good old Bounty Bob, pole.position and Lian raider. My brothers favourite was Qix. Thanks for the review...

oohhh I want this for the miner 2049'er alone

If they make an Atari ST mini, I'm buying it.

I had Atari 400 in about 1981. Upgraded to 64k and also got a real keyboard. Loved that machine but traded it for a car in 1986.

The membrane keyboard on the 400 was indeed horrific, as you had to drive every button press home with far too much pressure.

I will need this and signed up to be emailed when they will accept orders :)

Thanks Pete cant wait for this !

This looks cool, and I’m really tempted. My only misgivings are that I wish it had more games (though I know you can expand its library), as many of these games are also on Atari 50, and that it doesn’t have a functional keyboard, which lets out text adventures, Antic games, and other keyboard-heavy favorites like Alternate Reality. I owned an Atari 130XE rather than a 400, but I love the A8 series, which is my second favorite 1980s gaming platform (after the NES). The only mini console I actually bought over the past 10 years was the SNES Classic, but I may pick this up.

The 400 was the first computer I ever laid my fingers on.

Great info Pete 👍

I would love to see Shamus! and Montezuma's Revenge.

This is pretty damn cool! I want to get one right away! By the way, 100% Star Raiders 2 is a great displays of the A8 capabilities. I think the re-vamped Digital Eclipse version *might* just make it to this machine in some way, or at least the controls will be re-mapped away from the 1-9 needed for acceleration.

A must buy.

My first home computer was an Atari 800XL. I remember some programs required the translator disk since some games were designed to the Atari 800. I eventually replaced it with the Atari 130XE and later went from the 8 bit line to the 16 bit line of the Atari 520ST. I did have a modification made to the 520ST to upgrade the memory from 512K to 1 megabyte of ram since some programs did need the extra memory. They were fun and I am looking forward to the 400 mini although I would have preferred the 800 mini since I always liked it more so then the 400. I hope they consider releasing an 800 mini with a lot more games than just the 25. By the wya, I think Star Raiders II originally started a a game tie in of the movie The Last Starfighter but was changed.

There are so many amazing homebrew games (for free) that could be included in the carousel menu of the system. It would be a great way to "advertise" the capabilities of the system to people who never owned an Atari back then. It also would be nice to mention the names of the creators of the machine (Jay Miner and his team, Joe Decuir the SIO creator (USB)).

The graphics and games are much better than Commodore 64. I had no idea.

Good stuff dude

Great selection of games, I would add Alternate Reality to the list, in my opinion the defining game of the system and a breakthrough in rpgs!

The Atari 8-bit port of "Battlezone" pales in comparison to the Czech game "Alienbusters" and especially Paul Woakes' "Encounter!", but TBF as Woakes was British, the level warp sequence is a tad too hard on NTSC machines.

I never had one or saw one in the wild

Do we know for sure that none of the keyboard keys will function? How will you be able to navigate games that need a keyboard or even just get in and out of games? The controller shown for it has a single button… also it will support 5200 games. How will THAT work? The 5200 has analog, two buttons and a keypad. How can a CX40 replica possibly work? Do you think they will announce a modern 5200 analog controller (that self centers!) for use with the 400 mini? One can dream!

I hope the same happens as with TheC64 and this year TheA500, a The800/XL/XE Maxi with full keyboard. They should have put some more USB ports where the cartridge port was on the original though. And additional to Star Raiders II they should have also included the prototype that was going to be a license game for The Last Starfighter. It’s game mechanics were slightly different, and I like these more.

I wish someone would create an arcade accurate version of Battlezone for the PS5 or ps4. That was my favorite in the arcade, bar none. I hope Hamster does it.

I am fond of the Atari 5200 and know very little about the Atari 400, just that it is essentially the same hardware as the 5200. Can some 400 enthusiasts suggest games to sideload? I would like to get excited about what this thing can play that might not show up officially due to licensing and such.

You gotta assume Caverns Of Mars will be there. Other possible games… I mean, take your pick from the Synapse Software team: Shamus, Fort Apocalypse, Pharaoh’s Curse, even *Chicken* - which is basically just Kaboom but lord it’s charming. MULE opens up the possibility of other old EA titles like Archon. Epyx Summer Games 84. Montezuma’s Revenge, son! Juice! JOURNEY TO THE PLANETS PLEEEEASE oh my god the world needs to experience No Man’s Sky’s primal ancestor…

This is interesting, but, it's just another emulator in a cute box. Working 8-bit computers can be bought for a reasonable price, many come with original joysticks and games. Then you get the real experience, without emulator glitches, which I'm sure this will have, as everyone does.

I hope they announce the Atari 5200 Mini. That's an under appreciated console no thanks to the bad controller, but the games on it are great! There are some amazing arcade ports on the 5200. Centipede, Moon Patrol, Berzerk, Robotron 2084 and Missile Command to name a few. It would also give Atari a chance to redeem themselves by actually making the controller work well.

Gateway to Apshai, please! ❤

Boulder Dash and Miner2049 are exceptional inclusions (although Jumpman and Lode Runner are notably missing) The absence of a working keyboard is troublesome, as the 8 bit Atari computers are where I abandoned Joysick control in favour of keyboard, so I see this as a fun curiosity, but I' hold off for the 800XL reboot project, unless the 400 is reasonably priced enough that I can buy it for fun in the interim. Don't seem to remember you mentioning it, does this accept games on external storage or only the 25 included titles ??? My Hatari (and other Atari emulator collections) would love a new home. btw the original Star Raiders keyboard controls are far more than speed, they also bring up the galactic map, select warp drive and select forward or aft views. Sadly Star Raider II is a visually improved, but pale imitation. But hey, it is free with the 'console'.

I wonder if it will recognize a USB keyboard so you can play Star Raiders?

One thing I'm confused about with the Atari 400 Mini is a lot of the games requires a keyboard to play them and often to select options.The 400 Mini has no keyboard, but rather a sticker of the membrane keyboard rather than a working membrane keyboard. Wouldn't use need to play in a PC keyboard into this console in order to run games? Part of the attraction of this box was it's compact size and retro look, but if you have to plug in a PC keyboard to use, that would loose a lot of it's appeal and why not just use a PC laptop with the great free Atari 8 bit emulator which I used and love? I'm hearing Star Raiders was not an included title because.......it requires a keyboard! Wasn't that kind of the point of a computer, to include a keyboard or some sort? Star Raiders was the killer App for the Atari 8 bit platform. Not to include that seems ludicrous. If a keyboard is require........include one! Since home brews are included, shouldn't Atari Blast! be included? Easily the best game on the platform. Many people with the original hardware can't run it because it requires a 1 meg upgrade, and a lot of people aren't going to bother to buy & install one. But with an emulator box or computer, it's easy. That alone would help the sames of a device like this.

So, does the 400 do computer things like word processing and other computer stuff? Surely people didn’t buy computers for games

Max six usb and do uo need specific ROMS?

I'd buy this if it can run my XE/128 games. If not, no deal. I can watch videos of Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Space Invaders, without giving up hard earned money.

Why the case of an Atari 400 instead of (any) XL or XE? Yes, the Mini is compatible with them (an with the 5400'er) but from a (mine) aesthetic point of view i would go for an XL/XE.

anyone have a link to the type of power supply we need to purchase seperately to make this thing work?

I love atari

I can never see the point of an emulator based repro computer... Seems cheaper, easier and more upgradable to just use the emu on a pc ...😐 On top of which they are usually unjustly expensive

I'm not sure about Ataris strategy... The new 2600, the CVS, now this. I mean why not make one multi retro table device then do one hand held?

That is not StarRaider 2, this game is The Last Starfighter.

not a bad system , puts me In mond of c64

While this is something pretty cool on paper, especially the ability to load your own roms on it,but many games are probably also on those 2600 flaskback systems and atari 2600 and 7800 mini systems,so as of now,am scaptical about this,maybe if they will include basix as a bonus as well as an option to use usb to load your own games on it,instead of using an sd card,just to give that outhentic feel of connecting your atari 400 to other devices like back in the day,because that would be cool😁

No Star Raiders = no deal. Thanks, tho.

I hope this 400 mini is a success, but I think it will only sell to Atari fans. As, while you pointed out many of the games coming with the mini were also on C64, you didn't point out they were so much better on C64. Hence, the C64 mini and maxi sold to Spectrum, Amstrad and Atari gamers. Anybody who knows 8-bit gaming who has the C64 mini/maxi will know there is no point getting the Atari mini. Especially when so many of the games on the mini DID come out on the C64. They should have stuck with Atari only releases.

I rather go play on the NES if I wanted an 8 bit console the 8 bit ruined video games what saved the games was the arcade machines I never hated Pac-Man thanks to the arcade