Atari Flashback Classic Game Console,
image courtesy of Atari.
Atari announced the introduction of the Atari Flashback Classic Game Console, a collection of 20 classic Atari games packaged in a console with two joysticks included. Games that will be part of this collection include Adventure, Air-Sea Battle, Canyon Bomber, Centipede, and Yar’s Revenge. Atari Flashback is expected to ship in November and be priced at $44.95.
Until now, most of the classic Atari games that have been re-released have been packaged into a single joystick. The best example of this is Atari Classic 10-in-1 TV Games. Atari Flashback changes this by being delivered in a package that is a reduced-size replica of the Atari 7800 video game console. The 7800 was the second-generation Atari game console. It was more powerful than the 2600, the console that was a fixture in most American homes in the mid-1980s. But, sales of the 7800 never quite took off due to a lack of game content.
Atari Flashback includes a mixture of 2600 and 7800 game titles. You can tell this by looking at the game screenshots that Atari has on its Flashback product information page. The Centipede game is clearly ported from the 7800. It has higher resolution graphics and more colors appearing on the screen simultaneously. The product information page also includes a 2600-ported game screenshot— one from Air-Sea Battle.
The key to the success of Atari Flashback will be the playability of the games. Centipede and Asteroids will be lots of fun. Adventure and Yar’s Revenge had cult followings back in their day. This package is more expensive than the other Atari game re-releases, so it is going to have to be more fun than the game packages costing half as much. The fact that the games invite head-to-head competition will help.
I’m going to try to get one of these Atari Flashback consoles ASAP, so that I can provide more details about it.