With the release of a new generation of video game consoles, we think it’s best to reflect on all the joys previous generations gave us along the way. The Atari 2600 was a video game console we’re sure many of us have fond memories of, which is why we think you should pay homage to it through this set of custom Atari 2600 action figures. (more…)
Atari 2600 Action Figures Pays Homage To Activision’s Heroes original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Looking back at the Atari 2600, it really wasn’t very good until Activision came along and raised the bar for graphics and sound for the early 8-bit console. To commemorate these classic games, Chicago Toy Collector Dan Polydoris created this nifty set of custom action figures.
The set of five action figures got their start as various G.I. Joe characters, but they’re now sporting that perfect Activision 8-bit look. While Pitfall Harry is surely the most recognizable of the bunch, the other games were all pretty solid too – especially H.E.R.O. – though I never knew its protagonist’s name was Roderick.
Awesome job, Dan. These are all quite special. I only wish you would make a little burglar dude for Kaboom!
[via it8bit]
The once great console maker Atari has been reduced to a mere pixel of itself these days. While Sony and Microsoft are gearing up for a new console war, Atari is left catering to old school gamers with keychain consoles. Adam of SheekGeek made a display that matches both the figurative and literal size of Atari’s game system. It’s so small that you can barely see what’s on screen.
Yep, that’s the display, which is a module from an old Sony Handycam, next to a U.S. postage stamp. It’s so small that Adam has to use a macro lens on his camera so he can demonstrate it on video.
Now that’s what I call a counterintuitive Retina Display. Head to SheekGeek for the full details of his hack.
[via Hack A Day]
Now that he’s conquered the world of tiny LEGO Macintosh and iMac computers, LEGO builder Chris McVeigh (aka Powerpig) has headed further backwards in time to create LEGO kit versions of the Atari 2600 and C64 personal computer.
These awesome little kits accurately capture the spirit of these seminal parts of consumer electronic history. The Atari 2600 kit sells for $42.50(USD). It’s assembled from 130 pieces, and includes two tiny joysticks and three little cartridges. When complete, the console measures about 3.75″ wide x 1″ tall x 2.5″ deep.
The Commodore 64 kit (also $42.50) is a bit less complex, and is made from 82 bricks. But that doesn’t make it any less perfect. I can imagine connecting my 1530 C2N Datasette player and loading up a copy of Attack of Mutant Camels. The C64 is also a bit bigger than the 2600, measuring 5″ wide x 1″ tall x 2.5″ deep when assembled.
Great job, Chris! Keep ‘em coming. I’ll definitely bite when you make me an Atari 800 and an Apple ][.
A few years back, I posted a tiny papercraft model of the Nintendo DS Lite that was a big hit. A bit later, I found some teensy paper models of other gadgets and video game consoles. Paper. Isn’t that cute? Today’s geeks skip all the glue, X-Acto nicks and tape mess and go right for 3D printing instead.
Thanks to Dave Nunez, you can print out your own Atari 2600 and NES consoles. The models are just big enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The buttons and switches aren’t perfectly to scale, they’ve been exaggerated a bit to capture the spirit of the original consoles – in miniature.
You can grab the digital files for the tiny Atari 2600 and NES over at Thingiverse. I figure while you wait for the 3D printer to output your models, you’ll figure out a way to cram a tiny computer inside of these so they’re actually playable.
[via it8bit]
These days you can run dozens of classic games on a PC using emulators. If you’re good with modding hardware, you may be able to connect the right controller for the console you’re emulating. But if you’re Patrice Daubaire, you take it one step further. Patrice hacked 75 controllers to make them compatible with over 110 gaming systems.
Patrice calls his ingenious mod the Multi Video Game System 2 or MVGS 2. He managed to universalize 75 controllers – from an Atari 2600 joystick to aPlayStation controller – so that they’ll work with different gaming systems via a custom VGA adapter. Patrice claims his system has zero input lag and that the controllers weigh more or less the same as unmodified ones. Patrice was also able to add additional functions like a quick save button on some of the controllers.
To present his invention, Patrice built the MVGS 2 Dream Station, a PC with over 30 gaming system emulators. It has a nice cabinet with a built-in monitor and lets up to two players geek out. He also setup a rotating display stand for the controllers.
Pick your jaw up from the floor and head to the MVGS 2 website for more information.
[via Hack A Day]
Technabob contributing author Conner Flynn has a hidden talent – and I’m not talking about walking and chewing gum at the same time. The man knows his way around an Atari 2600 like it’s nobody’s business. Now it’s been a while since he built his epic Atari 2600 guitar, but his latest mod looks like it was worth the wait… I give you Atar-E…
Conner found this Wall-E Learning Laptop at a thrift shop, but he didn’t see a laptop at all (neither do I). Instead, he saw the home for his next portable Atari 2600 mod. Inspired by the modding prowess of Ben Heck and Bacteria, he tore apart the Wall-E toy and gutted it.
His design incorporates an actual Atari 2600 circuit board, along with authentic Atari woodgrain pieces. He went off the board with the controller and used an NES D-Pad instead of a traditional Atari joystick. Isn’t that sacrilege? Dogs and Cats sleeping together!
The controller replaced the original keyboard found on the toy, and he even rigged it so the controller section can still fold shut when there’s no cartridge in place. One thing Conner struggled with was where to put a battery pack for the system, so he gave Wall-E a little backpack. Isn’t that cute?
Games are displayed on a tiny color LCD screen, mounted where the monochrome display on the original toy was located. On the one hand, you’ll have to squint a bit to play on this thing, on the other hand, the pixelated 8-bit graphics look so much better when they’re shrunk down like this.
While it would probably take you a ton of work to try and build one of these for yourself, Conner says he may soon list it for sale over on his online toy store over at Botropolis, so keep your eyes peeled. On second thought, peeled eyes sound like a really bad idea.
[via Botropolis]
Demakes are one of the ways that creative gamers to express their nostalgia for the games they grew up with. Though I must say, I never expected I’d see a demake of the already ancient Super Mario Bros. It’s called Princess Rescue, a Mario clone for the Atari 2600.
Animator Chris Spry is Princess Rescue’s Miyamoto. In an interview with Wired, Spry said that he was inspired by an Atari 2600 demake of Mega Man. With the help of a programming software called Batari BASIC and just 32 kilobytes of memory, Spry was able to make 16 levels worth of homage to one of the most beloved games of all time.
Mario’s Princess Rescuer’s stomach is a black hole! As with Ed Fries’ Halo 2600, Spry partnered with Atari Age for a proper release of his game, cartridge and all.
You can order Princess Rescue from Atari Age for $30 (USD). It already has two favorable reviews! I highly recommend you read Wired’s article on the game as well; it has a shot of a portable Atari 2600 that Spry made for himself.
[via Wired]
When I was growing up, the Atari 2600 was a staple in family rooms everywhere. But despite the countless hours of entertainment these gaming systems provided, there’s no question they had primitive graphics. Imagine though if the Atari 2600 could have had real-world backgrounds for its games. It might look something like this…
For his Atari World series, digital artist Carlos Pérez combined idyllic real-world scenes with the rudimentary pixel graphics from an Atari 2600. The end result is both surreal and beautiful.
It would be cool if somebody went back and remade classic Atari 2600 games with these backgrounds. While their gameplay still might lack depth, they’d certainly be a feast for they eyes.
[via it8bit]
You’ve heard the stories about Atari suffering such poor sales with the E.T. game for the Atari 2600 that they were forced to dump millions of copies into a landfill somewhere. Is it true? There seems to be some debate over this. Is it an urban myth, or not? Now a documentary film crew wants to settle it once and for all.
They’ve been given permission by the Alamogordo, New Mexico city council to excavate the landfill believed to be E.T.’s final resting place. No one seems to know for sure if this tale is even accurate, however, both The New York Times and the local paper The Alamogordo Daily ran stories about Atari dumping back in 1983 when it allegedly happened. The article in The New York Times claims that 14 truckloads of games went in along with other Atari hardware. Ars Technica says that number varies anywhere from nine to twenty depending on the source.
The crew will excavate the site within the next six months. Then we will find out how many E.T. cartridges are in there, if any, and what other treasures they dumped.
[via Ars Technica via Geekosystem]
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