Slashdot Mirror
Ten-in-1 Atari Joystick Available
Dave21212 writes "My wife emailed me today with a link (yes Geeks can get married) to this interesting little retro-toy. It's a self-contained Atari game unit. The joystick *is* the console, battery operated with 10 preprogrammed titles and RCA out to your television. Includes Adventure, Real Sports Volleyball, Gravitar, Video Olympics, Circus Atari, Yar's Revenge, Asteroids, Centipede, Breakout, and Missile Command. She found it here on Avon and after a bit of Googling for this, I turned up no other sellers. The silly season is just around the corner, what a cool stocking stuffer! (Batteries not included)." Looks pretty authentic to the original... We mentioned this earlier but hadn't seen it for sale anywhere.
They have these in lots of truckstops. They have them with nes games, and I hear even snes/genesis ones are available.
If it only contained Pitfall....although Yar's Revenge was a very good game.
My Wife will ask "What were you doing on Avon.com?" when she sees the credit card charge. ;)
You know... I gotta say though that the site seems pretty well designed!
I am Jack's HTTP Server
What, buy a video game and hand cream at the same site? That's just TOO WEIRD.
sulli
RTFJ.
I just sawand ad for an Activision one too. It had 10 games, some of which were Freeway, Pitfall, Spider Fighter, and River Raid.
It was only like $40
before we get a modchip for this thing?
---- "Logoff! That cookie shit makes me nervous!" - A. Soprano
and just in time for Christmas shopping. I can cover a lot of teenagers on my list with this one, plus one for me of course.
That sounds great, but how heavy is it? The product page says it takes four batteries.
I mean, if you're going to have a five-pound joystick, you might as well just get an Xbox.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
I've seen these in another form factor, but it wasn't compatible with my TV. Make sure it supports NTSC on this side of the lake.
I wonder if they could make this even better by allowing another joystick to plug into the first joystick in order to have a multiuser game. The other joystick could be much cheaper, because only the first one would have to have actual computer in it.
You can't handle the truth.
yes Geeks can get married
Dude, she's looking at 'joy sticks' online.
BTW, the 'stocking stuffer' joke was uncalled for...
These are for sale elswhere, they just have a different design. I actually prefer this design to the one mentioned in the article.
-Kaos
yay!!! joystick on the right, button on the left!!!
do you have any idea how hard it was to go from that configuration to the nintendo-led joystick on the left, buttons on the right?
bring back the joystick on the right!!! Screw with the nintendo generation!
... hi bingo
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Do you know who Avon is? They are a very large cosmetics company. I very much doubt that they would be selling bootleg items of any kind.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Saw a game pad like device last Christmas season and it had 10 Activision games including River Raid and I even think Pitfall was on it. It looked like a Genesis or maybe like one of those nifty PS/2 controllers with the fan ins thme for cooling your hands. It was pretty cool.
Gorkman
I know I blew out more than my share back in the day, it would be a shame if you would have to ditch the whole SYSTEM because one of those crappy little plastic nubs that touch the sensors snapped (as they often did).
;)
I won't even mention how many joysticks I blew out on my c64 playing Summer Games
just = (My)Opinion.toCents();
Totally. Not only do we have the ultimate in comfort and reliability, but 10 of the most action-packed, jaw dropping titles ever released for home entertainment computer machine devices!
I just wish it came with ET and Custer's Revenge...
I assert ownership of all trademarks and copyrights on this page.
Having to blow on the cartridges to get the games to work sometimes. This is a bonus, no cartridge to blow on. Plus you get the excellent games of yesteryear. I wonder if I will get this for Christmas...
can't resist saying this but.. :)
"ding dong slashdot calling"
Is this official/legit, or just another bootleg?
You don't know how to read, do you? "Infogrames (the folks who now own Atari) have just struck a deal with another company to produce a 10-in-1 video game system based on the Atari 2600. It'll be joystick-shaped, plug into a TV set, cost only $20..."
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Are you kidding, as the first generation of gammers grows older, there will be an increasing demand for nostalgia. Jesus, I still play ZORK every once and a while.
Why, o why must the sky fall when I've learned to fly?
It is a Joystick... I am pretty sure Circus atari, breakout and video olympics all used the paddles.
I metamoderate, therefore I am
Our security team is really going to be confused by the hits Avon is getting from our general IS department... funny thing is that it's not porn, but the result is the same:
A bunch of guys sitting in front of computers with a dazed but happy look on their faces.
Someone link the Activision one. I must have Pitfall!
Grimwell - old, cranky, mean, obsessive
according to this it looks like it's made by Jakks Pacific.
I bought a bunch of 80-in-1 Super Mega Joy (or somthing like that) systems in Taiwan last year and gave them as Christmas presents. Tetris and Super Mario Bros went over big with everybody. I think that only releasing 10 games might be a mistake, plus you need to have two-players for Combat to be fun.
Lasers Controlled Games!
I dont remember what it was called, but there's this joystick console that contained 10000+ games. It had games in the nature of DigDug, Pacman, and other Namco (i think) games. My uncle had gotten one a few months ago. It was a red joystick console device. Pretty neat.
$cat
.. why?
For $20 you can go to a pawnshop and pick up a used Sega Dreamcast machine. You can then go to DC Emulation and download StellaDC (an Atari 2600 emulator for the Dreamcast) along with a ROM pack of almost 300 public domain (read: legal) games, including Adventure, Pitfall, and most of the classics. Then you can sit back and kill a rainy/snowy day by playing all of the games that used to consume you as a kid.
The Dreamcast is perfect for something like this.
We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
The specs are a little thin. I see an RCA cable for video, but what about audio? I mean, things still need to go *boom*, don't they?
This was either posted by a troll or a teenager...
Dude, you're posting on a forum in which a countless number of us have built our own arcade machines (myself included) just so we could play pac-man and galaga again. If there's one thing that sells remarkably well, it's computer nostalgia.
--trb
While walking down 14th Street [Manhattan] the other day, I ran across one of those 'happy cry lucky' style imported crap tourist trap shops that had, among all the garbage, several different kinds of 'N in 1' games-in-the-game-controller products.
One stood out because it had 180 different games in a SNES style controller. For $40.
I'm sure Canal street has a similar assortment of gaming trivia, as well.
So, if you happen to be in NYC... take a stroll down either and have a close look. You'll want the western part of Canal street (where most of the electronic vendors are) or 14th between 5th ave and about 7th ave.
see the end of the review here
-jon
I mean, who would have thought! Linux! On that joystick thing! What a delicious reversal! Needless to say, I soiled my trousers. I WONDER IF I COULD RUN LINUX IN MY LARGE INTESTINE!?
This one 76 *real* arcade games inside of it.
I can't say I remember the last time Avon got Slashdotted.
Peace. Sway
activision version
-jon
see here
-jon
http://www.langleycreations.com/pitfall/
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson
Unfortunately, this means that when the controller is inevitably tossed in anger, I break the entire console, not just a cheap controller. There was a Penny Arcade about this awhile ago..."breaking controllers since 1985" or something like that.
"I may be quite wrong." - Socrates
It mentions activision. I'm pretty sure Yar's Revenge et. al. weren't from Activision.
This guy has 200 some on eBay, the Activision version, for $7.
t em =1396008968
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&i
--trb
I'm not buying one untill it supports the OGG format.
My
Limekiller
never sell? hell i just bought one. i'm sure a number of other ppl here did too. just seeing that pic of someone playing asteriods sold me.
I ate my sig.
anyone know where I can get joysticks / paddles for an existing 2600? I'm down to a single joystick, no paddles. No, I won't shop at ebay. I've got an itch for Warlords that I can't scratch.
The reason this one is so special is because the design, the very joystick itself, is so faithful to the design of the -original- Atari 2600 CX40 joystick.
:)
No silly Fluro casing, just something that is truely classic. It might be a bit obscure if you arn't familiar with the 2600, of course.. but it counts, and shows this was obviously designed by someone with a clue about retro gaming, not just a marketing drone.
I should know, I have one sitting right next to me, plugged into my Amiga
Yep, Infogrames is as Atari as you can get these days.
;)
I have their "Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee" game (http://www.godzillaoncube.com/) for the GameCube (very good game btw, with the real Godzilla and friends from Toho). The box had "Atari" on the front, an Atari splash during the startup, and an Atari logo on a building rooftop billboard in the intro movie. If you play at normal or hard difficulty level, some of the buildings you smash will have Atari icons in them. Collect them, and you unlock gallery pictures.
If Infogrames is putting out a joystick/console with old Atari games, believe you me, it is as legit as it can be.
Funny thing about that Godzilla game: it has not only brought Atari and Nintendo together, but Sony has been promoting it in their "Godzilla Ultimate Collection" videos, and lines from their "Godzilla 2000" promo material have appeared in the game.
Atari. Nintendo. Sony. Only one Godzilla is leaving out of this little club of his: Microsoft!
Chief Tsujimori: "I won't let you get away. I will never let you escape."
Godzilla elegantly lifts his tail skyward to give her the "finger", crashes it down on the water, and submerges.
"Godzilla X Megagiras", 2000
_|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_
-ASCII artist's impression of said cluster
The normally useful lameness filter seems to require a bunch of random input to circumvent.
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
" It's a self-contained Atari game unit. The joystick *is* the console, battery operated with 10 preprogrammed titles and RCA out to your television"
I found another pic of the unit here. Enjoy.
The activision unit was not VCS2600 compatible - some of the games were changed and the graphics/gameplay were a little bit off. Oh yes, and it had two huge reset buttons you couldn't help pressing by accident and a d-pad instead of a single fire button (?)
Oh, and is it really the exact same design as an Atari joystick, or does the Avon site show an "Artist's conception"? It's slashdotted so I can't check.
If it really is a VCS2600 clone inside, what would it take to modify it to run -ahem- other 2600 games?
Circus Atari used the paddles - how does this work?
I swear by MacOS X. Although I use to swear *at* MacOS 9...
They often sell something like what you are talking about on Ebay - an N64-style controller containing a Famicom system; but I'm not sure if the games are embedded or if you actually plug cartridges into the controller. In any case, if you look up "top loading NES" on Ebay, you always get a bunch of really weird shit like that.
Here ya go... no need to get that embarassing avon charge on your credit card.B 00005U2P0/ ref%3Dnosim/shophub2-20/102-8676922-9561709
Activision games include River Raid, Pitfall, Tennis, Freeway, Spider Fighter, Atlantis, Crackpots, Boxing, Ice Hockey and Grand Prix.
Plus, it's got a better form factor, though you give up the coolness of it looking like a 2600 pad.
Check it out, same price
For the link weary...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/
put the what in the where?
It's not a video RCA cable. It's composite audio/video. It plugs into those hateful TV/game switchboxes that we all had hanging off of the antenna screws on the backs of our TV sets throughout the 1980's.
I had several of them chained together at one point. One for the 2600, one for the NES, one for the TRS-80...
Ginny's joystick is a different style (not classic).
However, they are not shippable for a few weeks.
gamestop classic style
Ginny's kiddie style
Jesus saves....And takes 1/2 damage.
**Sarcasm**
What is with this the Joystick only has one button. For a real gaming experence we need at least 2. We cant have a game with 1 button I always need two. Although when ever I play a game I end up only useing one button most of the time. But there is that situation where I need the second button.
**Sarcasm**
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I bought a bunch of those as Christmas gifts last year, I think I payed like $18 each or something.
They're cool... its a cloned NES with 30 or so games (plus the ability to start on higher levels, which they count towards that 180). Illegal, but fun for the price. Good gift for gen-x'ers who played those when they were kids.
Hehehe... she's real, at least the picture she sent me in IRC looks real (and a lot like Alissa Milano?)
...just kidding
;)
Really though, how cool is it that she emails me links to Atari games
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
I was very much hoping to find a few more locations where these could be purchased - maybe someone will find a seller that I don't have to *wait* for the 4-6 weeks shipping ;)
Thanks !
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
On the original 2600 joustick, you could do this by opening it up and rewiring it so that when you held it a 90 degrees, the joystick movements were translated perfectly. No soldering necessary!
And I am quite sure they broke from normal use, and not from being thrown.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Electronic Boutique
Yes, it's got a different set of games. That's why I included the list with the link. IMHO, the set of games is better than the Atari version. Portable Pitfall for $20 makes it worth it, to me. Grand Prix is pretty good too, though I'm not too sure I remember the others. On the other hand, how did Atari forget about Space Invaders? I used to have the stand alone version in my basement, along with the original Asteroids stand-up. I couldn't even tell you how many hours (years?) i spent in front of those.
put the what in the where?
Atari. Nintendo. Sony. Only one Godzilla is leaving out of this little club of his: Microsoft!
Microsoft opted out, because Godzilla looks too much like Mozilla, and they don't want to be construed as supporting a competing product over their own. It's bad for the share price.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Seriously.
My wife ended up with one last year sometime. Looks like a little controller with all the games burned in on a chip. It's got a little select screen you can choose btween different games.
Hooks up to a tv via RCA, video and audio.
What's it like? In a word.. Shit.
Prone to graphics glitches, controller is cheaply made, and it's interesting for all of 18 seconds and you're done with your blast from the past. There's better things to throw money at.
[o]_O
"My wife emailed me today with a link (yes Geeks can get married)..."
We just call the ceremony, "My Big Fat Geek Wedding".
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
check the gaming section of your local radioshack, they have a version of this as well with a bunch of games. i forget what it goes for, but its around 20 bucks
has to be Somario... which is sonic the hedgehog running on a NES (bootleg 1) with Mario sprites (bootleg 2). Someone must have spent a while writing that...
You'll need a reasonably modern TV. PAL televisions five years old or more will probably display it in black and white. Modern ones are more forgiving of NTSC.
Yes, of course. But is she hot? Cause my fiancé is and I still don't understand the logic behind it. I'm not rich and no, it's not 11 inches.
It sometimes makes my doubt if I'm a true nerd. It's awfull when you're behind your computer writing brilliant code and some hotty is calling you from the shower. I feel like I'm torn between 2 completly different worlds!
The glass is half-full. With poison. And there are cracks in the glass. The dirty, dirty glass.
Umm, which version of Missile Command allowed you to destroy your friends? Not the Atari version I remember.
Sure there was two-player mode, but it was alternating, not simultaneous.
Hey kids, there's only 5 days left 'til Yak Shaving Day!
I'm going to take a wild guess that most of us have not ordered from Avon before, right?
Use the coupon code "FIRSTORDER" to save 15% ($3) this fine cosmetic product.
An awesome geek stocking stuffer. I'm sure I'll pay for it in Avon spam and catalogs..
Note this line from my comment : "And I'm not about to go back and re-read old /. posts."
Also note, by clicking on a link, you'd be going forward, not back.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
User 956 wrote:
n ium/mgoals.html, Millenium's boot screen actually appeared on three monitors of computers the alien attacked, only in the Japanese version). The alien tried to embrace and extend Godzilla, and he nuked it. ;)
> Microsoft opted out, because Godzilla looks too
> much like Mozilla, and they don't want to be
> construed as supporting a competing product over
> their own. It's bad for the share price.
Nope, Godzilla's been Apple's biggest fan since 1993's "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2". He hates Microsoft with a nuclear passion.
What do you think "Godzilla 2000 Millenium" was about? The alien in the movie was Microsoft! The "Millenium" reference was to the Microsoft Research project "Millenium" (http://research.microsoft.com/research/sn/Millen
Don't believe me? Answer me this: who or what has "control of systems all over the world"? (Particularly since the Windows XP Service Pack 1 release.)
"At this moment, it has control of systems all over the world.
And...we can't do a damn thing to stop it."
Miyasaka, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
Shinoda: "The age of Millennium."
Io: "What does that mean?"
Shinoda: "A thousand year kingdom. It wants to create a home for itself. There is one flaw in its plan: Godzilla."
"Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
Millennium's Message (words appeared on all computer monitors before the tower was destroyed):
"Earth Destroy Erase Suppression Dominate Terror Prosperity Oppulence Oppression Revolution Kingdom"
"Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
My wife recieves the SWISS COLONY catalog of sweets and meats as well as lots of usless junk.
In thier catalog they sell this Atari Joystic thing.
BLAH,blah so forth and so on.....
many RadioShack stores still have the ones with 20 some odd Activision games built into a PS1 style controller..
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
It is a hardware-based Atari 2600 emulator. The original ROM's have been altered somewhat.
I've had one for three weeks. Click on the link below, and read my review for more information.
Mike Stulir
The BACK IN TIME Classic Gaming Webcast
http://www.backntime.net
At least two of those games(Circus Atari and Breakout) need paddles to be played well; using a joystick for games like that is frustrating at best. Ever try playing something like Kaboom using a joystick? You can't do it.
"Back", "re-read" and "old /. posts" would mean the past. As in old posts on /., that I am not going to re-read.
"Re-Read"? If you had read it the first time, you wouldn't have asked your question, genius. Since you hadn't read it, the information was new to you; and no matter how you bitch and moan, clicking on a link is going forward.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
I knew I should have ordered a bunch before posting this item, oh well. ! It seems that the link is dead and even a site search (look at the bottom right, bass-ackards place to put that) on "Atari" or "Games" doesn't find it any more...
Thank goodness for the alternative locations to find these posted by a few people... Thanks !
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
If it's in the past, you are going back.
Maybe for some, but it's not in your past, since you haven't read it, hence, for you, it's going forward.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.