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Ten-in-1 Atari Joystick Available

Posted by michael on from the no-space-invaders dept.

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.

46 of 356 comments (clear)

  1. Truckdrivers love them. by threedays · · Score: 5, Informative

    They have these in lots of truckstops. They have them with nes games, and I hear even snes/genesis ones are available.

    1. Re:Truckdrivers love them. by ekrout · · Score: 5, Funny

      Truckdrivers love them.

      Is that from the advertising-quotes-that-didn't-quite-make-it dept.?

      --

      If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
  2. My Wife Will Ask by minus23 · · Score: 5, Funny

    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
  3. Avon?! by sulli · · Score: 5, Funny

    What, buy a video game and hand cream at the same site? That's just TOO WEIRD.

    --

    sulli
    RTFJ.
    1. Re:Avon?! by foistboinder · · Score: 5, Funny
      It seems a little less scammy than Amway

      The mafia is a little less scammy than Amway...

      --
      Yet Another Web Site
    2. Re:Avon?! by Per+Wigren · · Score: 5, Funny

      What's even weirder is that they sell a JOYSTICK and hand-cream at the same site... ;)

      --
      My other account has a 3-digit UID.
  4. Activision too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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

    1. Re:Activision too by fractalus · · Score: 3, Informative

      Last year someone gave me a little self-contained unit with a bunch of Activision games in it. It's about the size of a modern console controller, has two joypads, and a few extra buttons for starting, resetting, and powering off the unit--so it's not the same form factor as the classic Atari joystick shown on the Avon site.

      One thing I noticed about the unit I have is that it's not a true 2600; it's clearly either ported or emulated on some different hardware. There are visual errors in the games and occasionally gameplay errors. Since most of the 2600 games actually used the hardware to handle collision detection, errors in simulating the hardware result in more than just visual differences.

      I don't think most people would notice the differences in the unit I have, but I worked on some 2600 emulation stuff, so I know what I'm looking for. ;-)

      The selection of games in this unit is different from what I have. Ah, fond memories of waking up early Saturday morning so I could try to flip the score on Yars' Revenge before my brothers and sisters came in clamoring for cartoons...

      --
      People are never as simple as their stereotypes. This applies equally to Christians, Muslims, and Emacs-lovers.
  5. How soon ... by bizitch · · Score: 3, Funny

    before we get a modchip for this thing?

    --
    ---- "Logoff! That cookie shit makes me nervous!" - A. Soprano
  6. Ok, sounds great... by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.
    1. Re:Ok, sounds great... by Kenja · · Score: 5, Funny

      So, an XBox costs 20$ and comes with 10 games now?

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  7. NTSC Vs. PAL by rigmort · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.

  8. There are for sale elsewhere. by kaosrain · · Score: 5, Informative

    These are for sale elswhere, they just have a different design. I actually prefer this design to the one mentioned in the article.

    -Kaos

  9. Its got a right-handed joystick!!!!! by EnderWiggnz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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 ...
  10. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  11. Awesome. by ?erosion · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.
  12. I remember by I_am_Rambi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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...

    1. Re:I remember by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've rarely needed to blow on Atari 2600 cartidges to make them work... I still own a functional Atari 2600, and even today don't need to mess around with the cartidges to make them work. Now NES cartidges, on the other hand, are a different story altogether.

      --
      Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
  13. Re:Alas by curtisk · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well not with this unit, but Activision had released a similar device a few months back....and yes, Pitfall is there...only link I could find quickly...

    Activison 10 in 1

    --

    Sehr geehrter Toilettenbenutzer!

  14. /.ed by auroran · · Score: 5, Funny

    can't resist saying this but..
    "ding dong slashdot calling" :)

  15. Re:what's the point? by dubious9 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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?
  16. There goes the firewall report. by CTD · · Score: 5, Funny

    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
  17. Bought a bunch of NES one in Taiwan last year by John+Harrison · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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!
    1. Re:Bought a bunch of NES one in Taiwan last year by wurp · · Score: 3, Informative

      You can buy them on EBay (search for famico, super joy, power player, 76000 in 1) for about $30. They may be purported to have 76000, hundreds, 146, etc. games. As far as I can tell, they regular super joy has 76 games, the super joy III has 128 games (well, it has 146 but several don't work/are duplicates).

      I bought two Super Joys at the Festival Bazaar flea market in Fort Worth, Texas. The vendors there have dozens if not hundreds of the things. See http://9thtee.net/funstuff.htm for a list of what is included in the joystick.

  18. Sounds cool, but .. by cje · · Score: 5, Interesting

    .. 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
    1. Re:Sounds cool, but .. by outsider007 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes but it's not the same with a dc controller :

      --
      If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
    2. Re:Sounds cool, but .. by x+mani+x · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You're borderline trolling, IMHO, but I'll bite:

      (a) Dreamcast controller != Atari joystick
      (b) Used Dreamcast != $20, sorry.
      (c) Mention downloading StellaDC and Atari rom packs, and burning it with a special program so your DC can boot it will make most people go "huh?".
      (c') If they don't go "huh?", they probably have better things to do than find a used Dreamcast and do all of the above.

      Seriously now, this thing is 20 bucks. Dreamcast shmeemcast.

      -Mani

  19. Re:what's the point? by (trb001) · · Score: 3, Funny

    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

  20. 10 in 1? Try 180 in 1. by bbum · · Score: 5, Informative


    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.

    1. Re:10 in 1? Try 180 in 1. by auntfloyd · · Score: 5, Informative

      Funny, I live near there, and I know just the place. The guy has a TV set and a bunch of Mega Joy 2 systems out. I tried it out once, it worked pretty well. I've seen him selling both the version with the light gun, and also the version without, so if you want to buy, check to see if it comes with a light gun (and dont forget to test it first!).

      Incidentally, Multimedia 1 (on St. Marks btwn 2nd and 3rd) has a bunch of all-in-one systems, both legit and pirate (including the one this story is about). As usual, their prices are on the expensive side, but if you want to buy from a reputable place, it might be your only option. They don't list these on the web site for some reason -- if you don't live in NYC, try giving them a call or something.

      And finally, here are a few links on NES/Famicom pirate systems: NES Player and Gamer's Graveyard.

    2. Re:10 in 1? Try 180 in 1. by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 3, Interesting


      I bought a "Polystation III 8800-in-1" from a guy on the street for $25 a while ago, and just as I expected it was a knockoff of the nearly-20-year-old Famicom console (the Japanese version of our NES). It's a cheap-feeling copy of the PSOne console design, with Atari-style joystick ports and and extremely realistic-looking light gun.

      And the 8,800 built in games were actually the same 16 or so games over and over again, with various insignificant hexedits providing the standard variation (ooh, I can start on 1-2 in SMB!).

      I've also seen Famicom clones designed to look (sort of) like Xboxen and PS2's. The guy selling them wanted $59 each, so I passed.

      It also has a Famicom cartridge port where you'd put the CD on a real PSOne. I wandered all over Manhattan's Chinatown trying to find some bootleg carts to try it with, or at least an NES-to-Famicom adapter so I could play the games I own on it, but sadly came up with very little. Few places had gaming systems at all, mostly the knockoff-N64-controller hardware. Only one place I went to had pirate software, and it was multicarts for the GB Advance.

  21. MAME version available, too by Didion+Sprague · · Score: 4, Informative
    http://www.9thtee.com/funstuff.htm

    This one 76 *real* arcade games inside of it.

  22. link here by jcrb · · Score: 5, Informative

    activision version

    --
    -jon
  23. It does have pitfall........ by jcrb · · Score: 5, Informative

    see here

    --
    -jon
  24. Play Flash version of Pitfall online... by bje2 · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.langleycreations.com/pitfall/

    --

    "Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson
  25. OGG Support Lacking by limekiller4 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm not buying one untill it supports the OGG format.

    --
    My .02,
    Limekiller
  26. Re:what's the point? by notsoanonymouscoward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.
  27. But this design is the ORIGINAL.... by Ndr_Amigo · · Score: 4, Informative

    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 :)

  28. Re:Bootleg? by Melantha_Bacchae · · Score: 3, Informative

    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

  29. Seen in ASCII art: by smittyoneeach · · Score: 3, Funny

    _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_
    -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
  30. Found a pic of it... by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    " 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.

  31. Thats a rip-off... by tgd · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

  32. Re:It's easy by gpinzone · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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!

  33. I got one. by imag0 · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.

  34. OT Observation by LittleGuy · · Score: 3, Funny

    "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.
  35. Use a 15% off coupon. by Dr.+Ion · · Score: 5, Informative

    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..