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Atari 2600 Paddle TV Game Gets It Right?

Thanks to IGN Pocket for its hands-on reviews of the latest JAKKS classic 'TV game' devices, including the Ms.Pacman-starring Namco device and an unlicensed 'Classic Arcade Pinball' game combo, but, more importantly, the previously mentioned, much-awaited Atari Paddle 'TV game' ("...a fantastic follow-up to the company's Atari Joystick plug-and-play controller released two years ago.") There's also a retro expert's review on the Atari Age forums which indicates the Digital Eclipse-developed 2600 conversions are "a 180 degree turn around from the sloppy job of the [original DC Studios-produced joystick], and it's definitely something to put on your want/wish list." Finally, disappointed fans are addressed regarding the lack of Kaboom! on the 11-game compilation, explaining: "If it was an Activision Paddle Games Collection, then Kaboom would be included, but this was Atari owned titles only."

19 comments

  1. I wish they would by foidulus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    create something like Nintendo's iPaq(which is an snes/n64 built into a controller that they sell in China) were I could take my tv game, go to a game store, pay a few bucks, and download the 2600 game of my choice. Or better yet, do it online. You wouldn't even need that large of a memory card to hold a lot of these games. Come on people, innovate! You have that IP just sitting around, do something with it or else people have no choice but to download roms. And please make it better than these tv games, I don't want to have to pay $20 for a device that only holds a few games(then has to take up space in my house when it's not in use)

    1. Re:I wish they would by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Ok it's not a nes controller, but for handheld 2600 action + nes + snes + sms + gamegear + scumm + doom + real games get a GP32 and a 128MB card.

    2. Re:I wish they would by mpr · · Score: 3, Informative

      I think you meant Nintendo's iQue

    3. Re:I wish they would by foidulus · · Score: 1

      D'oh!
      I guess I have PDA on the brain.
      Thanks.

    4. Re:I wish they would by raygundan · · Score: 1

      Only fair that you'd get PDAs on the brain, as the iQue is also Garmin's GPS/PocketPC PDA. In fact, that's probably where your neurons got crosswired.

  2. Ahh, memories of paddle controllers... by clintp · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In high school, I remember taking a paddle controller apart and mounting a 3' metal rod through it and affixing it to a 5' stand. On the end of the rod was a clamp for changing the amount of weight on it. I made...a pendulum.

    After carefully debugging the software and hardware at home, I brought the whole apparatus into school and hooked it up to the school's Atari 400.

    On screen, with a couple of keypresses you could get a realtime graph of the pendulum's oscillations against a set of scales (time and distance). Changing the length of the pendulum (with a wing nut), position of the weight, size of the weight, etc.. allowed the other students to really visualize what was going on.

    It was still there and working, long after I graduated.

    --
    Get off my lawn.
    1. Re:Ahh, memories of paddle controllers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just wanted to say that this sounds like a really neat project! I wish that some of the brighter kids back in high school had helped to make things or design programs that would help the rest of us visualize physics concepts.

  3. No 4-player... by Saige · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I just have to say that I think they've missed the boat on at least one important thing.

    The lack of being able to play 4 player games.

    The best game on the set is Warlords, at least in 4 player mode. I still have seen few games that are as fun with 4 players as the original Warlords, and this set does not allow 4 player play.

    It would be like a Street Fighter compilation that was exact in every detail - but only allowed single player play.

    --
    "You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
    1. Re:No 4-player... by Smallpond · · Score: 1

      Yes. Many lunch hours were spent playing Warlords at work ca. 1980. The only other multiplayer game that compared was nsnipes.

  4. Blargh by Anthony+Boyd · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Atari 2600 Paddle TV Game Gets It Right?

    If "gets it right" has anything to do with "met customer demand" then no, they did not get it right. The reason fans would be upset about the missing Kaboom! game is because that's the one they wanted. If there was a dictionary entry for "getting a retro paddle device right" it would be defined as "includes Kaboom!"

    Oh well. I'm sure some of the people reading this will be happy with the other games. I'll just keep waiting for Activision's version, I guess.

    1. Re:Blargh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I will be snagging one of these. It has the one game I still love to play years after my paddle broke. Super breakout. I must have this. WAIIIIIT a second I still have my coleco why whu uh maybe not...

    2. Re:Blargh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      The reason fans would be upset about the missing Kaboom! game is because that's the one they wanted.


      If by "they" you mean "I" and by "fans" you mean "dipshits."
  5. Kaboom! by kmhebert · · Score: 1

    No doubt, without Kaboom! this is just a neat toy. To be honest, if they released a paddle set with just Kaboom! and Warlords I would love to try it out. It's too bad that they don't make paddle controllers or paddle games anymore, sure there are only so many things to do just going right and left but a lot of those games were the most fun to play. Well, 25 years ago anyway.

    --
    Regular Meta Moderators are not more likely to get mod points.
  6. Re:tsarkon reports ISLAM is DEATH Polio Spreaders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    You liberal shits and your islamofascist friends will KILL US ALL.


    Nope, I had my polio shots. Just because your parents were dumb doesn't mean the rest of us are going to die for their stupidity.
  7. Re:tsarkon reports ISLAM is DEATH Polio Spreaders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    so its okay for people to spread disease. thats your argument. nice. and you think it starts and ends with polio. how about your clitoris. lets have you or if you are a male, lets have your mom's clitoris chopped off. its dirty. but allah forbid you take a vaccination.

    you are a typical obfuscator of truth. instead of saying, islamic clerics are spreaders of disease, or either trying to rebuke/debunk that or explain how it is justified you bring some person's parents into the issue.

    hahahahaha. good one. you are a truth killing machine.

  8. ... pointless .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Somehow these OT/Trolls get more and more pointless every day...