If you have ever been on the hunt for retro games, there’s a chance you came across an Atari Flashback at some point. For many years now, the folks at AtGames have released annual rebirths of the Atari 2600 and the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive consoles. Recently, they have publicly announced their plans for this year’s models. All of the consoles are known for their large doses of built-in games, and the lineup in each console continues to sport titles from notable publishers.
Starting on the Atari side of things, the newly revealed Atari Flashback 8 will come in three different varieties: The Atari Flashback 8 Classic Game Console, Atari Flashback 8 Gold, and Atari Flashback 8 Gold – Activision Edition. The Classic Flashback 8 is said to play on any TV and come with two wired controllers, while the upper models have a 720p HD output and two wireless controllers. Along with these home consoles, the Atari Flashback Portable makes a return this year; like before, it will have rechargeable battery and an SD Card slot so you can play ROMs on the system. You can also connect it to your TV to play on the bigger screen.
“We are excited to partner with AtGames again to release three new gaming systems. The new hardware includes a robust collection of classic games and features which will give our audiences many options to relive the golden age of gaming at home or on the go.” -Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari
Interestingly, some of the screenshots in the press release depict different versions of certain games rather than the original releases. The Atari Flashback Portable’s portion shows not the infamous 2600 port of Pac-Man, but Pac-Man 8k, a homebrew version of the arcade classic made for the console a couple years ago. Speaking of arcade, the original arcade versions of Frogger and Space Invaders are shown rather than the Atari 2600 ports. Being that multiple screens exist for these games, it’s likely AtGames will indeed be replacing the Atari 2600 ports of those games with the genuine or close-to-genuine articles.
As for SEGA consoles, there are two models as well as a handheld. There’s the SEGA Genesis Classic Game Console, the SEGA Genesis Flashback, and Ultimate Portable Game Player. The Classic Game Console, like with Atari, features wired controllers and plays on any TV. The Flashback has a 720p HD output, wireless controllers, and features SEGA Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear games in its lineup of built-in games. Both TV consoles also have cartridge slots so you can play nearly any Genesis game you have lying around under your bed somewhere. Of course, the Ultimate Portable Game Player is built in the same mold as the Atari Flashback portable as it features a similar shell, an SD Card slot, a cable to play on your TV, and a rechargeable battery.
“These upcoming products are our best hardware lineup ever. Building on our long history of delivering value-packed, nostalgic products for our customers, this new line-up takes classic gaming to a stunning new level.” -Dr. Ping-Kang Hsiung, CEO of AtGames
AtGames have been making sure many of the issues players had with previous SEGA models have been fixed; this includes the issue regarding sound quality, which many have seen as a dealbreaker. Given their confidence in this year’s SEGA Genesis consoles, it’s possible those worries will truly come to an end when all of the systems release this Fall. We may be able to let you know via a review.
For now, here are the lists of games for each console.
