A Company Called Atari is Releasing a Brand-New 2600 Cartridge This Year

The company that currently owns the Atari name and trademarks has decided to give owners of the old Atari Video Computer System (aka the Atari 2600) something new to do. From a report: Mr. Run and Jump is a new Atari-published platformer that is coming to vintage Atari consoles in cartridge form, complete with a box and instruction manual. Preorders for the cartridge begin on July 31 for $59.99. The version of Mr. Run and Jump coming to the 2600 is a primitive version of a much different-looking game with the same name that's coming to PCs and all major game consoles on July 25. We've got to hand it to Atari here -- as a PR gambit for a new game, porting a rough version of your game to a 46-year-old game console and then giving it a physical release complete with box and manual is pretty good.

Atari is billing this release as "the first 2600 cartridge launch for a new Atari title since 1990," though there have also been some limited-run cartridge releases for games like 2005's Yars' Return. There were also a few new 2600-inspired games and remakes, including Vctr Sctr, in Atari's 50th-anniversary collection, which also got a physical release on modern consoles. Although modern game development for the 2600, NES, Game Boy, and other retro consoles are mostly the provenance of homebrew developers working in emulators, physical cartridge releases aren't uncommon. Limited Run Games and other independent and crowdfunded outfits have released plenty of physical cartridges for old consoles, including a Smash Bros-style NES game that includes a Wi-Fi chip to support online play.

Dust off the old console

[codlong]

I've got one in the basement, fully functional. I might actually have to purchase this and pull it back out!

Re: Dust off the old console

[RandomUsername99]

You need a fucking hobby.

I am predicting it now:

[Narcocide]

8-bit game cartridges will become the new vinyl.

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[Narcocide]

I predict they're gonna sell some aftermarket Atari decks.

Usually they do some kind of shitty raspberry pi

[waspleg]

in a box that looks like the original and runs rom emus that you can do yourself. I saw this today [slickdeals.net], I have no history with an Amiga so I can't speak to how it is. I know someone who gave up trying to side load retroarch [retroarch.com] on their iThings and just bought the Sega version to play Ecco. They are well outside the target age range for it (much older). But, people remember.

Doing what "Atari" is doing is for marketing obviously, and it worked. it got a lot of eyes that remember the real ones just by being here.

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[tlhIngan]

All kidding aside, even with all the children of the 80s having reached that age where eyesight begins to sour and we have, (some of us) some disposable income not otherwise committed, and we forget all the ways in which the 80s kind of sucked and nostalgia, the aching for those things of our increasingly dimly remembered collective past, (imagined to be simpler and brighter and happier, than they objectively were,) there are only so many who are going to pay as much for a "modern" game that runs on archaic

Conflicted.

[Fly Swatter]

On the pro side, this is DRM free and won't require micro transactions or an ongoing subscription to make the game worth your time?

On the other hand, with current state of software development and testing methods what are the odds the game cartridge will ship with a severe game bug that can't be fixed?

Good title

[vadim_t]

"A company named Atari". I like it.

I don't know why the name keeps hanging around like some sort of zombie. The original Atari has been dead for decades now. I don't know why they keep exhuming its corpse every few years. Does anyone even still care?

Re: Good title

[RandomUsername99]

Because if this company was called "Crusty Cartridge Studios" or some shit their efforts would fade into the sea of novelty game development companies without eliciting so much as a comment.

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Looks at the Indie Scene

[DarkRookie2]

Not surprising. Give an artist of a indie game more than 10 pixels and 4 colors and they freak the fuck out.

I'm excited!

[turp182]

The Atari doesn't come out much (how much Pitfall can one play?).

I'll buy this on principle, that a new game is being released for a system from the late 1970's (1978 in the house!). This is unlike vinyl since it's original hardware (I guess it is like a very old record player, but one that only plays records made for it).

Best time with the system was when a friend of mine won a radio station party and had it at my house. The DJs freaked out over the 2600 and were on the air talking about it. They played

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[iampiti]

They might not be "official" cartridges but homebrewers have been releasing physical cartridges of their 2600 games for many years. So, while this is nice, I'd say it's not as special as if no new cartridge games had been released at all since the last official one on the early 90s. Of course, I don't want to discourage you. But it and enjoy it if you wish.

oh gosh

[Slashythenkilly]

I hope nobody finds out about the emerging pc market

This will never catch on

[Opportunist]

That video game fad will fizzle out so fast. This has nothing on real sports and playing real games.

I'll pass LOL

[bsdetector101]

My desire to play any 8-bit or 16-bit game is zero ! I'm 66 and my 1st commercial video game was Pong !! Before most of y'all were even born !!!! The Atari we had, got played to death and we moved along. I won't even try to play Diablo 1/2 either, mostly cause my computer is too modern.