Retro Games Ltd: New Mini Atari 400 On Sale March 28th!

After watching the announcement trailer for it a few observations:

Wonder why they say it's compatible with the 400, 800, XL/XE, and the 5200, and that you can load your own games, but they don't mention that it's able to emulate the 7800? Makes zero sense not to offer that as well, and it would have been even more cool if it also ran Atari Lynx and ST games. But I'm sure people will modify the firmware to run 7800 games too and maybe even ST stuff if the single board computer they put in it is powerful enough and also has enough RAM to run an ST emulator.

I like it having four USB ports in the front for controllers and that it comes with a replica Atari 2600 joystick because that's the joystick most people preferred to use even on their C64 or Amiga. I'm sure their new replica 2600 joystick is going to work on the C64 and A500 minis and maxi stock firmware without having to edit the controller config text file because it would make no sense to also sell those joysticks separately and only have them work on the 400 mini.

What's going on with the backside on this mini? It looks like there's another USB on the left for a total of five, then to the right of it is an HDMI port, and think next thing is a USB C power port? But to the right of that it looks like a plastic plug or cover for something else? Or is that the power button?

Also wonder if the cartridge door on top opens? It almost looks like it may well do that? Doubt it's got a functioning cartridge port, but if it opens at least it would be a handy place to store your USB sticks or SD cards.

Last thing, wonder if there will be firmware mods from people allowing you to run the Atari 400 mini frontend on the C64 and A500 minis and maxi, and maybe running their frontends on the Atari 400 too? If it's SBC is the same or very similar to the C64 mini or C64 maxi boards then I'd at least expect that it's possible for those even if it's not for the A500?

An interesting feature on the 400 Mini is a 30 second game rewind feature.

Atari800 emulator supports rewind and 400/800, XL, XE and 5200. This may be why the 7800 is not listed.

atari.com/products/atari-400-mini

lists the chipset as Allwinner H3.

Is this is the same as TheC64 and TheVic20 and less powerful than the Amiga 500 Mini with it's Allwinner H6?

Retro Games Ltd just posted another video on their channel about the Atari 400 mini.That mini is looking good. I only owned a 2600 before moving on to the C64 and later Amiga because they were both better products at a lower price than what Atari was offering at that time, but these days I wish Atari and Commodore were still around in a major way just like I wish Sinclair was. Apple and Windows systems are boring these days.

Retro Recipes has posted a video today as the first review of the Atari 400 mini. They sent him a prototype of it and the joystick.

Always been a fan of the Atari 2600 joystick. Even today I prefer it over any other when playing C64 or Amiga games other than using a Dpad sometimes depending on type of game, and this joystick comes with some cool extra "hidden" and unhidden buttons for things like navigating the GUI of emulator front ends.

I probably will prefer using it over even the improved C64 maxi joystick that has micro switches. Never cared for joysticks with a big clumsy ball or grip style stick. It's joystick contacts aren't micro switches, but then again neither was the original 2600 joystick and I actually like the tighter action that the original stick has unless it's been worn out from hard use.

Still, I wonder if down the road they'll offer a micro switch version you can buy separately just like they did with the C64 mini/maxi joystick. Some people prefer surface contact style while others prefer micro switches.

To date I think besides this new stick, the only other USB 2600 clone joystick on the market that features extra buttons for things like navigation is the Hyperkin Trooper II joystick, unless you count the joysticks for the new VCS or Atari Game Station Pro. The Atari Flashback also has a version with more buttons too, but I've heard mixed reviews of it. I have the Trooper II and it's nice, but I wish it's action was tighter. I may take it apart and see if there's a way to tighten it up. Some people like a looser joystick though, all a matter of taste.

I do think the 400 mini missed a few opportunities though.

First being why didn't they give it 7800 support? Atari's best and last 8 bit console. And it should have had Atari Lynx support too. I'm sure both are going to be supported when people alter the firmware, if it hasn't already been done? Haven't paid that close of attention to progress on that.

They should have added a small spinner on the joystick because paddle games were huge on the Atari consoles and computers, just like they were on the C64 and Amiga because many people had Atari joysticks and paddles to use on those when they upgraded from the 2600. Or they should have also included paddles with the 400 mini.

Two other things I wish the 400 mini had were original Atari controller ports in addition to the USB ones so you had a wider choice of new and old joysticks and paddles to use. They should have replaced two of the four USB controller ports on the front with original Atari ones. Or they should have included an adapter dongle that you could plug into the 400 mini (or C64 and Amiga minis and maxi) for using original controllers, because a large part of the Atari computer and console experience was the joysticks and paddles along with legendary games that used them, not to mention the trackball they sold, which might even have been the first official trackball for any home computer or console? It seems like even if they sold an official Retro Games Ltd adapter dongle separately to use on their minis and maxis it would be a good seller, because third party USB adapters can be hit or miss on their minis and maxi in compatibility.

Another is they should have put a micro SD slot inside the cartridge port. That's a big missed opportunity. I'm sure many people will be modding the 400 mini to do just that. Maybe even with mini cartridge replicas with a micro SD card installed into the end of them.

One more missed opportunity. That membrane keyboard faceplate is already halfway there! It wouldn't have added too much more to the cost to simply put a membrane keyboard under it to make it functional. I bet there will be aftermarket kits by people to modify it for this.

All in all though, the 400 mini looks like another great mini from Retro Games Ltd.

yes cool can't wait

Is it's amp draw rating the same as the C64 mini, or the maxi or Amiga mini? If it matches one of them that might be an indicator of what internal board it's using?

I thought I heard somebody say they believed it was probably only going to be the same board or very similar to the one in the C64 mini because both are only supposed to be officially emulating 8 bit computers.

It might seem trivial to most people but when you're talking thousands of units being produced cost savings that only amount to pennies can add up. Just like Commodore when it came to saving pennies on something as simple as the Commodore 128 power supply. I think one of the designers mentioned that they made an effort to design the hardware to keep the amp draw as low as possible because even an increase of something like as little as a quarter of an amp could cost thousands.

5 days to go...

Retro Recipes just posted a video doing an unboxing and teardown of the 400 mini. His prior video was the first on it, but they had sent him the prototype and he wasn't allowed to open the unit to examine the internal control board. Haven't watched this video yet but from the thumbnail it appears he has the official commercial release unit now and is going to open the case.

John Hancock reviews the games included with the 400 mini and other features.

Is the joystick tight like original 2600 joysticks, or is it looser like the modern Hyperkin Trooper joystick? I prefer the tighter action of original Atari joysticks and just using my thumb on top of it for directional control. It makes it much easier to do precision movements. Never cared for using Atari joysticks if they were loose because somebody used their entire fist to control them so I always used one that wasn't worn out from that.

If you plug in the New VCS joystick to the Mini you get 2 extra paddle games.

Breakout and a Warlords clone.

Found somebody who finally covered the crucial question of how loose or tight the action is with the 400 mini joystick. It appears to be tight like an original 2600 joystick that hasn't been worn out by people using their whole hand to control it. This is good news, because far as I know every 2600 joystick clone ever reproduced over recent years has loose action, including the Hyperkin Trooper II, reproductions that come with the Flashback models, etc. Even if I don't buy the 400 mini I'll at least buy the joystick.

The joystick that came with the high end Atari game console that was released four or five years ago. It's a nice looking joystick with a built in spinner too. Reminds me of the one that comes with the Game Station Pro.

All these new Atari consoles have something to offer, such as the 2600+ having original Atari joystick ports and it using Atari cartridges. I still lean towards the Game Station Pro over it though because of things like 7800 and arcade support right out of the box, along with it's joystick that also has a paddle built in. One cool thing about the 2600+ using original Atari controller ports is they are releasing brand new Atari paddles and joysticks for sale too. Haven't checked up on their products but I'm hoping they're also releasing a reproduction of the Atari trackball, light guns, etc. All these products will be of interest to people using original hardware that use Atari controller ports such as the C64 or Amiga.