I had an Atari 400 at release. I used to love the text adventures, which were popular at the time, and eventually bought the Basic programming language cartridge so I could write my own. That got me into coding and assembly, via the intimidating 6502 assembly language cartridge. I eventually took computer science at university and became a programmer. That would have never happened without my 400 😊
The Atari ST with Calamus (and equipped with Spectre GCR for Adobe Illustrator) helped me launch a multiple decade career in marketing & graphic design. I guess Atari was a career building company.
Love the product, and the review, however the Atari 400 was not marketed as a games machine, that is a modern misremembering. The initial split was the Atari 800 was for business applications and the Atari 400 was for home use. And the advertisements of the time, highlighted that it was easy to use, brought the computer age home, had good graphics and sound, and the general message of the marketing is that it was a full fledged computer - my familiarity is with the US market.
In the world of computers this is so cute. The original one was so robust, me and my brother put it through its paces, especially when it was deopped a few times. Good old Bounty Bob, pole.position and Lian raider. My brothers favourite was Qix. Thanks for the review...
That Capture the Flag looks amazing! And I didn't know that Bruce Lee originated on Atari 8-bit, nor Miner 2049er! That Electra-glide looks pretty. Ooooh! Seven Cities of Gold is a VERY Snorkers game. Huzzah!
Thank you for putting in the effort for this - really enjoyed it. The 400 is much more iconic than the mass-produced XL or XE series. I believe there is an 800XL in the pipeline from another company. I'm looking forward to playing the 8-bit versions of Space Harrier and Time Pilot, not to mention Atari Blast! and Last Squadron.
Sorry for my late response Pete! Many thanks for this video. I had no idea they were planning on making an Atari 400 mini. I still have an Atari 400 and it will be great to have a mini version of it! I have now pre-ordered one from Amazon. If the new 800XL happens as well, what a great time to be alive!
Brought back a lot of memories watching this. My Parents bought a 800 with the cassette player drive and a bunch of the games for when I got out of the Hospital when I was 7. We were an Atari household for a long time until my Uncle gave us his NES.
We had the Atari 800. Loved playing the Sierra word adventure games, PacMan, Load Runner, Castle Wolfenstein, Ultima and others. My friends came over to use the word processor program to write essays for college applications because no one also had a computer at home. Loading games with cassette tapes and floppies which took for ever. The game cartridges were much preferred. Good times!
Tape loading was slow on the Atart 8Bit range. My 800XL was the first machine I had a disk drive for. Disk loading was much better and opened up some games you just couldn't play from tape. I remember playing 'The Pawn' from disk.
Thanks, great job! I was 10 in 1983 when we got our first video game system, the Atari 400. I was under the impression the 800 could have two cartridges under its door, versus the 400 having one. It was told to me you would put the BASIC cart in one side, and an app cart in the other. My favorite game was Star Raiders, followed by Miner 2049er. My mother loved Pac-Man and Picnic Paranoia. The stock joystick lasted about a month. A year or so later, when it was obsolete, I bought all sorts of controllers, games, and whatnot myself. I never could find or afford the upgrades that would take the system from a console base to an actual computer. Always wanted to, though. I'd never dreamt they would make a mini of this system! Nobody I knew ever had one, although many had the 2600, which explained the mini of that system. Thanks for letting me know about it! Glad I found this video!
The 800 did indeed have two cartridge ports, but there were literally only one or two cartridges released that used the right slot. The right slot was intended for software that stayed resident while you were doing other things, while the left cartridge would boot straight to something -- usually a game, but there were also cartridge versions of AtariWriter, AtariArtist and doubtless some others. The only right-slot cart I know of is Monkey Wrench, which adds some additional commands to BASIC and thus would be used with BASIC in the left slot and Monkey Wrench in the right. Since no-one made software for the right slot, Atari took it out of all subsequent models of Atari 8-bit.
@@ThisIsPete Good. I wasn't misled then! Could've been a good alternative to a floppy drive system, since I'm sure a cart would've loaded much faster. I did hear that although the second slot was for an app cart, very very few were made before the whole system was obsolete. Too bad.
i am totally for those 8 bit minis. would like the coco mini, the apple II mini, the trs 80 mini, the TI99 mini, and a mini PET, maybe even a Coleco Adam mini with built in daisy wheel printer
I bought both the 400 and 5200. The 5200 had analog sticks. Awesome for gameplay, but they weren't sturdy enough. Later I also bought the 800xl and 130xe. I loved Atari computers.
I didn't own an Atari 400, but I used them at school, which had a selection of them along with some Apple II's. I'll always remember the 400's non-key keyboard. In retrospect, I should have asked for an Atari computer instead of an Atari 5200, since they were largely the same but the computers had a much larger game library.
The 5200 was just the 800XL without the keyboard. The guts were pretty much the same. People even ripped the 5200 cartridges, a little tweaking, and they played on the computers.
@@fozie43430 8-bit home computers were used for study, learning programming, taxes and small business use. Always liked the versitality of a computer. Consoles were sold in toy stores.
We got ours day zero from the Silica Shop in Sidcup which was local to us, one of the chaps there instead of us going to get it, hopped on a bus and came to our place and set it all up for little brother and I. My mum had opted for the cassette player which was heinously priced and a game called Kingdom which was pretty much along the lines of the BBC "Yellow River" where you set taxes, planting, harvesting and stuff and waited for the year to cross over and found out if you were lynched or given another year on the throne. One of the best games I ever saw was on a cassette magazine called Captain Nemo's Revenge, the graphics and sprites, controls, design were exceptional and way way past the 8 bit and wouldn't have looked out of place on a 32 bit like the Mega Drive.
Silica Shop was great. We used to get a fair amount of mail order stuff from them, and they were always one of the biggest supporters of the Atari magazines Page 6 and Atari User. Not played Kingdom but I know of it. One to take a look at sometime for sure!
Thanks for the crash course in the system. When I was little, my sister had an Atari 800XL but the games we had for it were purchased by my mum when she just asked "what was popular?" at the shop. So we had Ms.Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Joust, Megamania. I've only been able to play Star Raider and Miner 2049er now due to the Atari 50. This seems like an interesting collection, but I don't really see myself wanting to buy any of these mini consoles. I kind of predict some of these may be added to Atari 50 towards December, as I'm guessing they decided to give a free update to that system to get people talking about that game again around Christmas time. Who knows! I always assumed a lot of these would require a keyboard. Shows what I know. I know the keys on it don't work, but Atari Computer Mini console without Star Raiders I like a NES mini without Super Mario Bros.
My first home computer was an Atari 800XL. I remember some programs required the translator disk since some games were designed to the Atari 800. I eventually replaced it with the Atari 130XE and later went from the 8 bit line to the 16 bit line of the Atari 520ST. I did have a modification made to the 520ST to upgrade the memory from 512K to 1 megabyte of ram since some programs did need the extra memory. They were fun and I am looking forward to the 400 mini although I would have preferred the 800 mini since I always liked it more so then the 400. I hope they consider releasing an 800 mini with a lot more games than just the 25. By the wya, I think Star Raiders II originally started a a game tie in of the movie The Last Starfighter but was changed.
It did indeed! It was one of two games Atari originally intended to be The Last Starfighter adaptations (the other being Solaris on Atari 2600, which was actually made by the original Star Raiders' creator Doug Neubauer) but by the time they were both ready for release the movie was well past its sell-by date and so they were both rebranded. For extra games, don't forget that this will allow you to load your own disk/tape (and hopefully .XEX) images from USB stick, so anything that's not on there can easily be added.
I still have my old Ataris (2600 & 800), such great systems :) Loved 7 Cities of Gold and MULE, hoping to see some SSI & EPYX games - like Six Gun Shootout or Temple of Apshai. Really hope to see Star Raiders make it as well.
My first PC/Game system was an Atari 800. My favorite game was Alley Cat, by Bill Williams. Also really have fond memories of playing Pathfinder, Salmon Run, Dog Daze, Duck’s Ahoy, Minor 2049er, and a bunch more. If there’s ever an Atari 800 mini, I’ll probably have to get one 😄
Current conjecture I see is that if they do a "Maxi" model of this it might be the 800, as that has a proper keyboard. We'll have to wait and see if that happens -- it's usually a year or two between a "Mini" version and a companion "Maxi", so most folks are expecting a full-size A500 this year.
Mine too! We had one of the typewriter mods I mentioned by the time I was sentient enough to use a computer (I was born in 1981), so I never had the joy of the membrane keyboard in its original form. By the time I was old enough to use a computer more actively, we'd upgraded to the 800XL and later the 130XE.
I hope the same happens as with TheC64 and this year TheA500, a The800/XL/XE Maxi with full keyboard. They should have put some more USB ports where the cartridge port was on the original though. And additional to Star Raiders II they should have also included the prototype that was going to be a license game for The Last Starfighter. It’s game mechanics were slightly different, and I like these more.
Yeah, I think I actually slightly prefer the The Last Starfighter prototype also -- would have been nice to see that included (with the "branding" removed!) Indications are good that there will be an A500 Maxi this year, as a "full size" model is on Retro Games' roadmap. It would also make sense for them to do an Atari 800 Maxi as a complementary piece to this one, but that's likely a way off based on their previous model.
@@txtworldI plan to buy the A500 Maxi and I already have TheC64 Maxi. With these older computers, the system seller for me is a keyboard with the original layout. They could also sell external keyboards with the original layouts, then I would consider buying a mini.
This looks cool, and I’m really tempted. My only misgivings are that I wish it had more games (though I know you can expand its library), as many of these games are also on Atari 50, and that it doesn’t have a functional keyboard, which lets out text adventures, Antic games, and other keyboard-heavy favorites like Alternate Reality. I owned an Atari 130XE rather than a 400, but I love the A8 series, which is my second favorite 1980s gaming platform (after the NES). The only mini console I actually bought over the past 10 years was the SNES Classic, but I may pick this up.
This is pretty damn cool! I want to get one right away! By the way, 100% Star Raiders 2 is a great displays of the A8 capabilities. I think the re-vamped Digital Eclipse version *might* just make it to this machine in some way, or at least the controls will be re-mapped away from the 1-9 needed for acceleration.
Do we know for sure that none of the keyboard keys will function? How will you be able to navigate games that need a keyboard or even just get in and out of games? The controller shown for it has a single button… also it will support 5200 games. How will THAT work? The 5200 has analog, two buttons and a keypad. How can a CX40 replica possibly work? Do you think they will announce a modern 5200 analog controller (that self centers!) for use with the 400 mini? One can dream!
Keyboard support will be either by plugging in a USB keyboard or an on-screen keyboard that can be navigated with the joystick. The CX40 replica has seven buttons instead of just one, and you'll likely be able to assign keystrokes to those buttons as you desire -- that's how the C64 and A500 from the same folks work anyway.
Do you think it is wishful thinking that we might get a full-size Atari 400 with a fully working keyboard as what had happened with the C64 ‘maxi’? I absolutely adore that machine. Don’t get me wrong. I am excited about the mini Atari 400 as well but a the C64 ‘maxi’ style device, perhaps a replica of the Atari 800 would be something I would be willing to shell out some serious cash for. This is by the same team that made the maxi right? So I’m just curious do you think they may do that again but for the Atari 400/800.
There are so many amazing homebrew games (for free) that could be included in the carousel menu of the system. It would be a great way to "advertise" the capabilities of the system to people who never owned an Atari back then. It also would be nice to mention the names of the creators of the machine (Jay Miner and his team, Joe Decuir the SIO creator (USB)).
Homebrew games are generally free, when only played for individual, personal use. But they can't legally be bundled for sale within a commercial product, without permission from (and perhaps in conjunction with a negotiated payment to) the rights holder
The Atari 8-bit port of "Battlezone" pales in comparison to the Czech game "Alienbusters" and especially Paul Woakes' "Encounter!", but TBF as Woakes was British, the level warp sequence is a tad too hard on NTSC machines.
I haven't come across Alienbusters before -- will have to give that a look. Very much with you on Encounter, though, that is an excellent game. Mr Woakes is sadly missed.
I wish someone would create an arcade accurate version of Battlezone for the PS5 or ps4. That was my favorite in the arcade, bar none. I hope Hamster does it.
That'd be good to see for sure. As I say, I think rights to the name have been all over the place since the late 90s, but if Atari have managed to get their hands back on it perhaps we will see it make a comeback!
I am fond of the Atari 5200 and know very little about the Atari 400, just that it is essentially the same hardware as the 5200. Can some 400 enthusiasts suggest games to sideload? I would like to get excited about what this thing can play that might not show up officially due to licensing and such.
Check my "Atari 8-Bit" playlist on the channel -- lots of fun stuff among that lot. There's a lot of good stuff among the preloaded games, and you're probably familiar with the early 80s arcade ports from the 5200. My personal picks would be Zorro, Rescue on Fractalus, Star Raiders, Screaming Wings, International Karate, Gateway to Apshai and the Diamonds trilogy (Diamonds, Dan Strikes Back, Return of the Fungi).
Yep, that'd be a great one, and it would fit nicely on the controller's available buttons, too! The license for that one should be attainable, too, since the C64 version has had some rereleases.
I hope they announce the Atari 5200 Mini. That's an under appreciated console no thanks to the bad controller, but the games on it are great! There are some amazing arcade ports on the 5200. Centipede, Moon Patrol, Berzerk, Robotron 2084 and Missile Command to name a few. It would also give Atari a chance to redeem themselves by actually making the controller work well.
The trouble is, most of the good 5200 games are also on Atari 8-bit, which would make a 5200 Mini a little redundant unless they did a proper job of modernising the controller. To be fair, if they did that I'd absolutely buy one, but in the meantime the 400 Mini will emulate 5200 stuff as well as Atari 8-bit!
@@ThisIsPete You have to consider license third party games too. The 5200 has CBS Electronic and Parker Bros games. Mountain King is my favorite game on Atari 5200. I don't know if Atari has the rights to distribute those games on a mini console.
You gotta assume Caverns Of Mars will be there. Other possible games… I mean, take your pick from the Synapse Software team: Shamus, Fort Apocalypse, Pharaoh’s Curse, even *Chicken* - which is basically just Kaboom but lord it’s charming. MULE opens up the possibility of other old EA titles like Archon. Epyx Summer Games 84. Montezuma’s Revenge, son! Juice! JOURNEY TO THE PLANETS PLEEEEASE oh my god the world needs to experience No Man’s Sky’s primal ancestor…
Caverns of Mars is highly likely, I reckon. I don't know where the rights for Synapse's stuff are, but if they can get any of those, that would be great. Epyx stuff (at least on C64) seems to be readily accessible these days, so Summer Games could be a possibility. Montezuma's Revenge would also be doable with the recent rereleases/remakes/whatever he's doing. Juice? Would love it, but would be surprised to see it. And Journey to the Planets? Love it, and would pay good money to see people being absolutely baffled by it, but I suspect that one may be a pipe dream :) Still, at least anything that's not on there you'll be able to play via a USB drive. And I predict a rush of "Essential Atari 8-Bit Games You Should Play On Your 400 Mini" videos as we get closer to launch. :)
This is interesting, but, it's just another emulator in a cute box. Working 8-bit computers can be bought for a reasonable price, many come with original joysticks and games. Then you get the real experience, without emulator glitches, which I'm sure this will have, as everyone does.
Boulder Dash and Miner2049 are exceptional inclusions (although Jumpman and Lode Runner are notably missing) The absence of a working keyboard is troublesome, as the 8 bit Atari computers are where I abandoned Joysick control in favour of keyboard, so I see this as a fun curiosity, but I' hold off for the 800XL reboot project, unless the 400 is reasonably priced enough that I can buy it for fun in the interim. Don't seem to remember you mentioning it, does this accept games on external storage or only the 25 included titles ??? My Hatari (and other Atari emulator collections) would love a new home. btw the original Star Raiders keyboard controls are far more than speed, they also bring up the galactic map, select warp drive and select forward or aft views. Sadly Star Raider II is a visually improved, but pale imitation. But hey, it is free with the 'console'.
This accepts additional games on USB storage, yes -- it highlights it in the trailer. No word on if it has a "Classic Mode" that boots to BASIC like the C64 Maxi though. We shall see!
@@txtworld Sorry, I've seen no reviews that state categorically that it supports an external keyboard, and I never assume what emulation devices may or may not support.
@@PeBoVisionYou're evidently not familiar with Retro Ganes, and their product lineage. Absolutely "all" of their mini consoles support external USB keyboards ... they produce top quality kit
One thing I'm confused about with the Atari 400 Mini is a lot of the games requires a keyboard to play them and often to select options.The 400 Mini has no keyboard, but rather a sticker of the membrane keyboard rather than a working membrane keyboard. Wouldn't use need to play in a PC keyboard into this console in order to run games? Part of the attraction of this box was it's compact size and retro look, but if you have to plug in a PC keyboard to use, that would loose a lot of it's appeal and why not just use a PC laptop with the great free Atari 8 bit emulator which I used and love? I'm hearing Star Raiders was not an included title because.......it requires a keyboard! Wasn't that kind of the point of a computer, to include a keyboard or some sort? Star Raiders was the killer App for the Atari 8 bit platform. Not to include that seems ludicrous. If a keyboard is require........include one! Since home brews are included, shouldn't Atari Blast! be included? Easily the best game on the platform. Many people with the original hardware can't run it because it requires a 1 meg upgrade, and a lot of people aren't going to bother to buy & install one. But with an emulator box or computer, it's easy. That alone would help the sames of a device like this.
To the first point: the included joystick has 7 buttons, which is more than enough for any control mappings the included games require. And if it's anything like the C64 and A500 that have come before this, it'll be remappable. You can also plug in a USB keyboard. 7 buttons is not, however, enough for Star Raiders vanilla, which has 10 keys just for controlling your speed! To the second: AtariBlast would be a great inclusion for sure, but as good as a lot of homebrew is (and AtariBlast is one of the best, for sure), it's not going to sell the system to the more casual collectors, which is who this is primarily aimed at. I'd love to see AtariBlast personally -- and remember that not all the games have been announced or teased as yet -- but I suspect there's more well-known stuff that will probably take priority to bring in the "ooh, I remember that from back in the day" crowd.
@@ThisIsPete If they played a demo clip of Atari Blast, I bet it would sell a lot of systems. I understand better on the 7 button joystick though, and the ability to re-map it. I was also reading it can emulate the newest Atari 8 bit which had 128k ram, so Atari Blast has a good possibility of working.
The original did, yes -- there was lots of productivity software available such as AtariWriter (word processing), VisiCalc (spreadsheet) and AtariArtist (digital art). You could connect a printer or modem through the SIO port I mentioned, and stuff could be saved to floppy disk or cassette. One of the most popular things to do with an early computer was program in BASIC, too, so a lot of people wrote their own software. This mini model focuses on the games, though. We don't yet know if it will have a mode where you can boot into BASIC, but the C64 recreations from the same folks allow you to do this so it's a possibility. Unlikely you'll be able to attach peripherals or anything though.
I'd buy this if it can run my XE/128 games. If not, no deal. I can watch videos of Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Space Invaders, without giving up hard earned money.
Why the case of an Atari 400 instead of (any) XL or XE? Yes, the Mini is compatible with them (an with the 5400'er) but from a (mine) aesthetic point of view i would go for an XL/XE.
I suspect two reasons: the 400 had four controller ports, so it looks "right" for there to be four USB ports on the front, and that the 400 was (one of) the first Atari 8-bit computers, and the one that was more commonly purchased primarily for entertainment.
I can never see the point of an emulator based repro computer... Seems cheaper, easier and more upgradable to just use the emu on a pc ...😐 On top of which they are usually unjustly expensive
Part of it is the collectibilty factor -- even if you never use it, it's a fun scale model to have on the shelf, and it makes a cool conversation piece if you can take that model down, plug it into the TV and actually play the games on it!
Is "money" too simple an answer? Why make fewer devices when you can make more and people will buy them? :) Plus these each serve a different submarket -- the 2600+ is for those already into or wanting to get into 2600/7800 cart collecting, while this is a plug and play system that can be expanded if desired.
Incorrect. The Last Starfighter has a purple control panel instead of the grey one seen in Star Raiders II, and slightly different mechanics -- you only fight the "motherships" when they are attacking the barrier around your home system, for example, which isn't present in Star Raiders II, so they became part of the fleets you fight. It was also never officially released, instead being retrofitted into a Star Raiders sequel as the license was no longer timely. See ua-cam.com/video/sc6_ac4-sNw/v-deo.html
While this is something pretty cool on paper, especially the ability to load your own roms on it,but many games are probably also on those 2600 flaskback systems and atari 2600 and 7800 mini systems,so as of now,am scaptical about this,maybe if they will include basix as a bonus as well as an option to use usb to load your own games on it,instead of using an sd card,just to give that outhentic feel of connecting your atari 400 to other devices like back in the day,because that would be cool😁
I hope this 400 mini is a success, but I think it will only sell to Atari fans. As, while you pointed out many of the games coming with the mini were also on C64, you didn't point out they were so much better on C64. Hence, the C64 mini and maxi sold to Spectrum, Amstrad and Atari gamers. Anybody who knows 8-bit gaming who has the C64 mini/maxi will know there is no point getting the Atari mini. Especially when so many of the games on the mini DID come out on the C64. They should have stuck with Atari only releases.
@@cosmicavatar773 would it? Star Raiders requires a lot of keyboard functionality, and I don't think the keyboard on this is machine is actually functional.
I rather go play on the NES if I wanted an 8 bit console the 8 bit ruined video games what saved the games was the arcade machines I never hated Pac-Man thanks to the arcade
I had an Atari 400 at release. I used to love the text adventures, which were popular at the time, and eventually bought the Basic programming language cartridge so I could write my own. That got me into coding and assembly, via the intimidating 6502 assembly language cartridge.
I eventually took computer science at university and became a programmer. That would have never happened without my 400 😊
Good memories, I remember being stuck in a chair and having to bite lip to escape... Took ages to figure it out.
The Atari ST with Calamus (and equipped with Spectre GCR for Adobe Illustrator) helped me launch a multiple decade career in marketing & graphic design. I guess Atari was a career building company.
Xyzzy
@@donny121able I remeber being stuck in a vacuum and had to "hyperventilate" then "breathe out" 💀 Savage Island 2. Good times
@@thomasmroz That's magic!
Love the product, and the review, however the Atari 400 was not marketed as a games machine, that is a modern misremembering. The initial split was the Atari 800 was for business applications and the Atari 400 was for home use. And the advertisements of the time, highlighted that it was easy to use, brought the computer age home, had good graphics and sound, and the general message of the marketing is that it was a full fledged computer - my familiarity is with the US market.
Happy you mentioned USB. This feature was so ahead of anything else out there for many years.
In the world of computers this is so cute. The original one was so robust, me and my brother put it through its paces, especially when it was deopped a few times. Good old Bounty Bob, pole.position and Lian raider. My brothers favourite was Qix. Thanks for the review...
Great video. I wasn’t aware of the 400 mini release so thanks for the heads up. Might have to add it to my collection of original Atari kit.
That Capture the Flag looks amazing! And I didn't know that Bruce Lee originated on Atari 8-bit, nor Miner 2049er! That Electra-glide looks pretty.
Ooooh! Seven Cities of Gold is a VERY Snorkers game.
Huzzah!
Elecktra Glide is one of my favourite 8-bit games. Once you get the hang of it, it’s superb.
A8 best version as well, had it on both the C64 and A8
Thank you for putting in the effort for this - really enjoyed it. The 400 is much more iconic than the mass-produced XL or XE series. I believe there is an 800XL in the pipeline from another company. I'm looking forward to playing the 8-bit versions of Space Harrier and Time Pilot, not to mention Atari Blast! and Last Squadron.
Sorry for my late response Pete! Many thanks for this video. I had no idea they were planning on making an Atari 400 mini. I still have an Atari 400 and it will be great to have a mini version of it! I have now pre-ordered one from Amazon. If the new 800XL happens as well, what a great time to be alive!
The Atari 400 was my first computer growing up. I've preordered the mini and second joystick. Can't wait. Roll on April 😊
Brought back a lot of memories watching this. My Parents bought a 800 with the cassette player drive and a bunch of the games for when I got out of the Hospital when I was 7. We were an Atari household for a long time until my Uncle gave us his NES.
If they make an Atari ST mini, I'm buying it.
If you want to see that, then show your support for Retro Games' product development efforts. Let's first buy The 400 Mini ... it looks awesome
My top dream is ATARI 130 XE, but this is very good and nice too. 🙂
I had Atari 400 in about 1981. Upgraded to 64k and also got a real keyboard. Loved that machine but traded it for a car in 1986.
I would love to see Shamus! and Montezuma's Revenge.
I can see both of those potentially happening -- particularly Montezuma's Revenge, what with the recent new versions!
We had the Atari 800. Loved playing the Sierra word adventure games, PacMan, Load Runner, Castle Wolfenstein, Ultima and others. My friends came over to use the word processor program to write essays for college applications because no one also had a computer at home. Loading games with cassette tapes and floppies which took for ever. The game cartridges were much preferred. Good times!
Tape loading was slow on the Atart 8Bit range. My 800XL was the first machine I had a disk drive for. Disk loading was much better and opened up some games you just couldn't play from tape. I remember playing 'The Pawn' from disk.
Thanks, great job! I was 10 in 1983 when we got our first video game system, the Atari 400. I was under the impression the 800 could have two cartridges under its door, versus the 400 having one. It was told to me you would put the BASIC cart in one side, and an app cart in the other. My favorite game was Star Raiders, followed by Miner 2049er. My mother loved Pac-Man and Picnic Paranoia. The stock joystick lasted about a month. A year or so later, when it was obsolete, I bought all sorts of controllers, games, and whatnot myself. I never could find or afford the upgrades that would take the system from a console base to an actual computer. Always wanted to, though. I'd never dreamt they would make a mini of this system! Nobody I knew ever had one, although many had the 2600, which explained the mini of that system. Thanks for letting me know about it! Glad I found this video!
The 800 did indeed have two cartridge ports, but there were literally only one or two cartridges released that used the right slot. The right slot was intended for software that stayed resident while you were doing other things, while the left cartridge would boot straight to something -- usually a game, but there were also cartridge versions of AtariWriter, AtariArtist and doubtless some others.
The only right-slot cart I know of is Monkey Wrench, which adds some additional commands to BASIC and thus would be used with BASIC in the left slot and Monkey Wrench in the right.
Since no-one made software for the right slot, Atari took it out of all subsequent models of Atari 8-bit.
@@ThisIsPete Good. I wasn't misled then! Could've been a good alternative to a floppy drive system, since I'm sure a cart would've loaded much faster. I did hear that although the second slot was for an app cart, very very few were made before the whole system was obsolete. Too bad.
oohhh I want this for the miner 2049'er alone
i am totally for those 8 bit minis. would like the coco mini, the apple II mini, the trs 80 mini, the TI99 mini, and a mini PET, maybe even a Coleco Adam mini with built in daisy wheel printer
I bought both the 400 and 5200. The 5200 had analog sticks. Awesome for gameplay, but they weren't sturdy enough. Later I also bought the 800xl and 130xe. I loved Atari computers.
I didn't own an Atari 400, but I used them at school, which had a selection of them along with some Apple II's. I'll always remember the 400's non-key keyboard. In retrospect, I should have asked for an Atari computer instead of an Atari 5200, since they were largely the same but the computers had a much larger game library.
With a computer you could do more things than games.
The 5200 was just the 800XL without the keyboard. The guts were pretty much the same. People even ripped the 5200 cartridges, a little tweaking, and they played on the computers.
@@fozie43430 8-bit home computers were used for study, learning programming, taxes and small business use. Always liked the versitality of a computer. Consoles were sold in toy stores.
I bought both the 400 and 5200. The 5200 had analog sticks. Awesome for gameplay, but they weren't sturdy enough.
This is a great overview of the bits we know about THE400's game selection!
We got ours day zero from the Silica Shop in Sidcup which was local to us, one of the chaps there instead of us going to get it, hopped on a bus and came to our place and set it all up for little brother and I. My mum had opted for the cassette player which was heinously priced and a game called Kingdom which was pretty much along the lines of the BBC "Yellow River" where you set taxes, planting, harvesting and stuff and waited for the year to cross over and found out if you were lynched or given another year on the throne. One of the best games I ever saw was on a cassette magazine called Captain Nemo's Revenge, the graphics and sprites, controls, design were exceptional and way way past the 8 bit and wouldn't have looked out of place on a 32 bit like the Mega Drive.
Silica Shop was great. We used to get a fair amount of mail order stuff from them, and they were always one of the biggest supporters of the Atari magazines Page 6 and Atari User.
Not played Kingdom but I know of it. One to take a look at sometime for sure!
Thanks for the crash course in the system. When I was little, my sister had an Atari 800XL but the games we had for it were purchased by my mum when she just asked "what was popular?" at the shop. So we had Ms.Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Joust, Megamania. I've only been able to play Star Raider and Miner 2049er now due to the Atari 50.
This seems like an interesting collection, but I don't really see myself wanting to buy any of these mini consoles. I kind of predict some of these may be added to Atari 50 towards December, as I'm guessing they decided to give a free update to that system to get people talking about that game again around Christmas time. Who knows!
I always assumed a lot of these would require a keyboard. Shows what I know. I know the keys on it don't work, but Atari Computer Mini console without Star Raiders I like a NES mini without Super Mario Bros.
My first home computer was an Atari 800XL. I remember some programs required the translator disk since some games were designed to the Atari 800. I eventually replaced it with the Atari 130XE and later went from the 8 bit line to the 16 bit line of the Atari 520ST. I did have a modification made to the 520ST to upgrade the memory from 512K to 1 megabyte of ram since some programs did need the extra memory. They were fun and I am looking forward to the 400 mini although I would have preferred the 800 mini since I always liked it more so then the 400. I hope they consider releasing an 800 mini with a lot more games than just the 25.
By the wya, I think Star Raiders II originally started a a game tie in of the movie The Last Starfighter but was changed.
It did indeed! It was one of two games Atari originally intended to be The Last Starfighter adaptations (the other being Solaris on Atari 2600, which was actually made by the original Star Raiders' creator Doug Neubauer) but by the time they were both ready for release the movie was well past its sell-by date and so they were both rebranded.
For extra games, don't forget that this will allow you to load your own disk/tape (and hopefully .XEX) images from USB stick, so anything that's not on there can easily be added.
I still have my old Ataris (2600 & 800), such great systems :) Loved 7 Cities of Gold and MULE, hoping to see some SSI & EPYX games - like Six Gun Shootout or Temple of Apshai. Really hope to see Star Raiders make it as well.
I will need this and signed up to be emailed when they will accept orders :)
My first PC/Game system was an Atari 800. My favorite game was Alley Cat, by Bill Williams. Also really have fond memories of playing Pathfinder, Salmon Run, Dog Daze, Duck’s Ahoy, Minor 2049er, and a bunch more.
If there’s ever an Atari 800 mini, I’ll probably have to get one 😄
Current conjecture I see is that if they do a "Maxi" model of this it might be the 800, as that has a proper keyboard. We'll have to wait and see if that happens -- it's usually a year or two between a "Mini" version and a companion "Maxi", so most folks are expecting a full-size A500 this year.
The 400 was the first computer I ever laid my fingers on.
You had one? Lucky you!
Mine too! We had one of the typewriter mods I mentioned by the time I was sentient enough to use a computer (I was born in 1981), so I never had the joy of the membrane keyboard in its original form. By the time I was old enough to use a computer more actively, we'd upgraded to the 800XL and later the 130XE.
Thanks Pete cant wait for this !
Great info Pete 👍
I hope the same happens as with TheC64 and this year TheA500, a The800/XL/XE Maxi with full keyboard.
They should have put some more USB ports where the cartridge port was on the original though. And additional to Star Raiders II they should have also included the prototype that was going to be a license game for The Last Starfighter. It’s game mechanics were slightly different, and I like these more.
Yeah, I think I actually slightly prefer the The Last Starfighter prototype also -- would have been nice to see that included (with the "branding" removed!)
Indications are good that there will be an A500 Maxi this year, as a "full size" model is on Retro Games' roadmap. It would also make sense for them to do an Atari 800 Maxi as a complementary piece to this one, but that's likely a way off based on their previous model.
If you want to see that, then show your support for Retro Games' product development efforts. Let's first buy The 400 Mini .... it looks awesome
@@txtworldI plan to buy the A500 Maxi and I already have TheC64 Maxi. With these older computers, the system seller for me is a keyboard with the original layout.
They could also sell external keyboards with the original layouts, then I would consider buying a mini.
This looks cool, and I’m really tempted. My only misgivings are that I wish it had more games (though I know you can expand its library), as many of these games are also on Atari 50, and that it doesn’t have a functional keyboard, which lets out text adventures, Antic games, and other keyboard-heavy favorites like Alternate Reality.
I owned an Atari 130XE rather than a 400, but I love the A8 series, which is my second favorite 1980s gaming platform (after the NES). The only mini console I actually bought over the past 10 years was the SNES Classic, but I may pick this up.
A must buy.
The graphics and games are much better than Commodore 64. I had no idea.
This is pretty damn cool! I want to get one right away! By the way, 100% Star Raiders 2 is a great displays of the A8 capabilities. I think the re-vamped Digital Eclipse version *might* just make it to this machine in some way, or at least the controls will be re-mapped away from the 1-9 needed for acceleration.
Do we know for sure that none of the keyboard keys will function? How will you be able to navigate games that need a keyboard or even just get in and out of games? The controller shown for it has a single button… also it will support 5200 games. How will THAT work? The 5200 has analog, two buttons and a keypad. How can a CX40 replica possibly work? Do you think they will announce a modern 5200 analog controller (that self centers!) for use with the 400 mini? One can dream!
Keyboard support will be either by plugging in a USB keyboard or an on-screen keyboard that can be navigated with the joystick. The CX40 replica has seven buttons instead of just one, and you'll likely be able to assign keystrokes to those buttons as you desire -- that's how the C64 and A500 from the same folks work anyway.
Do you think it is wishful thinking that we might get a full-size Atari 400 with a fully working keyboard as what had happened with the C64 ‘maxi’? I absolutely adore that machine. Don’t get me wrong. I am excited about the mini Atari 400 as well but a the C64 ‘maxi’ style device, perhaps a replica of the Atari 800 would be something I would be willing to shell out some serious cash for. This is by the same team that made the maxi right? So I’m just curious do you think they may do that again but for the Atari 400/800.
@@ThisIsPetedepends on sales I guess
There are so many amazing homebrew games (for free) that could be included in the carousel menu of the system. It would be a great way to "advertise" the capabilities of the system to people who never owned an Atari back then.
It also would be nice to mention the names of the creators of the machine (Jay Miner and his team, Joe Decuir the SIO creator (USB)).
Homebrew games are generally free, when only played for individual, personal use. But they can't legally be bundled for sale within a commercial product, without permission from (and perhaps in conjunction with a negotiated payment to) the rights holder
Great selection of games, I would add Alternate Reality to the list, in my opinion the defining game of the system and a breakthrough in rpgs!
Definitely a great game, though tricky to play without a keyboard.
The Atari 8-bit port of "Battlezone" pales in comparison to the Czech game "Alienbusters" and especially Paul Woakes' "Encounter!", but TBF as Woakes was British, the level warp sequence is a tad too hard on NTSC machines.
I haven't come across Alienbusters before -- will have to give that a look. Very much with you on Encounter, though, that is an excellent game. Mr Woakes is sadly missed.
I wish someone would create an arcade accurate version of Battlezone for the PS5 or ps4. That was my favorite in the arcade, bar none. I hope Hamster does it.
That'd be good to see for sure. As I say, I think rights to the name have been all over the place since the late 90s, but if Atari have managed to get their hands back on it perhaps we will see it make a comeback!
I am fond of the Atari 5200 and know very little about the Atari 400, just that it is essentially the same hardware as the 5200.
Can some 400 enthusiasts suggest games to sideload? I would like to get excited about what this thing can play that might not show up officially due to licensing and such.
Check my "Atari 8-Bit" playlist on the channel -- lots of fun stuff among that lot. There's a lot of good stuff among the preloaded games, and you're probably familiar with the early 80s arcade ports from the 5200.
My personal picks would be Zorro, Rescue on Fractalus, Star Raiders, Screaming Wings, International Karate, Gateway to Apshai and the Diamonds trilogy (Diamonds, Dan Strikes Back, Return of the Fungi).
@@ThisIsPete space dungeon for the 5200 would be a great port, especially if you can use a usb game pad for twin stick actions
Gateway to Apshai, please! ❤
Yep, that'd be a great one, and it would fit nicely on the controller's available buttons, too! The license for that one should be attainable, too, since the C64 version has had some rereleases.
I never had one or saw one in the wild
I hope they announce the Atari 5200 Mini. That's an under appreciated console no thanks to the bad controller, but the games on it are great! There are some amazing arcade ports on the 5200. Centipede, Moon Patrol, Berzerk, Robotron 2084 and Missile Command to name a few. It would also give Atari a chance to redeem themselves by actually making the controller work well.
The trouble is, most of the good 5200 games are also on Atari 8-bit, which would make a 5200 Mini a little redundant unless they did a proper job of modernising the controller. To be fair, if they did that I'd absolutely buy one, but in the meantime the 400 Mini will emulate 5200 stuff as well as Atari 8-bit!
@@ThisIsPete You have to consider license third party games too. The 5200 has CBS Electronic and Parker Bros games. Mountain King is my favorite game on Atari 5200. I don't know if Atari has the rights to distribute those games on a mini console.
You gotta assume Caverns Of Mars will be there. Other possible games… I mean, take your pick from the Synapse Software team: Shamus, Fort Apocalypse, Pharaoh’s Curse, even *Chicken* - which is basically just Kaboom but lord it’s charming. MULE opens up the possibility of other old EA titles like Archon. Epyx Summer Games 84. Montezuma’s Revenge, son! Juice! JOURNEY TO THE PLANETS PLEEEEASE oh my god the world needs to experience No Man’s Sky’s primal ancestor…
Caverns of Mars is highly likely, I reckon. I don't know where the rights for Synapse's stuff are, but if they can get any of those, that would be great. Epyx stuff (at least on C64) seems to be readily accessible these days, so Summer Games could be a possibility. Montezuma's Revenge would also be doable with the recent rereleases/remakes/whatever he's doing. Juice? Would love it, but would be surprised to see it. And Journey to the Planets? Love it, and would pay good money to see people being absolutely baffled by it, but I suspect that one may be a pipe dream :)
Still, at least anything that's not on there you'll be able to play via a USB drive. And I predict a rush of "Essential Atari 8-Bit Games You Should Play On Your 400 Mini" videos as we get closer to launch. :)
This is interesting, but, it's just another emulator in a cute box. Working 8-bit computers can be bought for a reasonable price, many come with original joysticks and games. Then you get the real experience, without emulator glitches, which I'm sure this will have, as everyone does.
I don't get Ataris strategy...
Boulder Dash and Miner2049 are exceptional inclusions (although Jumpman and Lode Runner are notably missing)
The absence of a working keyboard is troublesome, as the 8 bit Atari computers are where I abandoned Joysick control in favour of keyboard, so I see this as a fun curiosity, but I' hold off for the 800XL reboot project, unless the 400 is reasonably priced enough that I can buy it for fun in the interim. Don't seem to remember you mentioning it, does this accept games on external storage or only the 25 included titles ??? My Hatari (and other Atari emulator collections) would love a new home.
btw the original Star Raiders keyboard controls are far more than speed, they also bring up the galactic map, select warp drive and select forward or aft views. Sadly Star Raider II is a visually improved, but pale imitation. But hey, it is free with the 'console'.
This accepts additional games on USB storage, yes -- it highlights it in the trailer. No word on if it has a "Classic Mode" that boots to BASIC like the C64 Maxi though. We shall see!
I hope it has BASIC. I would like to finally conquer Adventure Island (Antic, Nov. 1984).
Just plug in a USB keyboard ... problem solved
@@txtworld Sorry, I've seen no reviews that state categorically that it supports an external keyboard, and I never assume what emulation devices may or may not support.
@@PeBoVisionYou're evidently not familiar with Retro Ganes, and their product lineage. Absolutely "all" of their mini consoles support external USB keyboards ... they produce top quality kit
I wonder if it will recognize a USB keyboard so you can play Star Raiders?
It will! There's a fifth USB port for USB sticks or keyboards.
@@ThisIsPete but where are the 'Start' and 'Option' key if I want to load a tape LOL
One thing I'm confused about with the Atari 400 Mini is a lot of the games requires a keyboard to play them and often to select options.The 400 Mini has no keyboard, but rather a sticker of the membrane keyboard rather than a working membrane keyboard. Wouldn't use need to play in a PC keyboard into this console in order to run games? Part of the attraction of this box was it's compact size and retro look, but if you have to plug in a PC keyboard to use, that would loose a lot of it's appeal and why not just use a PC laptop with the great free Atari 8 bit emulator which I used and love?
I'm hearing Star Raiders was not an included title because.......it requires a keyboard! Wasn't that kind of the point of a computer, to include a keyboard or some sort? Star Raiders was the killer App for the Atari 8 bit platform. Not to include that seems ludicrous. If a keyboard is require........include one!
Since home brews are included, shouldn't Atari Blast! be included? Easily the best game on the platform. Many people with the original hardware can't run it because it requires a 1 meg upgrade, and a lot of people aren't going to bother to buy & install one. But with an emulator box or computer, it's easy. That alone would help the sames of a device like this.
To the first point: the included joystick has 7 buttons, which is more than enough for any control mappings the included games require. And if it's anything like the C64 and A500 that have come before this, it'll be remappable. You can also plug in a USB keyboard. 7 buttons is not, however, enough for Star Raiders vanilla, which has 10 keys just for controlling your speed!
To the second: AtariBlast would be a great inclusion for sure, but as good as a lot of homebrew is (and AtariBlast is one of the best, for sure), it's not going to sell the system to the more casual collectors, which is who this is primarily aimed at. I'd love to see AtariBlast personally -- and remember that not all the games have been announced or teased as yet -- but I suspect there's more well-known stuff that will probably take priority to bring in the "ooh, I remember that from back in the day" crowd.
@@ThisIsPete If they played a demo clip of Atari Blast, I bet it would sell a lot of systems.
I understand better on the 7 button joystick though, and the ability to re-map it. I was also reading it can emulate the newest Atari 8 bit which had 128k ram, so Atari Blast has a good possibility of working.
So, does the 400 do computer things like word processing and other computer stuff? Surely people didn’t buy computers for games
The original did, yes -- there was lots of productivity software available such as AtariWriter (word processing), VisiCalc (spreadsheet) and AtariArtist (digital art). You could connect a printer or modem through the SIO port I mentioned, and stuff could be saved to floppy disk or cassette.
One of the most popular things to do with an early computer was program in BASIC, too, so a lot of people wrote their own software.
This mini model focuses on the games, though. We don't yet know if it will have a mode where you can boot into BASIC, but the C64 recreations from the same folks allow you to do this so it's a possibility. Unlikely you'll be able to attach peripherals or anything though.
I'd buy this if it can run my XE/128 games. If not, no deal. I can watch videos of Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Space Invaders, without giving up hard earned money.
Why the case of an Atari 400 instead of (any) XL or XE? Yes, the Mini is compatible with them (an with the 5400'er) but from a (mine) aesthetic point of view i would go for an XL/XE.
I suspect two reasons: the 400 had four controller ports, so it looks "right" for there to be four USB ports on the front, and that the 400 was (one of) the first Atari 8-bit computers, and the one that was more commonly purchased primarily for entertainment.
I can never see the point of an emulator based repro computer... Seems cheaper, easier and more upgradable to just use the emu on a pc ...😐 On top of which they are usually unjustly expensive
Part of it is the collectibilty factor -- even if you never use it, it's a fun scale model to have on the shelf, and it makes a cool conversation piece if you can take that model down, plug it into the TV and actually play the games on it!
I love atari
Max six usb and do uo need specific ROMS?
I'm not sure about Ataris strategy... The new 2600, the CVS, now this. I mean why not make one multi retro table device then do one hand held?
Is "money" too simple an answer? Why make fewer devices when you can make more and people will buy them? :) Plus these each serve a different submarket -- the 2600+ is for those already into or wanting to get into 2600/7800 cart collecting, while this is a plug and play system that can be expanded if desired.
Get a mister multi system or a pi and dump the roms on it!
That is not StarRaider 2, this game is The Last Starfighter.
Incorrect. The Last Starfighter has a purple control panel instead of the grey one seen in Star Raiders II, and slightly different mechanics -- you only fight the "motherships" when they are attacking the barrier around your home system, for example, which isn't present in Star Raiders II, so they became part of the fleets you fight.
It was also never officially released, instead being retrofitted into a Star Raiders sequel as the license was no longer timely. See ua-cam.com/video/sc6_ac4-sNw/v-deo.html
anyone have a link to the type of power supply we need to purchase seperately to make this thing work?
Your bog standard cheap-as-chips USB charger will be plenty. Just make sure it's 5V and at least 1A and you should be all good.
@@ThisIsPete thank you!
While this is something pretty cool on paper, especially the ability to load your own roms on it,but many games are probably also on those 2600 flaskback systems and atari 2600 and 7800 mini systems,so as of now,am scaptical about this,maybe if they will include basix as a bonus as well as an option to use usb to load your own games on it,instead of using an sd card,just to give that outhentic feel of connecting your atari 400 to other devices like back in the day,because that would be cool😁
not a bad system , puts me In mond of c64
I hope this 400 mini is a success, but I think it will only sell to Atari fans. As, while you pointed out many of the games coming with the mini were also on C64, you didn't point out they were so much better on C64. Hence, the C64 mini and maxi sold to Spectrum, Amstrad and Atari gamers. Anybody who knows 8-bit gaming who has the C64 mini/maxi will know there is no point getting the Atari mini. Especially when so many of the games on the mini DID come out on the C64. They should have stuck with Atari only releases.
No Star Raiders = no deal. Thanks, tho.
You can load games onto usb drive so it would still be playable.
@@cosmicavatar773 would it? Star Raiders requires a lot of keyboard functionality, and I don't think the keyboard on this is machine is actually functional.
I rather go play on the NES if I wanted an 8 bit console the 8 bit ruined video games what saved the games was the arcade machines I never hated Pac-Man thanks to the arcade
The membrane keyboard on the 400 was indeed horrific, as you had to drive every button press home with far too much pressure.