Review: New Atari 2600+ doesn’t justify its plus sign

If you've ever tried plugging an unmodified early generation gaming console into an HDTV, you already know that modern flat screens do a pretty poor job with RF signals that were designed for a completely different CRT display setting. The recently released Atari 2600+ helps fix this specific problem, giving retro gamers a way to get their classic Atari cartridges looking nice and sharp on an HD screen. Unfortunately, that's about all this bare-bones, $130 hardware does. If you're expecting the kind of modern quality-of-life features you've seen on other retro console revamps in recent years, lower your expectations accordingly here.

A cute curio

Let's start with the physical hardware itself, which earns points for authenticity. At a glance, the 2600+ looks exactly like an Atari 2600 unit you might remember from decades past (albeit a four-switch "CX2600-A" model introduced in 1980, not one of the larger "Sixer" models from the late '70s). The fake wood grain and suitably springy front switches are sure to activate the nostalgia centers deep in the brains of gamers of a certain age. There's even a charming, working switch for flipping from Color to Black and White display, an option that hasn't been relevant to most living room entertainment centers since the Carter administration (at the latest). The only real "modernization" in the unit itself is found in the back panel, where the power input has been switched to USB-C and the output has been switched from an embedded RCA cable to an HDMI port. The Atari logo on the front now also lights up when the system powers on, a nice small touch that doesn't distract from the classic styling. One word of warning, though: for most living room setups, you'll probably want to invest in some HDMI and USB power cords that are much longer than the basic 1.5 m lengths included in the Atari 2600+ box. That's because the Game Select and Game Reset buttons on the unit itself are key controls that you'll need close at hand when playing most games. The 1.5 m cable on the included joystick won't let you stray very far from the base unit, anyway, especially when you account for the fact that the system's controller parts are authentically (but annoyingly) located on the back panel.

Speaking of that joystick, we couldn't find anything to differentiate the newly included "CX40+" model from the classic CX40 joystick you might remember from the original Atari 2600. During testing, in fact, the only real way I could tell the new joystick from an older model was by seeing a slightly different arrangement of screws on the bottom of the base. Other than that, this is the same stiff, hand-cramping, eight-direction, one-button design that Atari made famous decades ago. The new controller even works perfectly well when plugged into an original Atari 2600 unit (and vice versa for an old controller into the new 2600+). One more word of warning, though; the base system doesn't come with a second controller, even though a whole lot of Atari games are pretty explicitly designed to be better with two simultaneous players. If you don't have an extra 2600 joystick controller lying around (and really, why don't you?), Atari will sell you a brand-new one for $25. And while a Genesis controller will fit in the slot (and work on original hardware), it won't work on the Atari 2600+, for some reason.

That’s it?

Unlike some other "classic" game console recreations, the Atari 2600+ doesn't come with any pre-loaded games. To use the system, you have to bring your own Atari 2600 cartridges or rely on the 10-in-1 cart that comes packaged with the system (switching between games means awkwardly fiddling with dip switches on the back of the cartridge, though). After you plug in a cartridge and hit the power button, a five-second loading screen hangs around just long enough to be annoying before dumping you right into the game (a distinct downgrade from the "instant" boot up of original Atari 2600 hardware). The package doesn't make it clear what kind of internal hardware or emulation solution the Atari 2600+ is using to recreate the old circuit boards of an original unit. It doesn't really matter in the end, though—the recreation of classic Atari gameplay is flawless, with no signs of additional input lag, frame rate stuttering, or visual/audio artifacts to detract from the experience. Whether those games hold up to modern scrutiny is a matter of opinion and likely depends on whether you are reliving rose-colored memories of your childhood here. As someone who grew up in the NES era, I've found my attempts to enjoy the Atari 2600 library in retrospect to be extremely hit or miss, with only a small handful of games that are tolerable to play for more than a few minutes. Introducing my 9-year-old daughter to some of those games on the Atari 2600+ found more misses than hits, in part because the blocky, low-res graphics proved too hard to tolerate (we did get a few good games of Surround going, though). At least the HDMI output also means those old Atari games can now look preternaturally sharp on the 2600+. That's not an entirely good thing, though. Blowing up a 160×192-resolution image to a massive 4K display makes every pixel into a huge, conspicuous square block, and every diagonal line becomes an unsightly, jagged stairstep pattern. Some of that is just an inherent limitation of the ancient hardware being emulated here, of course. But those resolution limitations were less glaring on smaller CRT displays, where the gentle glow of the phosphor helped smooth out a lot of the harsh edges (as you can see in some of the screenshots included here). And unlike most other "modern retro" hardware rereleases, the Atari 2600+ doesn't offer anything in the way of image filters to try to re-add the "blur" to those harsh, blown-up HD pixels. The system's only visual customization option, in fact, is a physical switch on the back of the unit that flips between the original 4:3 aspect ratio and a modern 16:9 ratio that stretches to fill a modern display (definitely switch this away from the 16:9 default as soon as possible, unless you like every game to look unnaturally bloated). And it's not just graphics customization; the Atari 2600+ is utterly lacking in the most basic options we've come to expect from a modern revamp of a classic console. There's no support for save states, for instance, much less the ability to rewind or pause a game at the system level (an especially important omission on a system where most games didn't have a built-in pause option). You can't tune the sound for the specifics of your home theater setup or access on-screen versions of game manuals, either (an especially important omission for a system where numbered game settings can totally change the experience). This utter lack of features can't help but be a letdown compared to something like the high-end Analogue line, which comes with pre-loaded, feature-packed system software and a design that encourages community expansion (there's no apparent "official" way to install new firmware on the 2600+, though we're sure hackers will do their best). Even a cheaper "retro cartridge" unit like RetroUSB's AVS includes interesting modern upgrades like optional graphics improvements, cheat code support, and online high score rankings. And AtGames' budget line of plug-and-play Atari Flashback consoles has also occasionally delved into upgrades like scan-line emulation and wireless controllers over the years. Here, the only thing that really justifies the plus sign at the end of "Atari 2600+" is an HDMI output. Thus, the Atari 2600+ is really only useful for retro gamers who have a very specific need to play authentic Atari 2600 cartridges with authentic Atari 2600 controllers on an HDTV. And even if that's what you're looking for, $130 might be a bit of a dear asking price for such a bare-bones system.