The Multari: Atari 2600 gets elegantly shoved in a handheld

We already knew what Marshall was capable of when we caught wind of his masterfully assembled portable Nintendo 64, but the modder extraordinaire has really outdone himself this time. As the name implies, The Multari is a portable Atari 2600 with 32 games built right in. The chassis itself was crafted from vacuum-formed styrene plastic, and aside from the colorful buttons and iconic D-pad, there's also a 5-inch display and what appears to be a set of speakers. Mmm, retro never looked so good. Peek the video after the break (right after you grab your drool cup).

[Zeke @ Apr 10th 2008 10:59AM]

Can anybody tell me what FONT is the refreshed engadget page is using?

[mmh @ Apr 10th 2008 11:02AM]

Right click => view source.....?

[CraigJ @ Apr 10th 2008 12:01PM]

body { font: .76em/1.8em Verdana, sans-serif; color: #363636;} /* IE */
html > body { font-size: 12px; } /* Other browsers */
h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { font-family: "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", Verdana, sans-serif;color:#111; clear:both; }

[jm @ Apr 10th 2008 12:44PM]

HTML/CSS can recommend a typeface and specify a preferred type family, but, in the end, your browser decides what to use based on what typefaces are available at the time they're rendering the page.

Looking at the CSS (the HTML says nothing about fonts), body is recommended as Verdana, headings are recommended as any of several sans-serifs including Helvetica, Arial, Lucida and Verdana. They're also doing some specific things with sizing and spacing.

Basically, your mileage varies depending on your configuration.

[Mark @ Apr 10th 2008 12:43PM]

.



NO PADDLE?! FORGET IT.




.

[Drew @ Apr 10th 2008 11:00AM]

What? no "Custer's Revenge" I'll Pass...

[LordZargon @ Apr 10th 2008 11:13AM]

"To get the ROMs to fit on the 128K flash chip, I was limited to 2k/4k roms, so no bankswitched games like Asteroids."

Maybe the game was too big? :P

[Dan Davis @ Apr 10th 2008 11:58AM]

HA! You could follow up that Cowboy on Indian action with some E.T.!

[kastonie @ Apr 10th 2008 11:07AM]

HOLY SHIV IT LOOKS LIKE NEW!!!!! GWAAAAAA

[Superevil @ Apr 10th 2008 11:10AM]

These are cool and all but what's the point if they're not gonna be mass produced or sold.

[LordZargon @ Apr 10th 2008 11:14AM]

Some people have "hobbies". You should try one sometime.

[Life of Brian @ Apr 12th 2008 2:30AM]

Ha ha ha ha!

[Steffen Jobbs @ Apr 10th 2008 11:24AM]

That is excellent work. Wouldn't mind having one to play games on. My 2600 burned out and I still have some games, I think.

Ah, my PSP takes up too much of my time already, but that Multari really is a nice looking hand-held game machine.

[Smart People Play Tuba @ Apr 10th 2008 11:27AM]

I was explaining to a class I teach (middle school kids) how Atari was such a big deal to my generation . . . they just didn't get it. They actually laughed at me. "Atari is SO LAME!" They don't realize that kids of the 80s actually had to get out of the house and go to the mall with a bunch of quarters if we wanted to play video games.

Kids these days. If they only knew how big a deal the 2600 was at the time (and later, the NES), they'd have more respect. Then again, maybe they wouldn’t.

Ungrateful bastages.

[Intrepido @ Apr 10th 2008 11:31AM]

Very impressive... when can I get one?

[telepheedian @ Apr 10th 2008 11:34AM]

I'm trying to think of the last time I've "elegantly shoved" something.

[Smart People Play Tuba @ Apr 10th 2008 11:39AM]

Now that I've watched the video, I'd say the placement of the controls would be awkward after a couple of mins (much less the HOURS I'd spend playing it).

Also, that guy sucks at River Raid.

[fgpx78 @ Apr 10th 2008 11:41AM]

32 games? :|

[Mark @ Apr 10th 2008 11:46AM]

this guy BLOWS away ben heck.

[NHAnimator @ Apr 10th 2008 2:41PM]

That sounds dirty.

[Gregory @ Apr 20th 2008 11:30PM]

Heck yeah! Heckendorn's been puttin' out high quality handhelds for a long time. Plus, his have a paddle and take any cartridge:

http://benheck.com/05-11-2007/vcsp-rev-51s-starting-to-roll-off-the-line

[Zak @ Apr 10th 2008 11:58AM]

I love this. It's awesome.

[CraigJ @ Apr 10th 2008 11:59AM]

does it play Adventure?

[hemmy @ Apr 10th 2008 12:07PM]

luvs it.

Gimme some Adventure, Pitfall, River Raid, Hero, Yar's Revenge, Demon Attack and I'm set.

[John @ Apr 10th 2008 12:30PM]

River Raid sealed it...
I want.

[Bill @ Apr 10th 2008 1:04PM]

This is cool and very impressive...though I have to say that retro gaming, especially really old tech like the 2600, can hold my attention for about 10 minutes, then I have to turn it off and go play Xbox360. I just can't take it any longer than that.

[DssTrainer @ Apr 10th 2008 1:36PM]

Cant u just get a GP2X and an Atari Emulator and run every game... not only atari on the same thing? Nice job and all.. but without necessity

[ZeroCorpse @ Apr 10th 2008 2:44PM]

See? Now THAT is a mod. He made a case. He wired up everything himself. He put a lot of work into this.

It's not at all like those lame "stick the guts of one thing into another thing" mods. Most of the time, those aren't actually modified-- They just cram the exact same components into a different enclosure. Whether it be a DVD Player in an AT-AT toy, or an NES in a Simpsons playset, they're all just weak wastes of time.

THIS guy, though, did some actual work, and MADE a case.

Kudos to you, sir, for showing people how it's done.

[TubeTop100.com @ Apr 10th 2008 4:38PM]

A d-pad on a Atari 2600? FAIL.

You need a big ass stick on it.

[Zak @ Apr 10th 2008 4:59PM]

Because of the portable form factor, I'm ok with it not having a bigass stick.

[Mike Caprio @ Apr 10th 2008 5:27PM]

Too bad the d-pad doesn't also act like a paddle for KA-BOOM and similar games!

[ChillyWilly @ Apr 10th 2008 6:51PM]

Pretty impressive, but isn't there the Flashback Portable coming out sometime soon?

[BigTeebo @ Apr 10th 2008 9:29PM]

It will never come out, period. Neither will the Flashback 3. There's just no demand for it, nor will there be huge sales.


Still, this is a nice portable unit. Just wish there was a lot more games than 32. The Atari 2600 games are so small, it should be trivial to stuff 'em all in.

[Cal @ Apr 10th 2008 7:50PM]

looks too good to have an atari inside it, such a travesty.

[Perry @ Apr 11th 2008 1:56PM]

I love it! For me, perfection would be Adventure, Star Master, Star Raiders (although you'd need the input pad), Superman, Space Invaders, Combat, Pitfall!, Haunted House, Phoenix, Demon Attack, Football, Kaboom! (needs paddles), Warlords (also needs paddles), and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Actually, if I took a few minutes, I could probably think of 50 more I'd want. The old Atari is still my favorite game system...