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Atari posts

Modder places USB flash drive in Atari 2600 cart, amuses geeks world o'er

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jul 6th 2009 at 7:08PM

Well, kids, if you like your USB drives with a little style, a little kitsch, and far too large to be carried conveniently, a gentleman named Robotic Evil, Inc. has just the thing for you. The evil one is hard at work as we speak, taking 2GB thumb drives and placing them in the artifacts of genuine geek nostalgia. Really, who wouldn't want to receive a hand-assembled computer peripheral in the shape of an Atari game cartridge or an NES controller? These things cost $29.99 (add another $5 for shipping and handling) and they're available at this dude's Etsy store. Check out the NES controller / drive yourself after the break.

[Via BoingBoing]

Continue reading Modder places USB flash drive in Atari 2600 cart, amuses geeks world o'er

'Asteroids' heading towards the big screen?

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 3:03PM

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal has won an all-out "bidding war" over the film rights to Atari's classic Asteroids video game. We're not entirely sure who all was involved in this "war," but the conflict couldn't possibly be prompted over the universal themes tackled by the story of the plucky little triangular spaceship and the asteroid field it inhabits. As the Reporter, um, reports: "As opposed to today's games, there is no story line or fancy world-building mythology." Michael Bay is rumored to be very interested in directing.

[Via George Ruiz]

Students create CRT emulator, hope to recapture that analog gaming vibe of yesteryear

by Ross Miller, posted May 4th 2009 at 6:15AM

The retro gaming insurgence seems as strong as vinyl these days, but you don't see as many people looking for a CRT monitor to complete the set. More likely, they're playing a HD remake or the original title on a digital screen in more detail than the developers ever anticipated or intended. A group of Georgia Tech students are looking to change all that by modifying open-source Atari 2600 VCS emulator Stella to give players that good ole fashion analog vibe. As highlighted by associate professor Ian Bogost, key attributes such as color bleed, "burned" afterimage, RF-engendered signal noise, and texture created by the phosphor glow have been imitated here in recreating the effect. Hit up the gallery below for pictorial examples while we wait anxiously for video and / or the mod itself to rear its blurry head.

Gallery: Students create CRT emulator, hope to recapture that analog gaming vibe of yesteryear

Antiquarian peripherals play Bohemian Rhapsody

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 21st 2009 at 7:56AM

Like many things in life, the whirrs and noises of old computers that were formerly annoying now inspire a nostalgic sense of retro glee -- the bleating of a fax modem, the blatting of a large-format dot-matrix printer. It's this sort of nostalgia that inspires some users to make them sing, like a YouTuber going by the handle of bd594 who orchestrated a collection of outdated gear to emit the soulful strings of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. It starts with an HP ScanJet 3C playing the part of Freddie Mercury, then an Atari 800XL makes the organ sounds, TI-99/4a handles guitar duties, and a selection of other archaic goodies make visual and aural appearances. While the scanner did need to be recorded four separate times for all the "vocal" tracks, nothing was pitch-corrected, meaning your old scanner is officially more talented than three quarters of the Weekly Top 40. See for yourself after the break.

[Via Boing Boing]

Continue reading Antiquarian peripherals play Bohemian Rhapsody

Nerd jewelry roundup: Guitar Hero cufflinks, gilded Atari ring and EQ wedding bands

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 31st 2009 at 8:22AM

Not that we haven't seen nerdy wedding bands before, but for those who aren't really enamored with networking, we've stumbled upon another option that's just too awesome to pass up. Granted, the sound wave bands have been around a finger or two, but really, how awesome is a wedding ring with an EQ interpretation of "I Do" engraved in it? We'll tell you -- really awesome. Moving on, we've got the 1981 Atari ring, a solid piece of kit sporting an original Atari chip splashed with gold or silver. Lastly, we've got Cufflinks.com's latest, a set of Guitar Hero links that will undoubtedly make the faux rocker in your life grin from ear to ear. Dig in below for more details, but don't expect to purchase any of 'em but the last, and at $50 per pair, you should probably think twice.

Read - Guitar Hero cufflinks
Read - Atari ring and EQ wedding bands

Gallery: Nerd jewelry roundup: Guitar Hero cufflinks, gilded Atari ring and EQ wedding bands

Atari Touch Tablet unboxed 25 years after the fact

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jan 20th 2009 at 10:40AM

Are you an artist wishing to unchain the shackles of traditional media, looking for a way to catapult yourself and your work into the 20th Century? A chap named Benj Edwards has been kind enough to unbox for us Atari's Touch Tablet, a classic piece of kit from the bygone age of 1984 that -- alongside the Atari Artist software -- lets users manipulate the size, location and color of shapes and lines. Digitally. The software comes in two versions: the four color version for those of you with 16K RAM, and the 16 color version for those of you with 24K powerhouse workstations. When you're done with your pixel-based Mona Lisa, you can back it up to a cassette -- which will sit in a box in your parent's garage until your older sister gets around to taping an REO Speedwagon album over it. What are you waiting for? Hit that read link.

Donkey Kong quilt will keep your lonely self warm

by Laura June, posted Jan 10th 2009 at 9:10AM

Honestly -- if you're super into Donkey Kong and quilts (yes and yes), it's also probably likely that you're... well, single. But take cozy comfort with this specimen of craftsmanship for a cool $450 -- or you can always buy a $9,000 sewing machine to help you make your own.

[Via Geeky Gadgets]

Ben Heck crams Xbox 360 controller into Atari 2600 joystick

by Donald Melanson, posted Jan 9th 2009 at 4:52PM

As we've seen, a little Atari 2600 is a sure way to liven almost anything -- cakes, candles, landfills -- and it looks like the Xbox 360 is no exception, as none other than Ben Heck has proved with his new so-called 3600 controller. As you might expect, Ben didn't exactly take the expected route to wind up at this creation, instead opting to use the guts of a Guitar Hero 3 controller, which he somehow managed to squeeze into the base of everyone's favorite one-button controller (even leaving room for a guide button and ring of light on the underside). Be sure to hit up the link below for a must-see video of the controller in action and, of course, plenty more pics.

[Via Xbox-Scene]

Atari 2600 stuffed into Game Gear, Sega Nomad seen casting envious glances

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 30th 2008 at 5:32PM

Oh sure, there's bound to be some protrusion when shoving a retro console into a gaming handheld, but inelegant styling was a way of life for Sega back in the mid-90s. Modder Chris Koopa has achieved the impossible by stuffing an Atari 2600 (or the important parts, anyway) along with 40 games into a hacked up Game Gear and enabling it to operate for nearly a full workday with just five AA batteries. And yeah, there's totally a 2600 cartridge slot to allow for playback of original titles. You know you're oddly interested in seeing more, so tap the read link for a few shots from the rear / side.

[Via technabob]

Legacy Entertainment's Atari-style joystick isn't as old as it looks

by Laura June, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 11:23AM

There are plenty of reasons to return to the classics: maybe they're better than the currents, maybe it's an ironic move (like listening to Kajagoogoo and wearing giant eyeglasses), or maybe you're just aged and yearning for old-timey days. Regardless, Legacy Entertainment's classic controller looks exactly like an Atari joystick, but it's Windows / OS X / Linux compatible, and connects via USB. The company assures us that it runs with "nearly any emulator," so you and your friends should be 80's-style partying in no time, if that's what you're into. $14.99 and it's yours -- if you have any moola left after you buy that tubular car-phone-looking Bluetooth handsfree.

[Thanks, Silver Serpent]

Atari Hero mod lets you rock out with ET

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 29th 2008 at 9:17AM

Those of us old enough to remember crap games like E.T. and Sssnake have every right to be thrilled by the relative quality of modern gems like Guitar Hero. We're guessing modder Conner Flynn over at SlipperyBrick feels that way too, melding the old with the new by inserting an Atari 2600 console into the body of a faux-Gibson from Guitar Hero. This meant adding two controllers to the body (an eight-way joystick plus a paddle-style controller for Breakout), wiring up the green button on the neck, and adding a small screen where the strum bar would normally reside. It's a layout that makes this axe best suited for play Jeff Healey-style, and with a pocketful of AA batteries you can game your Angel Eyes out wherever you like. No, it's not the most ergonomic portable 2600 we've ever seen, or most practical, but is certainly is the most badass.

[Via technabob]

Ben Heck does it again with Atari 7800 portable

by Paul Miller, posted Jun 19th 2008 at 9:32AM

There's no stopping this guy, and now he's built himself an Atari 7800 portable just to make sure the kiddie hackers know who's the Heckendornest. Ben Heck built the 7800 portable with a 7-inch widescreen to accommodate that larger motherboard on the 7800 (compared to the 2600). Apparently large, complex motherboards just don't phase him anymore. The unit boasts rechargeable batteries, a combination driving / paddle controller, and an A/V output jack. Ben, you're a legend.

Leonardo DiCaprio to star in Atari founder biopic

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jun 8th 2008 at 4:27PM

Like something out of Bizzaro World, word on the street is that hunky dreamboat Leonardo DiCaprio will play Atari uber-nerd Nolan Bushnell in an upcoming biopic. According to reports, the film will detail Bushnell's life from his early work at amusement parks, through founding Atari and eventually building the Chuck E. Cheese's empire in a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington meets Tucker" fashion. We understand there will be a thrilling montage where Bushnell soundly defeats every Atari staff member at Pong, then builds the first animatronic Jasper T. Jowls with spare parts from a 1976 Impala.

Atari founder cries wolf about piracy-ending chip

by Ryan Block, posted May 26th 2008 at 12:09AM

So news is making its way around the internets that at the Wedbush Morgan Securities Management Access Conference, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell proclaimed the end of PC gaming piracy as we know it, thanks to a "stealth encryption chip." The magic chip he's referring to that "will, in fact, absolutely stop piracy of gameplay"? The TPM chip -- what's been on motherboards for years, that apparently Bushnell just found out about. While the tinfoil hats in the house will likely attribute TPM (Trusted Platform Module) and other onboard crypto-chips to the eventual downfall of privacy and personal computing, to date we've yet to see piracy stunted or civil liberties breached because of the little bugger. FUD you later, Nolan.

[Thanks, Carl]

Atari takes on Wii Fit with floor mat-based Family Trainer game

by Donald Melanson, posted May 14th 2008 at 2:53PM

It looks like Atari is taking a few cues from Nintendo's past in order to take on the hot-selling Wii Fit, with the company's new Family Trainer game employing a Power Pad-style (or DDR-style for you young 'uns) mat controller to give you a workout. That'll apparently let you run and jump your way through more than a dozen mini-games designed to get your heart rate going, including log jumping, rope skipping and water rafting, each of which also make use of the Wiimote for some upper-body action. No word on a price just yet, but it'll apparently be landing in Europe first this September before it (presumably) makes its way over here.

[Via TG Daily]