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The Atari 2600 changed the world
The Atari 2600 makes Wired's list of the top 10 gadgets that changed the world. This article from Wired Test lists the Walkman, Western Electric rotary phone, microwave, and other gadgets that we take for granted.The Atari 2600 spurred the home game industry, being the original must-own console. We didn't realize that it was still available until 1992, giving it a 15-year lifespan. Wired Test picks the Wii as today's version of the 2600. Will any of our current systems be as iconic as the classic Atari console?
New Activision Hits Remixed screens released
Back when we first posted about Activition Hits Remixed's existence, Andrew told you about the game's "modernized front-end graphics." Well, Activision has just released a ton of new screens from the game and even some that show off those fancy schmancy front-end graphics.The game packs more than 40 Atari 2600 games onto one UMD. And while I'm sure Activision probably could have fit a lot more, Gamespot said "these properly emulated golden oldies will be wrapped up in a visually appealing and easily accessible package with some nice goodies thrown in on the side."Besides the game having no load times (Thank you, God!), Remixed features unlockable content like old-school commercials, songs, box art, manuals and even an achievement system similar to the Xbox 360's. Get ready to be rocking with Thwocker come Nov. 14.
Activision joins the return to retro
A slightly old news story about games that are very old. If you aren't sick of retro games yet, then Activision would like for you to read up on their offering of repackaged classics. Activision Hits Remixed will feature more than 40 games from the Atari 2600 era, such as Pitfall, Kaboom!, Chopper Command, Stampede, and Keystone Kapers. Thankfully, games that feature multiplayer will utilize the Game Share feature of the PSP, so that you and a friend can duke it out with a single UMD.The disc will also feature "modernized front-end graphics" (as fancy as the PS3's front-end?) and unlockables. I would get excited, but I'm too busy not caring.[Via Gamespot]
Microsoft to pull a PS3, place motion sensors in Xbox 360 pad?
In a recent episode of Gamertag radio, Peter Moore speaks out about the increasing complexity of video game controllers, comparing today's gamepads to the simplicity of the Atari 2600's button-and-stick joystick. He didn't exclude the Xbox 360 controller's design from criticism, mentioning that his 14-year old daughter found the controller somewhat confusing. Naturally, there was a point to his self-criticism; later on in the podcast he says that Microsoft is "doing a lot of stuff there. Nothing that we're ready to talk about, and we're not going to force anything that is not going to be intuitive and innovative."The most obvious conclusion to make from this statement would be that Microsoft is working on a new, simplified controller, which may or may not "borrow" the Wiimote's defining feature, although the part where Moore says that "[Microsoft is] not going to force anything that is not going to be... innovative" could suggest that simply slapping a motion sensor inside an Xbox 360 pad isn't on the cards.British tech magazine T3 points out that the company could possibly be working on a simplified controller--to be sold in parallel with the main Xbox 360 pad--designed specifically for Xbox Live Arcade games. The magazine reasons that the company won't want to make the Xbox 360 pad's ergonomic design obsolete any time soon, which lends credence to the possibility of a simplified controller designed to play simple games to compliment the "hardcore" 360 gamepad.[Via Engadget]
