classic gaming
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Atari 2600s get PC innards, 22,857 times more processing power
Atari games redesigned in HTML 5 may bring back a flood of nostalgia, but they leave out a key part of the gaming experience: the classic hardware. Hard Drives Northwest filled that void by gutting a limited number of authentic Atari 2600s and stuffing them with modern PC components. Packing a Core i7 3.4GHz processor, the retro console now boasts 22,857 times more processing power than it did in its heyday, according to Microsoft's calculations -- more than enough oomph to handle the recent remakes. Other internals include 8GB of RAM, a 120GB SSD and a Radeon HD 6570 graphics card with 1GB of video memory. With support for USB 3.0 and 2.0, eSATA, DisplayPort, DVI and HDMI, the system is well stocked on the connectivity front. Finally, the signature of Atari founder Nolan Bushnell acts as the cherry atop the faux wood grain-toting package. While the souped-up machines aren't up for sale, a pair of them are slated for a giveaway. Glamour shots and the full set of specs await you at the source.
iFixit continues its retro gaming rampage, reduces an innocent Atari 2600 to bare components
iFixit, is no device safe from the scars of your screwdriver? These eyes have been scarred, forced to witness the destruction of yet another childhood icon. Previously it was the RCA Studio II and the Magnavox Odyssey 100 before that. Now it's the rather more memorable Atari 2600 going under the scalpel, four simple screws removed to reveal an eight-bit, 1.19MHz processor featuring 128 bytes of RAM (yes, a massive 1,024 bits) and a graphics adapter capable of 192 x 160 resolution with 128 colors -- though only four could be used on any given line. Through these humble beginnings the cartridge-based console was born... and now here it rests.
Wii Warm Up: Passing it down
With the widespread availability of classic games on the Virtual Console (and other places), are you trying to pass down a love of retro? We're not just directing this at those of you with children, either; if you've got siblings, young nieces, nephews, or cousins, you too could be spreading a love of classic gaming. You've gotta get them early, before they start to expect textures and options.
GameTap booth tour [update 1]
The GameTap booth is not one of those huge monstrosities that had to be trucked in on a fleet of 18-wheel semis, but it is a good example of a booth done fairly well on a limited budget. Plentiful kiosks, coherent branding, and a decent sound system fed tunes by a live DJ cum booth babe. The booth's low points -- trite "industrial" exposed steel, cheap plastic game controllers instead of classic arcade joysticks, conventional design -- were somewhat overcome by the quality of the real product on display. Simply put: GameTap's 500-plus-title library is impressive, and we shouldn't let a little boring booth design undermine our evaluation of the product. We know this, and yet sometimes it's hard to remember to keep the booths and the products separate! Continue for more photos.
