Official Atari 7800+ Console & Wireless Controller - HDMI Output

First off, I have the Atari 2600+ purchased directly from Atari's website. I loved it, and installed the firmware updates as they rolled out (I'm a nerd, so it wasn't difficult for me. It wasn't user friendly for those not comfortable with that type of stuff). Now, the Atari 7800. This is honestly a bit of a different beast. I am not sure about the internals used, but it has been upgraded from the 2600+ hardware/chipset. The build quality is on par with the 2600+, and even reminds me of the plastic in the original 7800 (in my collection). Carts are obviously supported, and do not load instantly. This is due to the hardware not being orignal hardware, but based on emulation (both emulator programs are listed on the website). Loads can be a few seconds, but that is fine and you will get accustomed to it after a little while.Updating is really easy now. AtariAge.com has a tutorial, and the new firmware upgrade tool is very user friendly. Highly recommend checking in on the updates from time to time to help with any issues that rise as you play your games. These updates also add functionality that the community has been asking for. One such is the use of the 12 key touch pad that was required to play a game titled "Star Raiders". This is not in the 2600+ as of the time of this review.The pack in game is from a legendary homebrew developer and created a title that is mind boggling fantastic, and isn't some cake walk platformer. Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest is a polished experience that works on the 7800+, AND the original hardware. A testament to what the 7800 could have accomplished 40 years ago.My ONLY complaint is the included control pad. It isn't bad. It's weird. Atari didn't do the first control pad. They tried to do their own thing way back then. You can't hold this thing like it is an NES control pad. No. You hold the left side like normal, but the 1 & 2 buttons you hold with your pointer and middle finger resting on the top in the grooves with your thumb underneath that side for support. That is my method for comfort and functionality. This is due to the buttons are further to the middle, and a gap between them that isn't easy to go between the two buttons. This is more or less an issue in games like Bentley Bear where running + jumping isn't as simple as it is in Super Mario Bros on the NES.In closing, bust out the cotton swabs, isopropyl alcohol, and clean them old 2600 and 7800 cartridges because.... Have you played Atari Today?

Greater console just like the old one was but better it plays both 2600 and 7,800 games. Love the product. Works on my big screen. Smart TV also

Never really had an Atari 2600. Dad bought me an Intellivision and I got a Colecovision later on my own. Don't even remember the 7800. Liked the nostalgia so I had my wife get me this for Xmas (actually she bought me the 2600+, but it was pokey and had a wired controller so we returned it and bought this). Not too much here. Pretty much a simple emulator setup that draws the programs off old cartridges. Most 2600 games are crap, but there are a handful of good ones (Yars Revenge, Pitfall, Adventure, etc.). This runs most of them. Old cartridges will almost certainly need contacts cleaned before use. Some games refuse to run at all. Not sure if it's the game or the contacts, I'll keep trying. The wireless game pad seems good at first, but eventually falls on it's face. The feel of the pad is wonky and the buttons are mapped weird (for some reason the left button is the first you'd use, doesn't work). The wireless cx40 is AMAZING!!! Got two of them, plan on returning one of the gamepads. You're stuck using the gamepads with games that require multiple buttons. 7800 games are a nice surprise. Bounty Bob SB looks cheezy, but the game is a LOT of fun and really challenges you. Frenzy is good. Space Duel is great, but you can't co-op on ships like the arcade. Bentley Bear's CQ is okay. Controlling with the gamepads is a chore and this ain't no Mario game. But it kind of grows on you. Been trolling eBay to pickup more games. Grabbed some old 2600 games and 7800 Food Fight (never played that in the arcade, but it's pretty fun). If you were born after 1985 you likely won't be intrigued with this system. But for the rest of us GenX'ers this is a fun way to relive old gaming and a cheap price.

Nice console, not much they could improve on other than the terrible D pad on the included controller. Unfortunately I forgot all the Atari 7800 games are pretty bad.

The atari 7800+ is absolutely amazing!!! BraVo atari!!!! It works perfectly!!!! And Yes it's better than playstation and x box. Plug the system into your t.v. and put a cartridge in and let the fun begin! Thank you atari for bringing the fun factor back to the videogame world!!!!

Very good console, really happy with it. Like the Retron 77 it doesn't play every Atari 2600 game like 98% of them. I have a Retron 77 as well. But I had no trouble playing Atari 7800 games on it. Controller is fairly nice.

I never got to play a 7800 back in the day. I'm looking forward to playing some of the original catalog. I'm really impressed with the pack-in game Crystal Quest. It's very fun to play. I tried the 7800+ out with a few of my 2600 games. They all worked. This included the Activision game Double Dragon, which looks terrible on my CRT TV (it's a problem with the tv) but looks great on my flatscreen through the 7800+. I plugged the wireless 7800 controller into my 2600 Vader and it worked well, which is pretty cool. One note about the controller. It looks a lot like an NES controller, but you should not hold it the same way. You must use your index finger and middle finger to push the buttons during game play. Don't use your thumb on games that require you to use both buttons, like Crystal Quest. I keep my right thumb underneath the controller during game play. It took me a bit of time to get used to using a controller in this way. But, it's clear that playing with two fingers was the original intent of the controller based on its design.