HANDS-ON: The Atari 7800+ looks set to improve on the 2600+ in one major way

When you think of old Atari consoles, most people picture the Atari 2600 (aka the Atari VCS), that classic woodgrain system with the large switches on it. It’s the reason Atari decided to recreate the 2600 last year with the Atari 2600+, an updated version of the console that works on modern televisions.

Not everyone grew up with that particular console, however, and the Atari 2600+ had a couple of issues, so Atari has decided to kill two birds with one cartridge by updating another vintage system.

The Atari 7800+, much like last year’s offering, is a modern version of the original Atari 7800 with numerous quality of life features designed to appeal to long-time Atari fans. Like the 2600+ before it, it’s not necessarily supposed to introduce newcomers to Atari – there’s the incredible Atari 50 by Digital Eclipse for that – but is instead aimed at a small but dedicated niche who already play vintage Atari games.

The vast majority of modern televisions don’t have the appropriate connectors to handle old consoles from the mid ‘80s, so the 7800+ makes things much easier by offering a standard HDMI output instead of the old RF output you had to plug into a TV’s aerial socket.

Rather than containing a selection of built-in games like most of today’s ‘mini’ consoles, the 7800+ runs actual Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridges from back in the day. It’s using emulation under the hood, but the feeling of actually running physical cartridges will nevertheless be one that some Atari fans will love.

Of course, anyone who has the Atari 2600+ (or read our review of it last year) will know that it already did all this, so what’s the point of buying the 7800+ if you already have that? For a number of people, the frank answer will be “not much”. In reality, the 7800+ is more a refresh of the 2600+, albeit one in a completely different form factor.

Ardent Atari collectors will clearly want one because at £110 / $130 it’s a relatively inexpensive price to pay for another recreation of a classic system that’s in good condition and works on modern TVs. Even if the 2600+ does almost the same thing, they’ll look great side-by-side.

Some will also just prefer the design of the 7800+. While the 2600 was very much a product of the 1970s with its woodgrain finish, the 7800 screamed ‘80s with its black case and its sci-fi silver stripe. Both consoles look completely different, so it’s nice to have the option based on personal taste.

The main difference here, however, isn’t in the console itself but what it comes with. The 2600+ came with a rather authentic recreation of the original Atari joystick, perfectly nailing the squishy feel. What’s more, because the main aim of the console was long-time Atari owners, the new joystick also worked on original Atari VCS / 2600 consoles from the ‘70s, and anyone with old joysticks from back then could use them in the 2600+ without issue too.

This time around the 7800+ comes with a CX78+ controller. The 7800 was originally released with an odd joystick that looked a bit like a foot pedal, but in Europe it started shipping instead with the CX78, a lovely little joypad inspired by the NES and Master System controllers (and featuring the latter’s ability to screw a tiny joystick into the middle of the D-Pad).

It’s this splendid little controller that comes with the 7800+, and this time it’s even wireless. A receiver plugs into the standard controller port, allowing you to play the console untethered, solving one of the main problems people had with the 2600+ and its short controller cable.

Compatibility remains the order of the day too, meaning the 7800+ can still handle all those old wired Atari joysticks you may have lying around. The reverse is true too – I was told the new CX78+ can be used on old original 2600 and 7800 consoles, allowing you to play those wirelessly.

In terms of games, the 7800+ will have more or less the same compatibility as the 2600+ plus. Last year’s console supported old Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 cartridges, and the 7800+ will do exactly the same thing.

It even comes with a new official 7800 game, a sequel to Atari’s classic Crystal Castles. Named Bentley Bear’s Crystal Quest, the game was originally a homebrew release but has now been given the official treatment and will be bundled with the 7800+. And yes, it can be played on original 7800 hardware too.

So far, then, it seems that the 7800+ is going to be a straightforward alternative to the 2600+, but a welcome one nevertheless with a new default control method that better suits modern play without eliminating the option for more traditional controllers for those who want to use them.

The console will be released in November, but we should hopefully have a full review up before then, just in case there are any nice (or nasty) surprises you should be aware of.