If 2024 has left much to be desired for you so far, don’t worry—in a couple of months, you can buy a lovingly recreated Atari 400 and pretend it’s 1979 again.
The Atari 400 Mini will be released on March 28, and it’ll cost $119.99 (just over P6,700). For that price, you also get 25 8-bit games built into the console, including Berzerk, Boulder Dash, Capture the Flag, Lee, Millipede, Miner 2049er, Missile Command, M.U.L.E., Star Raiders 2, and Yoomp.
It’s being made by Retro Games LTD, which previously brought mini versions of old classics like the Commodore 64 and Amiga 500 to market, and although this one models the look of the Atari 400 with impressive detail, it’s emulating the hardware of a whole family of early home computers. So you’ve got an Atari 800 in there too, the XL and XE series, and the 5200.
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Not to mention a very satisfying-looking, period-authentic joystick.
Retro Games has gone to great lengths to make the 400 Mini look and feel like the original, down to the exact colors and the texture of the membrane keyboard. It’s not mentioned anywhere in the press release whether you’ll have to blow into the joystick input ports to make it work or fight with your little sister for a turn on it.
There are a few nods to modernization, though: 720p output, for starters, at a choice of 50Hz or 60Hz. There are five USB ports, and a choice of 12 border graphics to replace that black frame around your old games.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
