Official Atari 400 Mini & Joystick - HDMI Output - Includes 25 Games

I am a large fan of Retro Games Mini (and Maxi) series of emulators. I am playing with retro emulators for over 25 years. My main driver is a Pi 400 with RetroPie, soon to be updated to a Pi 500. What I like about the Retro Games series is that it is a no-BS retro-gaming platform which you can quickly connect for the kids (or your party guests) and then put it away. I also very much like the nostalgia. While I like the small form factor, I definitely miss the keyboard, although the emulator has a virtual keyboard. A Pi keyboard works well with it.So, for whom is this product? If you had a home computer in the 80s, or knew friends who had one, this definitely wakes up nostalgia. If you enjoy the simplicity of 8-bit gaming, this emulator and the C64 Mini both are a good purchase for you. Adding games is easy: Format a 32GB (or smaller) USB thump drive with FAT32 and load games on it.What I do not like about it: You cannot add games to the carousel. While you can add games via USB card, you load them via a file system, and there is a limit to how many files each directory can carry. You end up with a messy file system. There is no way to add artwork to titles. The included joystick looks authentic, and the additional bottoms are clever, the playability of the joystick is limited. You may just use an Xbox controller instead. (It needs to be cabled via USB, there is no BT support). A small but annoying thing is the USB-C power-in port that does not support PD. For all of you guys who standardized on PD charging, it is not going to work. You need a USB-C to USB-A charging cable with an old dumb-charger, such as the old 5W iPhone cube-charger. (Cable is however included).I want to quickly talk about a misconception that many purchases of this product have: Atari came out with three 8-bit game consoles: The classic 2600 (also called the VCS), the 5200, and the 7800. After Atari started to develop the 5200, they pivoted into the home computer market. Though two different business units, the Atari 400 and all of its derivatives (which are primarily differentiated by their amount of RAM, number of joysticks ports, and their keyboards), and the 5200 game console are very similar machines. The 2600 is a more primitive machine, while the 7800 is the last iteration of the 8-bit consoles. This emulator is not compatible with 2600 or 7800 titles. It does play 5200 titles, which are somewhat limited in numbers because of the short duration of that console, but there is a huge catalogue of 2600 ports, ports from other console, and unique developments for the 400/800 platform. If you want to play 2600 titles you need a 2600 emulator or a 7800 emulator that plays most 2600 titles.

This is SO cool. Fun flashback to vintage Atari, but wish they had made it larger to match the original size.

It's amazing. I love to spend my time with THE400 mini, remembering those days in 1981.My favorites are Jawbreaker, Basecket Ball, BASIC PROGRAMS, and ATARI LOGO.Thank you so much.

it comes with some games, it absolutely hits the Atari 8-bit nostalgia - only complaint is the joystsick is a terrible input device for anything other than games. you can play games from the USB if you have the ROMS or if you're really hard core you can run your own homebrew

The media could not be loaded. Excellent system. i’m still giving it five stars even though the controller stinks kinda. It controls ok, but it is easy to hit the ring, and reset the game you worked so hard at. It can be remedied by using a cheap snes usb pad, and just using the one button once you start.If you sail the bloody seas there are many roms available, matey.This thing is a blast once you do that!I bought it used on Amazon, it came like new, but Amazon ruined the nice box, by placing the shipping label right on it. The whole experience was shoddy. I like to collect the retrogames ltd systems, and the box is part of that.

The Atari 800 was my first personal computer. I got it when I was in my early 20's and absolutely loved the games, as well as being able to program in BASIC. When I heard about the Atari 400 Mini, I knew I had to try it.Pros:- Works incredibly well out of the box and the full PDF manual is available online.- The controller is great IF YOU HOLD IT THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE HELD! (see picture). Maybe you need to have used one back in the day. Anyone who only knows modern controllers might be a bit lost. Also, it feels just like the original Atari joystick did as far as movement. Another case of "you had to be there". I had no issues with hitting buttons accidentally and the additional buttons made navigating very easy.- It's VERY simple to run more games. I've already loaded over 600 games on a USB drive (37mb's! they did so much with so little back then) and ran most of my favs with no issues other than working out some key mappings. (A USB keyboard, maybe wireless, is probably a good addition and plugs right in.) Oh, and pressing the Menu and Home buttons toggles a virtual keyboard on the unused side of the screen (easy to do since these are all standard def games) with all the original Atari keys.- The games look beautiful on HDTV's. I'm running my Mini through an Elgato card into a 4K TV and they look even better than I remember them looking.Cons:- The game library it comes with is a bit weak. If I couldn't have loaded lots more games, I probably wouldn't have been as happy with it.So, if you remember the "good old days" (you know, when we didn't just jump on the web when we sat down to a computer) and have a source for more games (*hint* Newsgroups *hint*), this is a must buy.(I plan to get a second one as a backup if it goes on sale at some point.)

Item is good ,roms are plentyful ,but use a small 8gb or less flashdrive . Not my fave mini system.

Easy enough to find and load all the additional games I could want. The only downside is the uniquely wired THECXSTICK. I'd love to see a wireless version. It works with Atari's newly released CX40+ Wireless Joystick to play the games, however you still have to use the wired THECXSTICK to navigate around the system to switch to a different game. A wireless THECXSTICK would make this system perfect for me. One other very minor issue is that the USB ports on the front of the system are a little close together. I had to purchase a couple of small (6") USB-A extension cables to be able to plug in a couple of CX40+ Wireless USB joystick transceivers.