Atari has just announced that the Atari 2600+ is available for pre-order, with expected shipment in November 2023. While my suspicion is that this is basically just an emulation-based cartridge dumper, meaning it likely won’t be able to play flash carts or modern homebrews with special processor chips, it’s still impressive that we get a modern way to play both Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridge games on a small, and relatively inexpensive ($129.99), HDMI-based system. The full compatibility list is here.

It looks like Atari also has a nice CX30+ Paddle Controller Bundle, with a 4 Games in 1 Cartridge, for just $39.99. That’s another solid deal, especially because the community is always on the lookout for working paddle controllers.

Finally, the rest of the updated site is worth checking out for new-to-Atari (not the community) cartridge titles like an enhanced version of all-time classic, Berzerk, now with improved gameplay and speech. At just $29.99, it’s a far better deal than some of their previous modern cartridge releases.

I’d say it’s well worth supporting Atari’s positive retro efforts here. The current leadership really seems to get it, although I would have preferred the included Atari 2600 joystick to be updated with a second button for compatibility with the Atari 7800 games that require one. I know I’m set in regards to 7800-compatible two-button controllers, but I bet many new owners won’t be.