65 replies to this topic

[tiggerthehun]

It supposedly came out today (@ $19.99). Anybody pick it up?

[ls650]

I'm waiting for the reviews. If it gets good reviews, I'll check it out...

[tiggerthehun]

Ooop... well, nevermind! Gamefaqs (up until 10 minutes ago) had the release date set as today - 12/4... I see now that it's moved to 2/5... Perhaps the graphics engine needs some reworking? It ain't easy to make a square, well, um... square...
Ah well - I've got more than enough to keep me busy...

[Warriorisabouttodie]

tiggerthehun, on Tue Dec 4, 2007 8:38 PM, said:

It supposedly came out today (@ $19.99). Anybody pick it up?

I'm seriously thinking about picking up a PSP Slim next week. I just need to get excited some games... so what is Atari Advance?

Edited by Warriorisabouttodie, Tue Dec 4, 2007 10:11 PM.

[tiggerthehun]

A bit of fun news... Since I couldn't find anything online about the delay, I decided to email the company that is making the collection directly (but not sure if I'd get a reply.) Well, lo and behold I wake up this morning to not one, but TWO emails from the company...

Here's my email:

Good day, dear Sir or Madam... Just wanted to drop a quick line - I (along with a few friends at atariage.com) have been anxiously awaiting the release of your Atari Evolved for the PSP - but I see it's been bumped back a few months now? Just curious (if possible) to hear a bit about that - I haven't been able to find anything on-line, other than the revised date.
Why so anxious to hear something, you might ask (or, might not ask - as I'm sure you're rather proud of your work!) Well, today's games... oh, how to put it simply... there's just too many buttons. I'm just looking for something that I can play for a while and smile.
My PSP doesn't get much use, save for the retro collections - and I'd rather pay for, and support those folks who put those out, folks such as yourselves.
We've had a few chats on atariage about what we'd like to see in a retro collection. Should you be looking for any old-school gamer's imput, come and check us out. There's a good bunch of people there - good, kind, semi-normal souls - you don't always see that on the net nowadays.
Thanks for the read, hope to hear from you...
Keep up the good work - the collection looks amazing, from what I've seen thus far.
Blessings,
Andrew

Here's reply #1:

Hi Andrew.

Do not fear! Atari Evolved passed Sony submission about a week ago, and thus will be on the shelves very soon (we haven't been given a street-date yet by Atari).

The delay was caused by some of the old VCS2600 games failing Sony certification guidelines! We weren't sure whether to laugh or cry…

So, keep an eye out, and enjoy it when it hits the streets. Thanks.

Patrick Buckland
CEO
stainless games

And reply #2:


Hi Andrew

Thanks for the email! It's great to hear from retro fans, especially from atariage. We actually used the website for reference for all the 2600 games in the PSP collection but I never realised there was a forum there as well. Maybe I'll pop by and introduce myself!

Following on from Patrick's email - as soon as we find out a release date from Atari I'll get back to you or post on the forum.

Cheers

Ben


Very cool of them to send a reply. Looking forward to seeing how it all turns out...

Edited by tiggerthehun, Wed Dec 5, 2007 8:19 AM.

[bradjewell]

tigger,

Thanks for sharing the emails.
Very cool. Can't wait to check out the collection once it hits stores.

Brad

[RangerG]

I like that he never saw the forums here. There are around 100,000 topics posted .

[Warriorisabouttodie]

the videos for centipede and missle command evolved look like excellent updates to the original. I'm dying to see the evolved Tempest!!!

[EricDeLee]

Wow! Very cool!

That brought a smile to my face. I'm interested in seeing these games as well. I support all of the retro stuff that gets a nod on the PSP.

[bdog_147]

Are the games in this collection remakes or the original 2600?

[StormSurge]

Sounds pretty cool:

Quote

Each of the titles comes as its classic self -- the game select screen is actually a series of arcade cabinets you cycle through to pick your poison -- as well as a version that has been overhauled in the visual and sound departments.

Quote

Aside from the sense of accomplishment for every completionist out there, unlocking all of the 44 awards gives you access to the Atari 2600 at the game select screen. What tiles will be available for you to play and plunder on the virtual console? Uh … a lot. If you unlock the system, the 2600 will give you access to more than 60 games such as Night Driver, Canyon Bomber and Crystal Castles.

IGN Preview

[bdog_147]

Sweet!

[ls650]

I'll reserve my judgement until the game is released and available" I've been bitterly disappointed by Atari Collections before...

[cimerians]

I aint buying or supporting any of these collections unless accurate controllers are provided. Give me a godamn paddle to play the paddle games.
Enough already.

[Danno]

cimerians, on Wed Dec 5, 2007 11:33 PM, said:

I aint buying or supporting any of these collections unless accurate controllers are provided. Give me a godamn paddle to play the paddle games.
Enough already.

where exactly would you plug a paddle into a PSP?

[Gabriel]

I think it's neat they emailed you back. When I emailed the makers of the recent Star Trek games to state my approval of using some of the ships from the old FASA RPG and the old Starfleet Prototype books in Legacy, Encounters, and Tactical Assault, I didn't get any reply at all.

[adolescent]

IMHO, what's really nice is that the response came from the CEO. Now, I know they're not a huge developer, but it's still nice to see. I'm really looking forward to this title too!

[Bilnick]

Danno, on Thu Dec 6, 2007 11:02 AM, said:

cimerians, on Wed Dec 5, 2007 11:33 PM, said:

I aint buying or supporting any of these collections unless accurate controllers are provided. Give me a godamn paddle to play the paddle games.
Enough already.

where exactly would you plug a paddle into a PSP?

Couldn't a paddle be designed to plug into the PSPs USB port? I am not saying it would be practical, just possible.

[Tickled_Pink]

They certainly look promising. My guess is that the collection will rise or crash based on the games they picked ... I'm not sure how well Missile Command or Breakout will work without the 'right' controllers but they seem to be an enthusiastic bunch, which bodes well.

Love the graphics on Asteroids.

And as for Warlords. Bloody hell that's nice.

Edited by Tickled_Pink, Thu Dec 6, 2007 6:33 PM.

[Danno]

Bilnick, on Thu Dec 6, 2007 1:55 PM, said:

Danno, on Thu Dec 6, 2007 11:02 AM, said:

cimerians, on Wed Dec 5, 2007 11:33 PM, said:

I aint buying or supporting any of these collections unless accurate controllers are provided. Give me a godamn paddle to play the paddle games.
Enough already.

where exactly would you plug a paddle into a PSP?

Couldn't a paddle be designed to plug into the PSPs USB port? I am not saying it would be practical, just possible.

but then it would be no different than the psp's controller.

The nice thing about real paddles is that they are analog controllers. if you retrofitted them to work over USB, you're taking the analog-ness out of the equation because using a USB interface would render them to be nothing more than a digital simulation of an analog controller, since USB is a digital input method.

Not to mention it would require you to have 4 hands, or you would need to set down the PSP on a table or other surface, thus removing all the advantage of it being a portable, handheld gaming system.

In that case, why not just use a real Atari with real paddles?

[Lastblade]

Danno, on Thu Dec 6, 2007 11:02 AM, said:

cimerians, on Wed Dec 5, 2007 11:33 PM, said:

I aint buying or supporting any of these collections unless accurate controllers are provided. Give me a godamn paddle to play the paddle games.
Enough already.

where exactly would you plug a paddle into a PSP?

Infrared baby!

[Atariboy]

USB doesn't make any difference, look at any PC steering wheel using poteniometers or the Stelladapter. It doesn't mean a analog signal will suddenly be digital and take away the point of using a paddle.

[Bilnick]

Danno, on Fri Dec 7, 2007 11:11 AM, said:

Not to mention it would require you to have 4 hands, or you would need to set down the PSP on a table or other surface, thus removing all the advantage of it being a portable, handheld gaming system.

In that case, why not just use a real Atari with real paddles?

Again, I just said it would be possible on the PSP, not practical.

If a game like this came out for Wii, 360, or PS3, a set (or 2) of USB paddles as a pack in would be nice. I would pay 30-40$ to play an updated Warlords, Pong, or Breakout with real paddles. If this game can sell for $20 on the PSP, $30-$40 seems reasonable with the packin controllers.

[supergamer]

Not to sidetrack... While the paddles potentiometers might be analog, as soon as they're read into ram or a register, it becomes digital. Some mechanism reads the position, and rounds it off at whatever precision the game/software requires. That's the same whether it's on an 2600, USB, or some hacked way to use them on the PSP.

The only thing that might qualify for analog paddles all the way through were simple pong machines without digital circuitry, but I don't know enough about them to be sure.

Besides, a well-designed digital paddle could be built that felt and performed identical to an analog one. Look at the inside of an old mouse, the rollers are basically digital paddles.

[cimerians]

I dont want to sound like Im putting it down but but come on.

How many collections are released every year with no type of controllers out there to use them with?

I've neem buying collections since the Namco Museums on the PS1 and its all the same. Games are pretty crappy without original controls.

Here's something of what I mean and I salute Taito for this:

http://blog.wired.co...-on-why-ta.html

They release Arkanoid WITH a paddle so you can actually play it.

Edited by cimerians, Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:51 AM.