Shhhh...Don't Tell Greg...

I'm going to get my friend Greg one of these just as soon as they come out. I was never much of a video game fan, but this sounds pretty f'ing cool. And I since think I *might* have let the elements get to the old Atari machine Greg had stored in our storage space when we were roommates...

From Wired magazine's Write-up:

"The $30 Flashback is preloaded with 40 games - classics like Pitfall, Centipede, and Missile Command, and fresh, fan-created ones. The best part? Unlike other reissues, nothing here is emulated. "I re-created the original schematics on a single chip," says developer Curt Vendel, who founded the Atari History Museum. The unit's design is modder-friendly, too, opening a whole new world of 8-bit possibilities.

Flashback 2's Bonus Features

RETRO CONTROLLERS
The Flashback's joysticks are compatible with the old console, and vice versa. "If you have original 2600 trackball or paddle controllers, you can use them on Pong and Missile Command," Vendel says.

THE CLASSICS, PART 2
Sequels to Combat and Yars' Revenge are here. But the real bonus is Adventure II. "There's an extra kingdom and bigger mazes," Vendel says. You can also play all three originals in their lo-res glory.

A HACKABLE CHIP
Because the original innards (shown) have been replaced with an Atari-on-a-chip, geeks can "solder on a cartridge port to play old games, hardwire it to a PC, even make it into a handheld device."