Last year, Atari resurrected its famous VCS / 2600 console as the Atari 2600+, which boasted HDMI-out and compatibility with all 2600 and 7800 cartridges. The company is back in 2024 with the Atari 7800+, based on the not-quite-as-successful follow-up to its first home system.
It's fair to say that there's a lot less nostalgia for the 7800 ProSystem – fewer than 60 games were ever produced for it back in the day, and by the time it arrived in 1986 (it was initially announced in 1984, but its release was delayed due to Atari being purchased by Jack Tramiel), Nintendo was well on its way to dominating North American living rooms. The poor 7800 didn't stand much of a chance despite offering backwards compatibility with VCS / 2600 titles. It did, however, seem to perform slightly better in Europe, where the NES was less popular.
Taking its relative lack of historical impact into account – and the fact that the aforementioned 2600+ already plays 7800 titles – is there much point in picking one of these up? That's what we're here to find out.
Atari 7800+ Review: Design
Like the 2600+ before it, the 7800+ is slightly smaller than the console on which it is based. Given that the original 7800 was quite a chunky piece of hardware, this is certainly a positive, but the 7800+ is still bigger than your typical micro-console. When you've got a cartridge in the slot, it also takes up quite a bit of vertical space as well, which might make it hard to fit into your entertainment unit.
The biggest changes, outside of its overall size, are the introduction of HDMI and USB-C ports on the back of the machine. There's also a toggle switch which allows you to choose between a 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratio on your TV – why anyone would select the former over the latter is beyond us, but each to their own.
The Power, Pause, Select and Reset buttons are in the same locations as on the original 7800 console, which means you have to get up from your seat and physically walk over to the system in order to use them – something that perhaps takes authenticity to unnecessary levels.
The cartridge slot will accept both new and original 7800 / 2600 games, and just as was the case on the 2600, the cart label is facing away from you when the game is inserted, which is likely to feel a bit odd to anyone who isn't a seasoned Atari fan.
It's worth noting that the 7800+ design is based on that of the European variant of the console, which has a large, rainbow-coloured strip along its metal front panel. The original North American version – referred to as the 7800 ProSystem – has a thinner coloured strip.
Atari 7800+ Review: Controllers
When Atari launched the 7800 ProSystem in North America, it came with the much-maligned Pro-Line Joystick, which was swiftly replaced by the CX78 joypad for the European release in 1987. Clearly modelled after the iconic NES controller, it was certainly an improvement over the Pro-Line Joystick, but it hardly went down in history as one of gaming's best pads.
The CX78+ included with the 7800+ carries a lot of the same shortcomings. The fact that its D-pad has a short, stubby stick on top makes precise control trickier than it should be; it's too easy to accidentally press the wrong direction in certain games. There isn't much travel on the stick, either, and it's surprisingly clicky. The action buttons are nice and big, but using them in tandem – as some games expect you to do – is harder than it should be because there's a big gap between them.
On the positive side, the rounded edges make it comfortable to hold (perhaps even more so than the NES pad), and there's the added bonus of wireless connectivity. A wireless dongle is included in the box, which means you don't have to worry about sitting too close to the TV during play.
The 7800+ sports the standard 9-pin connector, just like the original machine, which means you can connect pretty much any 9-pin pad, so you at least have the option of looking elsewhere for control options, if the bundled CX78 doesn't suit your needs.
The review unit I was sent also includes a USB-C wireless dongle, which allows you to use the CX78+ on your PC.
Atari 7800+ Review: Performance
The 7800+ actually uses two different emulators under the hood: Stella for 2600 games and ProSystem for 7800 games. Both are mature emulators, so everything runs smoothly with no noticeable visual or audio issues.
Don't go expecting the Atari 7800+ to offer all the modern comforts of emulation; there are no save states and you can't rewind the action, either. The system acts just like the real thing, for better or worse.
The only options you have are accessed by holding down Select and Reset when there's no cartridge in the console's slot. This gives you a menu from which you can turn on bilinear filtering on 7800 games and a "phosphor" filter for 2600 titles which attempts to simulate the blur you'd get from a CRT TV set. The bilinear filter smooths out the pixels and doesn't look all that great, in my opinion, but the phosphor filter – which has three settings – is more interesting. It's a shame it can only be applied to 2600 games, though.
It's worth noting that the firmware for the 2600+ can be updated to give it parity with the 7800+, so you're not missing out on these features if you have the older system.
One feature I didn't appreciate all that much is the fact that booting a game takes a few seconds, which seems odd when you consider the small data footprint of your average 2600 and 7800 title. Still, the overall performance is solid. In addition to trying out the games supplied by Atari with the review unit, I tried a bunch of dusty old 2600 carts, and they all worked without any problems.
The bundle of games I was sent offers a mix of NTSC and PAL versions for some reason, with the former running at 60fps and the latter running at 50fps. This legacy issue was also present in the 2600+, but at least the 7800+ fixes the issue of PAL games displaying the wrong colours (like the 2600 version of Pole Position).
Atari 7800+ Review: Games
The Atari 7800+ is compatible with existing 2600 and 7800 games – this was a big selling point of the original machine back in 1986.
However, Atari isn't content to simply position the 7800+ as a means of leveraging your existing collection; it is also releasing a bunch of new carts which will work on both original '80s hardware and (of course) the new 7800+.
Costing $29.99 / €29.99 / £24.99 each and coming with a box and full-colour manual, these ten games are a mix of 'new' titles and enhanced originals.
For example, the 7800+ version of Asteroids Deluxe has new modes to play, while Miner 2049er sequel Bounty Bob Strikes Back! (previously exclusive to Atari's 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200) has been ported to the 7800 with ten new levels created by Robert DeCrescenzo. The cream of the crop is perhaps Bentley Bear’s Crystal Quest, an unofficial (but now official) sequel to Crystal Castles which feels more fleshed-out than your typical 7800 title.
It's fantastic to see Atari supporting this hardware release with new games and great to see community-made homebrew updates finally receive legitimate status.
Atari 7800+ Review: Where To Buy
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Atari 7800+ Review: Conclusion
Atari is giving the 7800+ a fairly big push, and I like the fact that it comes with some modern features, like wireless controllers and clean, crisp HDMI output. It's also encouraging to see a raft of "new" games to support the launch, including some which are either enhanced from the original or totally new to the 7800.
However, there's no escaping the fact that the existing 2600+ already does most of what the 7800+ does; it can play 2600 and 7800 cartridges and runs the same emulation software. You can even order the CX78+ wireless pads and use those with your existing 2600+, making the 7800+ even more redundant.
While the lack of features – such as save states and rewind – is regrettable, the 7800+ does at least offer an authentic experience for Atari lovers.
If you already own the 2600+, then there's very little reason to pick up the 7800+ unless, of course, you're a rabid Atari fan who simply has to own every piece of hardware the company pumps out. Newcomers who were undecided on the 2600+ last year should perhaps consider this option instead.