Founded in 1972, Atari® changed the way we approached gaming –
from the way games were designed to the way they were played.
Atari’s iconic games, including Asteroids®, Centipede® and
Missile Command® have been played by many millions. Half a
century later, Atari® ’s legacy endures. The Gamestation Pro has
over 200 games, including Atari® 2600, Atari® 5200, Atari® 7800
and Atari® arcade games
Review: A ton of fun!!! - The first one I got was used, so I
didn't even bother trying it. I don't blame this on desertcart,
but rather the particular seller. I sent it back and ordered
another one, which was new. This is a great system. It was easy
to set up and get to playing. The selection of games on it is
very good, though it is missing some of my favorites. However,
the great thing about this system is that you can also play games
it doesn't come with using a micro SD card. The console... It's
well built and looks quite nice. The placement of the two USB-C
ports on the front for wired controller connection is great,
especially in comparison to other Atari retro consoles, and even
the original 2600. The controller ports being in the back of
those was always a bit unwieldy, while being in the front is just
natural. The top is simple, with a Power and Home button, the
latter of which is also on each controller. The ring lights are
also nice looking, and they're adjustable, from the default,
alternating rainbow colors to solid white and solid orange. You
adjust the lights with the Menu button on the controllers. The
USB-C power port and full size HDMI ports are on the back, and
well placed. And the best part... the micro SD card slot, which
is on the left side. The console has a bit of weight, which adds
to it feeling more solid, though some of that weight comes from a
metal plate on the inside that they added to make it feel
heavier. Still, its heft is nice. The controllers... For most
games they're very good. The joystick part feels quite different
from a traditional CX-40 Atari joystick, both in its style and
the way it feels, but it's quite nice. Not cheap feeling. They
have a light ring around the bottom of the joystick,
corresponding with the lights around the Power and Home buttons
on the console. They also have a small rotatable knob used for
Paddle games, and it's actually quite nice. It turns very
smoothly, with just a little resistance. Now I say the
controllers are very good for "most" games, as some games require
the use of more than just the A button, and the positioning of
the B and C buttons can make games that require the use of them,
such as the Arcade version of Missile Command, much less
enjoyable to play, if not downright unenjoyable. Other than that,
the controllers are quite good. The weight is also quite nice
when the batteries are installed. On the top, there are Home,
Select and Start buttons. On the back is a Menu button, a
connectivity light, a USB-C port and a power switch. Some people
have found that input latency is a problem when using the
controllers. Because it uses the common wireless 2.4GHz protocol,
other devices that use 2.4GHz, such as routers, TVs, mice, etc.
can interfere with the signal, causing issues. However, these
controllers can be used wired, though you have to provide your
own USB-C to USB-C cables. This will eliminate all of the
wireless related latency. And when using them wired, you don't
have to use batteries in them, though without the batteries
they'll be considerably lighter in weight. With this said, I
notice barely any input latency at all when using them
wirelessly. The latency is so little that it's nearly
imperceptible. In fact, it's less than with both my 2600+ and
Flashback 12, and both of those use wired controllers. Other...
Though the unit comes with a USB-A to USB-C power cable, it does
not come with a power adapter. You need to provide a 5V adapter
of at least 2A. It also comes with an HDMI cable. Summary... All
in all this is a great system. It's a lot of fun. The selection
of games is quite good and the game play is outstanding, even for
the paddle games. There is also new firmware available and there
are videos on YouTube that give step by step instructions on how
to update it. Mine came with version 1.20, and the new firmware
is version 1.30. It contains some bug fixes as well as changing
the games layout on the screen, making it easier to sort through
them. Two pieces of advice: - If you're using a modern TV, make
sure to set the TV to Game mode in the picture settings. Without
doing so, the latency can be fairly noticeable, as the TV
processes a lot of things for the picture. Game mode disables all
of that extra picture processing, making the picture response
much more real time. - This is an important one. Look at the
seller reviews before you buy this, and make sure to buy it from
a good one.
Review: Exactly what retro gaming needs - I received this a
little more than 24 hours ago, I am impressed with it so far. It
has a lot of 2600 games along with a few 5200, 7800 and Arcade
games. It has a lot of games I played as a child. It does have a
lot of the popular titles for the 2600, just not space invaders
pac man or galaga. This was super easy to set up, plug in the USB
and HDMI to the TV, install batteries in the controllers and you
are up and playing in 10 minutes. The controller works well and
is responsive with little to no lag. Mine was shipped with update
1.30 right out of the box and was brand new. There's plenty of
game ROMs on the internet to install along with tutorials on YT.
Google is your friend on this one. There's tons of free open
source games out there written by amateurs based on past games. I
wouldn't ever suggest anyone download official ROMS illegally,
it's best to pay for them and get them legitimately. I read a lot
of the reviews for this on here, and I can't speak to their
experience or expectations but it seems a lot of people don't
understand that games can be added easily through use of the SD
card slot on the side. There's even custom operating systems out
there to add to make every game download to have cover art and
description just like it has originally, instead of just a list
on the SD card. Most ROMS are kilobites in size so a 32gb SD card
will afford you space for over 10,000 games. (Yes you read that
right 10,000 games). It won't run any Xbox PS games but the Xbox
one controller is amazing on it, right of the box with default
button mapping. PS 4 and 5 controllers work but some of the
buttons are not standard use. My kids that grew up on Xbox and
Wii can't fathom that this was all we had in the early 80's and
90's to do. I still have my original Atari 2600 and brought it
out to compare with this. This is so much better, I think some
people have a distorted memory of what the 2600 played like after
seeing and playing this. The 2600 was like pushing a lawnmower
with square wheels compared to this being a riding lawnmower. You
can actually connect a USB C cable to the controller from the
console if you have any lag on some games a 10 foot cable is all
you really need being any farther away than that doesn't seem
right as we had to sit 4 feet away from the TV originally because
the cords were so short. Anyone that buys this and is
disappointed in it needs to search YT for "Adding games to the
Atari Gamestation Pro" before they throw it in the trash or
return it. But if you still aren't literate enough after watching
YT to get more games then ask a 10 year old they can do it for
you.
