THE400 Mini proves Atari needs to start looking beyond its 8-bit heritage – News

Unlike the ST range that appeared later, the 8-bit computers from the three-band brand will have all the difficulty in establishing themselves on a French market largely dominated first by the meteoric rise of Minitel terminals, the rest of the cake being roughly shared by other big IT players like the TI-99, the Sinclair ZX81 and Oric 1. One constant is nevertheless shared by these dominant models: an entry ticket within the reach of the average consumer. A price advantage which was greatly lacking in the Atari 400 and 800, whose selling price could rise up to 2000 and 3500 francs respectively, with stocks kept at the lowest so as not to compete with the success of the purely 2600 model. playful. A perhaps unfair disavowal made to a respectable catalog of titles, but understandable given the strange positioning of the machine. A 400 version intended for more casual users and children, then an 800 model for suits and ties; the idea is laudable, but in a market that is so scattered, it is difficult to find a lasting place. Especially when the Commodore 64 is already giving real competition at the same time in the United States – and the French public has already largely set its sights on less innovative models, certainly, but much cheaper.

Taken as such, the THE400 mini meets the classic specifications that one would expect from a bike of its kind; a task greatly aided by the almost identical recycling of the user interface of the A500 Mini, Retro Games' previous attempt in the matter. Its operation is also similar to that of the Mini released in 2022 – namely that of opening its software compatibility with on-board games on external storage. We'll let readers find the right .atr files on the Web for themselves; finally, until the first result of their favorite search engine, these titles counting among the most accessible to the general public by their status ofabandonware. A significantly different approach from its Japanese competitor which should in itself be a relatively interesting argument for players wishing to explore a part of video game history that is rarely highlighted.

Retro but a little too much

But Who exactly would you want to venture into this part of Atari's history? Limited to the catalog of Atari 8-bit machines up to the 5200, THE400 displays a list of 25 games (not the least generous nor the most stingy) which maintains a relatively honorable historical consistency. Among passable arcade conversions of Centipede or Missile Command, we find classics that are always impressive in their ambition. The open world of The Seven Cities of Gold, simulation of large-scale maritime commerce, is still impressive today; Crystal Castles (nothing to do with the Canadian duo) is still an isometric platformer with intelligent ideas. But for the rest, Who would you be ready to start a game of MULE with several people with these joysticks from another age?

This is perhaps the other big problem with the THE400: its zeal for fidelity applies to its joysticks, absolutely horrible as tradition dictates, but not to the bike itself and its dummy keyboard. Not that the membrane keyboard is essential – or even recommended in 2024 – to take advantage of the game library, but it is funny to note that one of the major assets of Atari's 8-bit range is here reduced to the status of simple little aesthetic convenience. Finally, it might have been more interesting for Retro Games to take up the concept of a full-size replica (like the The C64) for the Atari 800… At the risk of seeing the price go from simple to triple and cutting off part of the target audience to concentrate on a few trigger-happy enthusiasts. It is possible to connect a USB-A keyboard to the THE40 Mini; but even if it means playing the card of authenticity, you might as well go all out. Especially since the BASIC interpreter is included from the start, the height of nerdism, to be able to indulge in programming old.