CrossBow

There is no mention of an SDcard slot. That said, it could still be possible to 'hack' these in the future through the USB port for power provided it includes data lines on it. But it is confirmed to be an emulation device that works in the same way the Retron-77 does. Only it can do 2600 and 7800 games and the compatibility list is a bit better than the R-77 I'm told. 
But being an emulation device that is dumping the game contents will pretty much mean that most modern home brews that use additional hardware in the cartridge are a no go for this thing. It also isn't known what emulators they are using for the games. 
And yes, I've already put in a pre-order because of course I did... 
 

There is no mention of an SDcard slot. That said, it could still be possible to 'hack' these in the future through the USB port for power provided it includes data lines on it. But it is confirmed to be an emulation device that works in the same way the Retron-77 does. Only it can do 2600 and 7800 games and the compatibility list is a bit better than the R-77 I'm told. 
But being an emulation device that is dumping the game contents will pretty much mean that most modern home brews that use additional hardware in the cartridge are a no go for this thing. It also isn't known what emulators they are using for the games. 
And yes, I've already put in a pre-order because of course I did... 
 

I worked with Bob (PacManPlus) to get that done for Al. He supplied the special 3D printed case shell and I swapped everything into it with a UAV + mount board setup. He was showing Bob's games on it throughout the show. But that case is a one off special done for Al and AtariAge. I have a similar case shell with black bottom and red top with the Atari 7800 logo in the middle in black.
It also has Bob's Kiloparsec BIOS installed as well. The one I have is my lab test unit. But the shell was designed with AV upgrades in place as it already has nicely centered holes for RCAs and the half moon hole for the s-video jacks I use.
 

So I hinted about this in another thread elsewhere, but though it might be good to give it is own post.
So a new challenger has emerged online under the website AtariRepairParts.com and as the name implies they provide replacement parts for Atari stuff. However, as they are very very new, the parts available is basically limited to just a few things. But, perhaps the most interesting is their replacement mylar and membrane buttons for the standard OEM 5200 controller (CX-52). Similar to another well known vendor, AtariRepairParts has created their own mylar and button replacements that are also gold plated.
The main difference here is that they cost for a complete set is about 50% less of the other well known vendor. They also don't have any limits on the number of items you can order and have PayPal so payments are easy to make. 
I ordered two sets of these replacements for just under $50 shipped. That might seem like a lot for something so old, but again for the price of 2 sets to install into one controllers from AtariRepairParts compared to that same price for just a single controller from the other vendor, it is a good deal.
I received them in yesterday and only ordered them a few days prior, so they arrived very quickly! Here is my initial impressions of these new replacement rebuild kits..
First lets talk about how everything arrived. It was delivered in a bubble mailer using a section of card stock and envelope to protect and prevent bending of the mylar flex. The membrane buttons were just loose in the padded envelope but as this is all very light weight and small, I don't have any issues with this packing.
The first thing you notice is that the mylar is a very matte black finish in color overall. But you can still see the traces etc. Ever contact point on the flex is gold plated including the fingers that insert into the controller wire harness connector. Additionally, it could have been the way it looked, but I believe that section with the fingers is a tad longer than the stock mylar so they seat in further and more secure as a result. The mylar overall is also a little thicker than the stock mylar and more rigid as a result. But I don't find this to be a negative at all since it means it should be able to withstand the flexing and bending it has to go through much better over time. The mylar also has preaffixed adhesive pads so that it can attach to the keypad support plate, and each of the arms for the fire buttons on the mylar will attach to the vertical supports on the controller properly. In the past I've had to keep double sided tape on hand with replacements so this is a welcome thing to have! I do think another strip should be included for the top row buttons as it doesn't have one for that part. But if you consider the fact that the membrane buttons sit on top of that section, I guess it isn't as critical.
The membrane buttons appear to be new and look and feel like the originals. This is good and bad because a lot of folks don't like the mushy feel of the original buttons and these will retain that original feel. However, similar to the mylar, each contact on the membrane has a gold plated disc that is secured to the buttons. So gold on gold contact will minimize any corrosion over the years from occurring.
Installation is a breeze since everything is of the same size as original parts so it just all fits in place where it should. Even the small holes on the keypad to line it up on the support tray are present and in the correct location. So yeah provided you know how to take the original controller apart properly, installing a set of these should only take a few minutes time. 
I played a few games of The Last Starfighter to break it all in and I have to say that everything worked great! My only criticism is that the top row membrane buttons seem to sit a little lower than the originals and as a result I found them difficult to actually press and make contact. But they do work it just requires a little more direct pressing than I'm used to with my older buttons and foil taped contact pads hehe. Still, the quality of these replacement parts are very nice and I imagine the controller will not require much if any maintenance in the future since the only real failure point now would be the cabling or potentiometers inside the controller itself of which, there aren't any replacements for yet at this time.
AtariRepairParts.com
 

I still prefer the coloring and overall scene sets from the 79 release. Especially when they exit the Enterprise to see V'ger. The light illumination from the center looks more natural than it does on the 2022 release where it is all very CGI heavy and noticeably so.

I still prefer the coloring and overall scene sets from the 79 release. Especially when they exit the Enterprise to see V'ger. The light illumination from the center looks more natural than it does on the 2022 release where it is all very CGI heavy and noticeably so.

So torn on these comparisons. In many scenes the grain and artifacts are horrible in the 4k disc release, and much improved in the Par+ 4k. But then some of the redone scenes look really good and others still do NOT look right. Again, as I stated earlier, the original shots outside the Enterprise as they go to V'ger still look better as the light from the center point diffuses much more naturally than it does in the redone CGI shots. The actors also look very pasted into the shots on those newer scenes and it is distratcting.
I'm most surprised by the fact that they redid most of the exterior V'ger scenes, and then didn't seem to redo the shots that really needed it most. As an example, the shots of the Klingon cruisers outside the V'ger cloud on both versions still show the noticed cutout black outline from the original compositing techniques they used back then. I would have thought they would redo those scenes completely as to not make it look so much more obvious. 
Same with most of the shots of the Enterprise exterior shots. You can see the definitely outline from the cutout compositing work that was done and in many instances on the newer 4k Para+ release, those look even more glaring than before.
I do agree that in most of the shots, the detail and grain removal without too much removal is far superior in the newer 4k Para+ release. But the inconsistent updates overall just seem quite odd to me.
Perhaps seeing it all in motion it becomes much less obvious but based on the stills provided in these comparison videos, I'm going to have to stick with my older blu-ray release for now.
Do they plan to release the newer 4k cut physically at some point?
 

So torn on these comparisons. In many scenes the grain and artifacts are horrible in the 4k disc release, and much improved in the Par+ 4k. But then some of the redone scenes look really good and others still do NOT look right. Again, as I stated earlier, the original shots outside the Enterprise as they go to V'ger still look better as the light from the center point diffuses much more naturally than it does in the redone CGI shots. The actors also look very pasted into the shots on those newer scenes and it is distratcting.
I'm most surprised by the fact that they redid most of the exterior V'ger scenes, and then didn't seem to redo the shots that really needed it most. As an example, the shots of the Klingon cruisers outside the V'ger cloud on both versions still show the noticed cutout black outline from the original compositing techniques they used back then. I would have thought they would redo those scenes completely as to not make it look so much more obvious. 
Same with most of the shots of the Enterprise exterior shots. You can see the definitely outline from the cutout compositing work that was done and in many instances on the newer 4k Para+ release, those look even more glaring than before.
I do agree that in most of the shots, the detail and grain removal without too much removal is far superior in the newer 4k Para+ release. But the inconsistent updates overall just seem quite odd to me.
Perhaps seeing it all in motion it becomes much less obvious but based on the stills provided in these comparison videos, I'm going to have to stick with my older blu-ray release for now.
Do they plan to release the newer 4k cut physically at some point?
 

Ordered this about a week ago and got it in yesterday. This might just be the quickest I've ever bought something from LRG to have it arrive a week later. Though to be fair these were already made up and ready to be sent so...
But yeah I picked up the PS4 version of Blade Runner enhanced. I own the original PC game and have since it was new back in '97 but having a way to play it more comfortably on my much larger display in the game room is always preferred. 
This version is the VHS edition of the release that was apparently only available during the San Diego Comic Con and this is from the left overs they had after the convention. Very nice presentation overall as it comes in a VHS like slip cover that even has artificial wear along the edges like VHS covers would develop over the years. Inside that is a box that looks like a VHS tape that contained the standard PS4 release of the game along with a cool steel book case you can put the game into instead.

I was able to spend a bit of time playing it last night and it isn't without its issues. (I knew this before buying it). The video cinematics have some stuttering issues that seems odd considering I have an SSD installed into my PS4 and there is an odd pause hitch that occurs constantly when playing the game in that just moving the cursor around will occasionally make it pause for a second as you move it. Kinda annoying but nothing that has been serious to game play as yet. I was still able to score 49 points in the shooting range in the game the first time I played through it so the controls aren't that bad.
The enhanced art however is a very mixed bag. In the cinematics where they have enhanced it, it looks good and seems to run at 60fps now vs the 30 or whatever the originals did. But on the actual gameplay screens, the enhanced graphics seemed to obscure some texture details more than the originals provided even though the original graphics are quite jagged and have quite a bit of noise in their image compression vs the enhanced. I think what they did was apply some AI upscaling on the original graphics and basically did a single pass of it and called it good enough? Not sure but I'm still enjoying the game all the same!
 

Ordered this about a week ago and got it in yesterday. This might just be the quickest I've ever bought something from LRG to have it arrive a week later. Though to be fair these were already made up and ready to be sent so...
But yeah I picked up the PS4 version of Blade Runner enhanced. I own the original PC game and have since it was new back in '97 but having a way to play it more comfortably on my much larger display in the game room is always preferred. 
This version is the VHS edition of the release that was apparently only available during the San Diego Comic Con and this is from the left overs they had after the convention. Very nice presentation overall as it comes in a VHS like slip cover that even has artificial wear along the edges like VHS covers would develop over the years. Inside that is a box that looks like a VHS tape that contained the standard PS4 release of the game along with a cool steel book case you can put the game into instead.

I was able to spend a bit of time playing it last night and it isn't without its issues. (I knew this before buying it). The video cinematics have some stuttering issues that seems odd considering I have an SSD installed into my PS4 and there is an odd pause hitch that occurs constantly when playing the game in that just moving the cursor around will occasionally make it pause for a second as you move it. Kinda annoying but nothing that has been serious to game play as yet. I was still able to score 49 points in the shooting range in the game the first time I played through it so the controls aren't that bad.
The enhanced art however is a very mixed bag. In the cinematics where they have enhanced it, it looks good and seems to run at 60fps now vs the 30 or whatever the originals did. But on the actual gameplay screens, the enhanced graphics seemed to obscure some texture details more than the originals provided even though the original graphics are quite jagged and have quite a bit of noise in their image compression vs the enhanced. I think what they did was apply some AI upscaling on the original graphics and basically did a single pass of it and called it good enough? Not sure but I'm still enjoying the game all the same!
 

Ordered this about a week ago and got it in yesterday. This might just be the quickest I've ever bought something from LRG to have it arrive a week later. Though to be fair these were already made up and ready to be sent so...
But yeah I picked up the PS4 version of Blade Runner enhanced. I own the original PC game and have since it was new back in '97 but having a way to play it more comfortably on my much larger display in the game room is always preferred. 
This version is the VHS edition of the release that was apparently only available during the San Diego Comic Con and this is from the left overs they had after the convention. Very nice presentation overall as it comes in a VHS like slip cover that even has artificial wear along the edges like VHS covers would develop over the years. Inside that is a box that looks like a VHS tape that contained the standard PS4 release of the game along with a cool steel book case you can put the game into instead.

I was able to spend a bit of time playing it last night and it isn't without its issues. (I knew this before buying it). The video cinematics have some stuttering issues that seems odd considering I have an SSD installed into my PS4 and there is an odd pause hitch that occurs constantly when playing the game in that just moving the cursor around will occasionally make it pause for a second as you move it. Kinda annoying but nothing that has been serious to game play as yet. I was still able to score 49 points in the shooting range in the game the first time I played through it so the controls aren't that bad.
The enhanced art however is a very mixed bag. In the cinematics where they have enhanced it, it looks good and seems to run at 60fps now vs the 30 or whatever the originals did. But on the actual gameplay screens, the enhanced graphics seemed to obscure some texture details more than the originals provided even though the original graphics are quite jagged and have quite a bit of noise in their image compression vs the enhanced. I think what they did was apply some AI upscaling on the original graphics and basically did a single pass of it and called it good enough? Not sure but I'm still enjoying the game all the same!
 

There is a picture of them showing how you use with the front loader? So I assume it does work, you just can't press the cartridge down. Kinda like how it was using a Game Genie back in the day.
 

There is a picture of them showing how you use with the front loader? So I assume it does work, you just can't press the cartridge down. Kinda like how it was using a Game Genie back in the day.
 

Ordered this about a week ago and got it in yesterday. This might just be the quickest I've ever bought something from LRG to have it arrive a week later. Though to be fair these were already made up and ready to be sent so...
But yeah I picked up the PS4 version of Blade Runner enhanced. I own the original PC game and have since it was new back in '97 but having a way to play it more comfortably on my much larger display in the game room is always preferred. 
This version is the VHS edition of the release that was apparently only available during the San Diego Comic Con and this is from the left overs they had after the convention. Very nice presentation overall as it comes in a VHS like slip cover that even has artificial wear along the edges like VHS covers would develop over the years. Inside that is a box that looks like a VHS tape that contained the standard PS4 release of the game along with a cool steel book case you can put the game into instead.

I was able to spend a bit of time playing it last night and it isn't without its issues. (I knew this before buying it). The video cinematics have some stuttering issues that seems odd considering I have an SSD installed into my PS4 and there is an odd pause hitch that occurs constantly when playing the game in that just moving the cursor around will occasionally make it pause for a second as you move it. Kinda annoying but nothing that has been serious to game play as yet. I was still able to score 49 points in the shooting range in the game the first time I played through it so the controls aren't that bad.
The enhanced art however is a very mixed bag. In the cinematics where they have enhanced it, it looks good and seems to run at 60fps now vs the 30 or whatever the originals did. But on the actual gameplay screens, the enhanced graphics seemed to obscure some texture details more than the originals provided even though the original graphics are quite jagged and have quite a bit of noise in their image compression vs the enhanced. I think what they did was apply some AI upscaling on the original graphics and basically did a single pass of it and called it good enough? Not sure but I'm still enjoying the game all the same!
 

Ordered this about a week ago and got it in yesterday. This might just be the quickest I've ever bought something from LRG to have it arrive a week later. Though to be fair these were already made up and ready to be sent so...
But yeah I picked up the PS4 version of Blade Runner enhanced. I own the original PC game and have since it was new back in '97 but having a way to play it more comfortably on my much larger display in the game room is always preferred. 
This version is the VHS edition of the release that was apparently only available during the San Diego Comic Con and this is from the left overs they had after the convention. Very nice presentation overall as it comes in a VHS like slip cover that even has artificial wear along the edges like VHS covers would develop over the years. Inside that is a box that looks like a VHS tape that contained the standard PS4 release of the game along with a cool steel book case you can put the game into instead.

I was able to spend a bit of time playing it last night and it isn't without its issues. (I knew this before buying it). The video cinematics have some stuttering issues that seems odd considering I have an SSD installed into my PS4 and there is an odd pause hitch that occurs constantly when playing the game in that just moving the cursor around will occasionally make it pause for a second as you move it. Kinda annoying but nothing that has been serious to game play as yet. I was still able to score 49 points in the shooting range in the game the first time I played through it so the controls aren't that bad.
The enhanced art however is a very mixed bag. In the cinematics where they have enhanced it, it looks good and seems to run at 60fps now vs the 30 or whatever the originals did. But on the actual gameplay screens, the enhanced graphics seemed to obscure some texture details more than the originals provided even though the original graphics are quite jagged and have quite a bit of noise in their image compression vs the enhanced. I think what they did was apply some AI upscaling on the original graphics and basically did a single pass of it and called it good enough? Not sure but I'm still enjoying the game all the same!
 

That village area is the main are where you can essentially just park yourself with machine gun and just keep taking out soldiers left and right with minimal risk to yourself.
Here is one of those locations. If you bring the screen down just a little bit further, this prevents solders from sneaking up from the bottom of the screen but they still come out the of the village door openings constantly. It is also rare for a soldier to sneak up from the left or right side of the screen here. They will come out from the left and right above those builders on the upper half of the screen, but then they have t walk down between the buildings to get you and you can easily take them out before they turn to shoot at you.

So yeah..if you scroll up a bit more so that the bottom left building in the above pic is off screen, but still have room to move between it and the others you have in the middle of this pic, then stay to the left side...
Well, you get the idea.
Also somewhere on AtariAge, someone mapped out all the hidden POW locations (Unique to the 7800 version I believe), for those bonus points. I can't recall if these locations can be opened again, when you get through both tours of duty though.
 

Do note that on Commando on some of the levels in the game, there are spots where you can essentially just park yourself and keep mowing down enemy soldiers without much if any risk of death to yourself. I've done this several times to rack up scores in the millions. I guess it could be seen as an cheat or something, but it is just taking advantage of how the game was coded. I own the actual arcade cabinet for this game and I do find that the 7800 version is one of the more better arcade ports for the home to play!
But yeah... you can cheese this one to get a bunch of free men. I usually just shut it off after a bit because I get tired and just turn off the system.
 

Ninja Golf wasn't a game I ever knew about back then until I got into collecting about a decade later. I think Ninja Golf being a late release, likely came out not long after I had stopped playing consoles and switched to PC gaming. But I also know that part of the reason I started to play my 7800 less and less around '89 was because most locations in my town weren't carrying games for the 7800 anymore.
 

That village area is the main are where you can essentially just park yourself with machine gun and just keep taking out soldiers left and right with minimal risk to yourself.
Here is one of those locations. If you bring the screen down just a little bit further, this prevents solders from sneaking up from the bottom of the screen but they still come out the of the village door openings constantly. It is also rare for a soldier to sneak up from the left or right side of the screen here. They will come out from the left and right above those builders on the upper half of the screen, but then they have t walk down between the buildings to get you and you can easily take them out before they turn to shoot at you.

So yeah..if you scroll up a bit more so that the bottom left building in the above pic is off screen, but still have room to move between it and the others you have in the middle of this pic, then stay to the left side...
Well, you get the idea.
Also somewhere on AtariAge, someone mapped out all the hidden POW locations (Unique to the 7800 version I believe), for those bonus points. I can't recall if these locations can be opened again, when you get through both tours of duty though.
 

That village area is the main are where you can essentially just park yourself with machine gun and just keep taking out soldiers left and right with minimal risk to yourself.
Here is one of those locations. If you bring the screen down just a little bit further, this prevents solders from sneaking up from the bottom of the screen but they still come out the of the village door openings constantly. It is also rare for a soldier to sneak up from the left or right side of the screen here. They will come out from the left and right above those builders on the upper half of the screen, but then they have t walk down between the buildings to get you and you can easily take them out before they turn to shoot at you.

So yeah..if you scroll up a bit more so that the bottom left building in the above pic is off screen, but still have room to move between it and the others you have in the middle of this pic, then stay to the left side...
Well, you get the idea.
Also somewhere on AtariAge, someone mapped out all the hidden POW locations (Unique to the 7800 version I believe), for those bonus points. I can't recall if these locations can be opened again, when you get through both tours of duty though.
 

Yeap...cause it could very well look like this inside...
This is what most of the OG caps in GGs look like at this point. Notice the yellowing appearance where the caps are soldered to the board vs actual shiny solder? That is the electrolyte having leaked out and corroding the leads, solder, and solder pad underneath.

 
When you crack the glue loose that holds the caps down, you can really see what this starts to look like...

 
Looks tasty ehh? Now this is a typical GG. I've seen some that were worse where the leads were basically eaten through and in some more extreme cases, traces on the PCB that get eaten away due to the corrosion. So yeah... GG recaps are mandatory at this point for pretty much every model. This is all a result of the great capacitor plague of the 90s due to formulae stealing and corp espionage. I remember reading all about it when it happened back in the day.

I worked with Bob (PacManPlus) to get that done for Al. He supplied the special 3D printed case shell and I swapped everything into it with a UAV + mount board setup. He was showing Bob's games on it throughout the show. But that case is a one off special done for Al and AtariAge. I have a similar case shell with black bottom and red top with the Atari 7800 logo in the middle in black.
It also has Bob's Kiloparsec BIOS installed as well. The one I have is my lab test unit. But the shell was designed with AV upgrades in place as it already has nicely centered holes for RCAs and the half moon hole for the s-video jacks I use.
 

I worked with Bob (PacManPlus) to get that done for Al. He supplied the special 3D printed case shell and I swapped everything into it with a UAV + mount board setup. He was showing Bob's games on it throughout the show. But that case is a one off special done for Al and AtariAge. I have a similar case shell with black bottom and red top with the Atari 7800 logo in the middle in black.
It also has Bob's Kiloparsec BIOS installed as well. The one I have is my lab test unit. But the shell was designed with AV upgrades in place as it already has nicely centered holes for RCAs and the half moon hole for the s-video jacks I use.
 

Oh Snap! My cover is blown as you managed to catch me in two of those pics!

I cannot this year as the cost is just too much right now for me. That said, I will be there in spirit with all the different consoles that will be there and setup for folks to play the new games and enjoy.