I would consider an Atari 2600 if...

[- Ω -]

I like tech toys, but I NEED an excuse to get something other than playing games.  With all new supporting technology available, PCB design programs, companies that make the designs a reality and the things that could be mounted on one of those cartridge boards, I believe it's possible to make the Atari 2600 more than a simple retro-game machine.  I see all kinds of potential ideas, and even a limited niche market for such cartridges.. if someone did it.  Just a couple of ideas come to mind right off the top of my head...

1) A cartridge that could use your homes WiFi to get the weather and display it on your TV.

2) A cartridge that could monitor Atari.io for new messages and let you know when there is a new post in any of the threads you follow.

Now when it comes to gaming, how about two player games via WiFi/Internet to another player, or even large games that work with a server due to their size or interactive nature?  Would it generate some buzz and excitement?  Even people buying the newer recharged models that can accept a cartridge could participate.  

You tell me, does anyone find the concept interesting?  I'm thinking it could add a few more years of renewed excitement to the 2600 platform.

 

[waynel]

On 12/6/2023 at 2:19 PM, - Ω - said:

I like tech toys, but I NEED an excuse to get something other than playing games.  With all new supporting technology available, PCB design programs, companies that make the designs a reality and the things that could be mounted on one of those cartridge boards, I believe it's possible to make the Atari 2600 more than a simple retro-game machine.  I see all kinds of potential ideas, and even a limited niche market for such cartridges.. if someone did it.  Just a couple of ideas come to mind right off the top of my head...

1) A cartridge that could use your homes WiFi to get the weather and display it on your TV.

2) A cartridge that could monitor Atari.io for new messages and let you know when there is a new post in any of the threads you follow.

Now when it comes to gaming, how about two player games via WiFi/Internet to another player, or even large games that work with a server due to their size or interactive nature?  Would it generate some buzz and excitement?  Even people buying the newer recharged models that can accept a cartridge could participate.  

You tell me, does anyone find the concept interesting?  I'm thinking it could add a few more years of renewed excitement to the 2600 platform.

 

The weather item doesn't seem insurmountable.  There are already wifi-enabled carts for the 2600, and endless sources of free, reliable weather data on the internet if you live in certain places.  I think this would be quite neat.  I'd love the chance to design the graphics, if someone else did the hard part.

The thing to monitor Atari.io for messages would be much harder, specifically because it would require the cart to create an encrypted connection to atari.io.  Maybe it's not as hard as I imagine, but based on my tinkering, you'd need a helper computer like a Raspberry Pi or an Arduino shoved in there.  If you could do that, perhaps it could poll the RSS feed.  But you'd need to figure out a way to communicate your login information to the cart if you wanted anything specific to the threads you follow.  Not insurmountable, as demonstrated by countless AppleTV apps that display a five-letter code on the screen that syncs to your streaming account.  But it would require a lot of heavy lifting on the back end of Atari.io.  I don't think it would be worth their while for less than $10/month.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I like the idea of another player.  With today’s internet speeds that would be fascinating to see. The only few things that would need to be done by a program are to see whose turn it is and get information about game play action. 
 

And don’t forget the second controller port has communication abilities.