The Atari Flashback is a series of specialized video game consoles first made in 2004. Today, AtGames designs, creates, and sells these consoles under a license from Atari SA. These consoles are easy to use, requiring no setup, and include built-in games instead of using separate cartridges. The most recent home console, called Atari Flashback 12 Gold, was released in 2023 and includes 130 games.

The first model was designed by Curt Vendel, a longtime Atari employee, and was based on the Atari 7800. It included 20 games, five of which were originally made for the 7800. Later models in the series were based on the Atari 2600. The Atari Flashback 2, released in 2005, included 40 built-in games and used a specialized chip from the Atari 2600. In 2011, Atari, Inc. stopped making the Flashback consoles and gave the rights to AtGames. AtGames continued the series, starting with the Flashback 3, and introduced a handheld version called the Atari Flashback Portable in 2016.

In 2017, several versions of the Flashback 8 were released, including a Gold edition with features like scan line filtering, a rewind function for gameplay, and HDMI output. Starting with the Flashback X in 2019, the consoles were designed to closely resemble the original Atari 2600 in smaller sizes.

Home consoles

The original Atari Flashback was released in November 2004 and sold for $45. It looks like a smaller version of the Atari 7800 console, and its controllers are also smaller versions of the 7800's joysticks, with added "pause" and "select" buttons. These controllers cannot be used with the original 7800 console. The Flashback was designed by Curt Vendel, an Atari employee, and his company, Legacy Engineering Group, which makes other video game and arcade products.

The Flashback does not have a slot for game cartridges, so it cannot play 7800 games. Instead, it includes 20 built-in games: 15 from the Atari 2600 and 5 from the 7800. Some games originally needed special paddle controllers, but they work with the included joysticks. The console uses famiclone hardware, not original Atari parts, so the games do not look or play exactly like the originals. One of the games, Saboteur, was not released for 20 years.

The Flashback sold about 500,000 units. Craig Harris of IGN criticized the game versions, saying the original games were better. He noted problems like flickering, poor collision detection, and missing sounds. He liked the smaller controllers but disliked that they could not be used with the 7800.

The Atari Flashback 2 was released in August 2005 for $30. It includes 40 built-in Atari 2600 games and looks like a smaller version of the 2600. Its controllers are similar to the 2600's and work with both systems. The Flashback 2 has buttons for power, reset, and selecting game modes. It also has an AV cord connected permanently to the back and a switch to change games between color and black-and-white.

Vendel and Legacy Engineering helped design the Flashback 2. They used materials from Vendel's Atari History Museum to recreate original Atari hardware on a single chip, allowing games to run as they originally did. The console's hardware is easy to modify. The Flashback 2's motherboard can be changed to play 2600 cartridges, a feature the console was designed around.

The Flashback 2 was more popular than the original. John Falcone of CNET praised the controllers and called them the best part of the console. It sold 860,000 units in the United States. A PAL version (for other regions) was never made, and the console was discontinued in 2006.

In 2011, Atari Interactive sued Tommo for selling pirated Flashback 2 consoles. The Flashback 2 includes 40 built-in games, two secret games (Super Breakout and Warlords), and five unreleased prototypes. It also features two games by Activision (Pitfall! and River Raid) and some homebrew games. Some games, like Lunar Lander, show flickering due to limitations in the original 2600 hardware. Vendel worked with developers to reduce flickering in exclusive games.

In 2010, Atari announced the Flashback 2+ with 20 classic 2600 games and 20 new Atari games. It replaced some games like Pitfall! and River Raid with sports titles. The Flashback 3, released in 2011, had 60 built-in 2600 games and used emulation, meaning it could not play 2600 cartridges. PCMag said some games were worse than their original arcade versions.

The Flashback 4, released in 2012, had 75 games and wireless joysticks. AtGames, the company making later models, released the Flashback 4: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition with replica paddles, posters, and a signed patent. The Flashback 64, a Walmart-exclusive version, had 64 games, including Space Invaders. Some Flashback 4 versions included a bonus game, Millipede.

The Flashback 5 (2014) had 92 games, the Flashback 6 (2015) had 100 games, and the Flashback 7 (2016) added Frogger for a total of 101 games. The Flashback 7 Deluxe included wired paddles. The Flashback 8 (2017) had 105 games and wireless joysticks. The Flashback 8 Gold had 120 games, wireless controllers, and features like rewind and HDMI output.

The Flashback 9 (2018) had 110 games and an SD card slot for updates and saved games. A Family Dollar-exclusive version had 110 games and wired controllers. All later models used emulation to run games.

Handheld consoles

In 2007, Vendel was working on a handheld console named the Atari Flashback Portable. It was designed to run on three AAA batteries, with a screen resolution of 320×240. The console included AV output and two joystick ports for multiplayer games. Games were stored in internal 2MB memory using a USB cable. The planned release date was early 2008, with a retail price of about $40. However, in 2010, Vendel announced that Atari would not release the console, and no more details were shared.

A new version of the Atari Flashback Portable was released in November 2016. It had 60 built-in games and an SD slot for additional games. The console featured a 3.2" LCD screen, an AV output port, and a mini USB port for charging.

A second edition of the Atari Flashback Portable was released in September 2017. It was also made by AtGames. This version included 70 games, with four notable additions from Namco: Dig Dug, Galaxian, Pac-Man, and Xevious. The Pac-Man version included is a homebrew version that closely matches the original arcade game, not the 1982 Atari 2600 version.

A third edition of the Atari Flashback Portable was released in September 2018 by AtGames. This version included 80 games.

A fourth edition was released in September 2019 by AtGames. It had a body design that resembled the woodgrain look of the original Atari 2600 console. The standard edition included 80 games.

The second (2017) edition of the Flashback Portable includes the following games:

The third (2018) edition includes the following games:

The fourth (2019) edition includes the same games as the third (2018) edition, but replaces Frogs and Flies with Atari's unreleased prototype game Frog Pond.

Other products

Atari Flashback Classics is a collection of various Atari video games. It is the console version of Atari Vault and its DLC on Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Linux. The collection was first released in 2016 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, split into three volumes. Then, it was released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation Vita in 2018, and finally on Atari VCS in 2020 as Atari VCS Vault, split into two volumes.

In October 2018, AtGames released Atari Flashback Blast!, a trio of wireless controllers each with 20 built-in games.