Atari’s latest attempt at reclaiming relevance is by rehashing its original success story – Pong. Once a mainstay of arcades everywhere, the legendary game has now been shrunk down into a portable “table” as the Mini Pong Jr.
The Atari Mini Pong Jr looks kind of like a large tablet or a Nintendo Switch, measuring 30 cm (11.8 in) long with a 7.9-in LCD screen. There’s a knob at each end, which players twist to move their on-screen paddle and bounce the digital ball back to their opponent. That opponent, by the way, can either be another human player or the machine itself with 10 difficulty levels. The device can be powered either by a USB cable and adapter, or with three rechargeable lithium batteries to make it more portable.
It’s an interesting device, although honestly we have to wonder how long the novelty will last for a machine dedicated purely to Pong. Still, there might be some diehard Pongheads who would love to find one of these in their stocking this Christmas.
Instead, it looks more like one branch of many in Atari’s attempts to claw its way back into the video game scene it arguably invented. It has a bizarre new gaming console in the works – the Atari VCS – and has also recently lent its 80s-chic brand to smartwatches, connected home devices and even a hotel chain.
The Atari Mini Pong Jr will be available to buy online in time for the 2020 holidays, although the company hasn’t yet specified the exact date or how much it’ll cost.
Atari bounces back with portable mini Pong table [New Atlas]