By Oddball gaming portables appear all the time, yet Atari’s freshly-unveiled throwback slab is downright bonkers. In short, the unit ships with an integrated paddle, numeric keypad and trackball, so it’s clearly aiming to swap out a good chunk of your vintage hardware in one swoop.
Christened the Gamestation Go, this surprise gaming handheld hopeful is the joint effort of Atari and classic console specialist My Arcade. While devices such as the Pocket Station simply carry a licence, this gadget borrows modern ergonomics from machines like the Steam Deck and slaps on long-lost input methods.
Sure, we’re already drowning in ways to revisit Atari’s archives, and most collectors would still reach for an Atari 2600+ to spin real cartridges. Add in the $180 pre-order price tag and the ask feels steep. That said, the unit hides a handful of party pieces that could reel in a very particular audience—especially parents who want to school newbies in the ’80s style.
The Go’s smorgasbord of antique inputs steals the show. Frankly, those oddities are the biggest selling point; clone consoles keep shrinking in appeal (hello, DS-flavoured MagicX Zero 40), yet nothing else packs a keypad and Pong-ready spin dial out of the box.
It would be novelty fluff if the unit only packed the usual suspects, but the Go arrives with a frankly silly 200 titles on board. That tally spans pretty much every Atari epoch and even folds in Piko Interactive properties plus “Recharged” remasters, so the collection is ludicrously complete. Translation: expect sessions ranging from Pac-Man to Sega Genesis fare such as Brave Battle Saga.
Jumping into these relics with period-correct controllers is harder than it sounds, yet the handheld promises to tutor you. A so-called SmartGlow system lights up only the inputs each title needs, stopping the inevitable button hunt. Will that keep me from mashing the D-pad like a clueless tourist? Doubtful.
Naturally you’ll tackle sessions in handheld mode, yet HDMI-out is present. I’ve pinged My Arcade to confirm whether outside pads are supported—using the onboard paddles seems mandatory, but I’ll update once I get word.
I’m still wrestling with the $180 sticker; that places the device among the priciest Atari solutions available. Still, the figure isn’t far off the upcoming 2600+ Pac-Man Edition or a full-fat 7800+, and here you obtain the entire catalogue plus purpose-built controls.
According to My Arcade, the Go “fuses nostalgia with ingenuity,” and the pitch genuinely targets Atari die-hards. Whether it can cement itself as the definitive ’80s time machine remains to be seen—expect a detailed review soon.
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