Something to look forward to: Atari wants to ensure gamers have at least a few viable reasons to purchase its modern remake of the 2600, so it’s releasing “new” games in cartridge format for the platform. The first – Mr. Run and Jump – was announced earlier this year as the first official Atari cart since 1990 and now we’ve got a second to look forward to.
Save Mary was developed during Atari’s heyday but never actually got a physical release due to the video game crash of 1983. In Save Mary, gamers are tasked with using a crane to build a platform that Mary can use to escape a flooding canyon. You’ll need finesse at the controls, however, as an aggressive swing or a careless block drop could send Mary to an early grave.
Save Mary is currently in pre-production but that isn’t stopping Atari from accepting pre-orders. Interested parties can reserve a copy of the game for $59.99 over on Atari’s website. As a limited edition release, your purchase will include “premium packaging and extras that are sure to delight collectors and fans.”
Some are no doubt going to balk at Atari’s decision to charge $60 for a 2600 game, but not everyone. As of writing, the game is listed as sold out.
Interested in retro gaming but don’t have an original 2600? Fret not, as the legacy gaming company recently announced a remake of its 2600 console. The new 2600+ is powered by a Rockchip 3128 SoC with 256 MB of DDR3 RAM and 256 MB of eMMC fixed internal storage. Atari also added an HDMI output for modern televisions. Best yet, the console can play both Atari 2600 and 7800 game cartridges, and Atari even enlarged the cartridge socket to reduce sticking.
The Atari 2600+ is available to pre-order now for $129.99 and is scheduled to ship in December, barring any further delays (it was supposed to arrive on November 17 but the pre-order page now shows a December 2023 launch window). Save Mary has a ship window of 3-4 months from now, we’re told.