I totally get why the youths of today might understand why the Atari 400 Mini rocks, but I think it’s our job to show them why. I’m not saying you have to cause World War 3 this Thanksgiving by yanking the HDMI cable out of the living room PS5 and interrupting a Fortnite session. But, you could pick this tiny microcomputer homage up and sneak it on screen using a Black Friday deal.
Okay, here’s the plan – first, swing by Amazon and pick up an Atari 400 Mini for $99.99. Then all you have to do is patiently wait for Thanksgiving to educate the younglings on one of the best retro consoles they’ve probably never heard of. If they outright refuse to learn about our lord and savior Miner 2049er or try any of the other classic capers pre-installed on the tiny system, you’ll at least have saved $20 on an early Christmas gift for yourself. Win-win!
I know that this isn’t a ridiculously deep Black Friday gaming deal, but it is one I think a lot of retro fans will vibe with. Not only does it mark the first time that the Atari 400 Mini has dropped under $100, but the plug-and-play console has only dropped a handful of times since release. The timing is also pretty great too, as I’m sure some of you have old-school players in your life who’ll need something under the tree from yours truly.
Should you buy the Atari 400 Mini?
As a retro purist, this is a hard thing to admit, but the Atari 400 Mini has replaced my original microcomputer. Don’t get me wrong, I still love to get systems like the Atari 600XL out from time to time and thumb through my collection of physical carts. However, this tiny homage to a slightly more niche era of gaming provides a wonderfully convenient, yet authentic feeling way to quickly dive into old favorites and run my own digital backups.
I’ll get one of the Atari 400 Mini’s downsides out the way first – it only runs digital copies of games via emulation. That’s not exactly a huge con considering this is a tiny replica of the real thing and not a recreation like the Atari 2600+, and it goes beyond other plug-and-play systems by allowing you to run ROMs using a USB stick. Not that you might have to do that, as with 25 releases built-in, you’ll have plenty to play before getting to your own library.
This isn’t Retro Games Ltd’s first rodeo when it comes to retro consoles, having previously released other systems like the A600 mini and C64 mini. Yet, it feels like the company has gone above and beyond this time in terms of physical detailing, with everything from the faux membrane keyboard and beige plastic perfectly mimicking the original. It also comes with a USB version of Atari’s classic joystick, just in case you really want to confuse anyone who’s only ever used a Dualsense.
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Of course, unlike your old ’80s system, the Atari 400 mini can hook up to a modern gaming TV or monitor using the power of HDMI. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy crystal clear 720p visuals rather than trying to find a way to hook up old cords to your 21st century screen. Yes, I know there’s a charm to using an old CRT with these consoles, but my nieces are more likely to have a shot of Centipede if I put it on the thing they watch Bluey on.
Jokes about making the young players in your life play 8-bit oddities aside, the Atari 400 Mini makes for a fantastic collectable for your shelf and a way to explore a wide collection of microcomputer and 5200 console classics. Plus, the OG system is pretty price, so this is the next best thing to owning the real McCoy.
Looking for more discounts? Swing by Black Friday PS5 deals and our live coverage of Nintendo Switch deals for more savings. Alternatively, take a peek at Black Friday gaming TV deals for a living room revamp.