A brand new Atari 2600 console is coming out… and this time, it’s yellow!
The Atari 2600 was my very first home console. When my friends were playing on Megadrives and PCs, we were slightly less well-off, and that meant I was a couple of generations behind (let’s not think too hard about the gaming obsession I clearly developed after this). Still, I loved my Atari, and there’s a reason that classic games like Space Invaders, Centipede and Asteroids remain ‘classic’. They’re just great games. Perhaps the most iconic title, though, from the Atari 2600 era is Pac-Man and as the 35-year anniversary celebrations are rolling out, Atari and Bandai Namco have seen the opportunity to commemorate the event with a brand new Atari 2600 console. This rendition, named the Atari 2600+ PAC-MAN Edition, takes the original, wooden-build of the first Atari 2600, and replaces it with bright yellow, Pac-Man-coloured plastics, while adding in the console’s first wireless joystick, also crafted in eye-melting yellow as well.
This is a fully-functional Atari 2600, so you can play any original cartridge. In the pack you’re getting the Pac-Man Double Feature cartridge, a dual-game cartridge that includes Pac-Man 7800, a brand-new, arcade-style version of the classic, along with PAC-MAN 2600, the very first home console release of the game. I imagine that means the + in the 2600+ name means that there’s slightly more power on tap here than the original hardware, though probably not much more than is totally necessary. There is a non-yellow version already available, and the key improvement is that the 2600+ is capable of running Atari 7800 cartridges. While the older version is cheaper – currently £64.95 – and truer to the original build, it doesn’t include the new wireless joystick.
There’s going to be a full range of wireless joysticks, with five in total, complementing the colours of Pac-Man’s ghostly adversaries, and they’ll cost £29.99 each. I assume that there’s going to be wider functionality for them, perhaps via Bluetooth or a wireless dongle, but there are few extra details on these right now.
Speaking about the release, Plaion Replai’s Commercial Director, Ben Jones, said, “The Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition is more than just a console – it’s a tribute to the moment home gaming truly began. By reimagining the iconic hardware in Pac-Man’s unmistakable style, we’re celebrating the legacy of two cultural giants who helped define a generation of play. We’re proud to bring this collaboration to life for collectors, fans, and a whole new wave of retro gaming enthusiasts.”
The Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition and Pac-Man CX40+ Wireless Joysticks will be available for pre-order from Wednesday 23rd July at Amazon and on Atari.com, priced at £129.99 and £29.99 respectively. The release date for the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition and Pac-Man CX40+ Wireless Joysticks will be 31st October 2025. There will also be a separate release of the PAC-MAN Double Feature cartridge later in 2025.
