‘Mr. Run and Jump’ will be the first official cartridge for the Atari 2600 since 1990

The Atari 2600, a console that dominated the late 1970s and early 1980s gaming world with legendary titles like Pitfall and Pac-Man, is about to witness an unexpected revival. Atari has recently unveiled the latest addition to its physical cartridge collection, Mr. Run and Jump, marking this as the first official cartridge for the console since 1990.

Drawing significant influence from modern indie games such as Celeste, Mr. Run and Jump is a 2D platformer ready to make a grand entrance into the retro gaming scene. This marks a notable occasion as it is the first new cartridge for the 2600/VCS platform in over three decades, in spite of the active DIY homebrew community producing a variety of their own retro games.

The brand-new cartridge for Mr. Run and Jump, enclosed in a sealed box, includes an instruction manual, a feature that has become increasingly rare over the years. The cartridge design is modern, complete with beveled edges to avert pin damage and gold-plated connectors. The cartridges are built with entirely new parts and materials. The pre-orders for this physical release are set to begin on July 31st, at a cost of $60.

The game was intentionally designed for the vintage platform, aiming to highlight the lasting capabilities of the 2600 hardware, even 40 years after its initial debut. However, for gamers more accustomed to contemporary consoles, a more embellished version of the game is under development for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic. The modern iteration boasts over 30 hours of gameplay, featuring a time trials option and a vibrant, action-packed display of colors and personality that would be unthinkable on the original 1977 hardware.

Despite not including a download code for the modern version, the Atari 2600 cartridge does offer six unique worlds, 80 stages, five types of enemies, and an original scoring system that deducts points for contact with foes. This is an impressive feat considering the console’s historical mishap of having to dispose of 14 truckloads of unsold cartridges. The cartridge of Mr. Run and Jump is compatible with both vintage 2600 consoles and the more recent VCS remakes.

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More about Atari 2600

• Atari 2600
• The History of Atari
• Celeste, an Indie Game Inspiration
• Homebrew Gaming
• Nintendo Switch
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox Series X|S
• Steam
• Epic Games Store