Atari is considering a modern Lynx reproduction, but the cost isn’t there yet

I recently had a conversation with Atari’s Director of Sales and Marketing, David Lowey. Before long, we got into the subject of Atari’s re-entry into hardware and cartridge production. As the Atari Lynx is something that I have a soft spot for, I had to ask if there were any plans for it. According to him, Atari is very interested, but they’re still looking for a viable approach.

“The Lynx is one of the Holy Grails around here,” he told me. “I have a feeling that once we can get the manufacturing costs and the quality level at the right balance where we can bring it back at a cost people can afford, we will totally do it. But every time we’ve looked at it so far, the economics weren’t there.”

With the 2600+, 7800+, 400 Mini, and Intellivision Sprint, the company has been pretty gung-ho about getting its old consoles back on the market. Alongside them, they’ve published new Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridges featuring classic games, as well as brand-new homebrew titles. But the Atari 2600, at least, is a pretty well-known and common console that has been physically rehashed many times. For real freaks like me, we want Atari’s obscurities and failures.

However, we’re an extremely niche market. Ideally, Atari would want to also bring in curious newcomers to create a new base that they can sell reproductions of official and, perhaps more importantly, homebrew games to. If the price tag is too high, it will throw up a barrier and override curiosity. As Lowey said, there’s a balance that they need to find.

BATTERY VAMPIRES

The Atari Lynx released in 1989, just a few months apart from Nintendo’s Game Boy. It featured hardware that was miles ahead of Nintendo’s handheld, but that came at a price. Most notably, it was almost double the price and required six AA batteries that it drained in 4-5 hours. Atari also didn’t have a Mario or Tetris to pull people in. Worse, in 1991, Sega launched the Game Gear which similarly featured a colour screen and short battery life, but also could play a facsimile of Sonic the Hedgehog. Even with that, the Game Gear didn’t do all that hot, either.

Still, it’s a neat piece of kit and has a homebrew community around it. Marketed right, like something in the same ballpark as the PlayDate, a new Lynx could tap into its retro catalogue and the modern indie scene. A girl can dream.

“It’s something the hardware team keeps taking a look at,” Lowey said. “I never make any promises on what’s coming next, and there’s nothing imminent, but I know that every once in a while, they take a look at it because it’s such an iconic and interesting piece of hardware.”

“It was cool,” he added. “It’s about the size of a Steam Deck, right?”

SIZE MATTERS

As far as other reproductions go, Atari is looking at their options. I asked about the doomed 1993 console, the Atari Jaguar.

“Jaguar would be interesting. You know, every time the Jaguar comes up, what people say is that it has such a small library of games, it makes much more sense to just port them,” Lowey told me.

The Jag had around 63 games in total, with 50 on cartridge and 13 on CD-ROM. It’s worth noting (and neither of us could recall the exact amount during the conversation) that the Lynx only had 73 releases, so it’s the same ballpark. Like the Lynx, the Jaguar still has a homebrew scene around it that could be tapped into.

“I never say never,” he said. “I think the fans would love it.”

I brought up my Atari XEGS, a console-ized Atari 8-Bit computer, and how I can’t find cartridges for it since a lot of home PC games at the time came on floppy or cassette. He said that not much has been done on the Atari 8-Bit side of things, aside from The400 Mini, which was a mini console with built-in games. But as for a version with a capacity for physical media, they are, at least, thinking about it.

“Whenever we can, we like a cartridge slot, so that will be interesting to see what happens next there,” Lowey told me. “There’s so much enthusiasm around that. So many people grew up with it. It’s big in Europe. It will be interesting to see what the market is like for a cartridge-based ST-style system.”

Speaking of the XEGS, after I mentioned it to him, Lowey showed me a series of T-shirts based on Atari’s “deep cuts” that are available for sale starting today. Among them is one for the Atari XE Game System. What a fun coincidence. I’d rep that weird little console.

NO PROMISES

It’s been interesting to see a resurgence in retro hardware. I was a big supporter in the early days of retro publishers like Super Fighter Team and RetroUSB, and I had certainly hoped that we’d see a day when Sega Genesis and SNES games were back on shelves. And while they’re certainly not back in a big way, there’s certainly enough to satisfy the niche, so I’m always interested to see what comes next.

And, truly, I’d buy a new Lynx. My biggest issue with the one I own is the screen, which, like the Game Gear, is pretty blurry. One with rechargeable batteries, a better screen, perhaps a small form factor, and – since I’m making my wishlist – a video-out connection would be something I’d open my purse for.

It sounds like it could happen, but for now, there’s nothing to announce. I’ll just keep hoping.