Atari 2600+ PAC-MAN Edition – a yellow Atari where the ghosts light up

In 1982, PAC-MAN came home for the first time, on the Atari 2600. It flickered, the ghosts looked like smudges, and it sold millions anyway. People still talk about it. Not always kindly.

The Atari 2600+ PAC-MAN Edition is a modern, HDMI version of that console, painted PAC-MAN yellow, with PAC-MAN and the four ghosts lighting up across the front. It plays original Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridges, and it comes with a cartridge holding both that old 1982 port and a brand-new arcade-style version.

So you get the infamous one and the apology on the same cart. I love that.

What is the Atari 2600+ PAC-MAN Edition?

It’s a special edition of the Atari 2600+, the 80% size remake of the classic 1980 model of the console. Atari made it with PLAION REPLAI and PAC-MAN’s owner Bandai Namco, and it launched worldwide on October 31, 2025.

In the box:

• The yellow 2600+ console with light-up character icons
• One yellow CX-40+ wireless joystick
• The PAC-MAN Double Feature cartridge: PAC-MAN 2600 and PAC-MAN 7800

Damien McFerran at Time Extension found that it looks like the regular 2600+ but uses the revised insides of the newer 7800+. That means it works with more of the old controllers. Atari says it’s compatible with most original accessories and cartridges.

How does it work?

You plug it into your TV with HDMI and push a real cartridge into the slot on top. Old carts from the attic work, and so do the new ones Atari still releases. A switch toggles between a 4:3 picture and a slightly wider one.

The Double Feature cart has DIP switches on the back to pick between the two games. The 7800 version was made by homebrew programmer Bob DeCrescenzo. Time Extension says he studied the arcade code to get it close to the original, and Nintendo World Report found it controls incredibly well.

The good and the not-so-good

What I like:

• It’s a real cartridge console. No downloaded game lists, no menus.
• The new PAC-MAN 7800 is the version you’ll actually play.
• The light-up ghosts. Unnecessary. Perfect.
• Time Extension gave it an 8 out of 10.

What could be better:

• Only one joystick in the box. Two-player games need a second one.
• The joystick is stiff. Several Amazon buyers say it misses turns in the PAC-MAN maze.
• Impulse Gamer notes there’s a USB-C cable but no wall plug.
• If you already own a 7800+, Time Extension says this is mostly a new paint job. It also called that paint job “slightly garish”. I call it a feature.

Who is the Atari 2600+ PAC-MAN Edition for?

People with a box of Atari cartridges and no way to plug the old console into a modern TV. PAC-MAN collectors. And anyone who wants a console that looks like a toy on the TV stand.

Skip it if you want hundreds of built-in games. The Atari Gamestation Go has 200+ on board. And if PAC-MAN in your living room isn’t enough, there’s the Atari Pong coffee table.

Where can I buy the Atari 2600+ PAC-MAN Edition?

It’s on Amazon US for about 170 bucks at the time of writing (October 2026). Atari also sells matching ghost joysticks in red, pink, blue and orange, so the second player can be Blinky.

Waka waka. I’ll be in the maze if anyone needs me.