Tempest, Missile Command, etc.”,”image_url”:”https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Atari-Gamestation-Go-500×500.jpeg”,”listing_image_url”:”https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Atari-Gamestation-Go-768×432.jpeg”}”>
Skip to content
My Arcade’s “GameStation” partnership means authentic portable Tempest, Missile Command, etc.
Finally, the authentic, portable Crystal Castles experience we’ve all been waiting for.
Credit:
My Arcade / Atari
Finally, the authentic, portable Crystal Castles experience we’ve all been waiting for.
Credit:
My Arcade / Atari
In the wake of the successful Nintendo Switch and Valve Steam Deck, we have seen a wave of PC-based, Android-based, and even FPGA-based handheld gaming systems that can sometimes be hard to tell apart. The upcoming Atari GameStation Go sets itself apart with what we’re relatively sure is a first for portable gaming: built-in trackball, spinner, and number pad controls.
Gamers who cut their teeth after 1990 or so might not remember an era when arcade and home console games often relied on controls that went beyond the usual D-pad/joystick and action buttons. But there are plenty of classics from the early days of electronic gaming that just don’t feel right unless you have a trackball (Centipede, Missile Command, Crystal Castles), spinner (Arkanoid, Tempest), or number pad (Star Raiders, Intellivision sports games). Many modern retro re-releases try to re-create these kinds of games with more standardized joystick and button controls, but the results can be limited at best and unplayable at worst.
The Atari GameStation Go, on the other hand, seems to be aiming for maximum retro authenticity by packing a whole host of control options into its $150, 7-inch display portable. While a prototype shell for the GameStation Go was briefly shown at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show a year ago, this year’s CES is the official announcement party for a playable version of the GameStation Go.
Whose arcade?
Despite the Atari branding, the GameStation Go is being manufactured by My Arcade, a company that’s better known for moderately priced miniature arcade curios and single-game retro handheld stocking stuffers. In 2023, though, the company expanded into retro plug-and-play TV consoles with the $100 Atari GameStation Pro, complete with 200 included games and wireless joysticks that could rotate on their axis for a take on paddle games.
My Arcade
The $50 GameStation Gamepad.
My Arcade
My Arcade
The $70 GameStation Arcade Stick.
My Arcade
My Arcade
The $250 GameStation Mega.
My Arcade
The $70 GameStation Arcade Stick.
My Arcade
The $250 GameStation Mega.
My Arcade
This year, My Arcade seems ready to go all in on the Atari GameStation branding. Beyond the GameStation Go, the company announced a $50 wireless GameStation Gamepad, a $70 GameStation Arcade Stick, and a $250 GameStation Mega tabletop arcade cabinet (with a 10.1-inch display). All four GameStation products feature a trackball, spinner, and number pad for maximum control authenticity, as well as helpful accent lighting that highlights which controls are active on a per-game basis—handy for younger gamers who might be overwhelmed by all the different control options.
In a hands-on video from CES, YouTuber GenXGrownUp shows off a preliminary GameStation Go game list, including the usual mix of well over 100 Atari 2600/5200/7800 and classic Atari arcade games you might expect from this kind of retro product (though it’s almost criminal not to see Marble Madness listed among the trackball-supported games). And despite the Atari name, the game selection on hand also includes many licensed NES and Super NES era titles from Jaleco: Bases Loaded, modern retro-styled titles from Piko Interactive, themed virtual pinball tables from Atari’s Balls of Steel line, and even Namco’s Pac-Man (why not?).
Atari’s modernized Centipede Recharged is also included in the game lineup, and GenXGrownUp reports that more Recharged games will be included with downloadable firmware updates after launch (which he says is “more than six months away”). Players will also seemingly be able to update the firmware through an SD card slot atop the GameStation Go, though it’s unclear whether you’ll be able to load your own ROMs in the same way (at least officially).
Despite including a numpad like the Intellivision controller, the GameStation Go doesn’t currently include any games from Atari’s recently purchased Intellivision library. But GenXGrownUp says including those titles—alongside Atari Lynx and Jaguar games—is not “off the table yet” for the final release.
We can only hope that the Gamestation line will show a pent-up demand for these esoteric retro control options, leading to similar modular options for the Nintendo Switch or its coming successor. How about it, Nintendo?
