7800 GameDrive offers unprecedented compatibility with 2600 and 7800 games

You'd think you wouldn't need cutting edge technology to make an Atari 2600 multicart, given the advanced age of that system. It's downright prehistoric by the standards of modern consoles, and the libraries of both the 2600 and 7800 could fit on a CD-ROM with room to spare. Considering the quantum leaps in consumer technology we've experienced since 1977, a multicart for the Atari 2600 would logically be something you could buy for twenty bucks, or even build yourself.

However, while the base hardware of the Atari 2600 has remained constant over the last forty five years, the games it plays has not. Several homebrew titles for both the Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 contain chips that boost the power of those systems; chips that are often vastly more powerful than the CPUs in those two machines. They're heavy duty components that demand a heavy duty multicart solution, and that comes with a heavy duty price tag.

The 7800 GameDrive costs a staggering one hundred and sixty dollars, but it might justify its cost to the handful of Atari die-hards who aren't satisfied with emulation or plug and play systems. This cartridge plays just about everything, from the ARM-augmented arcade ports by Champ Games to the recent Atari 7800 release Rikki and Vikki (included with the GameDrive as a bonus), which uses a proprietary sound chip. POKEY compatible games like Ballblazer and Commando are no sweat for the GameDrive... it's well equipped for practically any 2600 and 7800 game that currently exists.

YouTube reviewer John Hancock goes into further detail about the GameDrive, and provides examples of games that run perfectly well on the multicart, that may not run so well on anything else.

EDIT: I misspoke about the ARM-powered games; they won't work with the GameDrive. However, it is compatible with many other enhancement chips. Also the GameDrive has a 9-pin AV port that bypasses the RF of the Atari 7800 and provides much better audio and video output through composite, S-video, and component cables.