atarilynx
Latest
The Atari Lynx’s 30th birthday gift is a bunch of new games
1989 was a year of revolutions. The Berlin wall fell, protesters rallied in Tiananmen Square and Neneh Cherry was taking a Buffalo Stance. This was also the year that portable gaming had its own revolution. The Game Boy launched in the spring, and, 30 years ago this weekend, we were introduced to the world's first true color hand-held console -- the Atari Lynx.
James Trew08.30.2019
What we're buying: RetroStone's smart take on retro handheld gaming
The recent spate of retro "classic" consoles might be switching a new audience on to vintage games, but some of us never left them. For most, a $60 - $100 machine with a few flagship titles on it is probably enough to scratch the itch, but Managing Editor James Trew has a much deeper itch: to play retro games on the go without someone choosing the library for him.
Engadget11.19.2018
What we're playing: A new Atari Lynx game in 2018
This week on IRL, we're taking a break from the norm. It's a poorly kept secret that our managing editor, James Trew, has an Atari Lynx fetish. At last count, he owned seven of the things, not to mention every game ever made for them. But while Atari officially abandoned the Lynx way back in the '90s, that hasn't stopped creative types from producing new games for the system. Wyvern Tales is one such game, a labor of love by a solo developer that took eight years to build from scratch. It's the Lynx's first JRPG, and according to James, it's pretty impressive. Let's get weird.
Engadget05.21.2018
Atari Lynx: A romance of high scores and low batteries
Like most tween crushes, the attraction was instant and overwhelming. I remember the first time I set eyes on the Atari Lynx as if it were yesterday. It was perched on a shelf, center stage, behind a huge pane of glass -- a window display in a branch of Dixons on Park Street, Bristol. There it sat, so near, yet (at about about £85, or $100) so financially far. The Lynx didn't know I existed, even though I was just a few feet away. In my preteen mind it felt unfair. My situation felt hopeless, which of course only fanned the flames of my forbidden desire.
James Trew02.09.2016
Shocker! Google's Android logo boosted from Atari Lynx title 'Gauntlet: The Third Encounter'
Back in the early 90's whilst playing our Atari Lynx -- friendless and alone, of course -- we couldn't have imagined that a second-rate spinoff of the popular Gauntlet franchise would unlock the secrets behind the birth of Google's Android OS. But, lo and behold, what has one of our faithful tipsters found down here, amongst the ruins of Gauntlet: The Third Encounter? That's right, nearly irrefutable proof that the Android team (or at least its graphic designers) have plumbed the depths of Epyx's not-quite-masterpiece for the iconic droid logo we've come to know and love. Sure, the top-down scroller provided all kinds of new character classes like the "Nerd," "Punkrocker," and "Pirate," but only one of these fresh faces would provide the blueprint for Android's public face. It's hard to argue that there isn't some level of appropriation here, given the multiple similarities between the two pieces of art, right down to the antennae, dotted eyes, general size and shape, and even the strip which cuts across the midsection of the bot. Oh yeah, and the character is named Android. We personally would like to hear what Google has to say for themselves in regards to this blatant theft of intellectual property, and as for the Epyx artists who slaved over a hot Amiga to bring this image to life -- the taste of sweet justice is yours. %Gallery-101193% [Thanks, Davey]
Joshua Topolsky09.02.2010
Doing the math on DS lite
The dimensions of the full-sized Nintendo DS are: 5.85x3.33x1.13 inches, giving us a volume of 22.01 cubic inches.The dimensions of the diminutive Nintendo DS lite are: 5.24x2.91x0.85 inches, giving us a volume of 12.96 cubic inches. While it might not look much smaller than the full-sized DS, the DS lite is in fact over 40% smaller by volume. To give you some context, we'll list the volume of some other devices you might be familiar with: Game Boy micro: 5.6 cubic inches Game Boy Advance: 17.64 cubic inches Game Boy Advance SP: 9.81 cubic inches Sony PSP: 17.52 cubic inches Atari Lynx: 68.53 cubic inches Xbox 360 power supply: 51.96 cubic feet inches Despite the size reduction, it's still 80% of the weight of the full-sized DS, so it'll be one dense little unit.(Update: To sate curiosity, the above dimension for the Atari Lynx comes from the original design. More interesting is that the redesigned Lynx II is actually larger by volume. Original Lynx dimensions: 10.75x4.25x1.5 inches, versus the redesigned Lynx II: 9.25x4.25x2 inches. The volumes of the two units are 68.53 cubic inches and 78.62 cubic inches, respectively. Who'da thunk?)[Image borrowed from 4cr]
Christopher Grant01.27.2006