this post was submitted on 02 May 2025
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I repurposed an old phone into a portable Atari 2600 for my mom (infosec.pub)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by Wolfizen@pawb.social to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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The phone is pretty old, running Android 6. It has 2600.emu on it with the entire catalogue of 2600 games. She remembers playing on her friends' Atari as a kid and some of the games she played so I added those as shortcuts.

I tried several emulation apps: 2600.emu, droid2600, and MAME4Droid. The modern versions of all refused to install. 2600.emu and droid2600 both had an older version that installed. Overall I liked 2600.emu for its better onscreen controls & better paddle control on these specific versions.

It feels nice to repurpose old tech for something "new". It wouldn't be possible without a dedicated community.

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[–] Wolfizen@pawb.social 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Thanks for the suggestion.

How well do you think it will play? Two hands on the controller mean none for the phone. Maybe it would need a phone stand too?

I've had a hard time finding information on controller compatibility. Do you know for certain that 2600.emu will work with the CX40+ Wireless via OTG?

[–] db2@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Nope, I don't know for sure it would work. The VCS ran Linux though which is what android is under the hood so there's a good chance.

It should play well if it works with that app. A phone stand or a case with one would be good.

[–] refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 month ago

The controller is almost certainly an HID compatible controller that will work with any application that supports controllers.

As for a stand, I recommend a pop socket-style thing, as it permenantly attaches to the phone.