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Atari Paddles Project

The Problem

In 2026, there is no obvious good way to play the Atari 2600 games that require the paddle controllers.

This is crummy, because the Atari paddle games are good, and modern input devices such as XBox-style controllers can't give you the experience of playing them. It feels like things have reverted. Atari 2600 games that require paddles are in danger of becoming lost to history. The easily set up emulation machine of 2026 can't provide an experience similar to the one that that was available forty years ago.

I will try to solve this problem in 2026, and I will make use of this page to record my attempt.

The First Attempt at a Solution

I will order CX30+ paddles, which have become available on the market. They look like the 1977 Atari paddles, and they have the DE9 female serial connectors. I can't connect a DE9 female serial connector to my emulation machine, so I will have to buy a DE9-to-USB conversion cable as well. I hope that this conversion cable does not introduce too much lag.

Table of Costs

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