Lego Atari 2600 Is Here, And It's A Retro Delight

The Lego Atari 2600 launched today, August 1, exclusively at the Lego Store for $240. If you enjoyed building the Lego NES, you're going to have a great time with the Atari 2600. This mammoth set faithfully recreates the most iconic design of the 2600, making it a stellar display piece for retro gamers and those who are nostalgic for their childhood favorite. The price is a bit steep at $240--though it's actually less expensive than the newly re-priced Lego NES--but the build has a tremendous design and includes some neat flourishes. And if you show it to family and friends, they might even mistake it for the real thing.

Lego Atari 2600

$192 (was $240)

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Though Atari is technically still operating today (in name only, really), it has been out of the console business for many years. Younger Lego enthusiasts and gamers may not know much about the Atari 2600, but it's a really important piece of video game history. Predating Nintendo and Sega's home consoles, the 2600 is really the first console that found its way into homes in a big way. Without the Atari 2600, gaming would undoubtedly look different today. And the Lego Atari 2600 shows the console the reverence it deserves.

Coming in at 2,532 pieces, the Lego Atari 2600 has about 100 less pieces overall, but it has more pieces dedicated to the console itself. The TV took up about half of the NES build, while the Atari has a series of smaller supplementary builds. Though the Lego NES was clearly smaller than the actual console, the Lego Atari (4 x 13 x 9 inches) is almost the same size as its inspiration (3.5 x 13.6 x 9.1 inches). That's partially why it could dupe people into thinking it's the real thing. The other reason is that everything from the grates to the signature wood panel front looks so close to the actual console. The only easily identifiable sign that this is a Lego set is a set of four studs sticking out of the front "wood" panel.

This set is incredibly well-designed and contains a huge variety of pieces that made it a pure joy to build, even though it took me roughly seven hours. At a glance, the console itself doesn't look like a super exciting build. After all, just like the NES, it's essentially just a box. But Lego once again made the process of building the box an in-depth event that excels by avoiding repetition. Each of the more than 15 bags of pieces represents a new aspect of the build with its own unique quirks.

While Lego recommends this set for builders 18 and over, the weighty instruction booklet is predictably superb. It shouldn't be a kid's first Lego set, but if they have experience with decent-sized builds (even some of the Lego Mario sets), it shouldn't present very many issues.

The console itself takes the brunt of the build time, but the set is packed with smaller-scale kits that give it some added charm, authenticity, and variety. You build a joystick that attaches to the back of the console, three cartridges, three small models representing each of the three games (Asteroids, Adventure, and Centipede), and a cartridge holder.

Lego made a great decision spacing out the accompanying kits throughout the build process. You start off by putting together the Adventure cart and castle model, then the cartridge holder, and then the foundation of the console itself. The rest of the carts, models, and joystick pop up throughout the rest of the build. It would've been slightly boring putting together three cartridges in a row or even three little models in a row. So as long as you follow the instructions in order, you will have a dynamic experience that jumps around to further avoid repetition.

Given that the Super Mario NES cart was easily the most lackluster aspect in the Lego NES build, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Atari carts had more nuance. Meanwhile, the accompanying models delightfully touch on the games. My favorite is the Centipede, which uses some cool little pieces to make it look appropriately menacing. The cartridge holder is another nice touch for display purposes. Granted, you do lose the box art by displaying them in this way so some builders may want to purchase individual cartridge stands separately. You can also slot the cartridges into the console in the same fashion as actual carts.

Just like the console itself is based off of the refreshed Atari 2600 design with four switches, the joystick nods to the CX40 controller, which was actually the second controller packaged with the Atari 2600. The Atari controller is size-accurate and the joystick actually has 360-degree rotation. The lone button is the same style as the NES Lego controller in that it is a solid, immovable piece. As mentioned, the controller plugs into a port on the back of the console, but it falls out with little movement, which is the same issue the Lego NES controller had. Regardless, the controller rounds out the set and gives the kit more interactivity.

The Lego NES included a recreation of Super Mario Bros. World 1-1, which was a very neat addition. The Lego Atari also has its own awesome flourish that will likely be the first thing you show your family and friends when they look at the build. Since the Atari 2600 was partially hollow, Lego had room to make that portion of the build really stand out--and it doesn't disappoint.

During the build, you create a game room ripped straight out of the late '70s and early '80s. The panel directly below the dials and cartridge slot slides out and the room pops up. It's pretty meta, as the included Lego mini-figure (dressed in an Atari shirt) is playing the Atari 2600 while living in a secret room built inside of a much larger (to him) Atari 2600. There's a CRT TV, jukebox, a trio of posters, and more. One of the posters quite obviously nods to Indiana Jones (the first movie released in 1981). There's even a white cat hanging out by itself--probably thinking about ripping the controller out of the Atari to force you to pay attention to it.

If you don't possess a lot of nostalgia for the Atari days, the Atari 2600 set is probably a bit too expensive to just build because it looks cool. That said, if you are a gamer who grew up playing the Atari, this build is a can't-miss triumph.

The Lego Atari 2600 got us thinking about more console builds we'd like to see from Lego, so make sure to check out our Lego wishlist.