I saw AtGames’ Intellivision Flashback and Colecovision Flashback systems in a Toys R Us the other day, and I’ve got to say, we’re in trouble. These things look really cool. I mean, they look like a perfect nostalgia trip. Not to mention, the fact that they’re in stores now, ready for the holiday season, makes them ideal impulse buy items.

ARTICLE SOURCE: Technology Tell

In short, we’re doomed.

Part of the problem is, the AtGames systems have a history of working. I bought one of their Atari Flashback consoles at a garage sale a few years ago, and it worked great. I ended up getting the Genesis Classic Game Console, complete with cartridge slot for playing original Genesis games, as a gift two Christmases ago, and it was a delight for the money. The memory of previous throwbacks from the company only serve to make the Intellivision Flashback and Colecovision Flashback more attractive.

But, it isn’t just about having the 60 built-in games with each system. With these two systems, it’s about the controllers. The original Intellivision and Colecovision had rather unique input methods. Each game would come with overlays that would be put over the controllers, so you would know what to press to play each game by applying overlays. These two Flashback systems are the first ones with replicas of not only the original controllers, but the overlays as well. That’s huge.

Plus, there’s the price. Both the Intellivision Flashback and Colecovision Flashback are selling for$39.99 each at Toys R Us. Those prices are much better than Amazon, which has them set at about $60 each at the moment. The AtGames systems always go on sale during Black Friday too, so that price could drop even lower in November.

Yup, we don’t stand a chance. I’m guessing a lot of people who grew up with these consoles, like me, are going to cave in later this year.