PicoNtrol Brings Modern Controllers to Atari 2600

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While there’s an argument to be made that retro games should be experienced with whatever input device they were designed around, there’s no debating that modern game controllers are a lot more ergonomic and enjoyable to use than some of those early 8-bit entries.

Now, thanks to the PicoNtrol project from [Reogen], you can use the latest Xbox and PlayStation controllers with the Atari 2600 via Bluetooth. Looking a bit farther down the road the project is aiming to support the Nintendo Entertainment System, and there’s work being done to bring the Switch Pro Controller into the fold as well.

Building your own version is about as easy as it gets. You need to get your hands on the appropriate 9-pin connector, which can be bought new or salvaged from an old controller, and solder it up to a Raspberry Pi Pico W.

These old-school digital controllers were extremely simplistic, with each pin in the connector corresponding to either a joystick direction or a button press. From the Pico side, that means virtually pressing a button on the controller is as simple as bringing the corresponding pin high. To complete the project, [Paul Taylor] designed a 3D printable enclosure that hides away the Pi Pico and all those solder joints.

Simple and effective. While we do enjoy diving into the big and complex builds, the easy route certainly has its appeal. We’ve seen NES controllers grafted to the 2600 before, but you could argue that’s not really an improvement.

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