We recently had a chance to chat with Atari Classics Evolved producer Matt Rush. Atari is bringing yet another compilation of retro games to the handheld, but this time there's a twist. The games are getting a graphical overhaul. But what else is featured in Atari's upcoming retro revival? Read on to find out more.

Atari is well-known for reviving its classic arcade games. Do you think that these icons are still relevant to today's gamers?
Oh absolutely, without a doubt. The games featured in Atari Classics are not just classics, but forerunners to some of the biggest games throughout history. I think that although these games may look simplistic on the surface to some of today's gamers, the core elements found in all of these games will seem instantly familiar because they've had so much influence on the games that followed them, even until now.

Why remake it for the PSP? How has the team taken advantage of what PSP has to offer?
The games featured in Atari Classics were originally designed with limited hardware capabilities way back when, so remaking them for the PSP provides more than enough resources to deliver an entirely new experience. For us, the PSP was the perfect platform for this title because it represents the best of both worlds in terms of what we were trying to do with this game. It has than enough power to provide the enhanced versions of these games with amazing graphics, rich sound and features like peer-to-peer multiplayer. It also provides players the portability to take these games with them wherever they go and play them whenever they want.


Are there improvements beyond graphics? Has the gameplay been updated to feel more modern? What changes have been implemented?
Absolutely! These evolved versions are complete evolutions of the classic titles. You'll see not only totally upgraded graphics but new music and sound effects. Also, as mentioned previously you'll be able to use wireless peer-to-peer to play multiplayer against other players on titles where multiplayer is available.

Are there in-game achievements? How will players feel rewarded for their accomplishments?
There are in-game Awards for the 11 main titles which in turn will unlock the 50 plus Atari 2600 games that take on a whole new beauty on the PSP!

Is Game Sharing (the ability to send game data from one PSP to another) something you're considering?
That's definitely something we are considering for the future. Our priority was to offer something that had never been done before, like AdHoc multiplayer for Battlezone and Warlords.

Sony has been talking a lot about the PSP Store, where you can download games directly to your PSP. Will Atari look at using this distribution model in the future?
The PSP Store is something that Atari is excited about supporting and as development continues on other projects ways for utilizing the service are being explored.