Graphics
160×102
- Colors on screen
- 16
- Palette
- 4,096 colors
- Screen
- 3.5″ Backlit color LCD
Below: Spectrum 15 colors · Above: Atari 7800 25 colors
Atari Lynx
Also known as Lynx · Handy (Epyx development name) · Lynx II (1991 model)
- Atari Corporation
- Handheld
- Fourth generation
76 Atari Lynx games, all playable free in your browser.
The Atari Lynx is a handheld game console developed at Epyx, where it was known as the Handy, and released by Atari Corporation in North America in September 1989, followed by Europe and Japan in 1990. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal display.
- First released · North America
- 1989
- Units sold
- 2M
- CPU
- 8-bit
- Games in the library · all playable
- 76
TIMELINE
1989–1995
- NANorth America
- EUEurope
- JPJapan
- ENDDiscontinued
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1989 | 5 |
| 1990 | 7 |
| 1991 | 15 |
| 1992 | 17 |
| 1993 | 8 |
| 1994 | 2 |
| 1997 | 2 |
| 1999 | 1 |
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Processor
4MHz
- CPU
- VLSI VL65NC02 (in the Mikey chip)
- Core
- MOS Technology 6502 (65C02)
- Word size
- 8-bit
- Suzy — 16-bit graphics (blitter) and maths engine · 16 MHz
- Mikey — custom chip with CPU, sound engine, LCD DMA driver, timers and UART · 16 MHz
Up to 4 MHz (3.6 MHz average); the Mikey chip itself runs at 16 MHz
Memory
64KB
- Main RAM
- 64 KB
- Boot / cartridge-loading ROM
- 512 bytes
Sound
4channels
- Chip
- Mikey sound engine
4 channels, each with an 8-bit DAC, switchable to LFSR-based PSG sound; stereo headphone output on later Lynx II units
Sales
2million
- Scope
- Total
- Best-selling game
- RoadBlasters
Below: WonderSwan 1.1 million · Above: Amstrad CPC 3 million
Media
Cartridge
- Cartridge
- up to 1 MB
Launch price
$179.99
- North America
- $179.99
Power
6h
- Batteries
- 6 × AA
- Battery life
- about 6 hours
THE STORY
About the Lynx
Two custom chips drive the system: Mikey, which contains an 8-bit 65C02-based processor, a four-channel sound engine and the LCD driver, and Suzy, a 16-bit graphics and maths engine with hardware sprite scaling and distortion. The backlit 3.5-inch screen shows 160 × 102 pixels with 16 colors per scan line from a 4,096-color palette, and up to eight units can be linked with ComLynx cables.
A smaller model with better battery life, the Lynx II, arrived in July 1991. Atari published 71 games for the system before support was formally discontinued in 1995, and lifetime sales are put at about two million units. In 2008 Atari received a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award for pioneering handheld games with the Lynx.
- First handheld game console with a color LCD.
- Hardware support for sprite zooming and distortion through the Suzy chip.
- Up to eight players can be linked with ComLynx cables.
- The screen orientation can be flipped for left-handed play.
- Designed by former Amiga engineers RJ Mical and Dave Needle at Epyx.
THE LIBRARY
76 Lynx games on Back2OldGames
76
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1989–1999
<p class="lib-span">28 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
36 games with a known number of players.
Regions
THE GAMES
The Lynx library
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Lynx ARCHIVETITLE · CREATOR · PUBLISHER
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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