Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Plays games!

Anything to do with games at all.
User avatar
Earfolds
Member
Joined in 2008
AKA: Evil Ted
Contact:

PostRe: RE: Re: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Earfolds » Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:26 pm

Death's Head wrote:
Evil Ted wrote:I can't dismiss a games machine before I know what games are going to be on it.

I just don't know what this is meant to be yet, I guess. It's named after the old VCS, but the controller and specs suit mid-range PC games.

If it encourages more developers to support Vulkan over DirectX, at least it will be doing good, though.
Have specs been released then? Is the joystick actually coming with it? I wonder if the build is the same as the original (plastic bits rather than micro switches).

What's been revealed is that it's some kind of AMD x86 processor in it, making it a bit like a Steambox or cheap PC. Will be running Linux, so most likely will support Steam games, even if only unofficially.

jawafour
Member
Joined in 2012

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by jawafour » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:01 pm

Eurogamer has held an interesting interview with Michael Arzt of Atari about their new VCS. There's still not a lot of detail about the hardware but it does reveal Atari's considered approach in developing the system.

NickSCFC

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by NickSCFC » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:07 pm

jawafour wrote:Eurogamer has held an interesting interview with Michael Arzt of Atari about their new VCS. There's still not a lot of detail about the hardware but it does reveal Atari's considered approach in developing the system.


Three main takeaways here...

1. They seriously overvalue the "Atari" brand

2. All new TVs are "smart", so people can already have access to Netflix etc

3. People buy consoles because of games, I don't think a major console has ever been unveiled without showing some games to accompany it

User avatar
Peter Crisp
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Peter Crisp » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:25 pm

The Atari brand may have been able to shift units 20 years ago but not now. There's a small following of fans but nowhere near enough to make a profit from a console.

Vermilion wrote:I'd rather live in Luton.
jawafour
Member
Joined in 2012

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by jawafour » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:26 pm

Peter Crisp wrote:The Atari brand may have been able to shift units 20 years ago but not now...

Peter, this could be your chance to leap into next-gen :-).

User avatar
Peter Crisp
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Peter Crisp » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:32 pm

jawafour wrote:
Peter Crisp wrote:The Atari brand may have been able to shift units 20 years ago but not now...

Peter, this could be your chance to leap into next-gen :-).


Woohoo.

Now all I need to do is get about £500m and my dreams for a Spectrum +5 will come true.
My specs are as follows
A cpu
A gpu
A keyboard and I'm making it look like a Amiga 500
Some ram
a sound card
The return of the bit race as this will be 256 bit and that will be the sole focus of the add campaign along with only using 80's music.

In total I'm looking at about 23TF performance and the machine will have the form factor of the Amiga 500 but just a bit taller for ventilation.

Vermilion wrote:I'd rather live in Luton.
jawafour
Member
Joined in 2012

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by jawafour » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:35 pm

Peter Crisp wrote:...I'm making it look like a Amiga 500... along with only using 80's music...

Peter, you are a man of fine taste.

User avatar
Moggy
"Special"
Joined in 2008
AKA: Moggy

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Moggy » Thu Apr 19, 2018 2:59 pm

Peter Crisp wrote:The Atari brand may have been able to shift units 20 years ago but not now.


All it shifts now is t-shirts.

User avatar
Preezy
Skeletor
Joined in 2009
Location: SES Hammer of Vigilance

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Preezy » Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:13 pm

So what is it then?

User avatar
Peter Crisp
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Peter Crisp » Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:17 pm

Preezy wrote:So what is it then?


A white hole.

:shifty:

Vermilion wrote:I'd rather live in Luton.
NickSCFC

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by NickSCFC » Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:22 pm

Preezy wrote:So what is it then?


Image

User avatar
Trelliz
Doctor ♥
Joined in 2008
Contact:

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Trelliz » Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:39 pm

The Atari brand has been bought, rebought and licensed out so many times it may be the world's first homeopathic games company.

jawa2 wrote:Tl;dr Trelliz isn't a miserable git; he's right.
User avatar
Green Gecko
Treasurer
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Green Gecko » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:47 pm

Read this interview. The guy admits that they basically did no market research and that's why they did the Kickstarter. The trouble is that's not indicative at all whether several hundreds of thousands of units are to be sold on shelves or online, with apparently only one 'retro inspired" game. Trying to appeal to both Atari brand recognisers and "hipsters" who want a nice box under their TVs? Seriously?

Hipsters aren't just a catch all demographic for when you don't have one. I think they'll sell 1000 units. There's nothing that makes this box desirable for £200 quid.

They even admitted the hardware is nothing special at all, describing it as "laptop".

"It should be common sense to just accept the message Nintendo are sending out through their actions."
_________________________________________

❤ btw GRcade costs money and depends on donations - please support one of the UK's oldest video gaming forums → HOW TO DONATE
User avatar
Peter Crisp
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Peter Crisp » Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:11 am

The only way a new entrant is going to be taken seriously is if they have a whole heap more cash than these people can ever hope to have.
Steam have way more cash and they crashed and burned because it was a halfhearted effort with little to recommend it and I can't see this being even that successful.

I'd argue the minimum cash needed to have a hope in hell is $1Billion for the hardware design/manufacture and most likely the same again for a marketing campaign and these guys clearly don't have that kind of cash.

Vermilion wrote:I'd rather live in Luton.
jawafour
Member
Joined in 2012

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by jawafour » Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:49 am

Green Gecko wrote:...with apparently only one 'retro inspired" game...

Well, that game could be...

Green Gecko wrote:...There's nothing that makes this box desirable for £200 quid...

...Tempest 4000. Totes worth it :datass: .

Oddly, the game was released on PS4 via the PS Store a couple of weeks back but Atari withdrew it after just a few moments for reasons unknown. Putting two and two together and getting 2600, I wonder if Atari decided to keep the game as an exclusive for the new VCS?

I love the idea of a new Atari console and I hope it does well, but I am unlikely to jump aboard anytime near launch. It's hard to see it surviving with the competition from more wealthy competitors in the market.

User avatar
Preezy
Skeletor
Joined in 2009
Location: SES Hammer of Vigilance

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Preezy » Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:26 am

It will be dead on arrival.

User avatar
Lex-Man
Member
Joined in 2008
Contact:

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Lex-Man » Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:04 am

Preezy wrote:It will be dead on arrival.


If it actually arrives.

EDIT: I'm actually slightly curious about this things. I would be tempted to buy one.

Amusement under late capitalism is the prolongation of work.
User avatar
Lex-Man
Member
Joined in 2008
Contact:

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Lex-Man » Fri Apr 20, 2018 12:39 pm

Just read through the article it seems like they are trying to hit two markets with this. They want the Apple TV market but this product is more expensive than the Apple TV let alone the myriad of other devices that do the same thing from Amazon, Google, etc. Also they don't have a TV remote controller to add in to the box and are expecting the users to plug a keyboard and mouse into the machine.

They seem to be also going after the retro gamer scene, but with a machine more expensive than the mini Snes it's also more than I paid for a PS4 on Amazon. But do retro gamers really want the chance to buy new games for the system?

You could say that they are going for Raspberry Pi/ Open Source crowd with a Linux box that you can program on. Although again more expensive that the other options.

The cross section of these groups is pretty small and it's going to make the marketing pretty messy. They should really think about who they want to market to and focus on that.

Amusement under late capitalism is the prolongation of work.
User avatar
Green Gecko
Treasurer
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Green Gecko » Fri Apr 20, 2018 2:00 pm

The hillarious part is wittering on about hipsters. If they really want to go after two or three cross segments they are just strawberry floating themselves. It's very strange as it seems obvious to me they've launched the hardware and the Kickstarter before they had a product. It's really backwards.

"It should be common sense to just accept the message Nintendo are sending out through their actions."
_________________________________________

❤ btw GRcade costs money and depends on donations - please support one of the UK's oldest video gaming forums → HOW TO DONATE
User avatar
Lagamorph
Member ♥
Joined in 2010

PostRe: Atari VCS | Formerly Ataribox | Some kinda Linux / retro console thing
by Lagamorph » Tue May 01, 2018 1:07 am

http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2 ... ories.html

Pre-orders available from 30th May, still no clear detail on what it actually is or what it actually does.

Lagamorph's Underwater Photography Thread
Zellery wrote:Good post Lagamorph.
Turboman wrote:Lagomorph..... Is ..... Right

Return to “Games”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: D_C, deathofcows, ITSMILNER, Monkey Man, Nook29, Red 5 stella, Ste and 394 guests