Topic: Atari back in the Console business after almost 3 decades

[Flame]

I hear the forecast in hell is snowy with a chance of severe ice.

https://www.ataribox.com/

Atari is "back in the hardware business", so says the company's Frederic Chesnais, and is currently working on the so-called 'Ataribox'—a retro-styled console said to be powered by PC technology.

http://www.pcgamer.com/ataris-new-ataribox-to-be-based-on-pc-technology/

[piscesdreams]

At first, I thought it was just going to be an official release of classic Atari games in an NES Classic type fashion.  But with the "Dev" button, I think it will be a legit console of some sort.  I hope it isn't Android based or just another Ouya.   

[Lumi Kløvstad]

There's talk about this sort of stuff every friggin' year, about either Atari or Sega.

Gameplay footage or bust, because Atari's deader than Sega. It exists only as a brand name jointly held by a number of companies worldwide.
I know because I was there. I watched it die as it sank beneath the waves until the bubbles stopped.

And even if this were true, it's not really Atari. It would be a new company that shares a brand but almost no key personnel.

This may be branded as Atari, but there is no Atari. Not anymore.

The last vestiges of classic Atari was washed away with the failure of the Jaguar and the resulting fire sale of the company's brand and assets in 1996. The current holder of the Atari name is a French Holding Company that doesn't exactly have a stellar history with handling Atari's old properties.

Kill this zombie, and kill it fast.

[Count Decebal II.]

I agree with The Bloody Aperture.

If ATARI really pulls this through then it could be the end for them like it was for the Commodore AMIGA, SEGA 32X & Dreamcast.
They are not the same company anymore let alone the current holder.
ATARI should rest in peace.

[zangetsu468]

From memory when I was looking for Dawn of Sorrow years ago, I was told it was really hard to find in Australia due to Atari being Konami's distributor here. It seems they're still active in the shadows, but I think the Jaguar pretty much mauled any future they had as a console business.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

"...Jaguar..."
"....mauled..."

10/10 your pun game is strong.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

All I have to say is....

[Flame]

We finally got new info!

So this is the console





comes in two versions. Black on black with red lights, and wood on black with white lights



Atari is including SD card support, a HDMI port, and four USB ports on the Ataribox

Atari plans to deliver classic games in the Ataribox, alongside “current content.”

https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/17/15980990/atari-ataribox-specs-pictures

So we still don't know anything, but we know it comes with wood, which is the only thing that matters

[Shiroi Koumori]

Are the ridges on top, air vents?

[Lelygax]

Well, if we don't end discovering that its only Raspberry Pi with fancy casing and a common emulator inside it will get interesting.

[Flame]

Well, if we don't end discovering that its only Raspberry Pi with fancy casing and a common emulator inside it will get interesting.

well we already know that. Supposedly it has "PC based" hardware, or something like that. And we have confirmation that it's not just a retro console, but will play "modern content". (that said, supposedly it will also play classics, so I imagine it might come preloaded with the Atari library or something)

[Belmontoya]

At first, I thought it was just going to be an official release of classic Atari games in an NES Classic type fashion.  But with the "Dev" button, I think it will be a legit console of some sort.  I hope it isn't Android based or just another Ouya.   

The ideas behind the Ouya and even a lot of it's content was really, really fucking cool man.

The problem with Ouya was the execution. The hardware had weird issues like reduced wifi when more than one controller was connected, and the controllers seemed to suffer from slight input delay. They fixed these issues with the second generation hardware but it was too little too late and the train had already left the station.

But there are a lot of ideas that Ouya had right that I would be thrilled for a bigger name like Atari to adopt. Ouya trying to fill the void as a console for indies was commendable and a great opportunity to fill a niche if only the hardware had been better.

[PFG9000]

I may be the only one in the world, but I'm a little psyched for this.  If the retro content is only Atari 2600 stuff, then I probably won't care enough to buy it, but if there are Lynx and Jaguar games on it, I'll pick it up for sure.  I've been dying for a way to play Lynx games on my TV since about 1991.

[piscesdreams]

The ideas behind the Ouya and even a lot of it's content was really, really fucking cool man.

The problem with Ouya was the execution. The hardware had weird issues like reduced wifi when more than one controller was connected, and the controllers seemed to suffer from slight input delay. They fixed these issues with the second generation hardware but it was too little too late and the train had already left the station.

But there are a lot of ideas that Ouya had right that I would be thrilled for a bigger name like Atari to adopt. Ouya trying to fill the void as a console for indies was commendable and a great opportunity to fill a niche if only the hardware had been better.

I fully agree. The biggest issue for the Ouya was the controller but you could use others so that was nice.  I have more faith in Atari though, but I just wonder if they will be able to compete in the current market.