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[Eddie-Griffin]

Atari has spent longer in the hands of Infogrames than it ever spent as a relevant force in videogames.

Infogrames only brought Atari outright in 2008. The first interest in it in 2001. They have had control over the brand in some form for way too long though I agree.

then diminishing returns from the home computers,

Not sure about that.

However, like I said Infogrames basically has to hold on to the brand now because it's all they have left. They lost many of their publishing deals, they sold off many of their core IP including Alone in the Dark which was the face of Infogrames, and so now effectively Infogrames is nearly dead, surviving off an Atari mask.

The question is who gets the brand once they go under. A Chinese company got the Commodore brand iirc, not sure if they did anything with it.

 

[calistan]

Infogrames only brought Atari outright in 2008. The first interest in it in 2001. They have had control over the brand in some form for way too long though I agree.

Wikipedia reckons 1998 Hasbro, 2001 Infogrames, 2003 Infogrames rebrands as Atari. Not much activity since then.

Whoever they are now, they did a great job with the Atari 50 compilation, but this console always seemed doomed to failure.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Gotta admit I really liked the look of it.

Atari needs to make PC cases.

 

[dave_d]

It has yet to release in Europe (December 28) so this thing is literally DOA for us here.

Pity. I could see a small Vega 3 based system working if the price was right. Basically a Switch TV without portable, just purely docked.

Then again you can buy a used HP Elitedesk or Optiplex micro-form-factor PC with an older gen pre-Ryzen AMD APU with Radeon R7 graphics and you get better perf (and more CPU cores) than whatever the VCS does.

That's true. I know I have a TV or 2 I'd like to hook up a mini-PC for streaming or emulation. I didn't realize that's what the Atari VCS is and it can run linux or windows. No idea how it compares to those other mini form factor PC's though. (My guess is it's probably in the ballpark of the PC I have hooked up as a streaming box that runs a I5-3570 and a GTX 970.)

 

[Drew1440]

I was actually considering buying one, would make a nice-looking retro emulation box or a compact low-end PC for LAN parties. Not really worth shipping to the UK though.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

Wikipedia reckons 1998 Hasbro, 2001 Infogrames, 2003 Infogrames rebrands as Atari. Not much activity since then.

Whoever they are now, they did a great job with the Atari 50 compilation, but this console always seemed doomed to failure.

Infogrames has had them for a long time in some form absolutely, although not yet more than when they were industry players, but I again am wondering if the company will even make it to the finish line of that goal.

The VCS console might have done something if it had a disc drive, or a cartridge slot accepting new games made by Atari, or even some select games from fans.

Or maybe if they priced it at $199 as is instead of $400+ depending on what you buy with it and the edition.

But it was always going to be an issue, remember for the longest time Atari was delaying and making false promises and people though they made a scam campaign some forums would even jump you if you even defended the thing. That didn't change until they revealed the hardware, based on what they promised and what we ended up with, it wasn't ever going to light up the sales charts.

However, they could have helped things a lot with a disc drive or a $199 price.

I wonder how many VCS actually sold. I would be impressed if they got over 100k.

 

[Justin9mm]

I feel like part of these types of company's research should be to frequent gaming forums to get an idea of what gamers want or feedback on their ideas. No one wanted this, no one wanted Stadia, look where we are now!

 

[nush]

Imagine my shock that this played out as everyone was predicting. Onto the pile you go with the Coleco Chameleon, Amico and Ouya and the ones I've completely forgot about.

 

[Agent X]

Kinda impressive how powerful the system actually is and that you can use it for multiple purposes as this weird mini-PC but overall, I can't imagine who the target audience is supposed to be for this thing outside of some hardware enthusiasts and collectors.

I mean, I kinda want one, but if I already have a PC and two out of three of the current mainstream consoles, then it doesn't even make sense to get this other than to satisfy my curiosity.

That's probably the biggest obstacle that this machine faced. It's kind of a low-spec personal computer that's masquerading as a video game console, but it doesn't excel at either role.

It's difficult to justify dropping three C-notes when there are so many other mainstream options for the same price (PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox Series S) that have more powerful hardware and/or significantly better software support.

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this should've just been a 2600 version of Nintento Mini, sold at a much lower price and maybe supporting some token digital storefront. Many people probably would expect something like this from a console that imitates the design of the classic Atari and are completely put off by a high price tag, probably not ever realizing why it's so expensive.

That's true. For starters, the system (even as it is now) should have been priced at least $100 lower from the outset. But what would have really helped to propel it as a hybrid PC/game console device would have been to fully embrace the legacy of the original VCS (a.k.a. 2600), and include a slot to accept actual 2600 and 7800 cartridges.

As a game console, it had no prayer of outpowering the Xbox Series S, or even the old PlayStation 4, and it had virtually no noteworthy exclusive games. However, having the ability to use 2600/7800 cartridges (and possibly controllers) would have at least given it a notable selling point by having it double as a modernized successor to those systems. You could play your accumulated cartridge library legally, with added benefits such as crisp HDMI output and save states so you could save anytime and resume your game at a later time. Then, if you were in the mood for some newer-style games, you could purchase downloadable games from the online store (the same way as the system actually does now).

 

[Flash Junkins]

Dudes, know how I know a dude that's there is here? See above.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Wonder how it will age.

If not many were produced then it could be collection worthy, but you can never tell with this kinda stuff.

 

[deathsaber]

Honestly, I'm still fingers crossed these will get put on "extreme clearance" pricing soon. If it see it for under a $100 I might impluse grab. Just for homebrew nonsense, and other tinkering.

 

[Dr.D00p]

..The future was supposed to look so good for Atari.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I always wanted one but could never find one and when I did I just passed it off as I had too much to play which was obviously a mistake.

Now it’s going to be harder dammit

 

[Calling 911 Melts Beams]

stupid piece of shit couldnt even play atari jaguar cd games

 

[Futaleufu]

stupid piece of shit couldnt even play atari jaguar cd games

Not even a Jaguar CD can play Jaguar CD games

 

[Redneckerz]

That's true. I know I have a TV or 2 I'd like to hook up a mini-PC for streaming or emulation. I didn't realize that's what the Atari VCS is and it can run linux or windows. No idea how it compares to those other mini form factor PC's though. (My guess is it's probably in the ballpark of the PC I have hooked up as a streaming box that runs a I5-3570 and a GTX 970.)

Your I5-3570/GTX 970 runs rings around the VCS by a long shot.

Honestly, I'm still fingers crossed these will get put on "extreme clearance" pricing soon. If it see it for under a $100 I might impluse grab. Just for homebrew nonsense, and other tinkering.

If its gets cleared for 99 (or slightly above) i might just buy one as a indie machine for underneath the TV. Its sleek, and for what i want it to run with, it would be plently powerful, even with a Vega 3.

My only real issue then will be what i will use my thin clients for then

 

[MAtgS]

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The regular price of it is $300 US (now $240 on sale on their web site). For that price you can get a Series S.

Who the hell would buy this? It's similar to the Intellivision Amico which I think is $250 US. Bomb.

If these were sold as $99 at the front of the checkout line at Best Buy, it might be an impulse buy hit. Kind of like all those mini gaming gadgets you see at Walmart for $50. Throw the gadget in with the hoards of other junk you see on that shelf near PS/Nintendo/Xbox and hope someone browsing the aisle buys it over a $40 Galaga table top game. If that stuff can survive, Atari can at a low price.

But obviously its not profitable at $100. So dont bother. Atari is a dead name anyway. How it survives I dont know. Best course for them is to sell game collections (like that 50th Anniversary) and hope to sell millions of copies on pure nostalgia and value (tons of old games at a budget price).

 

[GeekyDad]

Didn't even know Atari as a company still existed. Hey, they tried. Looked pretty cool, too. Shame.

Also...

...Atari is a dead name anyway. How it survives I dont know. ...

If these were sold as $99 at the front of the checkout line at Best Buy, it might be an impulse buy hit. Kind of like all those mini gaming gadgets you see at Walmart for $50. Throw the gadget in with the hoards of other junk you see on that shelf near PS/Nintendo/Xbox and hope someone browsing the aisle buys it over a $40 Galaga table top game. If that stuff can survive, Atari can at a low price.

Kinda answered the question yourself, I guess: nostalgia. But yeah, at that price, it was obviously too steep for nostalgia.

 

[Grechy34]

This thing was an abomination but the Atari 50th Anniversary edition is seriously good.

 

[dave_d]

Your I5-3570/GTX 970 runs rings around the VCS by a long shot.

Damn, I just figured since I got the 3570 in March of 2013 that of course the CPU in this thing should be faster since they've had 9 years. (I realize the 970 is no slouch even these days but the cpu wasn't top end when I got it.)

 

[justiceiro]

This makes me want to pick one just as a piece of history.

 

[Grechy34]

This makes me want to pick one just as a piece of history.

It's one of those weird consoles you want to pick up just because one day it might be worth something more.

 

[Havoc2049]

It looks like this was nothing more than a click bait article reporting false news. Atari is going to keep manufacturing and selling the VCS. They just ceased manufacturing at the one factory they were using and moving manufacturing to another location.

 

[RoboFu]

They should make that controller ps, Xbox, and switch compatible if it’s not and just sell that along side their collections.

 

[Belthazar]

Does it really cost the same as a series s? What were they thinking?

 

[Polelock]

Lol, of course this was going to happen lol.

 

[qwertz12345]

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this should've just been a 2600 version of Nintento Mini, sold at a much lower price and maybe supporting some token digital storefront. Many people probably would expect something like this from a console that imitates the design of the classic Atari and are completely put off by a high price tag, probably not ever realizing why it's so expensive.

Pity. I could see a small Vega 3 based system working if the price was right. Basically a Switch TV without portable, just purely docked.

Then again you can buy a used HP Elitedesk or Optiplex micro-form-factor PC with an older gen pre-Ryzen AMD APU with Radeon R7 graphics and you get better perf (and more CPU cores) than whatever the VCS does.

The VCS console might have done something if it had a disc drive, or a cartridge slot accepting new games made by Atari, or even some select games from fans.

Or maybe if they priced it at $199 as is instead of $400+ depending on what you buy with it and the edition.

That's probably the biggest obstacle that this machine faced. It's kind of a low-spec personal computer that's masquerading as a video game console, but it doesn't excel at either role.

It's difficult to justify dropping three C-notes when there are so many other mainstream options for the same price (PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox Series S) that have more powerful hardware and/or significantly better software support.



That's true. For starters, the system (even as it is now) should have been priced at least $100 lower from the outset. But what would have really helped to propel it as a hybrid PC/game console device would have been to fully embrace the legacy of the original VCS (a.k.a. 2600), and include a slot to accept actual 2600 and 7800 cartridges.

As a game console, it had no prayer of outpowering the Xbox Series S, or even the old PlayStation 4, and it had virtually no noteworthy exclusive games. However, having the ability to use 2600/7800 cartridges (and possibly controllers) would have at least given it a notable selling point by having it double as a modernized successor to those systems. You could play your accumulated cartridge library legally, with added benefits such as crisp HDMI output and save states so you could save anytime and resume your game at a later time. Then, if you were in the mood for some newer-style games, you could purchase downloadable games from the online store (the same way as the system actually does now).

I do think the Atari VCS is incredibly expensive at $300, and should have been no more than $200 at launch. In fact, as people have already said, it should have been a $100 console with an online storefront.

However, I do think that it would be interesting if someone brought out a "niche" console for $100-150... Like a Linux-based (Mini PC) console that focused on indie games and was connected to the TV.

Either that, or something like one of those Android handhelds that allow users to connect to TV.

Could someone not just get one of those X86 SBCs or embedded motherboards, put a case around them, and sell them with a custom Linux OS? I think if you threw in a few self-developed indie games, and priced it for around $100-150 (maybe even $200), it would fly.