Atari VCS | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 05 Dec 2019 07:48:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Atari VCS | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Atari VCS backer shipments delayed but general availability still planned for March 2020 https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/matthew-wilson/atari-vcs-backer-shipments-delayed-but-general-availability-still-planned-for-march-2020/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/matthew-wilson/atari-vcs-backer-shipments-delayed-but-general-availability-still-planned-for-march-2020/#respond Wed, 04 Dec 2019 17:10:22 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=439980 Back in 2017, Atari announced a return to the console market with its own retro gaming system. The console has been through a lot since then, including a name change, a big crowdfunding campaign, content partnerships and internal hardware changes. Initially, the Atari VCS was due to ship out to backers before the end of 2019 but …

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Back in 2017, Atari announced a return to the console market with its own retro gaming system. The console has been through a lot since then, including a name change, a big crowdfunding campaign, content partnerships and internal hardware changes. Initially, the Atari VCS was due to ship out to backers before the end of 2019 but a delay has pushed things back into 2020. 

Back in April, it was announced that the Atari VCS would be getting an upgrade from an AMD Bristol Ridge APU, to a newer AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 SoC. According to Atari COO, Michael Artz, this upgrade is part of why the system has been delayed for backers, with the team opting to “prioritise delivering a high-quality product over a self-imposed deadline”.

Those who backed the console on Indiegogo will get their consoles later than initially promised and according to Artz, the timeline has shifted by weeks rather than months, so it should start going out in late January. Then, general public sales will go live in March 2020, although that date could potentially slip too depending on manufacturing.

Currently, the Atari VCS is a pretty expensive system, with a $249.99 price tag and an extra $50 or $60 cost for the VCS gamepad or Atari ‘Throwback' joystick. In terms of specs, we are looking at a Ryzen R1000 SoC, 4GB or 8GB of RAM depending on the model you buy and support for 4K/HDR, which seems a tad overkill for retro gaming but perhaps Atari has some slightly bigger content plans in the works. Aside from all of that, we do know that Atari will be partnering with the Antstream retro game streaming service to boost the game library.

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KitGuru Says: The Atari VCS has been an interesting console to follow. Did any of you back the Indiegogo campaign in 2017? 

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Atari is still optimistic about its VCS console after lead architect leaves https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/james-dawson/atari-is-still-optimistic-about-its-vcs-console-after-lead-architect-leaves/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/james-dawson/atari-is-still-optimistic-about-its-vcs-console-after-lead-architect-leaves/#respond Thu, 10 Oct 2019 14:14:12 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=429491 Atari’s new VCS console project may be in trouble after its lead architect and former Xbox team member quits his role at the company, claiming non-payment of invoices to be the issue. The crowdfunded Atari VCS console was supposed to be launched in June, that date was delayed and the console is not expected until …

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Atari’s new VCS console project may be in trouble after its lead architect and former Xbox team member quits his role at the company, claiming non-payment of invoices to be the issue.

The crowdfunded Atari VCS console was supposed to be launched in June, that date was delayed and the console is not expected until March 2020 now. However, it is possible the whole project could be in serious doubt since it's lead architect has quit the role due to unpaid invoices.

Former Xbox team founding member and lead architect of the Atari VCS retro games console project, Rob Wyatt has left the company. He officially resigned from the post on 4th October claiming Atari had not paid his design consultancy, Tin Giant, who are behind the console’s development for the past six months.

“I was hoping to see the project through to the end and that it wouldn't come to this, but I have little choice other than to pursue other opportunities,” Wyatt said in a statement.

Despite this latest setback, Atari still seem confident that the console will launch in March 2020 as planned. “We remain confident in the Atari VCS as the entire team works diligently to bring forth its vision according to plan, and we will continue to communicate accordingly over the coming weeks and months, including hands-on presentations to key media and partners planned for later this fall.” Said Atari in an official statement.

Since then, Atari has published a medium post to update how the development of the device is progressing. The company revealed they still have plenty of work to do to update the status of the device from Prototype to production, but they claim to be getting closer each day.

Atari went on to discuss images of the motherboard in detail by pointing out the AMD Ryzen APU, integrated USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI interface and a power connector accessible from the rear of the system. One large unpopulated area of the board is said to house the cooling solution which comprises of a blower fan and venting system.

Another open area towards the front of the board is where and M.2 SATA SSD drive will be located, which will be upgradeable. Not visible in the photo, however, Atari mention two SODIMM DDR4 modules providing 8GB total memory, are integrated into the motherboard and two further USB ports will be accessed on a front-mounted riser, behind the front fascia.

KitGuru says: Losing an instrumental part of the design team at such a critical point could spell trouble for the Atari VCS. What Do you guys think to the future of the console after this latest setback?

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Atari VCS retro console to partner with Antstream to provide content https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/james-dawson/atari-vcs-retro-console-to-partner-with-antstream-to-provide-content/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/james-dawson/atari-vcs-retro-console-to-partner-with-antstream-to-provide-content/#respond Wed, 02 Oct 2019 16:12:07 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=428335 Back in 2017, Atari announced a return to the console market with its own retro gaming system. The console has been through a lot since then, including a name change and a big crowdfunding campaign but we are finally nearing an official release, which means we are also finally starting to hear more about the …

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Back in 2017, Atari announced a return to the console market with its own retro gaming system. The console has been through a lot since then, including a name change and a big crowdfunding campaign but we are finally nearing an official release, which means we are also finally starting to hear more about the games that will be available, many of which will come from a new partnership with Antstream.

The Atari VCS is shaping up to be the most intriguing console launches in quite some time, with a focus on bringing back retro classics. Atari used to be huge in the video gaming industry back in the 80s and 90s, being amongst the first manufacturers of gaming consoles.

Some details about the Atari VCS are still thin on the ground. We know that the console will run on AMD's Ryzen R1000 embedded SoC platform. In terms of games, Atari will be getting some help from Antstream Arcade, a streaming platform for retro games.

According to the agreement, Atari VCS gamers will have access to an enhanced version of the Antsream app once the console is launched, with potentially thousands of retro games to be introduced over time. For those who are not familiar, Antstream is an on-demand retro gaming provider which launched from Kickstarter funding.

On initial launch, Atari wants to offer users at least fifty Atari Home and arcade titles, in addition to some classics from the older Nintendo 64, Sega, NeoGeo and NES consoles. The Atari VCS will also ship with a complimentary 100+ games from the Atari Vault.

KitGuru says: Who doesn’t love a bit of retro gaming? Are you looking forward to being able to play Atari’s retro classics such as Double Dragon again? I know I am. 

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Atari VCS will be powered by the newly unveiled AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 series https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/atari-vcs-will-be-powered-by-the-newly-unveiled-amd-ryzen-embedded-r1000-series/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/atari-vcs-will-be-powered-by-the-newly-unveiled-amd-ryzen-embedded-r1000-series/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2019 10:30:51 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=410588 Atari delayed its nostalgic VCS gaming device last month, upgrading from the aging Bristol Ridge A10 APU to a then-undisclosed Ryzen processor. Unveiling its new embedded system-on-chips (SoC) on April 17, AMD has announced that Atari’s console will be powered by its R1000 series. The Ryzen Embedded R1000 series consists of two models of APU, …

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Atari delayed its nostalgic VCS gaming device last month, upgrading from the aging Bristol Ridge A10 APU to a then-undisclosed Ryzen processor. Unveiling its new embedded system-on-chips (SoC) on April 17, AMD has announced that Atari’s console will be powered by its R1000 series.

The Ryzen Embedded R1000 series consists of two models of APU, the R1606G and the R1505G. It isn’t certain which chip will be housed within the classic chassis, but there isn’t a world of difference between the two. Both are built using Zen architecture, contain a dual-core, four-thread arrangement and high-performance Vega 3 graphics to better balance power with performance.

It’s thanks to this combination that Michael Arzt, COO of Atari Connected Devices, states that the VCS can achieve “4K 60fps HDR content that users expect from a modern, secure gaming and entertainment system.” In fact, its versatility helps to “protect the VCS’ environment and content as we support an unprecedented open-access model that allows Atari’s highly-creative community to install any other operating system side by side with the Atari OS.”

Should the VCS receive the R1505G, the consoles will be endowed with a base clock of 2.4GHz and boost of 3.3GHz on the CPU, as well as a 1GHz clock on the GPU. Of course, the R1606G offers a little more with the base and boost CPU clock bumped up to 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz respectively, while the GPU clock reaches highs of 1.2GHz.

While Atari is set to bolster the performance of the Ryzen Embedded R1000 at launch, AMD has a number of other uses for the duo. Stephen Turnbull, director of product management and business development at AMD Embedded Solutions states that there are a number of applications that the SoCs are built for, including casino gaming, enterprise class security features for edge computing, networking and thin clients, with ASRock , IBASE and Quixant already confirmed as customers.

It seems as though Atari is still on track to launch its VCS console later this year, after the initial delay to its planned 2018 release.

KitGuru Says: The R1000 series looks promising, although I do find it odd that neither Atari or AMD confirmed exactly which chip will appear in the VCS. For that reason, I’m inclined to believe it’ll be the slightly lower end R1505G, but both seem to be standout offerings on paper. We’ll have to see how they fair hands-on before passing judgement, though.

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Atari showcases its production ready VCS, with a redesigned chassis https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/atari-showcases-its-production-ready-vcs-with-a-redesigned-chassis/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/atari-showcases-its-production-ready-vcs-with-a-redesigned-chassis/#respond Mon, 01 Apr 2019 10:46:25 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=408804 Back in March, Atari announced that it was delaying its crowdfunded VCS system in order to upgrade the processor to an undisclosed AMD Ryzen chip. Now, the company has unveiled its “production ready” final design, paying even more homage to the classic Atari 2600. Atari’s modern reimagining of the firm’s classic foray in the console …

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Back in March, Atari announced that it was delaying its crowdfunded VCS system in order to upgrade the processor to an undisclosed AMD Ryzen chip. Now, the company has unveiled its “production ready” final design, paying even more homage to the classic Atari 2600.

Atari’s modern reimagining of the firm’s classic foray in the console market has just become a lot more nostalgic, with a new floating design that raises the main body via the stand. In part, this decision was made due to its likeness to the original Atari 2600, further leaning on the company’s previous achievements, but practicality has been taken into consideration.

The dimension shift sees a slightly larger end product that allows for two of the four USBs to shift around to the front. This gives owners easier access when plugging in peripherals, while the back two USB ports remain dedicated to external storage. Unfortunately, this comes at the sacrifice of the previously promised rear SD card slot, which Atari now sees as “redundant” in comparison to USB sticks and reminds users that no modern device embeds the technology any more.

Although it remains unknown which AMD Ryzen chip will be embedded in the Atari VCS, the extra room from the larger housing is also set to bolster cooling. As well as reducing plastic, Atari has stripped back its four independent lights in favour of a lit up “Fuji” logo, which will communicate various alerts to the user such as when the system is powered on, pairing with an accessory, connecting to the internet and more.

These changes have not offset Atari’s latest release window, which should hopefully see the VCS launch later this year.

KitGuru Says: I can understand that some fans will remain sceptical given that Atari was set to release the VCS many designs ago, however it’s worth remembering that crowdfunding requires the company to design its device in public. Fortunately, its nostalgic, yet dated design means that the VCS either won’t be out of place or will always be out of place when it finally launches.  

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Atari VCS suffers another delay as it upgrades to AMD’s Ryzen CPU https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/atari-vcs-suffers-another-delay-as-it-upgrades-to-amds-ryzen-cpu/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/atari-vcs-suffers-another-delay-as-it-upgrades-to-amds-ryzen-cpu/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2019 16:11:11 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=407497 Despite its delayed crowdfunding campaign and a pinch of controversy, the Atari VCS seems to be rather popular having raised over $3 million last year. Unfortunately, backers are going to have to wait a little while longer as Atari postpones its release date once more, this time to give the system a boost with a …

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Despite its delayed crowdfunding campaign and a pinch of controversy, the Atari VCS seems to be rather popular having raised over $3 million last year. Unfortunately, backers are going to have to wait a little while longer as Atari postpones its release date once more, this time to give the system a boost with a currently unannounced embedded AMD Ryzen chip.

When the Indiegogo campaign went live, Atari marketed the VCS with an ageing AMD Bristol Ridge A10 CPU. Atari hasn’t confirmed exactly what chip it will be switching to, but it will be based on Ryzen’s 14nm process and feature two cores. Of course, the “high-performance Radeon Vega graphics architecture” remains intact, as the company is presumably sticking with the Radeon R7 GPU that was advertised last year.

The switch to Ryzen is certainly a welcome one. Along with being “faster, cooler, and more efficient,” the new processor brings with it built-in Ethernet and native 4K video playback with support for modern HDCP. It also utilises “a secure frame buffer that fully-supports DRM video” as seen with Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO and the likes.

The switch was made in partnership with AMD in order to manufacture a more appealing device in today’s market. It’s unknown whether or not the new processor will affect the reported $329 price tag the VCS was supposed to launch with, but backers will now have to wait until “the end of 2019.”

Atari understands that this new delivery window is vague, and promises to keep backers up to date with all of the latest changes on its blog.

KitGuru Says: While an amazing switch, the Ryzen SoC will still be on the lower-end of things. Still, it should make a number of things easier when making the classic system. Are you interested in the Atari VCS?

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Atari VCS faked gameplay footage as well as showing a port the creator knew nothing about https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/ryan-burgess/atari-vcs-faked-gameplay-footage-as-well-as-showing-a-port-the-creator-knew-nothing-about/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/ryan-burgess/atari-vcs-faked-gameplay-footage-as-well-as-showing-a-port-the-creator-knew-nothing-about/#respond Fri, 08 Jun 2018 14:54:51 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=376210 Over the course of this year, Atari has been trying to get a new home console off the ground in the form of the Atari VCS. The crowdfunding campaign advertised a few things, and even showed off gameplay. Unfortunately, it looks like at least some of the footage shown was faked. The crowdfunded Atari VCS …

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Over the course of this year, Atari has been trying to get a new home console off the ground in the form of the Atari VCS. The crowdfunding campaign advertised a few things, and even showed off gameplay. Unfortunately, it looks like at least some of the footage shown was faked.

The crowdfunded Atari VCS console showed footage of Tempest 4000 running on their machine during the campaign, but it turns out that the creator of the game has no knowledge of a port, or even how the game is running on a Linux based machine.

Llamasoft is well known for their work on Tempest 2000 on the Atari Jaguar. The studio has been active for a while, with their most recent release being Polybius for PSVR and Oculus Rift. They are currently developing Tempest 4000 for PC and console, with Atari as publisher.

In the Atari VCS trailer on Indiegogo, it shows Tempest 4000 running ‘natively' on the Atari VCS system, but this is impossible as there is no Linux version of the game. As this Reddit investigation shows, the creator of Tempest 4000 has even confirmed he didn't even know about the Atari VCS, and was also dark on his game being ported to it.

Despite Atari first confirming Tempest 4000 was running natively on the console stating: “Still excited about seeing Tempest 4000 on the Atari VCS? How about some actual gameplay? We’ve snagged more behind the scenes test video! It's Tempest 4000, played with a modern controller on an Atari VCS test platform!”

Atari has since officially responded to the developer of Tempest 4000 stating the footage used was, in fact, running on a PC, but they fully expect games like Tempest 4000 and others like it to be available on the platform.

In addition to Tempest 4000, Atari also faked footage of Yar’s Revenge, with a poorly edited shot that can be seen here.

KitGuru says: The writing was on the wall for the Atari Box, and I think investing money in anything Atari does going forward was always going to fall foul of something like this. What do you make of Atari lying about the VCS?

 

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Atari VCS crowdfunding campaign surpasses $2 million within its first day https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/atari-vcs-crowdfunding-campaign-surpasses-2-million-within-its-first-day/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/atari-vcs-crowdfunding-campaign-surpasses-2-million-within-its-first-day/#respond Fri, 01 Jun 2018 17:56:35 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=375131 Upon announcing its return to the console world, reporters were sceptical of Atari’s claims that there was a gap in the market for its newly launched Atari VCS given its previously established competition. These same reporters are now eating their words, including yours truly, as Atari has amassed a whopping $2 million within its first …

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Upon announcing its return to the console world, reporters were sceptical of Atari’s claims that there was a gap in the market for its newly launched Atari VCS given its previously established competition. These same reporters are now eating their words, including yours truly, as Atari has amassed a whopping $2 million within its first day on Indiegogo.

Needless to say, Atari has managed to smash its modest $100,000 goal by an impressive 2269% at the time of writing, with its 8,753 backers, and counting, bringing the crowdfunding website to its knees at intervals throughout the day.

Atari has warned potential backers to “hurry, while supplies last,” offering its ‘Onyx Edition’ for just $199 without peripherals. While it’s $1 cheaper to throw a ‘Classic Joystick’ on top of the standalone listing, the $229 ‘Onyx Early + Joystick’ bundle will likely help save on shipping cost. The only way to add Atari’s ‘Modern Controller’ into the mix is to purchase the $49 standalone addition, the ‘Atari Joystick + Controller’ bundle for $59 or the ‘Onyx All In’ bundle for $279.

For true fans of Atari, the company is offering an Atari VCS Collector’s Edition that ships with a unique wood veneer front panel. This comes in two bundles, one bundling the console with Classic Joystick for $299, while the ‘Collector’s All In’ bundle grants the backer the console with a Joystick and a Modern Controller for $339.

Interestingly, Atari has yet to confirm the hardware underneath the hood aside from modern PC trimmings such as 2.4/5 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, an Ethernet jack and a plethora of USB 3.0 ports for peripherals. This means that there’s still no telling exactly how it will stack up against Sony’s PlayStation 4, Microsoft’s Xbox One and even Nintendo’s Switch.

The Atari VCS will come with open Linux architecture, however, giving a lot of freedom to the user, who can choose to put their own software on the device or even replace the operating system entirely.

At launch, the VCS will come bundled with 100 Atari games within its “Atari Vault,” sporting classics such as Asteroids, Breakout and Yars’ Revenge, not to be confused with the controversial Custer’s Revenge released for the same console back within the same year. The company has also hinted at a subscription service that will be “required for advanced services and cloud storage,” however it has yet to be confirmed if this will be mandatory.

Atari will run the Indiegogo campaign through the rest of the month, with the current delivery date penned in for July 2019. Meanwhile, Atari's old rival, Intellivision is similarly trying to stage a comeback.

KitGuru Says: I will happily admit that I was wrong about the Atari VCS’ place in the market, but I still cannot understand why so many people would be willing to invest in something with unconfirmed hardware. Hopefully Atari affords its players the option to play offline without the supposed subscription service, too. Does the Atari VCS appeal to you?  

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Classic console maker Intellivision announces plans to re-enter the market https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/classic-console-maker-intellivision-announces-plans-to-re-enter-the-market/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/classic-console-maker-intellivision-announces-plans-to-re-enter-the-market/#respond Thu, 31 May 2018 10:04:27 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=374840 Nowadays, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo might all be butting heads in the console wars, but back in the 1980s that conflict was headed by Atari versus Intellivision. It seems that old school gamers will be taking a trip down memory lane, as Intellivision has revealed that it has something brand new in the works. Intellivision …

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Nowadays, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo might all be butting heads in the console wars, but back in the 1980s that conflict was headed by Atari versus Intellivision. It seems that old school gamers will be taking a trip down memory lane, as Intellivision has revealed that it has something brand new in the works.

Intellivision made a name for itself in the 80s, with its original system claiming many ‘firsts’ in the gaming world. This includes being “the first 16-bit gaming machine, the first gaming console to offer digital distribution, the first to bring speech/voice to games, the first to license professional sports leagues and organisations and the first to be a dedicated game console and home computer.”

The console will “carry on the company tradition of ‘firsts' with its new concept, design and approach to gaming,” while focusing primarily on “families in the home,” which head of Intellivision’s push, Tommy Tallarico states is a “huge gaping hole in the market now.” This was adequately filled with Nintendo’s Wii until around 2012 with the release of its successor console and ultimate disappointment, the Wii U.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Details are scarce on Intellivision’s new system, which has yet to receive a name, but the company has made it clear that it will avoid going toe-to-toe with the established home consoles currently on the market due to a lack of funding: “That would be insane, and we would need $1 billion,” explains Tallarico in an interview with VentureBeat.

Instead, the company will make a more affordable machine that will forgo 3D graphics and modern video applications such as Netflix in favour of a retro-focused approach, featuring an emulator and 10 new games at launch.

This seems like a different approach to its rival’s revival, with the Atari VCS being retro in aesthetic only. Instead, the Atari VCS will push 4K and HDR on a Linux-based operating system, coming with ten times the amount of titles on release with 100 games. Pre-orders for the Atari VCS have finally gone live on Indiegogo after numerous delays.

KitGuru Says: Unless Intellivision can come up with something as innovative as Nintendo’s Wii was, I am unsure how it will manage to penetrate the family-based gaming market any more than current consoles already have a foothold. Still, only time will tell.

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Pre-orders for the Atari VCS will go live at the end of May https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/pre-orders-for-the-atari-vcs-will-go-live-at-the-end-of-may/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/pre-orders-for-the-atari-vcs-will-go-live-at-the-end-of-may/#respond Tue, 01 May 2018 14:40:37 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=372159 Atari’s new retro-inspired console has had a bit of a rough ride during development, as its crowdfunding seems to have missed its second deadline. Although pre-orders were expected to go live in December and then again in April, it looks like buyers will have to wait until the end of the month to secure their …

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Atari’s new retro-inspired console has had a bit of a rough ride during development, as its crowdfunding seems to have missed its second deadline. Although pre-orders were expected to go live in December and then again in April, it looks like buyers will have to wait until the end of the month to secure their Atari VCS.

The company has confirmed that it will still be using Indigogo as its platform of choice, with crowdfunding going live on May 30th. Packages will start from $199 for the all-black version of the console, with other perks including Classic Joysicks, Modern Controllers and, presumably one of the top tiers, an Atari VCS Collector’s Edition that sports retro-inspired wood design.

With a focus on playing retro and modern games, Atari is expecting 4K resolution, HDR and 60 frames per second output from its custom AMD processor and Radeon graphics. Although it will contain its own internal storage, this will be expandable with external solutions, alongside housing dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and USB 3.0 support. More details will be available to potential buyers before the pre-sale goes live.

It is not yet known what titles will be able to run on the machine, however Atari has revealed that it will be bringing its classics back in the form of its Atari Vault collection, as well as offering a range of “popular modern titles” on its Linux-based operating system.

After initial pre-orders have been delayed since December, Atari is now expecting its first lot of shipments to dispatch in the Spring of 2019.

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KitGuru Says: Although Atari COO Michael Arzt has explained where the VCS fits in the market, I’m still having a hard time believing it will sell well. That being said, it would be good to have more competition on the market. Does the Atari VCS interest you?

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Atari attempts to explain where its upcoming VCS console fits into the current market https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/atari-attempts-to-explain-where-its-upcoming-vcs-console-fits-into-the-current-market/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/atari-attempts-to-explain-where-its-upcoming-vcs-console-fits-into-the-current-market/#respond Thu, 19 Apr 2018 13:09:36 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=370805 Atari is on the cusp of its hardware revival, with the Ataribox evolving into the retro-inspired Atari VCS. Although not much has been revealed since its crowdfunding was suspended last December, Atari COO Michael Arzt has taken time out at the Game Developers Conference to shed more light on what’s to come. Many have questioned …

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Atari is on the cusp of its hardware revival, with the Ataribox evolving into the retro-inspired Atari VCS. Although not much has been revealed since its crowdfunding was suspended last December, Atari COO Michael Arzt has taken time out at the Game Developers Conference to shed more light on what’s to come.

Many have questioned where exactly the Atari VCS will fit in the current technology market, with reports that it will be more than a mini console that focuses on retro games and more versatile than modern consoles by giving PC functionality through its Linux-based operating system.

Artz explained to Eurogamer that the device was more akin to a media centre of sorts, as it will “control many aspects of the TV,” albeit with a friendly user interface that will gel well with a controller or a mouse and keyboard. Alongside its range of modern and retro titles, Artz has stated that the company recognises the impact of platforms such as Netflix, social media and a dynamic chat function that could potentially hint towards a cleaner ‘friends’ system than some of its rivals.

Although it is subject to change, Artz said that the Atari VCS is planned to fall between $249 to $299 (approx. £173 to £208), meaning that it is distinctly cheaper than PC systems of similar configurations and current consoles alike. With mention of the included premium Bluetooth controller estimated as high as $49 (approx. £35) in value, it is likely to fall on the higher end of the scale than the lower, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Atari seems confident in its upcoming system, with Artz confirming that the company will be taking pre-orders directly ahead of an announcement later in April. He was keen to emphasise that this doesn’t mean that Atari will forgo crowdfunding as a source of finance, but plans have changed behind the initial scheme which will be unveiled alongside new details later this month.

KitGuru Says: I am still not entirely convinced of where the Atari VCS will properly fit into the market, but it will be interesting if the company can provide something different and potentially innovative. That being said, at its current estimated price point, I am not expecting miracles. Does the Atari VCS interest you?

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The Ataribox has been rebranded to the Atari VCS, set for pre-sale next month https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/console-desktop-pc/damien-cox/the-ataribox-has-been-rebranded-to-the-atari-vcs-set-for-pre-sale-next-month/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/console-desktop-pc/damien-cox/the-ataribox-has-been-rebranded-to-the-atari-vcs-set-for-pre-sale-next-month/#respond Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:30:35 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=367836 Atari’s push back into the console market was delayed at the end of last year, when the company suspended its crowdfunding with minimal warning. The project has now been revised, With the Ataribox becoming the Atari VCS, set to debut later this year. Pre-orders for the Atari VCS will go live next month with its …

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Atari’s push back into the console market was delayed at the end of last year, when the company suspended its crowdfunding with minimal warning. The project has now been revised, With the Ataribox becoming the Atari VCS, set to debut later this year.

Pre-orders for the Atari VCS will go live next month with its price ranging between $250-300. Considering Atari has adopted to go the crowdfunding route, it’s likely that an Early Bird discount will appear as an option while stocks last, but it is uncertain how much of a discount this will offer, if at all.

“With the Atari VCS name, we know how important it is to get everything completely right, and that's why we briefly paused an imminent launch late last year,” said Atari Connected Devices chief operating officer Michael Arzt, according to VentureBeat. “It was a difficult decision with the countdown underway, but we weren't willing to go forward with even one thing out of alignment. We hope that despite the delay, Atari's fans appreciate our extreme attention to detail and are as excited about the Atari VCS as we are.”

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Along with the rebranding, Atari shared new images of its modern control, as well as its classic joystick. Both share a black and orange theme with the joystick in particular echoing the slatted design of the console. These are currently still prototypes, but with the design likely to be finalised before next month's campaign, it's unlikely that the peripherals will undergo a great deal of change.

The Atari VCS follows in the footsteps of the proposed Ataribox, in that the hybrid console will play both Atari 2600 and PC games. Very few details are known about what the Ataribox was before its rebranding, aside from its support of Linux as an operating system and use of AMD for its processor.

Hopefully, the crowdfunding campaign will shed more light on whether or not the Atari VCS will come with pre-installed games or give players the ability to buy more games, unlike Nintendo’s Classic Mini line-ups where games are baked into the system.

KitGuru Says: Atari does seem to be pushing more fields lately, with the revival of its Rollercoaster Tycoon series to creating its own cryptocurrency, but will it really survive today’s console market even as a hybrid? What do you hope to see from the Ataribox Atari VCS?  Sorry, but wasn't the original name so much better?

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