Atari VCS - Will it fly?

Technology and Internet
#1

So I’ve seen this mentioned a bit recently and obviously seen all the renders and the “hype”. Everything I’ve read are that people are very sceptical about it. I think it looks like a lovely device and it sort of sticks true to the Atari 2600 Style.

But, I’m afraid personally even though it’s got lots of backers on Indiegogo I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot cattle prod or longer, I wouldn’t be at all confident that anyone will ever see their console. It essentially looks like they’ve stuffed a Raspberry PI in there, maybe with a more powerful CPU, and that’s about it.

As far as Atari 2600 games go, well you can emulate them very easily on just about anything (even in your browser on an ipad!) The ROMS for pretty much the entire collection are like a 2MB file or something. If you’re going to spend that much money on a gaming console, buy an Xbox or a PS4, and just emulate older games on your PC, Mac, or Raspberry Pi.

Who else thinks that there’s a very good chance the backers of this project will never see their money again? https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/atari-vcs-game-stream-connect-like-never-before-computers-pc#/

#2

I like the idea of retro gaming but then I do it and I get very bored very fast. Even remasters of games from the last couple of console generations, which were AMAZING when I played them, can be frustrating as hell now. Sure a new coat of paint looks great and more pixels is never a bad thing, but they rarely change the mechanics of the game which tend to suck compared to modern games.

For me I prefer to play retro games on my mobile device rather than my TV. I go through Tetris and PAC-MAN phases from time to time, but it’s never for longer than waiting in a doctor’s waiting room.

I suspect this will appeal more to the even older than me gamers, who never got into modern console or PC gaming and are the sorts of curmudgeons who go around saying “kids today don’t know how good they have it”. And I don’t think there’s enough of them to support this console as anything more than a blip on the radar.

1 Like
#3

It’s all a big too vague for me.

It says it comes with Atari Vault, which is also available on Steam. It doesn’t feature most, if not all, of Activision’s catalogue, which who I remember as the big hitters of the 2600 era. Games like Chopper Command and H.E.R.O aren’t there, and either is Kung Fu Master. Will the VCS have these titles? Doesn’t say.

I don’t understand what a Radeon R7 is. Anyone know how it compares to Switch’s Tegra T1? Is this just going to be a Switch with Atari’s IP instead of Nintendo’s, the same indie games, and minus the portability?

I dunno. I just don’t know. I can’t work out where this sits in the scheme of things. I’m open, but definitely would not pre-order.

I just keep thinking a RetroPie can be built for under $80 and it emulates more than just Atari games. And older titles or indie games? They launch those on other consoles too.

1 Like
#4

It need something killer that can only be played on it. Switch has Zelda. PS4 as Uncharted et al. Xbox has Gears/Halo/Forza/etc. I bought my PS4 just to play Uncharted 4 when it came out, and have been super impressed by the Sony exclusive games since then. If the VCS doesn’t have anything exclusive that I WANT to play really badly, then why would i buy it? If It’s going to run apps like Netflix/Spotify/etc why would I buy it over another console that can also do that?

#5

Interesting to note that, unless I’m mistaken, this Atari should outperform even the current generation, high end Mac Mini. It’s not a terrible machine for the price at all. It is a notebook APU, so it won’t set the world on fire in terms of performance, but it’s massively overkill for Atari games and certainly capable of a lot more. Wouldn’t look out of place connected to a TV either.

I like it. Somehow I think the modding community will too.

#6

Interesting.

I owned an Atari 2600… (but preferred the NES…)

With Nintendo apparently rebuilding their brand with the Switch, that keeps 3 big players controlling the market.

I can’t see this growing wings until they get a major game co on board, promising as suggested above - a kick-ass Atari-exclusive game…

If they can score that, then they have a chance of re-entering the market. Until then…

Tell ‘em they’re dreamin’.

#7

The Radion R7 are a series of (generally) PC gaming cards that started in about 2015 and are still being sold now, they have been (and still are) mid range, value for money gaming cards.

Some of the earlier R7 series were rebrands of other earlier gaming cards from different series.

It might help to think of the R5 series as being the gaming equivilents of the Intel i3 with the R7 the i5 and the R9 as the i7 series.

Of course like the i3,i5 and i7 what reallly matters is the numbers after that which show the generation and the actual details.

1 Like