Atari is making a new console!!!

[daveybrat]

Atari Announces First New Gaming Console in Over 20 Years!!

https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/16/atari-ceo-confirms-the-company-is-working-on-a-new-game-console/

https://www.ataribox.com/

 

[Malogeek]

It's either be a glorified ROM box or an Android-based Shield-like system.

 

[razel]

I do hope that it is a retro Atari game box. I doubt they'll find success trying to compete with Sony, MS. And that's I want from them... to succeed.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I think it's pretty definite that it'll be a retro console of some type. There's no way they have the budget or resources for anything like a PS4 competitor.

 

[clok1966]

That tiny NES success should bring them out of the woodwork. not that have not been many of these before, but none hit like the Mini NES thing did. I think ATARI's big problem is they where around for a generation that was not quite as tech heavy as the current gen that had NES consoles. Basically us old fogies who grew up with Atari are not as gadget friendly a generation the later ones are. I grew up with the 2600, 5200, 7800, hell even the jag and I still have them all. But i have little nostalgia to play most of those old games Tempset 2000 on the Jag (still like that one) but the depth of the 2600/7800 games is not really there. I may be wrong but ATARI cant own much more then those old classics and the more modern Arcade games (pit fighter, area 51, etc while fun are not really system sellers either, and doubtfully not on any retro console). TANK, YArs revenge, Swordquest. (some the arcade classics maybe, but if its a retro console it will be the home version (wouldn't it?) . not alot of people (at least in my opinion) are going to look at those games like metroid, link, Castlevania. But who knows.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

You guys aren't thinking it might be a Steam box in a 2600 looking case?

 

[Yakk]

Odd quote that caught my attention:

But he said it is based on PC technology.

Aside from that, dunno. I like the wood, but that would be expensive for a console unless its maybe a recon.

 

[XSoldier77X]

I think it's pretty definite that it'll be a retro console of some type. There's no way they have the budget or resources for anything like a PS4 competitor.

yes, likely. they'll test waters first and then see what happens to it. more people are going to buy this 50-100 bucks piece of equipment to play retro games, giving them enough money to start out on a new venture, a real console.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

yes, likely. they'll test waters first and then see what happens to it. more people are going to buy this 50-100 bucks piece of equipment to play retro games, giving them enough money to start out on a new venture, a real console.

You think there is much of a market for that? 2600 games have aged pretty badly IMO and their later consoles were all disasters (what was Atari thinking using the sound chip from the 2600 in the 7800?).

 

[nakedfrog]

"Atari"
How many times has the name changed hands since the crash in the 80s?

 

[CrackRabbit]

You think there is much of a market for that? 2600 games have aged pretty badly IMO and their later consoles were all disasters (what was Atari thinking using the sound chip from the 2600 in the 7800?).

Backwards compatibility with the 2600 was the big reason. After the flop of the 5200 they wanted people to have an instant base of games they could play. It was actually the big reason I bought a 7800 myself.
They had plans to rectify it by having a low cost chip that could be added to cartridges to improve the sound over the 2600s TIA chip. When the company was sold to Jack Tramiel, they promptly killed it.

If this 'console' turns out to be another retro job, I might consider it if it had a cartridge slot and a modern tv connection. It would be nice to play my old games without having to worry about the fragility of Atari's power cords.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

If this 'console' turns out to be another retro job, I might consider it if it had a cartridge slot and a modern tv connection. It would be nice to play my old games without having to worry about the fragility of Atari's power cords.

Why not emulation?

 

[CrackRabbit]

Why not emulation?

Time and effort mostly, I'm sure it's not hard to put together a Raspberry Pi based emulation box,
But then I have to spend the time hunting for ROMs, making the interface look nice, tweaking the emulator, etc.
There's a reason people went nuts of the NES classic, it's because it made the emulation convenient.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Time and effort mostly, I'm sure it's not hard to put together a Raspberry Pi based emulation box,
But then I have to spend the time hunting for ROMs, making the interface look nice, tweaking the emulator, etc.
There's a reason people went nuts of the NES classic, it's because it made the emulation convenient.

Maybe it's cause I'm not so lazy that clicking a mouse is inconvenient that I saw the NES classic as a huge waste.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Maybe it's cause I'm not so lazy that clicking a mouse is inconvenient that I saw the NES classic as a huge waste.

I thought it was too and didn't get one.
But this is also a tech enthusiast forum, we're used to building and tweaking things ourselves. The average person who had fond memories of their NES but not the knowhow or patience to make something the NES Classic was perfect for.
Adding a cartridge slot would have made it much much more appealing to me, I could possibly play games the system didn't come with built in with all the modern niceties added to it.
Hyperkin RetroN HD, is kind of what I would be looking for but the reviews kind of make me shy away.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072PC59FQ/