Atari jumping back into the Console War?

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

https://www.vg247.com/2017/06/15/atari-releases-teaser-for-the-ataribox-a-brand-new-product-years-in-the-making/

I don't know what to make of it. "Years in the making" sounds more like an actual console that will be next gen. Can Atari make it a 4 way war? I want to no, but I've been wrong plenty of times. the video shows 2600-esque furniture. If this was a retro emulator box with 2600-5200 remastered (Blaster Master Zero style) or at least arcade version qualities of the games loaded into it, I'd buy it in a heart beat for nostalgia sake. I have rose tinted glasses to most my NES favorites, but every time I touch an atari and play Defender, Asteroids, or Yar's Revenge, its just as I remember them.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Its probably a retro box with all their classics redone in HD. That would be cool. Or maybe this is all an elaborate move on their part to focus on the 2600, while the real reveal is actually this long awaited sequel that should have been released on the 2600 all those years ago:

Years in the making indeed.. many years.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Screw that.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I might selectively remember some games more fondly than others but I doubt anyone remembers playing E.T. with any enjoyment. I'll always remember the day I played it for the first time at my Uncle Tom's house. 5 minutes in and I didn't know if I died or if the game froze so I asked my uncle tom what I was supposed to do.. He said I must have beaten it and to move onto another game. He had at least five copies of that game.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

That was the first game I ever hated. Atari games hold their charm because the vast majority of them were about getting the highest scores rather than completing them to get an ending. I can't even remember one that had an ending.

[Myk JL 1,731]

17 hours ago, DeathscytheX said:

I don't know what to make of it. "Years in the making" sounds more like an actual console that will be next gen. Can Atari make it a 4 way war? I want to no, but I've been wrong plenty of times.

I think I'm overlooking some Atari Console but I'm certain if it was a console it should be "Decades in the making". Plus PS4 is so far in the lead it makes Xbox One look weak. So anyone getting into this console war right now would probably be gunning for 2nd place.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Myk JL

[Sledgstone 8,672]

On 6/16/2017 at 0:34 AM, DeathscytheX said:

That was the first game I ever hated. Atari games hold their charm because the vast majority of them were about getting the highest scores rather than completing them to get an ending. I can't even remember one that had an ending.

Pitfall was the only game i knew of that had an ending. Look how bad it was:

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Activision: Screwing fans over since 1982.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I didn't realize this until yesterday. The count down timer was close to running out in that video I posted so I looked up some more about it.. turns out the game is speed run only to win it. Heres another video of a perfect run on an emulator. Activision was brutal. To beat this game you have to perfect speed run it, not die once and even then you'd only have 7 seconds of time to spare. This video is at double speed so it looks a bit fast. No mistakes can be made. wtf.

 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Quote

We know you are hungry for more details; on specs, games, features, pricing, timing etc. We’re not teasing you intentionally; we want to get this right, so we’ve opted to share things step by step as we bring Ataribox to life, and to listen closely to Atari community feedback as we do so.

It sounds like Atari has no idea what they're actually making. I'm assuming it's going to be a retro console with more games available via an online marketplace.

Source: http://kotaku.com/this-is-an-ataribox-whatever-that-is-1796979958

 

 

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

They know what they're making, they just aren't telling us what it is yet. But if I had to guess, they might be trying their hand at the first digital only console (not counting OUYA).

[Myk JL 1,731]

16 minutes ago, DeathscytheX said:

They know what they're making, they just aren't telling us what it is yet. But if I had to guess, they might be trying their hand at the first digital only console (not counting OUYA).

So basically Nvidia Shield?

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Nah, Nvidia Shield is more of an android streaming box that can play PC games. It doesn't get Triple A titles developed for it, even though it does get multiplatform ones. Then again maybe Atari will do the same thing minus the android selection, and offer a $8 streaming service. I doubt that would be very successful though. Its one thing to download a game with shit internet speeds, and another to try to play it via streaming with a slow connection. Although they don't pop out Triple As themselves they do have their own development studio that mostly makes DBZ fighting games.

[Myk JL 1,731]

RIP Ataribox?

Part of me was hoping / regretting If Skyrim ever came to it.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

EH... It looks really cool, but not $300 cool. I'll wait to see the "mondern" games or pick up one for $100 when it fails. It feels more like a novelty I could get for my parents to loved the 2600 back in the day.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

The only people that will buy this is YouTubers and eBay flippers. There is no way these will be mass produced and the $300 price tag is specifically to target those 2 groups of people. They should have made it a simple atari classic like the NES and Super NES classic and sold it for $80. The only modern games it'll play will most likely only be games that are currently playable on linux via steam. They mentioned no developers for the system and made no announcement about new launch titles. I bet they'll only be on eBay for about $400 soon and we'll never hear of it again like ouya.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

If they would have made a base model that only had the original games and 2 updated joysticks. I would have been sold. Even at $100 I would have bought it because I could share it with my parents. They use to play tanks and asteroids. After Super Mario Bros. 3, it got too complicated for them.   With wireless joysticks they could play from their recliners. Seeing as this is a gofundme type deal, big developers aren't going to be porting Battlefield and COD to this. The market has become a stagnate system of Sony and MS delivering the big games and Nintendo doing its own thing with a strong first party IP. If you didn't get in the game after PS2/Xbox, you probably never will, thats when gaming became such a massive media market. Only Google could probably enter the fray with their own system. Or Amazon, but they haven't even made their first big IP yet from their gaming studio... I could see them tying in a prime membership with its online service which would bring people to it.

[Myk JL 1,731]

5 hours ago, Sledgstone said:

The only modern games it'll play will most likely only be games that are currently playable on linux via steam.

So it could basically be a Steam Machine with a better controller?

Not saying that would be enough for me to buy an Atari VCS, but the Steam Controller is the worst controller I've ever used.

Also I would really need to see proof that Atari VCS could run modern games or even games that came out for PS3 & Xbox 360.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I was tempted to buy a steam controller at one point, but it didn't look comfortable to use. Why was it bad for you? Can those touch pad things emulate mouse movements decently?

I bet when they say the VCS will run modern games they probably mean modern mobile games like Clash of Clans and Angry Birds.

 

3 hours ago, DeathscytheX said:

If they would have made a base model that only had the original games and 2 updated joysticks. I would have been sold. Even at $100 I would have bought it because I could share it with my parents. They use to play tanks and asteroids. After Super Mario Bros. 3, it got too complicated for them.   With wireless joysticks they could play from their recliners.

A base model would have been great. I'd probably still pass on it tho. lol. The only person I knew that owned every Atari game and was a big atari fan was my Uncle Tom and he passed away many years ago. I do think I'll buy a retro pi, case and some decent wireless contollers an make my own retro gaming system. It should cost less than $70 and I could load any game from atari to N64 on it. I would like to buy a SNES Classic tho. I like the look of it and I'd play most of the games on it. If it had Chrono Trigger on there I'd have bought it asap.

Super Mario 3 was the cut off for my parents too. The only games they play now are puzzle games. My dad loves playing sudoku.

[Myk JL 1,731]

1 hour ago, Sledgstone said:

I was tempted to buy a steam controller at one point, but it didn't look comfortable to use. Why was it bad for you? Can those touch pad things emulate mouse movements decently?

The controller is comfortable to hold. But the right touch pad makes it hard to aim. It really should've been a control stick.

[Myk JL 1,731]

It hurts to stare....

 

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

This thing is a disaster.

[Pchan 5,162]

Is that why being away from the boards was bad for me because I was one of the very few who bought into this and now ... owns it? I almost cancelled my pre-order on the kickstarter/ indiegogo/ whatever thing but I didn't remember what account I used to sign up for the initial order. Months later, I received the box. I'm telling ya ... this's gonna help bankroll my kid's college tuition in the future. 

[Myk JL 1,731]

20 hours ago, Pchan said:

Is that why being away from the boards was bad for me because I was one of the very few who bought into this and now ... owns it? I almost cancelled my pre-order on the kickstarter/ indiegogo/ whatever thing but I didn't remember what account I used to sign up for the initial order. Months later, I received the box. I'm telling ya ... this's gonna help bankroll my kid's college tuition in the future. 

I think the future will be won by Handheld PCs like...

1. Smach Z (Dead)
2. Alienware UFO (CES 2020 Concept)
3. Lavie Mini (CES 2021 Concept)
4. Aya Neo (I backed it on indie go go...)
5. OneXPlayer (I didn't back it on indie go go.)

In the end it will be known that Nintendo's last butterfly effect (Nintendo Switch) somehow killed the console wars.