Atariboy Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 I'll probably bite at $28 at Dollar General. I don't even have any Meijer's around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 If Battlezone isn't included, it wouldn't surprise me. Rebellion bought the IP to that game during that brief Atari asset auction. I forgot who bought Math Grand Prix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 In the category of better-late-than-never, AtGames is finally sending me review units for the latest Atari Flashback and Sega consoles. After I receive them later this week, I'll probably have the reviews posted late next week or early the week after (I have some deadlines with Armchair Arcade and PC Gamer I have to address first). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenegg Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) In the category of better-late-than-never, AtGames is finally sending me review units for the latest Atari Flashback and Sega consoles. After I receive them later this week, I'll probably have the reviews posted late next week or early the week after (I have some deadlines with Armchair Arcade and PC Gamer I have to address first). From what I've seen, all that's different are the included games. Seems like the same internals they've been used for ages. Edited November 15, 2015 by goldenegg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) From what I've seen, all that's different are the included games. Seems like the same internals they've been used for ages. Correct. They're considering revised internals for next year. Edited November 15, 2015 by Bill Loguidice 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I hope that includes HDMI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenegg Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 They're considering revised internals for next year. I've been hearing that for the past 2 - 3 years. I'll believe it when I see it. Even with the limitations of the current models, they still sell fairly well. Unless the redesign is going to be cheaper for them to manufacture, I can't see them making any changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I can only relate what they tell me (it's important to keep in mind that while they may want to do something one month, realities due to business reasons change; for example, I believe they had every intention of releasing sequels to the ColecoVision and Intellivision products, but lack of retailer interest dictated otherwise). I think they will be going for some hardware revisions this time around with either the Sega or Atari products (or both), because they've been using the same base for many years now and it's time for some type of refresh, particularly since they're hitting up against the limits of new games they can practically include. I don't think they'll transition to HDMI because of cost, but I agree that that alone would be a huge upgrade. They've actually been sitting on an upgraded Sega handheld for several years now. It's a shame they decided not to release that, because it really is superior to their existing machine. Maybe next year. It would actually be neat if they used that as the technological base for the console version as well. I guess we'll see. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1500 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Repeating myself here: The releasing of "only slightly different than the one before" sequel consoles to a static game library & hardware make little sense to me. And two outcomes can happen here: 1. Sales drop like a rock - "Oh well, let's not make anymore, these aren't selling" 2. Sales are great - "Let's keep with our formula, it's obviously doing well! I know, let's take out game X and add game Y. Boom, instant Flashback sequel! Quick, let's make it in 3 weeks." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) Repeating myself here: The releasing of "only slightly different than the one before" sequel consoles to a static game library & hardware make little sense to me. And two outcomes can happen here: 1. Sales drop like a rock - "Oh well, let's not make anymore, these aren't selling" 2. Sales are great - "Let's keep with our formula, it's obviously doing well! I know, let's take out game X and add game Y. Boom, instant Flashback sequel! Quick, let's make it in 3 weeks." There's no real mystery here. It's a business like any other, with the same realities. It's obviously proven that only incremental changes year-to-year are sufficient to maintain the expected sales levels both for retailers and AtGames. We know that the collective we on sites like this and elsewhere are not the target market for these. The target market is the big box shelf browser informed by a touch of nostalgia looking for an inexpensive holiday gift. As bad as it is to say, these are priced and shelved like disposable toys. Working with the company like I do I can tell you for a fact that they do spend significant energy on ways to improve all of their products, relationships, etc., but it's always within the practicality of the bottom line. A good portion of it is also informed by retailer will. Like most companies they offer potential products to retailers at the beginning of the year, and, if they don't get sufficient buy-in, then those products aren't manufactured. It's that simple. There are many culprits in the minor annual update phenomena, which is obviously far more widespread than these products. Edited November 16, 2015 by Bill Loguidice 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1500 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Well, at least in the distant future(20-30 years from now), people could have a hobby collecting all the Flashback units ever made. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) I think they will be going for some hardware revisions this time around with either the Sega or Atari products (or both), because they've been using the same base for many years now and it's time for some type of refresh, particularly since they're hitting up against the limits of new games they can practically include. Why not work on their 2600 emulator? That's supposed to be part of the appeal of this style of hardware. Instead of investing in expensive redesign and retooling of their internals like what has to be done to make advancements with system-on-a-chip technology, they're able to make affordable improvements via software changes to increase compatibility and improve accuracy. Instead, their emulator seems to have remained static besides perhaps some minor enhancements moving to the FB4 (Going off memory of your posts; Not sure I ever noticed any differences in practice). I don't think they'll transition to HDMI because of cost, but I agree that that alone would be a huge upgrade. But not only is it getting cheaper by the day, the need for it is also only increasing. Hopefully they reevaluate this situation relatively soon and decide that the advantages of moving forward to HDMI are worth the ever decreasing premium. And if it hasn't already happened, someday soon we're going to start seeing HDMI only televisions I bet. Going to be difficult to justify this to the consumer in a few years when those convenient front/side AV ports are instead additional HDMI inputs for people's iPads, laptops, and the like. Edited November 16, 2015 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Has there been any news on their virtual (?, not sure that's the correct term) products? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenegg Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Well, at least in the distant future(20-30 years from now), people could have a hobby collecting all the Flashback units ever made. I'm sure there are plenty of us on this forum alone who own all the released models. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Has there been any news on their virtual (?, not sure that's the correct term) products? Well, the PC-based product has been out for a while now. I don't know why they haven't released the iOS apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUBARofPittsburgh Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Just saw the Flashback 6 at Sam's Club for $39.99. Anyone pick it up yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iwantgames:) Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 They got $40 FB6 at dollar general here but I past it and got the Star Wars Blaster Strike that was on sale for $20 instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I've seen these and the Genesis products at Walgreens for $39. I figure I will wait until they hit at least $29. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I find it interesting ATGames is having issues acquiring licensing for many of the 2600 game titles, and they seem to be focused on Atari titles only. Some of those 3rd party companies that made games folded in the 1980s. If it had 500 games, or have a cartridge slot, more people probably be willing to buy. Also maybe if it had the entire 7800 collection. They seem not interested in acquiring any of the modern homebrew tittles also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUBARofPittsburgh Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I find it interesting ATGames is having issues acquiring licensing for many of the 2600 game titles, and they seem to be focused on Atari titles only. Some of those 3rd party companies that made games folded in the 1980s. If it had 500 games, or have a cartridge slot, more people probably be willing to buy. Also maybe if it had the entire 7800 collection. They seem not interested in acquiring any of the modern homebrew tittles also. An SD cart slot would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I find it interesting ATGames is having issues acquiring licensing for many of the 2600 game titles, and they seem to be focused on Atari titles only. Some of those 3rd party companies that made games folded in the 1980s. If it had 500 games, or have a cartridge slot, more people probably be willing to buy. Also maybe if it had the entire 7800 collection. They seem not interested in acquiring any of the modern homebrew tittles also. It's my understanding there are no issues with sales of either the Atari or Sega products, so they really don't have to break the bank going after additional significant licenses, particularly when said licenses are difficult to determine present ownership of. Depending upon how it goes with the latest round of license acquisitions for the 2016 product, I can see some hardware changes (and obviously based on what they've told me about wanting to do such updates), although it's unlikely we'll get an SD cart slot, even though that's easily possible from a technology standpoint. It will never have a cartridge slot. The homebrew angle is usually what they explore when they're trying to fill slots, which is why the ColecoVision Flashback had a relatively high percentage of homebrews. What they're most interested in is recognizable titles that the average consumer (i.e., not us) will recognize, so adding things like original homebrews and the 7800 catalog really aren't that appealing from that standpoint. It's important to remember that these products are not targeting those of us who are familiar with the majority of the 2600's library and probably already have more than our fair share of original systems and/or regularly use emulation. This is for the rest of the population with some nostalgia for the Atari 2600, but not enough nostalgia to pursue other options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUBARofPittsburgh Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Picked up the Flashback 6 Deluxe from Sam's Club today.Last one left! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 (edited) What's the extra with the deluxe model? Paddles like usual? If money wasn't in short supply, I'd probably go for it if my nearest Sam's Club has it in stock. But I already have last year's edition with the paddles, so I'm thinking I'll pass this year's edition up, at least for now. I sure wouldn't mind another new set of paddles though. Edit: Yep, that's still what the extra is. This must be at least the third iteration that got a Deluxe release at Sam's Club with the AtGames replica paddles. http://www.samsclub.com/sams/atari-fb6-deluxe-wi/prod19080332.ip Must've just came in, since there wasn't a page up for it just a week ago or so. Edited November 24, 2015 by Atariboy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUBARofPittsburgh Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 What's the extra with the deluxe model? Paddles like usual? If money wasn't in short supply, I'd probably go for it if my nearest Sam's Club has it in stock. But I already have last year's edition with the paddles, so I'm thinking I'll pass this year's edition up, at least for now. I sure wouldn't mind another new set of paddles though. Edit: Yep, that's still what the extra is. This must be at least the third iteration that got a Deluxe release at Sam's Club with the AtGames replica paddles. http://www.samsclub.com/sams/atari-fb6-deluxe-wi/prod19080332.ip Must've just came in, since there wasn't a page up for it just a week ago or so. They first came in about a week ago along with a Genesis and portable Genesis plug and play systems. Kinda wish I had picked up those also. Keeping my fingers crossed they still have them the next time I go. Having a lot of fun with it, although I have to look up how to play a few of the games. Taught my mom how to play Centipede, she loves/hates it. Still wish it had a SD card slot so I could play some Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But well worth the $40.00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 For absentee license owners, put the money in an account until they turn up. There is actually a similar mechanism already in place in Canada for unlocatable copyright owners. There are no reported examples of it having been applied to video games, however, I do not see why it could not: http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/unlocatable-introuvables/index-e.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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