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Maybe we should do a kickstarter to raise funds so AtariAge can buy Atari. How cool would that be... :)

 

 

 

I could swear there was an Onion article from the JTS era about a kid who accidentally bought the Atari brand for $14.99 or something, lol. I can't find it now.

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I could swear there was an Onion article from the JTS era about a kid who accidentally bought the Atari brand for $14.99 or something, lol. I can't find it now.

 

Sounds familiar to me, too. Maybe from another satire site. Kid thought he was getting a single cartridge, not the whole damn useless company. :lolblue:

 

They did give us this!

 

post-2410-0-09135400-1504188619_thumb.png

 

and a little while ago, this

 

post-2410-0-33560600-1504188825_thumb.png

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The email from the 29th (only saw it in my inbox today):

 

 


ATARIBOX: COMING SOON!

The buzz on Ataribox continues to grow, and we can’t wait to share more news in the weeks ahead.

Ataribox will first be made available via a crowdfunding campaign this Fall 2017 with shipments planned to start in Spring 2018.

Why Crowdfunding? Amazing brands are driven by amazing communities. Coming back to hardware is an important step for Atari, and something we intend to do carefully, hand-in-hand with the Atari community that loves our brand as much as we do. Crowdfunding is the ultimate community approach to bring great products to life; and for Atari, it allows us to reward our community with exclusive access, special editions, and include them as active participants in the rollout of the Ataribox.

Sign up now at www.ataribox.com to join our community and be among the first to get news and updates!

CHECK IT OUT !
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So, to interpret that, I guess they'll have some type of Kickstarter before the end of December and likely well before December to have a chance of making a Spring 2018 release (basically, no later than the end of June).

 

I would think the Kickstarter itself will do well for various reasons, although again, I do question aloud how much interest those of us on this board will actually have in it.

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Almost no risk; high rewards. Only real risks are under-budgeting and/or not delivering.

Rewards are some cash flow (presumably) and higher brand awareness and value.

 

We keep seeing this same script played over-and-over. But sure, one of these are bound to get funded and--if properly budgeted--will hire the right people to do that for them.

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I've joined a few Kickstarter schemes. One or two have been successful; more have not completed their goals.

 

I think Kickstarter makes sense for a couple of guys putting together something in their garage, and they can't get a loan from the bank for their wacky scheme.

I expected better than this from Atari - it screams amateur hour.

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I've joined a few Kickstarter schemes. One or two have been successful; more have not completed their goals.

 

I think Kickstarter makes sense for a couple of guys putting together something in their garage, and they can't get a loan from the bank for their wacky scheme.

I expected better than this from Atari - it screams amateur hour.

They're trying to have it both ways. They want to claim they're the Atari that brought us the 2600 and that they have the clout to deliver something new and amazing... but when you point out that they shouldn't need kickstarter, suddenly the argument is "but we're just a little guy! Licensing a big name is expensive!"

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^ To the backers such a contradiction doesn't matter. In fact it will only make them more eager to fund it and get everyone they know on board. They will claim Atari is an industry underdog that has the right pedigree to pull this off but needs our help to compete on equal footing with the Big Three.

 

Presto! No more contradiction there.

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Why go through Kickstarter (or another third-party website) at all? Could the firm simply not offer either "pre-orders" of the product or even present these as "investment opportunities" directly to the public?

 

This would achieve the same goal of shifting the risk, and it would save the cost of third-party fees. I suppose that Kickstarter gives a (thin) veneer of respectability and some protection if the project fails to deliver, but true Atari enthusiasts will not be deterred by the risk, anyway.

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^ you're right about Kickstarter having a veneer of respectability, but not about the protection if the project fails (not that it matters anyway). They want to go to Kickstarter because they can raise more money there and it also seems to give you a better social media push. People want to get on Kickstarter so badly that they're willing to fake their prototypes rather than settle for IndieGoGo who doesn't require them at all. So clearly, the risk of being exposed and tarnishing your project is worth it if it gets you on Kickstarter.

 

I don't know whether a funding platform matters to Atari enthusiasts, but I imagine they're probably reading this forum and know enough to stay away as this isn't the Atari they love. True, Atari could just open up their own preorders, but I feel that would flop embarrassingly. They're not a big name anymore, they don't have that market reach. Atari has the same marketability right now as Polaroid, maybe even less. Again, the amount you can raise on Kickstarter is worth the risk or expense to get there.

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I don't think its cynical to point out the marketing fluff when the above isn't exactly addressed by the company. It's more like I'd like them to do their homework. If this was a car, would people accept just a concept drawing/render made by a designer before an engineer checked that it is viable? :)

 

I want to invest in DALE!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Motor_Car_Corporation

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  • 2 weeks later...

Turns out an old friend of mine is managing Ataribox!

 

feargal.jpg?w=800&resize=800%2C504&strip

 

 

It's the same guy from the Atari GameBand!

 

https://venturebeat.com/2017/09/25/ataribox-runs-linux-on-amd-chip-and-will-cost-at-least-249/

 

Also, it's going to be on Indiegogo and I can't believe they said this with a straight face:

 

"We’ve chosen to launch Ataribox with Indiegogo given their focus on delivering technology products"

 

Also, I won my bet on page 1 of this thread. They're going to Indiegogo, I get to keep my hair.

 

ataribox-3.jpg?w=800&resize=800%2C441&st

 

Some more deets:

 

The new box will have an AMD custom processor with Radeon graphics. It will run the Linux operating system, with a user interface it’s customizing for TVs. Mac said that the machine will run PC games, but it will also be capable of doing streaming, running apps, browsing the web, and playing music. As far as games go, the machine will run the kind of games that a mid-range PC can do today, but it won’t run Triple-A games that require high-end PC performance.

 

Price:

 

cost $250 to $300

 

Also:

 

The New York company is cashing in on the popularity of retro games and Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition, which turned out to be surprisingly popular for providing a method to easily play old games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda in HD on a TV. Atari’s classics include Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, and Pong.

 

 

I expect this to be a really hard sell. It's essentially a plug and play, so I don't think they can charge that much and expect people to line up. The NES Classic was $300 on the secondhand market because it existed and was so scarce. You don't really have that appeal when you're passing around the collection plate on Indiegogo of all places. I will not be surprised to see this flop. I hate to make this comparison, but there are some eerily similar parallels to the hubris that brought down the Retro VGS/Chameleon right down to the borrowed retro nameplate, sticker shock and Indiegogo.

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So, it's basically a slightly more powerful Raspberry Pi in a bigger, fancy case (with REAL WOOD!!!!11!!).

 

For $250.

 

Pass.

 

Who would even buy this? There are many other products that will do everything this does, and do it better, for less. Get a $200 XB1 bundle, go to a craft store, get some woodgrain contact paper, and VIOLA! Ataribox One. That's just one of the options out there. You aren't competing with the NES or SNES Classic consoles either. It's over 2.5x the price of those!

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