New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[AtariBrian]

.

[Dr Manhattan]

A while back as a fundraiser for my Bike MS ride, I drank a bottle of mustard flavored soda.

 

I got no donations that .night.

 

I would have given $5 just to see that.

 

Marketing is expensive and a whole different beast, and it's vital and important.

 

In Los Angeles we have over 100 different advertising and marketing companies. I crossed paths with these folks for a lot of years. One movie promotion had kids standing on a corner holding up hand drawn signs that said "Honk if you love beasts!" The movie was called Beasts of the Southern Wild. It was a moderate success. The funny thing is many of the passers by told me that at first they thought the signs said "honk if you love breasts."

 

Advertising is what you make of it. Not everyone has to be Apple. Quite honestly, their ads in recent years have been terrible. Take this one for example.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkq8a6AV3HM

 

What does this commercial actually say? That Apple's Animoji yourself feature will turn you into braying jackass? A unicorn that looks like a donkey followed by a talking poop emoji. That's a great message. This company has lost its way.

 

Besides, you kids have all been successfully baited into doing all the advertising leg for Atari for free. No payment necessary.

[Pink]

Simply put, companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, etc. are anomalies and outliers.

 

Numerous websites went bust after the .com bubble burst in the late 90s. Amazon, eBay and Google were anomalies and survived and went on to thrive.

Huge list of companies here that went bust here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble#Companies_significant_to_the_bubble

 

Best Buy started as a mom and pop shop in 1966 in Richfield, MN not far where I live. For every company that became big like them, hundreds or maybe thousands of other small electronic stores over the past several decades didn't make it or have closed.

 

Pizza Hut had started in 1958 by 2 brothers and they grew to become the largest pizza chain with over 13,000 locations today. And for every pizza place that had the success like Pizza hut and Dominos, literally thousands of other pizza shops have closed and ended up failing. 2016 article states that over 7500 independent pizza shops closed over the past decade. http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2016/03/04/tech-is-killing-off-america-s-independent-pizzerias-says-industry-report.html

 

It's like winning the lottery. Sure, someone wins it, but for every person that wins it, there are literally millions and tens of millions that do not.

It's good to dream big, have big aspirations and a positive attitude. But you need to be realistic. Just because Apple did it, doesn't mean your going to come even remotely close to that. Figuratively speaking, companies like Apple, Amazon, Google "Won the lottery"

Edited July 5, 2018 by Pink

[RugglesTx]

That's really the key, too. Atari isn't offering anything beyond aesthetics, and even those are weak (IMO). What they are selling is really a moderately functional Knick-knack. Like a Lava lamp or a nutcracker. The purpose it ostensibly has, it performs badly, but that's excused because it looks nice.

What pull my attention was the Atari name and the look. Its an awesome looking unit. Both old school and modern atvthe same time.

 

But its not innovated in anyway. The Apple OS (10.0 and up) was, the iPod was a game changer, and the iPhone was industry changing. Apple combined looks and function like nobody else. Their quality was top notch as well, after Jobs died that seems to have changed though

[RugglesTx]

 

I would have given $5 just to see that.

 

 

 

 

In Los Angeles we have over 100 different advertising and marketing companies. I crossed paths with these folks for a lot of years. One movie promotion had kids standing on a corner holding up hand drawn signs that said "Honk if you love beasts!" The movie was called Beasts of the Southern Wild. It was a moderate success. The funny thing is many of the passers by told me that at first they thought the signs said "honk if you love breasts."

 

Advertising is what you make of it. Not everyone has to be Apple. Quite honestly, their ads in recent years have been terrible. Take this one for example.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkq8a6AV3HM

 

What does this commercial actually say? That Apple's Animoji yourself feature will turn you into braying jackass? A unicorn that looks like a donkey followed by a talking poop emoji. That's a great message. This company has lost its way.

 

Besides, you kids have all been successfully baited into doing all the advertising leg for Atari for free. No payment necessary.

 

Holy hell she is a human unicorn! Lol

 

Yeah Apple of yor is not Apple of today. Still use them, main email is still a @mac.com even, but not the same IMO.

Edited July 5, 2018 by RugglesTx

[Pink]

 

I would have given $5 just to see that.

 

 

In Los Angeles we have over 100 different advertising and marketing companies. I crossed paths with these folks for a lot of years. One movie promotion had kids standing on a corner holding up hand drawn signs that said "Honk if you love beasts!" The movie was called Beasts of the Southern Wild. It was a moderate success. The funny thing is many of the passers by told me that at first they thought the signs said "honk if you love breasts."

 

Advertising is what you make of it. Not everyone has to be Apple. Quite honestly, their ads in recent years have been terrible. Take this one for example.

I agree. Look at Google. Over the past 2 decades, their name has become a verb and synonymous with looking something up online.

"Let me Google it"

"I'll google some restaurants by our hotel"

"Just a second, I need to google it"

 

It's not just spending money on commercials and billboards and radio ads. Getting your name out there and getting it synonymous with whatever your doing. Love or hate Apple, but it's something they have pulled off. Like I said, how many people 10-15 years ago would you hear refer to any MP3 player as an "iPod" How many people since the first iPad came out up to now refer to any tablet, regardless of brand, as an "iPad"

 

I work retail. Every single day there are customers referring to their android tablet as an iPad or saying they have "That new Samsung Galaxy iPhone"

 

"Hey! I'm looking for a charger for a Samsung iPhone"

 

I hear that stuff daily. Not just from old people but people of all ages and genders.

 

Like I said earlier, back when I was in junior high/middle school and our old lady teacher would say no iPods allowed and class and students would use their non-Apple MP3 player (knowing full well that they'd get in trouble) then get into a pissing match with the teacher claiming it's "technically not an iPod, Apple makes iPods, bla bla bla" and "You technically never said anything about any other MP3 players, just iPods"

 

Nintendo had it pulled off too back in the 80s and 90s. Every now and then I see this meme makes 'rounds on Facebook

 

 

About the only name recognition Atari has is "That ancient game console" Or "Those old games that my dad likes"

Edited July 5, 2018 by Pink

[PlaysWithWolves]

I suspect Atari VCS is run by the shoestring budget by which it appears to be run.

[mbd30]

About the only name recognition Atari has is "That ancient game console" Or "Those old games that my dad likes"

 

Mike Matei recently streamed some Atari. Maybe that will help with the name recognition.

[+Nathan Strum]

BUUUT how do you know Atari needed the money? Are you privledge to their accounting records? If you make a statement like it's a fact then please give a source.

 

If you can read French, their financial reports are posted here: http://www.atari-investisseurs.fr/publications-reglementees/

 

Here's the most recent one: Atari-Actu-DDR-2017-09-VDEF-DEF.pdf

 

Also, anyone still in doubt as to just how hopeless and/or clueless Atari actually is, might want to read their April 2018 "Strategic Presentation" from this page: http://www.atari-investisseurs.fr/documents-videos/

 

Here's the mostly English version, for your convenience: PRES-ATARI-2018-04-US-VDEF2.pdf

 

The whole thing just smacks of sheer desperation. If you don't have rose-colored glasses on, that is. Plus there's quite a lot of financial information in there, too. After expenses, their operating income as of September 2017 was 1.2 million Euros* ($1.4 million U.S). They just made more than double that on Indiegogo in one month.

 

Favorite line, in bold, from the bottom of page 2:

 

Any investment in Atari shares, which have a highly volatile stock price, represents a significant risk.

 

That is from Atari.

 

Second favorite line, from page 14:

 

STRONG ASSETS: A hudge IP portfolio

 

I'm thinking this is Atari marketing trying to start a new Meme. Let's make Hudge Happen!™

 

"Atari - we're Hudge!"™

 

Speaking of marketing slogans, they repeat this a few times:

 

So much more than video games

 

But they keep repeating over and over that their value lies in their 200 game-based IPs:

 

Since 2013, the Atari Group has been relaunched with essentially 2 game franchises and a licensing program

▪ Rollercoaster Tycoon: PC, Mobile, and Switch / PS4 soon ▪ Atari Vault

▪ Licensing program: Atari Flashback, mini-arcades, ..

There are almost 200 games left in the catalog, and multimedia activities are gaining momentum

▪ Games: limited risk by using known IPs (Food Fight, Lunar Battle,...) ▪ Online casino

▪ Atari VCS

▪ TV and movie licenses

 

"Essentially 2 game franchises" is incredibly deceptive though, since Atari Vault and the Atari Flashbacks both already contain most of their IPs.

 

Finally though, on page 22, when talking about the AtariVCS (which they still refer to as "the Box"):

 

To limit the risks, the Box will be first sold through a crowd-funding campaign and can then be licensed to a third-party.

 

Please read that carefully if you're still on the fence about Atari.

 

They are not crowd-funding to "build a crowd." They are crowd-funding to limit risks. Atari is flat-out lying.

 

But even more telling, is that it "can then be licensed to a third-party."

 

The AtariVCS is not something they're going to bring to retail themselves. Rather, this is just another way to license their IPs to other companies who actually produce things.

 

They're clearly hoping to convince someone that this will sell Flashback numbers, because on page 22 in the AtariVCS section, they state:

 

More than 500 000 Flashback consoles (plug-and-play) are sold each year.

 

Even if Atari uses the Indiegogo money to create a working AtariVCS, and somehow gets enough of them made to fulfill backer "pre-orders", all they'll do with it is shop it around to try and get someone else to take it to market for them. If nobody bites, then that's the end of it. Atari sure isn't going to do it themselves.

 

How do we know this? Because they say so themselves, on page 6:

 

Our goal is to optimize the value of the Atari brand and of the portfolio of games by focusing of selected strategic activities, while developing new ventures through licensing agreements and partnerships with experienced teams.

In that field of multimedia opportunities, we have selected some activities because of their complementarity, and have adapted the organization and the business model

The other opportunities are pursued through a licensing program, until we reach the conclusion that adding a new business line makes sense

 

And, from page 25:

 

Atari Strategy :

▪ Favor partnerships, with limited cash investments

 

And they even diagram it, on page 14:

 

 

Atari SA is not Atari.

 

This is Atari SA (from page 13):

 

Atari Group capitalizes on the awareness of the Atari brand to promote “Atari Ventures”, by taking stakes in high-growth start-ups in exchange for an Atari brand license and limited cash investments.

 

Atari made games.

 

 

*Edit: Updated operating income to reflect more recent September 2017 statement, rather than March 2017. I don't know if these are earnings from March 2017-September 2017, or September 2016-September 2017. Someone who reads French can better sort that out.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Nathan Strum

[RugglesTx]

Brand names are powerful.

 

Around SE Texas its

 

You want a Coke?

 

Yes

 

What kind?

 

A Dr Pepper, Pepsi etc..

 

Soda or Pop are not even used by most.

 

Band Aide...QTip etc..

 

Atari has that and lost it. Not getting it back. Its Xbox or PlayStation now that own that right...

[Pink]

Beautiful post Nathan Strum!

 

Band-Aid, Q-Tip, Kleenex, Saran Wrap, Crock-pot, Chapstick, etc.

 

The list goes on and on.

 

http://mentalfloss.com/article/56667/41-brand-names-people-use-generic-terms

Edited July 6, 2018 by Pink

[digdugnate]

Brand names are powerful.

 

Around SE Texas its

 

You want a Coke?

 

Yes

 

What kind?

 

A Dr Pepper, Pepsi etc..

 

Soda or Pop are not even used by most.

 

Band Aide...QTip etc..

 

Atari has that and lost it. Not getting it back. Its Xbox or PlayStation now that own that right...

I grew up in North Texas (Sherman), and i remember the 'Coke for everything', lol. That worked for me, cos i like coke- every restaurant up here seems like they sell Pepsi instead. blech.

[+frankodragon]

 

 

"Atari - we're Hudge!"™

"Atari SA: We're an Iron Bucket"

 

 

That iphone commercial they must of ripped off the Silver Shamrock commercial from Halloween III.

 

[Matt_B]

Shinto -- that's an excellent example of a well written product description. Details, reasons for being, actual boards and case inside and out, real software. Shipping date much sooner. Had Atari come forth with something like that, they wouldn't be a joke. I would have considered supporting them.

 

UDOO BOLT costs more once you gear it up properly, just like any PC -- and like "Atari VCS," you could probably build something like this from available parts.

 

Meanwhile, I just got an update about a closed beta for the ToeJam and Earl Kickstarter, which is coming up on 3 years behind their original planned shipping date. Sigh.

 

Yeah, the UDOO BOLT is a realistic proposition for a media PC, but you're looking at the $400+ tiers if you want it to come with memory, a case and a power supply.

 

With Atari presumably still aiming at the sub $250 bracket, you're looking at another level of cheap and nasty.

[Pink]

"You'll never forgive yourself"

 

Their ego is quite large. And out of the 39 comments, 2 comments are from one shill defending their lack of a working prototype or pretty much lack of everything. The other 37 are all negative or not in support of Nutari.

 

Edited July 6, 2018 by Pink

[Pink]

 

 

Any investment in Atari shares, which have a highly volatile stock price, represents a significant risk.

 

 

Never forget

 

 

In fact the Atari stock is one of the best Stock Developments for the past 3/4 year on the Stock Exchange.

 

[Flojomojo]

If Microsoft had trouble with the Xbox being profitable, what on God's green earth makes you think Atari is going to have no issue whatsoever?

I know that was a rhetorical question, but some of the posts in the comments section of their IndieGogo campaign are illuminating. I see Nostalgia/sentimentality, tribalism, greed/collecting/hoarding, and misplaced loyalty, in addition to generalized idiocy.

 

Simply put, companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, etc. are anomalies and outliers.

...

It's like winning the lottery. Sure, someone wins it, but for every person that wins it, there are literally millions and tens of millions that do not.

 

It's good to dream big, have big aspirations and a positive attitude. But you need to be realistic. Just because Apple did it, doesn't mean your going to come even remotely close to that. Figuratively speaking, companies like Apple, Amazon, Google "Won the lottery"

But it's not like the giants got there without effort, like a lottery winner would. They benefited from massive investment in research and development. They're staffed by engineers, designers, visionaries, not "Fixed costs at low levels. Seasoned team, financially-motivated." Google/Amazon/Apple are innovative, they try lots of new things, and for every massive success there were lots of things that didn't take. Amazon in particular took a very long time to post the massive profits it enjoys today. The giants give things away to get market share, then monetize when they have value to add. They don't ask for money up front with the vaguest of promises to deliver something later. It's gross when anyone (not you Pink) compares the flea-fart Atari with real companies.

 

The big guys aren't repackaging games that were created FORTY YEARS AGO and hoping to skim some money from other people with very low risk projects. They are true market innovators, disruptors, rain-makers. Atari is following the crowd, years after better funded companies cleared all the profitability away for themselves.

 

But never mind, Atari is "doing its own thing," not trying to compete with the giants. That's well and good, but apart from their aging name, they have nothing to argue for them, not technology, not ecosystem, not features, not price.

 

Also, anyone still in doubt as to just how hopeless and/or clueless Atari actually is, might want to read their April 2018 "Strategic Presentation" from this page: http://www.atari-investisseurs.fr/documents-videos/

This was a good find -- nothing we didn't know, but really shows how little they have going for themselves. There's no surprises waiting in development, no Mario 64 or YouTube or Amazon Prime. The AtariBox is an obvious, cynical ploy to squeeze one last drop of juice from its aging fanbase. It's obviously unsustainable; they don't even own their biggest moneymaker, Rollercoaster Tycoon. What's stopping that person from taking their toys and going somewhere that will make them a better deal?

 

I'm still hoping some angel will buy out a majority in this company and put it out of its misery, so we don't have to watch it sink to the bottom of the ocean, again.

 

"Atari made games" -- well said Nathan

[AlecRob]

 

Is this relevant ? I made tacos

 

Carnitas, pico de Gallo, guacamole, Valentina sauce

[RugglesTx]

I grew up in North Texas (Sherman), and i remember the 'Coke for everything', lol. That worked for me, cos i like coke- every restaurant up here seems like they sell Pepsi instead. blech.

In the 80s growing up a bunch of families moved down here due to the issues in Detroit. Hanging with those kids they called it pop we were like what is that?

 

:0

[CPUWIZ]

Xerox that shit.

[RugglesTx]

I know that was a rhetorical question, but some of the posts in the comments section of their IndieGogo campaign are illuminating. I see Nostalgia/sentimentality, tribalism, greed/collecting/hoarding, and misplaced loyalty, in addition to generalized idiocy.

 

But it's not like the giants got there without effort, like a lottery winner would. They benefited from massive investment in research and development. They're staffed by engineers, designers, visionaries, not "Fixed costs at low levels. Seasoned team, financially-motivated." Google/Amazon/Apple are innovative, they try lots of new things, and for every massive success there were lots of things that didn't take. Amazon in particular took a very long time to post the massive profits it enjoys today. The giants give things away to get market share, then monetize when they have value to add. They don't ask for money up front with the vaguest of promises to deliver something later. It's gross when anyone (not you Pink) compares the flea-fart Atari with real companies.

 

The big guys aren't repackaging games that were created FORTY YEARS AGO and hoping to skim some money from other people with very low risk projects. They are true market innovators, disruptors, rain-makers. Atari is following the crowd, years after better funded companies cleared all the profitability away for themselves.

 

But never mind, Atari is "doing its own thing," not trying to compete with the giants. That's well and good, but apart from their aging name, they have nothing to argue for them, not technology, not ecosystem, not features, not price.

 

This was a good find -- nothing we didn't know, but really shows how little they have going for themselves. There's no surprises waiting in development, no Mario 64 or YouTube or Amazon Prime. The AtariBox is an obvious, cynical ploy to squeeze one last drop of juice from its aging fanbase. It's obviously unsustainable; they don't even own their biggest moneymaker, Rollercoaster Tycoon. What's stopping that person from taking their toys and going somewhere that will make them a better deal?

 

 

I'm still hoping some angel will buy out a majority in this company and put it out of its misery, so we don't have to watch it sink to the bottom of the ocean, again.

 

 

"Atari made games" -- well said Nathan

 

Hey man who you callin aging fan base??? :0

[Pink]

I know that was a rhetorical question, but some of the posts in the comments section of their IndieGogo campaign are illuminating. I see Nostalgia/sentimentality, tribalism, greed/collecting/hoarding, and misplaced loyalty, in addition to generalized idiocy.

 

But it's not like the giants got there without effort, like a lottery winner would. They benefited from massive investment in research and development. They're staffed by engineers, designers, visionaries, not "Fixed costs at low levels. Seasoned team, financially-motivated." Google/Amazon/Apple are innovative, they try lots of new things, and for every massive success there were lots of things that didn't take. Amazon in particular took a very long time to post the massive profits it enjoys today. The giants give things away to get market share, then monetize when they have value to add. They don't ask for money up front with the vaguest of promises to deliver something later. It's gross when anyone (not you Pink) compares the flea-fart Atari with real companies.

Excellent post. Amazon wanted to be the first place you'd automatically go when you buy something online, much like when you need to look something up, you go to Google, or Youtube if your looking for a video. But they didn't just wish and "Really want it to happen" It took a lot of work and undercutting competitor's pricing and bleeding money for many, many, many years for them to get to that point.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Pink

[RugglesTx]

Excellent post. Amazon wanted to be the first place you'd automatically go when you buy something online, much like when you need to look something up, you go to Google, or Youtube if your looking for a video. But they didn't just wish and "Really want it to happen" It took a lot of work and undercutting competitor's pricing and bleeding money for many, many, many years for them to get to that point.

They were so smart about it when they started. Start selling just books, cheap prices. Add on heavier S&H (back when S&H on line was a profitable factor) and make their money on the S&H not the product. Then slowly dominate the market and lower shipping prices to drive that domination. Pure brilliance.

 

Worked for Waldenbooks for 5 years in the early 90s. Amazon helped kill that company in many ways IMO. They are a retail beast these days.

[Flojomojo]

Hey man who you callin aging fan base??? :0

 

you have the chemical enhancements on your side, but even Guinness can't stop the ravages of time.

[BiffsGamingVideos]

My source is every other player in the industry. If I pre-ordered a video game, made by anyone else, I would not be charged until it shipped. If Atari is going to take the money over a year in advance, without even a firm ship date, then they're breaking from that and trying to skirt that system.

 

This presents two possibilities:

 

1) They need the money to produce the console, or:

2) They don't need the money, but figured they'd become more popular by making their customer base $300 poorer. In other words, colossally stupid.

 

Now, in your defense, I've seen nothing to indicate Atari SA isn't colossally stupid. However, when you have a half dozen ways to take a pre-order, and you choose the only one that requires the buyer to part with their money, I have to think that was deliberate.

 

So …. you have no source. Got it.

 

You MAY be correct in your assessment or you MAY be wrong. The thing is we don't know. That's my point. You are just guessing.

 

and yes the people running Atari have managed to mess up pretty much everything over the last year. I agree. and I don't see them fixing it anytime soon but I do think the system comes out sometime in 2019.

Edited July 6, 2018 by BiffsGamingVideos