New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[jaybird3rd]

If they were to demonstrate so much as POST screen on the actual hardware that'd be more than we've seen so far, let alone any games.

I'm sure the "game platform architecture experts" at Tin Giant have been hard at work creating something so awesome that they simply can't show it to us; after all, they're the "game platform architecture experts." Let's check their website and see what they've been up to lately ...

 

Oh, yeah. Sandwiches. And coffee.

[+frankodragon]

How is it they can take the time to delete IGG posts but not do an update?

 

 

A few days ago, someone posted a comment about tacos (not me though). But it was deleted, so yeah, they're spending more time on posts than actually working on their vaporware project.

[CPUWIZ]

A few days ago, someone posted a comment about tacos (not me though).

 

LOL

[digdugnate]

it was commented on a few pages back, but i find it pretty interesting that at one point the total backed was like 3.11 million, but it's dropped to 3.01 million. is that because of backers going 'hell no' and getting chargebacks?

[toiletunes]

[+x=usr(1536)]

it was commented on a few pages back, but i find it pretty interesting that at one point the total backed was like 3.11 million, but it's dropped to 3.01 million. is that because of backers going 'hell no' and getting chargebacks?

 

That or the double-charges finally being sorted out, though I suspect that chargebacks are probably a greater contributing factor than the double-charges being refunded.

 

As of today, the funding amount looks to be down even further - they're sitting at $3,001,798 funded. If they find another half-dozen $300+ double-charges to refund, they'll be back under the line of the amazing accomplishment that was reaching the only psychologically-important $3M mark.

 

Of course, the lawyers are probably taking their chunks of that while they know that they can - Feargal's lawsuit still needs to be run through them, and if anyone knows how much financial runway Atari has to work with, it'll be the lawyers. Sure, there may be private investors involved that we don't know about, but I've never known a lawyer who doesn't keep at least some track of his or her clients' ability to write valid cheques.

 

The thing that amuses me in all of this, however, is the potential for Feargal's lawsuit to bring the guillotine down on the AtariVCSbox' neck. Granted, if it were to happen that way, Atari SA would then have a convenient scapegoat to point at re: their failure to cobble together an underpowered laptop from commodity parts and stick them in a throwback-looking case - and you can bet that they would do exactly that.

[JBerel]

I’m still most curious about the classic joystick they fish-hooked many people into backing because it was a lower price point. I maintain that a functional version of that has yet to appear, and after all these months, still nothing. Even dolts like Feargal and Fred should have been able to put the innards of another stick inside their 3D printed stick to demonstrate some functionality. Per their SOP, they have mimed that to suggest it’s working. Between the dispute on ownership of the stick designs with the contracted designers, and now the bumbling lawsuit about the box itself, the likelyhood of just the plastic parts going into production has to be in negative territory by now. Who wants to lay odds that their promised upcoming update is either faked or another collection of catch phrases and double talk that demonstrates nothing tangible again?

[cybercylon]

But does it come in woodgrain? Discless Xbone coming in 2019.

 

Possibly as low as $199 (including controller?). Comparable or better to AVCS in all ways but the CPU. Plus, it'll exist.

 

Of course, it won't have the Linux sandbox so there's that.

 

 

if it doesn't i bet you could get some slick decals for it

 

 

All you need to do is to buy the digital versions of the Flashback Classics volumes, Tempest 4000, and some indie titles. Slap on some Atari logo decals, and you have your Ataribox. Simple as that.

[+x=usr(1536)]

Since the funding numbers seem to change surprisingly regularly and my recollection of where they were vs. where they are is a bit crap as a result, let's take a look at two data points that serve as historical snapshots.

 

First up: today's official numbers, as provided by Indiegogo.

 

 

For the benefit of anyone needing an easy copy & paste: that's $3,001,798 raised in total, with $2,956,000 of that having been raised by the end of the crowdfunding campaign. This leaves a difference of approximately $45,798, which is likely accounted for in post-campaign pre-orders.

 

Note that I say 'approximately' above because there's a potential $1000 margin of error in the difference. This is based on how I derived the campaign total of $2,956,000: I simply multiplied the percentage of funds raised (2956%) by 1000 to get the total raised per Indiegogo's reporting. However, a $1000 margin of error isn't really significant in this case.

 

Moving on: here are the numbers that Atari reported in their post-funding update on July 2, 2018.

 

This paints a slightly different picture: $2,990,760 raised by the end of the campaign with 2981% of the target amount funded. 2981% of the target amount would be $2,981,000 (again, with a $1000 margin of error), which leaves a difference of $9,760 between the amount Atari SA claims to have raised and the amount they claim was funded.

 

There's also a difference in the total percentage Indiegogo claims was funded (2956%) vs. Atari SA's claim (2981%). In real terms, this works out to a difference between the percentages of about 0.84% - again, not super-significant, though depending on whether you accept Atari SA's numbers for total amount raised or Indiegogo's, that translates to a difference in reporting of either $25,122 or $24,830, respecitvely.

 

Now, a fair question at this point might be, "why the hell am I / are you doing this?" Well, the answer's simple: based on what I've seen of their behaviour over past year-and-a-half, I don't trust either Atari SA or Feargal Mac Conulaidh. This goes doubly so now that Feargal's lobbing sueballs in Atari SA's direction, and I have a suspicion that Atari SA will probably countersue him.

 

While it's not really possible to look into Atari SA's books and get a truly-accurate picture of the company's (probably shaky) financial standing, the Indiegogo campaign is still public-facing. In Atari SA's mind, the funds raised from this campaign are likely viewed as Free Money - sure, it could be used for hardware and software development, but it would also work equally well for defending against and launching lawsuits. After all, they have no responsibility to their backers to actually deliver anything per Indiegogo's terms & conditions.

 

Looking at the situation as it stands now, I feel that there is a valid possibility of this turning into another Sinclair Spectrum Vega+ saga, with legal action coming from backers. Coupling that with Atari SA's currently-known legal entanglements and no visible revenue stream beyond licensing their logo onto Speakerhats and T-Shirts, looking over the horizon a bit suggests that they may be coming close to getting irretrievably in over their financial heads.

 

That's part of the reason behind documenting these crowdfunding anomalies: 'follow the money' is going to become increasingly important when watching Atari SA over the next few months. Granted, these anomalies are small fry in the grand scheme of things - but they're useful enough amounts for things like travel, putting a down payment on a nice car, or paying for social media boosters. The real issues are almost certainly going to be a lot bigger and messier, but short of releasing a detailed earnings report we'll likely never know just how bad they are.

 

Keep an eye on that total campaign amount. I'm willing to bet that Atari SA doesn't want to retroactively lose face by seeing it slip under the $3M mark due to chargebacks and refunds of double charges, but if it does we'll at least have some idea of which war chest is likely being drawn from.

[JBerel]

Well, what we know is that they have deliberately faked gameplay video to pretend that the box and the controller works. They also deliberately lied about press coverage and got smacked for it. Then, without even knowing it, they revealed that they don’t even have any functioning electronics of any sort. It’s not hard to surmise that their financials are the same complete sham. You know they spent a ton on the marketing/begging campaign leading up to the crowdfunding. They're definitely charging all expenses to the crowdfunding revenue first by virtue of their paper corporate entity they acknowledge they created. I fully expect they’re also doing cross departmental charges to “reimburse” AtariSA for other expenses, in addition to the costs to indiegogo. Also, add at least 4 staff supposedly dedicated to the project, travel, training, materials, licenses, etc., and you haven’t even begun approaching overseas production and contracting.

 

I see no scenario where they have not burnt through or misappropriated half the revenue already based on their internal charges/expenses. They’re probably doing exactly what Feargal did and using the crowdfunded revenue as a slush fund to pay for anything beyond actual product development with salary, travel, rent and expenses being first on their list. Those are all things that should have been covered by the so called company or startup so project funds could be dedicated solely to product development. Since these crowdfunding scams have no rules, you know they’re transferring costs and creating new ones long before they invest in product production. Then they’ll just claim the costs and delays were just too much when they officially announce the theft of all the backer funds and cease the project.

[Lodmot]

Well, what we know is that they have deliberately faked gameplay video to pretend that the box and the controller works. They also deliberately lied about press coverage and got smacked for it. Then, without even knowing it, they revealed that they don’t even have any functioning electronics of any sort. It’s not hard to surmise that their financials are the same complete sham. You know they spent a ton on the marketing/begging campaign leading up to the crowdfunding. They're definitely charging all expenses to the crowdfunding revenue first by virtue of their paper corporate entity they acknowledge they created. I fully expect they’re also doing cross departmental charges to “reimburse” AtariSA for other expenses, in addition to the costs to indiegogo. Also, add at least 4 staff supposedly dedicated to the project, travel, training, materials, licenses, etc., and you haven’t even begun approaching overseas production and contracting.

 

I see no scenario where they have not burnt through or misappropriated half the revenue already based on their internal charges/expenses. They’re probably doing exactly what Feargal did and using the crowdfunded revenue as a slush fund to pay for anything beyond actual product development with salary, travel, rent and expenses being first on their list. Those are all things that should have been covered by the so called company or startup so project funds could be dedicated solely to product development. Since these crowdfunding scams have no rules, you know they’re transferring costs and creating new ones long before they invest in product production. Then they’ll just claim the costs and delays were just too much when they officially announce the theft of all the backer funds and cease the project.

 

 

It really kinda goes back to what I was saying before.... In simple terms: they should've figured out all this shit on paper and do the math (no pun intended ) before diving into this thing.

[godslabrat]

 

 

It really kinda goes back to what I was saying before.... In simple terms: they should've figured out all this shit on paper and do the math (no pun intended ) before diving into this thing.

I don't think there's a set of numbers possible to make this an honest project. If Atari wanted to make a real product, they would have done literally everything different from the moment this box was announced.

[+frankodragon]

[PlaysWithWolves]

Where was 'Woke Lodmot' during the campaign?!

 

It really kinda goes back to what I was saying before.... In simple terms: they should've figured out all this shit on paper and do the math (no pun intended ) before diving into this thing.

 

I think they should've had a production-ready model and solid plans to go to manufacturing as soon as feasible--or not done it at all. But that would require investing their own money, and why take that kind of risk when there's thousands of people ready to take that risk for you?

 

If a company had absolutely no money to do a prototype, I guess an initial (and separate) e-begging crowdfunding could be in order. Then the fanboys who want to revive Atari's glory days can do so, knowing they'll receive little-or-nothing in return. In my eyes, this is a better option that putting out misleading videos and acting like it's an actual product on Indiegogo.

[Lodmot]

Where was 'Woke Lodmot' during the campaign?!

 

 

I think they should've had a production-ready model and solid plans to go to manufacturing as soon as feasible--or not done it at all. But that would require investing their own money, and why take that kind of risk when there's thousands of people ready to take that risk for you?

 

If a company had absolutely no money to do a prototype, I guess an initial (and separate) e-begging crowdfunding could be in order. Then the fanboys who want to revive Atari's glory days can do so, knowing they'll receive little-or-nothing in return. In my eyes, this is a better option that putting out misleading videos and acting like it's an actual product on Indiegogo.

 

I'm still in disbelief actually that a physical human being running a team of people went through with it like this, without actually thinking everything through. I would actually argue that it was a robot or SkyNet in charge of the VCS project this whole time.

After this project's over, there's going to be no benefit in anyone purchasing the Atari brand. You'd have to be someone like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett in order for the brand to have any hope of getting the brand back in a big way again..

Edited November 19, 2018 by Lodmot

[godslabrat]

I'm still in disbelief actually that a physical human being running a team of people went through with it like this, without actually thinking everything through. I would actually argue that it was a robot or SkyNet in charge of the VCS project this whole time.

After this project's over, there's going to be no benefit in anyone purchasing the Atari brand. You'd have to be someone like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett in order for the brand to have any hope of getting the brand back in a big way again..

 

I, too, am shocked that Frenchmen could be assholes. Shocked, I say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Cool it, I'm part French.)

[Flojomojo]

After this project's over, there's going to be no benefit in anyone purchasing the Atari brand. You'd have to be someone like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett in order for the brand to have any hope of getting the brand back in a big way again..

Welcome to 1996!

 

[PlaysWithWolves]

I, too, am shocked that Frenchmen could be assholes. Shocked, I say.

(Cool it, I'm part French.)

 

[godslabrat]

https://youtu.be/SjbPi00k_ME

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i3o5SB1CfgU

[Lodmot]

I, too, am shocked that Frenchmen could be assholes. Shocked, I say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Cool it, I'm part French.)

 

Ah, sorry.. > 3 <

[+Nathan Strum]

I'm still in disbelief actually that a physical human being running a team of people went through with it like this, without actually thinking everything through. I would actually argue that it was a robot or SkyNet in charge of the VCS project this whole time.

Or Intellivision...

 

Maybe that's been their plan all along. It's all a clever marketing ploy by Tommy Tallarico for the Amico.

 

Wait a minute...

 

Amico means "A dear friend"

Tommy Tallarico

 

To(m)my Ta(llari)co

 

To my taco, a dear friend

 

Coincidence?!

[+frankodragon]

Speaking of which, we could all use a lesson of swearing in French. "Those Fils de Putes!"

 

[+Nathan Strum]

Okay. Let's see if I've got this straight.

 

For $239, I can pre-order a non-existent game console that may or may not ever ship (I'm thinking "the twelfth of never" as a likely ship date).

 

This doesn't include a controller, which is an additional $49. It will (hypothetically) come with Atari Vault pre-loaded, and supposedly it will also be able to play Tempest 4K.

 

So... that's two confirmed games. At least as far as anything can be considered "confirmed". After shipping, it's anyone's guess what the actual cost will be, but let's be charitable and say $299 for something you can plug in and play a game on.

 

And it has Netflix.

 

As a point of comparison, I was at Best Buy today.

 

For $199, they had a few PS4 consoles on hand, with Spider-Man as the pack-in game.

 

 

The PS4 has (approximately) 1,835 games. Just a few more than the Ataribox.

 

Among them are Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1-3 and Tempest 4K. So that's everything the Ataribox will supposedly play.

Oh, and you can watch Netflix on it.

And it has a controller included.

 

I bought mine online last night, and picked it up at the store during lunch. No lines. No waiting.

 

An actual, real, shipping, existing game console. With a AAA title included, and a controller, for $199.

 

I won't be buying a lot of games for it, but there are a few I want, and the price was right. And that's just the thing - the price hit the sweet spot, and there are tons of other games available for it, right now, including used games and bargain bin "Greatest Hits" titles. I picked up Gran Turismo Sport for $19.99.

 

And it's a Blu-ray player. So that's nice. It's a bit of a splurge, sure. But there's no end of content for it. And it looks like these are going to be all over the place. Oh, and you can get an X-Box One for the same price too.

 

Remind me again... why would anyone buy an Ataribox?

 

 

Psst... Feargal... ataribox.com still redirects to atarivcs.com. Just thinkin' maybe you should let the judge know.

[Hwlngmad]

The only reason to buy this is for collecting purposes and/or if one is a mega Atari fanboy. Otherwise, why anyone would choose a PS4, Xbox One S, and/or a Nvidia Shield TV over an Atari VCS (if it was out by now) would be a bit of a head-scratcher for sure.

Okay. Let's see if I've got this straight.

 

For $239, I can pre-order a non-existent game console that may or may not ever ship (I'm thinking "the twelfth of never" as a likely ship date).

 

This doesn't include a controller, which is an additional $49. It will (hypothetically) come with Atari Vault pre-loaded, and supposedly it will also be able to play Tempest 4K.

 

So... that's two confirmed games. At least as far as anything can be considered "confirmed". After shipping, it's anyone's guess what the actual cost will be, but let's be charitable and say $299 for something you can plug in and play a game on.

 

And it has Netflix.

 

As a point of comparison, I was at Best Buy today.

 

For $199, they had a few PS4 consoles on hand, with Spider-Man as the pack-in game.

 

does-whatever-atari-cant.jpg

 

The PS4 has (approximately) 1,835 games. Just a few more than the Ataribox.

 

Among them are Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1-3 and Tempest 4K. So that's everything the Ataribox will supposedly play.

Oh, and you can watch Netflix on it.

And it has a controller included.

 

I bought mine online last night, and picked it up at the store during lunch. No lines. No waiting.

 

An actual, real, shipping, existing game console. With a AAA title included, and a controller, for $199.

 

I won't be buying a lot of games for it, but there are a few I want, and the price was right. And that's just the thing - the price hit the sweet spot, and there are tons of other games available for it, right now, including used games and bargain bin "Greatest Hits" titles. I picked up Gran Turismo Sport for $19.99.

 

And it's a Blu-ray player. So that's nice. It's a bit of a splurge, sure. But there's no end of content for it. And it looks like these are going to be all over the place. Oh, and you can get an X-Box One for the same price too.

 

Remind me again... why would anyone buy an Ataribox?

 

 

Psst... Feargal... ataribox.com still redirects to atarivcs.com. Just thinkin' maybe you should let the judge know.

[Hannacek]

Its not fair to compare the mainstream consoles against a micro-console, or whatever the hell Atari is supposed to be making. A small company will never be able to compete on features, price, or exclusives with Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. And you have to remember these mainstream consoles are several years old, so they were originally $400- $500, and the price goes down every year as they get older, so now 5 years later they are $200 for the base console.

 

It's not fair to compare Atari to Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. It is fair to ask why does this console exist? If it has a reason to exist, then you can say it should cost less and include more, I understand why they can't do that. Atari can't be expected to sell the console for a loss, or get the price as low like the big companies can. So the real question is why does this console exist? And given that there are the mainstream consoles, flashback and classic consoles, and Raspberry Pi and other emulation options, this console doesn't have a reason to exist. You can get everything in a better form from somewhere else.