New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

Nah, they never make excuses or blame others. But we can certainly expect some reruns from the AtariBox Vault. 
 

No news is good news, quality is important, we are tightening up the graphics on level three. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

They have labeled everything in those promos with "for illustration purposes only."

 

Since the release of the thing is in doubt and no finished software has been shown, I wouldn't be so concerned with edge features.
 

It has a 1970s-ish case and it probably boots, and that's enough for some folks who already sent them ~$400 and shown a willingness to wait two years. 

[Favorite DOS classics]

On 1/17/2020 at 10:06 PM, Zap! said:

There are so many, but one that I was just thinking about was One Must Fall 2097. I played the hell out of this game, and it had amazing music!

 

Wow, I just realized at 0:44 that the robot dabs when victorious! We might have found the inventor!

 

 

That was a neat game to play with a game pad, and I've always appreciated that the developers set it free so long ago. It's been available to grab free of charge since 1999. 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Must_Fall:_2097

 

More companies should do that once the commercial life of a game is over. It seemed to happen more in the days of PC magazines with cover discs. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

28 minutes ago, Serguei2 said:

Wait! Commodore is still around? 

Nope

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

12 minutes ago, D Train said:

It's been like this for years. "Atari" is more like 

 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

On 7/11/2018 at 12:22 PM, racerx said:

Nope.

 

Remember when that guy was trying to push the Atari stock as such a great deal? Back when it fifty cents instead of the current thirty?

[Game types and genres that were the gaming equivilent of evolutionary dead ends]

Because the rest were redemption machines, eh?

[Why is IBM not a major computer company anymore?]

I like computers. 

[Ok ... who is your daddy and what does he do?]

[Game types and genres that were the gaming equivilent of evolutionary dead ends]

3 minutes ago, dj_convoy said:

You mean you don't want to play Tetris on a really big screen with a really big controller?

For a dollar a minute? Not so much! But I suppose it's cheaper than going out and buying a whole new TV console, and CEC has pizza, and D&B has beer. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

Atari's one-month performance 

 

 

totally looks like this dog's teeth

[Game types and genres that were the gaming equivilent of evolutionary dead ends]

I'd say that modern arcade games (such as they are) would best be described as an evolutionary dead end. I can't remember any real innovation in the arcade since the days of the Dreamcast. It makes me a little sad that you can't really go to the arcade to see the great new ideas that you can't play at home ... especially when the arcade is just big versions of the Candy Crush and Doodle Jump on my phone. 

[Game types and genres that were the gaming equivilent of evolutionary dead ends]

On 1/25/2020 at 9:06 PM, spacecadet said:

I feel like music/rhythm games are definitely at a nadir right now too. I know there are games like Beat Saber out there but it's the only semi-popular new-ish rhythm game I know of, and it's still basically the same idea as all the others. Hit the scrolling icons on the beat. For a while in the late 90's it seemed like every other game was a DDR ripoff, a lot of them were actually pretty good and the genre as a whole was probably one of the top genres in the world. But I guess there's only so much you can do with it, especially because almost all the good games in the genre require some kind of extra peripheral and people are only going to buy so many of those.

On console, sure. The category is alive and well on mobile, though. Some recent things I like:

Pianista

Muse Dash

OldSchool Musical

Frederic

Crypt of the NecroDancer (and the Zelda-themed version for Nintendo Switch)

Thumper

 

I think the problem here is that music games on console like that can't/won't sell for $30 or more, and definitely not on disk. But they're still out there, just further out to the edges of mainstream than where they were in Parappa and Rock Band days. 

[Atari Hotels]

Unrelated. Or is it?

 

 

[Atari Hotels]

Might as well link to the Atari press release, because it contains more information, including some names of the developer. The atarihotels.com website is all "coming soon" including a swag store. I confess I would be mildly interested in a high-quality Atari Hotel bathrobe to complement my Atari Lifestyle of lounging around half-dressed, entertaining beautiful people with overpriced room service food and beverages. 

 

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/01/27/1975621/0/en/Atari-Announces-World-Class-Video-Game-Themed-Atari-Hotels.html

 

Quote

Hotel development and design is being led by Shelly Murphy’s GSD Group and Napoleon Smith III, producer of the wildly successful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film franchise reboot. True North Studio, a leading Phoenix, AZ-based real estate developer — currently working alongside GSD Group with Steve Wozniak’s Woz Innovation Foundation — will develop the first Atari-branded hotel.

The company that bought the biggest name from early 1980s entertainment is name-dropping another 80's phenom, so you know it's got to be good. I mean, totally tubular. Radical!!

 

Quote

“We are thrilled to partner with GSD Group and True North Studio to build the first-ever Atari branded hotels across the United States. Together we’ll build a space that will be much more than just a place to stay,” said Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari. “Atari is an iconic global brand that resonates with people of all ages, countries, cultures and ethnic backgrounds and we cannot wait for our fans and their families to enjoy this new hotel concept.”

Translated from the French Holdingcompanyese: This seems like easy money, and everyone says if you can't make a good product, "lifestyle brand" is a good way to play a weak hand. 

 

Quote

More than 2.5 billion gamers across the world spent more than $152.1 billion (US) on games in 2019 alone; an increase of +9.6% year on year. One of the most distinctive trends in gaming is gamers gravitating toward recognizable intellectual property. Atari Hotels will offer consumers exactly that, marrying the origins of gaming and the future of the booming industry into a fun and unique travel destination.

Pay no attention to the fact that "gamers" aren't spending that kind of money on Atari games. But maybe putting "the latest in VR and AR" under an Atari roof will add some modern credibility to the Asteroids and Centipede house. 

 

The daytime render's resemblance to the buildings in Iron Soldier for the Atari Jaguar are completely coincidental. 

 

[Game types and genres that were the gaming equivilent of evolutionary dead ends]

3 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

Depends what you mean by "flight simulator". If you're talking about software that replicates the real thing as closely as possible, where every key on the keyboard does something and where just taking off the runway requires digesting a whole 30-page chapter of the manual, those kinds of simulators have never been mainstream.

<glances over at my fat Falcon 4.0 spiral bound manual> 

 

maybe not "popular" in the Call Of Duty way (bazillions of copies with every new release) but flight sims were a mainstay of early computing gaming -- before anything was truly popular. 

[Game types and genres that were the gaming equivilent of evolutionary dead ends]

12 minutes ago, Keatah said:

Doesn't have to even use unusual hardware. The game itself (software) simply has to be "different enough" that no one understands it or is afraid of it. I'Robot is a good example. No one really knew what to do with it. And what class does it fit into? Just a plain'ol Shoot-em? Not even a Shoot-em-up!

"3D action puzzle adventure with electronic doodle side game" 😂 

Why do we even have genres and classifications anyway? Silly hoo-man brains. It's a crime against gaming that the brand holder for that game is licensing its name to hotels rather than exploring as they once did. I miss the days when being fresh made money. 
 

Excellent point about flight simulators. There used to be tons of flight games, but even casual arcade type flight games don't sell. Same for space shooters, at least for big names. There's got to be an economic reason for the lack of a proper X-Wing followup. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

Is anyone else doing this, with a hotel? No, and in that sense, it seems innovative. It also seems to be very low risk for Atari. 
 

But it's very high risk for the builders, and there's always a fair chance the plans will change or fall through. Has money changed hands yet?

 

Remember all the chatter about a Pong game show, which has either been shelved and forgotten or stuck in development hell like "Atari VCS" with no news? Ideas are cheaper than execution. Talk is even cheaper. 
 

Fred's "Atari" is cash-poor and starved for attention, so stunts like this make a big difference to their bottom line. 
 

Current events have also taught us that real estate and hotel deals can be an excellent vehicle for money laundering. (No politics!) I'm not suggesting Fred is doing anything illegal, but he seems like he would be an easy mark for someone who is.

Whether it's games development, blockchain, or entertainment licensing, he always seems a few steps behind the trends, never out in front. 

[Game types and genres that were the gaming equivilent of evolutionary dead ends]

Some cool exceptions to the rules:

 

text adventure

AI Dungeon a framework for generating these on the fly

Nice mobile implementation of AI Dungeon, "Infinite Story" on Android and iOS

 

The Interactivr Fiction Compeition, playable on Frotz

 

full motion video

Her Story, artsy video game with video clips and a 1990s style interface
 

another idea for a category: how about games that so dominate a genre, there's effectively no competition? Like Minecraft or Roblox. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

Whoa. Fred only paid $443 for Atari IP in 2013? How can that be?

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

@Paul Slocum it's behind a paywall. Can you summarize? Do they name the dollar amounts that the license holders are receiving? Nice work if you can get it. 

[Did a fully playable version of Imagic's Wing War for the TI-99/4A survive?]

I know this is off-topic but this seems like a good place to ask -- does the Ti have any hardware similarities with Intellivision, or did Imagic just happen to port a lot of its stuff to different platforms? 

[Atari Star Wars arcade from Arcade1Up]

I feel like the "it's not really a vector monitor" complaining has slowed down, too. It's a fine compromise, an inexpensive flat LCD that should require zero maintenance for years and years. 

[Game types and genres that were the gaming equivilent of evolutionary dead ends]

3 hours ago, Eltigro said:

FMV games with limited interactivity?

 

Or games that ran on VHS cassettes where it just like played a video and you shot at stuff or something?

Yup. Or anything that relies on a technological gimmick and builds a game (and a series of clones) around it. 
 

Light gun games

Motion control waggle

Stereoscopic 3D

Kinect games

Power Glove

 

Don't drag me for saying this, but I think VR is in that category as well, at least for me, especially as VR gear is expensive and wire-happy. 

[Best arcade games with vector graphics?]

Star Wars all day long. I'm astounded that I haven't tired of it yet.