How much would it cost to develop a 90's arcade looking game or a Hotline Miami looking game?

[How much would it cost to develop a 90's arcade looking game or a Hotline Miami looking game?]

These guys know

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/02/hotshot_racing_brings_silky_smooth_60fps_arcade_racing_to_switch_this_spring

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

2 minutes ago, TACODON said:

The IGG comments aren't happy about that email.

And apparently "Atari" isn't happy with your IGG posts. What was that about?

[Battlesphere Instructions?]

If someone just wants to play the game, there's enough material online to have fun. 
 

http://www.scatologic.com/faq.html#GENERALQUESTIONS

 

I think it's obnoxious that this is scarce and hoarded, so long after its very limited commercial release, but that's what the creators have chosen to do. Since it's a holy relic or something, one mustn't ask for scans which will just be duplicated. 

 

It's a fun game, but if you've played TIE Fighter 1994, that's the better game.

[Was interested in getting a portable emulation handheld]

@maxdrive I like this a lot. Many choices nowadays.  https://obscurehandhelds.com/

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

[Tips For Driving Games [curves, books on theory]?]

Heheh, yes it does. I was thinking along the lines of simulation-style detail on going around plain loops, like Gran Turismo, but this is infinitely more entertaining. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

Heheheh 

Surely anyone with resources to spend/waste on Atari stock has better things to do than read the taco thread. 
 

Furthermore, surely anyone reading this thread has long ago figured out that Atari stock is not a great investment. 
 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

I agree with you that their suit is BS on its face. The Retron77 barely evokes anything proprietary, it just looks 1970s-ish, and "Atari" never owned black plastic or fake wood grain. It would make just as much sense for the ghost of Radio Shack to rise up and demand a piece of the action. 
 

Reminder for those of us playing at home: we can follow the case by downloading most of the documents for free from here:

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14524473/atari-interactive-inc-v-hyperkin-inc/
 

They just got a time extension, so the upcoming stockholder report will probably not make any mention of this complaint. 
 

Watch for profits from their new ventures like casino games (recently kicked out of Kenya), blockchain (no longer hot), hotels (seriously WTF), game shows or movies.
 

Their retro licensing seems to be sustaining them, with a lot of help from trademark lawsuits. There's a mobile neon Missile Command coming out for its 40th anniversary, at least. 

And someday, the bomb-diggity Atari VCS with unprecedented freedom to act like an underpowered, oddly limited PC. 
 

 

Fun fact: Austin Powers, an old joke itself, is from 1997. The period it spoofs is 1967, thirty years prior. Atari is from 1977 and trying to make itself a "lifestyle brand," trying to defy gravity and time itself. 
 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

4 hours ago, frankodragon said:

"Atari" is digging itself into a deeper hole with all its frivolous lawsuits so it's becoming more and more unattractive for others to buy out their company.

Their fiscal year ends in about 3 weeks, and their financial statements are public. They recently won a default judgment worth over $4M -- the defendant didn't show up, and won't be able to pay -- but it will be interesting to see how they present themselves in their shareholder report. Isn't it possible that there's a greedy trademark troll out there that likes this kind of thing?

 

@roots.genoa the Atari VCS was organized as a separate entity called Atari GameBox, LLC, as we saw in the Feargal lawsuit. I wonder if the crowdfunding scheme is actually considered $3M in "debt," or just "contributions" that have few strings on them?

[Tips For Driving Games [curves, books on theory]?]

It would be interesting to see a simple (by necessity, because 8-bit) driving game that incorporated physics of gravity and suspensions. I don't think modern games did this until Gran Turismo on the PlayStation. It really changes the whole feel of simulated driving. 

[CollectorVision Phoenix Release Thread]

8 hours ago, funcool said:

I also have the "constant and irritating background sound"  which went away through a composite adapter on my TV.

Wasn't using the Phoenix on HDMI the main purpose of the thing? 

[What Atari item do you wish you had?]

I'd like their entire brand and trademark portfolio, including rights to publish all of the old games.
 

I would stop suing people, discontinue dopey ventures like hotels, casino machines, and "VCS." I would release everything into the public domain where it belongs. It could be adopted and remixed by developers, artists, and homebrewers. Alternatively, it could simply be forgotten, except by those who remember it fondly. Even resting in peace would be a better fate than the joke that it is today. 
 

Make it a cool old idea, not a monetized "lifecycle brand" run by trademark trolls. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

2 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

So, "volume" means there are 1,521,636 shares, right? Which would mean Atari is worth €365,192.64? Very cheap indeed!

I'm not sure, but I think "volume" here refers to the number of trades, not the number of shares. If you want to buy out Atari SA, you'd probably need to start with the Market Cap to get Fred's attention. It's still $61M but it was over $70M just a few months ago. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

8 hours ago, Curt Vendel said:

Oh, just wait, its gonna be getting a LOT worse for Atari on that case.   {insert evil laugh here}   The fun is only just beginning....  

The Atari Vs. Hyperkin case is the nut of the debate over whether Atari can prevent someone else from making a console or joystick controller with a similar look and feel as the 1977 oldies. 

 

Atari sends cease and desist letters and brings lawsuits against others for making t-shirts and stickers with pictures of joysticks and consoles, but to my knowledge, Atari doesn't make much official gear of their own with these images. I suppose there's that $30 box of junky trinkets sold at Target during the holidays. Far more often, they use their holdings offensively, acting as trademark trolls to collect damages from accused infringers. 
 

Their stockholder information lists losing trademarks as risks. It seems likely that they know they're on shaky legal ground. 
 

Hyperkin, like Target, doesn't seem to be taking this lying down. 
 

Like the rest of the market, Atari stock isn't doing much lately. They're posting near-record lows again. 

[Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 4?]

Since this has been bumped, it would be nice to see these in one place

 

Tempest 2000

Tempest 3000

Tempest 4000

 

and maybe something other Jeff Minter stuff while we're at it, regardless of the Atari-ness if it of possible. 

 

I was recently thinking about a quote of JV with regards to "why are activision games on plug and plays but not software collections," and up it pops from a year ago. 
 

My comment about I, Robot stands. I would happily buy a conversion and an update with 100 new puzzle style levels. But alas, it will never be made. 

[The Official Turbografx 16 Thread!]

1 hour ago, roots.genoa said:

I find a bit unfair that people who ordered the Japanese version this week will still get their system on March 19, while those who order the US or European version months ago (I preordered in July) will have to wait. And it's not like I can buy an Evercade inbetween, since it will probably be pushed back again as well.

Meh, it's already missed the TG-16's 30th birthday, so what's a few more weeks or months? It emulates well on the Raspberry Pi in the meantime. 

[Let's Say Next Generation, A Console Manufacturer Is Going To Get Out Of The Console Market. Who's It Going To Be?]

I would say the ceiling of PC pricing is like car pricing. A person can pay $100K or more on a supercar. 

 

The floor of PC pricing is different from car pricing. A new car with modern safety features is going to run between $20K and $30K for a midrange, non-luxury brand. I guess an old used car would be like a $35 Pi, but there's no new car that's so affordable. Those would be bikes and scooters, I guess. 

 

I don't feel that cars got into the super-affordable range like PCs are now, especially laptops, which just a few years ago were super pricey. Now they're as cheap as a month of riding the train. I want to believe that cloud gaming plus better internet speed and distribution will eventually deliver fancy games on cheapo hardware. It's possible today, but far from mainstream. 

[Anyone who bought the Switch Atari-collection?]

10 minutes ago, OscarGungan said:

I've been waiting for the digital version to go on sale. I've felt $39.99 is a bit steep considering I've owned a lot of these games in other compilations before. That being said I don't think I've ever seen it on sale. 

I would also love an Activision/Imagic collection. Not sure why they will license their catalog to Atgames for their hardware but won't allow a software rerelease.

If you "heart" it in the eShop, they'll send you an email when it goes on sale. The PS4/Xbone versions went on sale a lot, I don't see how this should be different. The physical version might no longer be in print, I see that scalpers are raising the price. This works just fine as a digital release in my opinion. 

 

Not sure where I saw it, I think it might have been @JeffVav (the developer of this collection who hangs out here) but someone said that Activision/Imagic are more likely to put their stuff in plug-n-play units like the Atari Flashback dedicated unit so they can hold their titles like Pitfall and Enduro back for themselves. It's been a while since Activision has put out a software collection on existing platforms. 

[Let's Say Next Generation, A Console Manufacturer Is Going To Get Out Of The Console Market. Who's It Going To Be?]

Does anyone have stats on the commercial life of games? I assume they have their biggest sales when new, quickly tapering off, maybe with a bump when a Greatest Hits version comes out a year later with add-ons at a lower price. Kind of like movies in theaters, then with a home release, or hardcover books and a paperback release. 
 

To me, both consoles and PCs are delivering diminishing returns, because 3D hardware is mature and the new games will be a lot like the old game designs, only with somewhat better graphics and AI. They've been "good enough" to deliver fun to me for a long time. 
 

Of course I've said that every generation since the PS2 in the year 2000, yet they keep making more. 😂😂😂

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

[Anyone who bought the Switch Atari-collection?]

1 hour ago, NE146 said:

Are we talking about the Atari Flashback Classics that was available on the switch since 2018 or is there a new one out?

This one. December 2018, 150 games. 

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/atari-flashback-classics-switch/

 

To answer the original question, I would rate it as "Good." 

Here's a review of it that I really like.

[Let's Say Next Generation, A Console Manufacturer Is Going To Get Out Of The Console Market. Who's It Going To Be?]

And that computer would be able to do a lot more, and software would be cheaper. This debate has been going on for decades, it won't be settled here. 
 

Xbox is a nice cheap(ish) single-purpose computer. General purpose PCs are great as well. It's possible to have one of each. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

8 minutes ago, TwoShedsWilson said:

People will still pay to play Pong, right?

As much as I want to say "the jury is still out on that one," Atari dropped the Foot Pong lawsuit against Target. You can look at the court documents here. The original complaint is kinda funny.

 

I have to wonder if there will be ongoing legal trademark/patent implications for ... the company holding the lost luggage of Atari. They just won a big judgment against a little t-shirt printer, but their lawsuit against Hyperkin over the look and feel of Retron77 is still in process. 

[SEGA Star Wars arcade - ever seen it in real life?]

@wongojack the 32X is easily emulated and that version of Star Wars Arcade is worth checking out. It has more modes and stages, as a home game should. The 32X hardware is fussy and awkward. There's a recent (not from 2006!) thread on here from someone who really wants to use the old hardware, but it's not going well. 
 

Unfortunately I agree with you about the controls and gameplay. It doesn't feel like space flight (as seen in the films and better SW games), you can't go up and down very far, and the timers aren't fun. 
 

I think the "Virtua Fighter" style flat polygons are beautiful and spectacular, however. I just wish they were attached to a game that was more fun. I really like the bright, untextured aesthetic.
 

Sky Rogue gets it done. I'd put a Star Wars skin on that if I could. 

[Anyone who bought the Switch Atari-collection?]

@Atariboy I don't have it in front of me, but I think you can set the bezel art to black so the screen isn't stretched. I know I haven't had that same problem, because I don't like playing with side art or a stretched screen view either. 
 

Worth a mention: this collection includes some real oldies from the 1970s, such as the black and white Football, Basketball, Fire Truck, and Dominos, which I don't think are anywhere else (except Volume 3 on Xbone/PS4 and the Atari Vault, of course).