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I completely agree that we won't be disappointed. In order to be disappointed, you'd have to have set expectations of AtariVCSboxCorp, Inc. in the first place. No expectations, no disappointment. Easy. For fulfillment, I recommend tacos.

If this is a containment thread, then I don't wanna roam free!

Yep It just feels really odd to me to use the right hand for player control. Mad Planets and Tron are two of my favourite arcade games, but the stick-on-the-right layout on them drives me crazy.

Anyone with an ounce of personal decency knows that arcade games are to be played with the left hand on the stick that controls player motion. Games that force you to do otherwise are aberrations. Note that I say this as someone who is right-handed but left-eye-dominant, which is an unusual combination. That said, it may explain a few things when it comes to my arcade game primary control preferences.

Oh, I didn't use a generator for that one. A wordlist, definitely, but it was otherwise hand-rolled.

Because people who make technology purchasing and implementation decisions based largely on vendor press releases and anything referencing Gartner's Magic Quadrants have extremely limited vocabularies.

By developing unique distributed computing technologies (which are totally our own thing and not in any way related to Beowulf clusters because we invented it all by ourselves using open Linux operating systems and didn't just `apt-get install` a bunch of stuff we don't really understand out of default package repos), AtariVCSboxCorp, Inc. is uniquely positioned to empower delivery of blockchain-enhanced entertainment experiences across a broad range of cloud-connected devices including newly-disruptive product niches. We fully intend to incubate innovative interactive architectures by meshing the convergence of infrastructures and paradigms to achieve a greater mindshare of the Netflix-watching consumer. Through thoughtful whiteboarding of functionality repurposing, our first-of-kind platform disintermediates the concept of Inverse TDP, in which the greatest radiated thermal efficiency is achieved through scaling to the lowest possible usable amount of computing power while embracing the advantages of nearly limitless power consumption in this application. Nope... Just can't go any further with it. I've had to sit through too much crap like this recently courtesy of vendor presentations, and regurgitating their horseshit (one really did try to work in blockchain as a reason to migrate to their networking platform) is hitting a little too close to home right now. Stopping here before I go glassy-eyed, drop my jaw, and drool into my own lap.

Speaking as an ex-1020 plotter owner... I'd hold out for a decent dot-matrix if you want to do screen dumps. Sure, the 1020 can do it - but it's going to be slow, run through ink in a hurry, and the output can tend to be a little uneven. It's just not really designed to handle bitmapped graphics (though it's great for anything needing vectors). Epson FX-80. You'll need an 850 or P:R: interface to run it, but they're incredibly well-built and just about everything supports them (right down to modern hardware). Consumables are still available, too. They are a 9-pin, so text quality won't be NLQ (though there are some paper feed tricks you can do to get close), but they do an excellent job on screen dumps. There was a 24-pin Panasonic model out there that worked really well with the 8-bits, too, but I never had one and unfortunately don't remember the model number.

The cartridge should allow for the clustering of multiple 2600s, each with its own Netflix cartridge. That way, the unbridled distributed processing power of several thousand 6507s can be harnessed to handle the decryption of Netflix' video streams! Naturally, the 2600s will have to be on the local LAN for performance reasons - none of this laggy [email protected] rubbish here. Of course, 10Gbit networking, final 4K video and 7.1 audio processing, etc. would be done on the local (Cluster Controller / Master, in this context) cartridge. To attempt do it with any other design would just be ridiculous. AtariVCSboxCorp, Inc., I expect hefty royalty payments and a consulting fee equivalent to the GDP of a small, unstable nation for this idea. PM me and we'll talk terms.

Mom likes Netflix, but she'd like it so much better with woodgrain.

This is probably a little off-topic, but it's tangentally close enough that it's worth mentioning: Xevious was the first arcade game released with a backstory beyond 'just shoot everything'. From what I recall, there was a full novelization of it, but only released in Japan and difficult to come by these days.

Would someone be kind enough to post a link to the interview, please?

Video games are neat! Tacos are better, though.

Does this mean that Atari SA basically fails to honour its obligations to its developers? If so, that's going to make attracting developers to the AtariVCSbox platform difficult.

Right, but that's really no different to saying that if you don't toss a buck into the lottery, you can't win.

One change from the AtariboxVCSboxCorp, Inc. design that I'd like to see: moving the USB ports to the front, where they're actually accessible. I'm guessing that placing them on the rear was a nod to the 2600, but it was a design decision that looked inconvenient and ill-considered. And, given that there's a reasonable amount of flexibility in their positioning relative to the motherboard by way of breakout cabling, it was also one that I found perplexing.

Framerate wasn't used as a lynchpin; screen rendering was. Framerate was just one item that was taken into consideration since it was known that MAME did not match the arcade game's framerate for quite some time. Also, no external software would be necessary to record a MAME performance - it can output in .AVI format during gameplay. Not that that happened in this case, but I'm mentioning it for clarity.

The Register has followed up their GDC coverage of the Ataribox. The article was their lead earlier this morning, but has slipped down the page a bit since. Exclusive to all press: Atari launches world's best ever games console They sound as though they've had a complete, total, and utter change of heart since GDC, and are now clearly 110% on the shill Atari Lifestyle bandwagon! Bet they can't wait to play!

Which reminds me of something: the Speakerhat missed a golden opportunity to have a 'premium' model. All it needed were two more speakers in the back, one more in the middle on the bill, and a subwoofer up top. 5.1 surround sound, and instant $499 price tag. #AtariLifestyleYOLO

Yeah, but if it's a limited-edition AtariVCSbox Failure speakerhat, that's a collectible for the ages right there!

Five Guys is for people who do not understand the majesty of In-N-Out

Thinking about this, Spring 2019 is potentially the worst time to be trying to launch a new console in the marketplace. Both the PS4 and XboxOne will be up for replacement by next-generation models around that timeframe. Even if the PS5 and XboxWhateverTheNextModelIsCalled are still a year away from hitting the market at that point, the existing consoles are going to be dirt cheap as they enter End-Of-Retail-Life status, likely undercutting the AtariVCSbox's pricing. Additionally, the Nintendo Switch will have been on the market for two years by then - so while unlikely that its outright replacement will be ready, its price is also likely to have dropped significantly. AtariVCSboxCorp, Inc. isn't going for market dominance, and I get that. But they do need people to buy into their platform in order to make it viable, and when the choice is between three inexpensive, established consoles with extensive software libraries or something that's basically a media streamer with a few emulators and indie titles tossed in, it seems as though the market is going to be extremely small for the AtariVCSbox.

Out of curiosity, what existing devices do you have that are not capable of this - or, alternatively, what devices do you have that are capable of it, but that have shortcomings that the AtariVCSbox would be the best solution for? This is something I'm genuinely curious about as I'm not coming up with a use case for it where it's not just replicating functionality that already exists.

Is it a taco replicator? A taco replicator would be cool. It better be a taco replicator.

Nice! This is something that I can totally support, and wish you the best with it. Please keep us up to date with your progress.