[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

2 hours ago, godslabrat said:

Since people apparently are receiving the VCS, I'm calling it officially shipped, and have updated my spreadsheet accordingly.

 

I still want to see the Polymega take off.  It's just too pricey, and their communication is so bad it makes the Atari intern seem like a highly trained professional.

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

2 hours ago, MrSeven said:

"This console is not worth the price point they're asking for it, if you're looking to relive the classics in a 'simple package'." is the complete quote.

 

And "simple classics" is not the only reason people purchased it.

If you've got a halfway decent PC, what other reason would there be?  

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For what it's worth, the ad seems pretty good.  I could see it getting some buy in from people who haven't been following this saga.

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Looks like it's about to go down.

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1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

 

Incidentally, does anyone know WTF this actually means?  Fauxtari keep using the term like there's some sort of substance to it, but every time they open their trap about it it seems to be slightly different and no clearer than before.

I guess you can use it as a wallet for digital currency to buy stuff in games.  So, it's a fancy way of saying "microtransactions." Afterall, everyone loves microtransactions, and we need more ways to spend money on content that we should have got when we purchased the game.

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

4 minutes ago, Matt_B said:

The Lynx was a cutting edge platform for its time though. No handheld even came close to what it could do until the, much bulkier, Sega Nomad came out several years later. The GameBoy was generally a better machine to have on account of its vast games library, small size and really good battery life, but the Lynx certainly held a niche.

 

The Jaguar too was at least a vaguely competitive platform for a year or so until the PlayStation came out. You can look back at games like Tempest 2000 and Rayman as classics for their time even if the machine was always doomed to be a commercial failure.

 

The VCS just looks over a generation behind machines that it's selling at more or less the same price as. $389 for it versus $299 for a Series S or $399 for a PS5 Digital - not that any of them are in stock at the moment - is just no contest.

This sums it up right here.  Say what you will about the Jaguar, but if you got one, there was some good gaming to be had on it.  Ditto the Lynx.  Compare the Lynx to the Game Boy, and each system had its strengths and weaknesses.   On the flip side, you really have to stretch the truth to come up with any strengths for the VCS.  You've got brand loyalty, and a kinda cool retro joystick, that will probably be available for any USB compatible device at some point.  That's it.

 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

1 hour ago, AlecRob said:

There are plenty of smartphones on the market that dont do anything different from other smartphones on the market... VCS at least has a different look & feel compared to other similar PC’s on the market

 

 

i’m not saying its an outstanding product, but compared to the relatively monotonous and boring compact/home/thin PC market, the VCS doesn’t look that bad.  For example, i’d rather have the VCS than comparable products from dell, HP, intel, etc.  PC’s are pretty boring in general.  So why not have one with an Atari logo on it.  This isn’t for high end power users...   it’s just a somewhat fashionable PC.
 

   If crappy overpriced SLOW shitty Hewlett Packard PC’s can still sell decently then I don’t see why the VCS couldn’t either.  Is it the most efficient purchase you can make? No.  But IMO, some people will still buy it just for dat logo

I think it's safe to say everyone who would be lured in by Mount Fuji has already backed this thing.   Remember, its been 27 or so years since Atari released anything of relevance in terms of consoles. They didn't exactly end on a stellar note like Sega did with Dreamcast. 

 

I think comparing the VCS to a budget PC is a terrible idea.  A budget PC let's you do things like surf the net, create documents, and run other programs.  While all of that may be possible with the VCS, why? You'd have to spend extra money on a keyboard and mouse, as well as extra storage. I'm not seeing the savings here.   Most of the games Atari is touting for the VCS can be purchased on Steam or Google Play, so that's not a selling point.   Also, budget PC's are actually available NOW.  No need to go to Walmart's website or Gamestop. 

 

Aside from the sheer obnoxiousness of certain VCS supporters, and Atari's shady business practices, that's the biggest problem for this system.  It's a solution in search of a problem. 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

54 minutes ago, 6502wrangler said:

 

You don't even have to be a pessimist to come to this conclusion. They are holding up all shipments to wait for all the Joysticks to come in, but not everyone who preordered chose to order a Joystick, so they could have shipped those by now.

 

My guess is they are having problems with the software and online store, and are stalling to try to apply some bandaids. It's possible they have refused to pay (or can't pay) whoever is actually implementing it and they don't have the keys to the kingdom quite yet... but this is just speculation.

Well, I was trying to be nice.  The online store is quite the paradox.  If the VCS is just a PC like its supporters claim, why would anyone waste time making a VCS specific version of a game when a potential buyer could just get it from the Steam store?

 

I'm really trying to be nice, since I know people are getting excited about this thing, and there's really not much to be excited about lately.   But good grief, it's like Atari didn't think through a lot of their design decisions, and the final product is just a Frankenstein monster with bits and pieces of ideas that don't really fit together. All IMO, of course. 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

8 hours ago, jamm said:

I appreciate the many months of prep work being put into this initial shipment. A lot of companies just receive stuff to ship and ship it out practically right away, not dedicating the considerable time and resources such shipments deserve.  But that's not Atari.  It just means things will go absolutely smoothly once things actually start going out the door. 

The pessimist would say they're just stalling.   Anyway, I hope it does ship soon for the sake of the backers.  I'm curious how many will think it was worth the wait, especially compared to what else is out there.  Sometimes we wait 3 years for the Holy Grail only to find out it was just a sippee cup.  Only time will tell, but I wonder how many people would have given this system the time of day if it didn't have the Atari name attached. 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

11 minutes ago, AlecRob said:

It wouldnt be emulation, because the VCS is a PC

So why wouldn't someone just buy a PC instead?  Also, why is Atari saying companies are developing games to run on their system, if the system is just a PC?  Wouldn't said games also be able to run on a PC?

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https://www.t3.com/us/news/atari-vcs-console-and-pc-2020

 

Owned by a Chinese conglomerate?  Did I miss something?  Atari posted this article on their own Facebook page. 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

3 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

So, latest delay now puts it at Jan. 2021. I thought that all of us "sad trolls" were going to be eating crow by now, or something.

 

In the mean time, I just learned about another competitor to both the VCS and Amico, although this one has bizarrely decided to follow the VCS model of being overpriced and having nothing original to it. Behold the Polycade 2600. 

Remember - Years, not decades.

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

1 hour ago, Chopsus said:

A Ponzi Scheme relies on bringing new money in in order to cover those who (despite false incentives not to) choose to withdraw their funds ... all the time the total claimed value if stock is a fraud.

 

I seriously suspect that Fake ATARI are desperate to get funds in from presales (and other silly ventures) in order to fund their long overdue promise to backers.

 

Ponzi is not an effective long term strategy... the house of cards will collapse eventually... I just hope backers get theirs before it does.

Well, they're got that portable Pong thing, and digital collectibles.   That should bring in lots of cash, right?

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

At first I thought they were announcing a release date for the system.   But no, they're selling digital collectibles,  whatever that is.  What are they thinking?

 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

11 minutes ago, OCAT said:

^ this product looks suspiciously like an app running on any generic smartphone.. from 2009, turned on its side.
Look at all that glorious bezel.

Oh yeah.  Imagine being on the edge of your seat, waiting for imminent news of a product shipping that you've already paid for a few years ago, only to see this abomination. It has to be driving them crazy, even if they won't admit it. 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

LOL.  Talk about rubbing salt in the wound.

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24 minutes ago, Nathan Strum said:

I just keep wondering how Atari expects to support the Ataribox assuming it gets out the door. Does it have a warranty? Can it be returned or repaired? Who do people call for tech support when one of these things fails? Sure, most tech support is farmed out overseas anyway, but the companies still have to pay for it. That doesn't seem like something Atari would want to fork over money for, especially for just a few thousand units. Or I wonder if these will just be sold as-is, and good luck to the consumer? "It's broken? Well it worked when it left the factory. Have you tried turning it off and on again? It sounds like you may have broken it somehow when you plugged it in. Our warranty doesn't cover that. Have a nice day! (click)"

I suppose they'd just tell people to mail them back the console, and then Atari would ship them a replacement.

 

The delay is odd.  We did see a functioning unit at that show in New York.   The UI is a matter of taste, I guess.  If the thing works, ship it.  Send the retro controllers later.  The system is beyond a joke at this point, but missing another holiday season is going to be a really difficult pill to swallow. 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

1 hour ago, OCAT said:

Anyone still peeved that they called this thing "VCS" to deliberatly screw over Google searches...

All it means is that Atari will never be able to hide from this failure now.  "Ataribox" would have eventually been buried.   "Atarivcs", not so easily. 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

7 hours ago, Oneinchbiceps said:

I figured something was up with this cause you can't find it on Wal Mart anymore.  I pre ordered mine from Wal Mart. It's really just about zero risk to do it that way they made a pre approval charge to see if the funds are available when I pre order a few months ago but it went away after a couple of days never came out of pending. 

 

No big issue if you use a credit card. To get the page to load I have to go to my orders on Wal Mart  and find the pre order then load it up. It says out of stock when you do get the page up. So I figure I can save the money and if it gets cancelled no biggie it forced me to save some money.

 

I will say the lack of any new games does totally kill my excitement for the console. I'm pretty much only getting it as a collector item and so I can unbox it on my youtube channel.

The argument is that it doesn't need exclusive games since it's a set top POS PC.  Which begs the question - why not just plug a PC into your tv?

 

In terms of Walmart, our optimistic friend. PDubs believes this is because the units are all sold out.  Wow!  Must be quite the hot ticket item for Christmas.   Looks like I'll have to buy one from an Ebay scalper.

 

Anyway, the claim is that Atari didn't promise backers would have their systems in October, only that shipping would begin in October.   Putting systems in boxes counts as a start, right?

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

6 hours ago, Chopsus said:

I’m a little surprised that it appears as though ATARI has gone through all of their public statements and removed any specific mentions of dates.

 

perhaps I have imagined it, but I am certain they had made statements of specific dates for launch in November - these seem to have now disappeared.
 

if true, this is beyond ethically questionable, it is deliberate and systematic deceptive conduct.

 

As every day goes by, it seems more likely Atari is using the controller issue as an excuse to withhold the system.  Is it really a controller issue, or is Atari using that as cover to stall for time? Deceptive conduct isn't exactly out of Atari's wheelhouse. 

 

If the modern style controllers are ready,  just ship the consoles to backers now and sent the retro ones later.  I get the cost issue, but this is just sad.

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Reddit has some interesting Walmart reviews of the system.   This is precisely why I only look at negative reviews for stuff I'm interested in:

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There definitely does seem to be a controller shortage going on,  and has been for a couple of months at least.   None of the stores in my area had Xbox One or PS4 controllers in stock.

 

Ironically, I ended up getting a Power A controller.   And...I have to say I like it.  No complainants whatsoever. 

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

33 minutes ago, TACODON said:

I like that they act like they are some old and wise person full of sage advice. All they ever do is whine about the Hyper Scan. I'm fairly certain they are just some punk kid that mommy and daddy never told no to.

I don't understand the whole Hyperscan thing. Yes, I'm aware of the system, but how is any of that relevant to this system?

[The Atari VCS Controversies Thread]

3 hours ago, Chopsus said:

I don’t see an IGG update, has there actually been one? It is overdue if I recall correctly.  ATARI seem to be making it a sport to ignore the backers that gave them $3Mil lately ... reflects their ethics and business style I guess.

 

Looks like its not on IGG.  It's a partnership with Ultra, a company that deals in Blockchain.