godslabrat
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Posts posted by godslabrat
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And, not to put too fine a point on it, Sega is still in possession of properties today's gamers actually want, at least to some degree. Atari is trying to prop itself up with RCT, Centipede, and a 100-pack that struggles to sell for even a dollar.
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5 minutes ago, Stephen said:If Sega sued every fan that used their name or property in a website, failed to deliver other products that were crowd funded, announced a fake console to get a pump and dump on their stocks hoping for a buyout, raised millions of dollars to "build a community", was 2 years late delivering a product that was overpriced and under-powered, I would imagine that YES, that would get the same hate.
Why do people keep forgetting all of the bullshit surrounding this company and this console? Current Atari has earned every bit of hatred they experience.
Indeed. At this point, it's a struggle to find examples of anything l'Atari has done right, or that doesn't indicate an offensive mix of incompetence and dishonesty. They're well past the point of "give them another chance" or "everyone messes up sometimes". A smart consumer at this point would not trust them at all.
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21 minutes ago, leech said:Hot Tub meetings = Awesome Atari.
To be fair, credit should be given to Atari of that time to the entire culture of how Silicon Valley became later on. Granted history could be very different if it weren't Warner that bought Atari. But whatever, it is what it is. It isn't like some of the other companies out there are anything like they used to be. Sega sort of exists for example, but not like it used to be, and it seems they only churn out Video games to keep up appearances. I wonder if they decided to make a new game console, if they'd get as much hate as the VCS does.
I'm pretty sure "hot tub meetings" is the phrase that made all the FauxRetro Console makers think they could pull it off. Mike, Fred, Bryan... all trying to be late-70s hotshots.
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11 minutes ago, Bill Loguidice said:I honestly don't know how much exclusive-to-a-very-specific-hardware-type is going to be a thing anymore. It's likely to be more of a "plays optimally on x" type of thing. Pretty much everything game capable now, including PCs, Sony consoles, Microsoft consoles, and almost certainly Nintendo's imminent next iteration of the Switch, will just be better/faster hardware that will play more or less the same games as one (or sometimes more) generation(s) back, just improved. Just about everything these days is developed on common toolsets with relatively easy porting to all kinds of hardware types, obviously. Even something like the VCS is nothing more than a way to play non-exclusive, lower-end PC games that happen to get ported (unless you put your own OS on and go through some other hoops).
In any case, I personally don't begrudge the move to a PC-like model of backwards compatibility and something being playable across various generations of hardware. I'm one of those people who will always want to play the best possible versions on the best possible hardware, but I like the flexibility of playing it on other things. (And side note, "enhanced for" can certainly feel like a new experience even if exclusives are not a sole focus.) Certainly the recent push for handheld gaming PCs (with at least three excellent options to choose from at the moment) is going to bring a lot of that same thinking back to PC, i.e., I can play the highest performance stuff optimally on my desktop PC, but can also play almost all of the same games, just scaled back for a mobile experience. It truly continues to be the best time ever to be a gamer.
I felt this when I looked at my PS3 and 360, and realized that owning both was completely unnecessary. Previously, I'd always found value in having competing consoles, but starting with that generation, it felt like I spent too much money and had very little to show for it.
I've since adopted the stance of playing the games I want on my Switch, if there's any practical way to do so. If the game isn't on switch, I'll buy it on Xbox. If it's not on either, I just don't need it.
Completely opposite to the way I used to see gaming, but I'm much more satisfied, and have zero fomo.
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23 hours ago, Agillig said:It's a shame, because even without FPGA this could have been a good product. But the price and incompetence are just too much. I find it hilarious they're talking about a digital store for this thing.
Had they just said from day 1 "We're going to make an emulation pc in a living room form factor", I would have patted them on the back. But now they've tried so hard to make this box into something it's not that I can't even take them seriously if they tell me water is wet.
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4 minutes ago, afx_acid said:It's very, very quiet on the Polymega twitter at the moment. No hype posts for over three months.
Well, at this point, they're making a major accomplishment by just proving they have the right to do business in the state of California. So... yeah, they're setting the bar damn low.
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1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:I think they should just cut their losses and stop spending money on the VCS. Just make it as available as possible and thank heaven for every sale they get. At this point they would just be polishing the turd.
At THIS point?
Did we not hit that point a very long time ago?
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1 minute ago, GoldLeader said:If you ask me, the ATARI VCS came out and was Huge! Probably my Favorite console of all time! AN ICON and a LEGEND. And it happened in 1977!
It was a hit.
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3 minutes ago, Mockduck said:Maybe the taco crowd will finally prove that that Atari VCS never came out.
At this point... is there a meaningful difference between the VCS never being released, and the anemic trickle* of units we've actually seen?
*Yes, I'm well aware that "Anemic Trickle" would be a great name for a band.
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53 minutes ago, GoldLeader said:If it were OLD ATARI (I don't care...Warner, Tramiel era, Just not F-ing Chesnais), I'd like the idea of an Atari themed hotel. If it were OLD COLECO, I'd like the idea of a ColecoVision themed hotel. And if it were still the 80's I would have liked either of those...Probably would have begged my parents to go there instead of the Best Western or Holiday Inn ...
Now, even as an adult; If it were the Atari of old (the one with a passion for video games, and access to consoles and arcade games) and they had this hotel and, let's say, for the sake of argument it was only $10 (or maaaybe $20) more than an ordinary room elsewhere, I might want to check it out...Probably would, in fact.
But I have seriously No Love for this version of the brand. And I don't just mean that they're a zombie brand licensing the name into oblivion... Given their blatant dishonesty and theft; Hell, just reading in the taco thread about what they did to Curt Vendel (R.I.P.) before his death makes my blood boil! I'd likely not stay there, even if I were paid...
Same. For me (someone who actually is part of the demographic they're targeting) l'Atari stuff is no longer an "is it worth it to me?" Proposition. Now I legit DO NOT want to take any actions that will send money in their direction. Even though the Atari collections are a pittance on the Nintendo eShop, I'll settle for old PlayStation discs. I don't need Atari stickers or shirts, because I don't want someone mistaking me for a person who'll follow three Frenchmen into the poorhouse.
Atari as it is now is blacklisted for me.
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8 minutes ago, Matt_B said:Obviously there's plenty of love for Microsoft among the managerial classes, because roughly half the software development jobs out there just use their entire stack.
So far as gaming goes, they've managed to sell 160 million more consoles than Atari in the past couple of decades and 95% of Steam users run Windows too.
Besides, you don't need to be loved to have a strong brand. It's enough to be known and have your products used. Most companies would rather be Toyota than Maserati, after all.
I think, in terms of gaming, "Xbox" and "Microsoft" are distinct brands, even if they happen to be owned and operated by the same organization. This lets consumers have a doublethink where they love Xbox but hate Microsoft, even though that makes no sense if you think about it for five seconds.
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6 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:You should invest in them. Based on your observations, they sound like a solid bet for tripling your investment in only a few short years.
They just need a Steve Jobs, that's all.
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If only people who wanted to play video games in hotels already had a means to do that. Maybe a small one they could carry in their backpack. Or even pocket. Then whatever hotel they stayed at could magically become a "Gaming Hotel".
While I'm dreaming, imagine if there were a way to add any games you wanted to such a device, so you wouldn't be limited to the games of whoever the hotel signed a contract with.
Just Crazy talk, I know-
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6 hours ago, Cebus Capucinis said:Atari Hotels are already the world's biggest hit*.
But really, I think it's a poor idea. The handful of old fart users on here are the only people who would be interested, and that's not a substantial enough base of consumers to warrant anything other than a swift liquidation and bankruptcy.
*The usage of the word "hit" may mean, alternately, a hit, not a hit, a hit in my house, a hit among people who are me, a hit among myself and three friends, and/or a hit only in my mind (but that's all that matters to me). Usage will vary with need to move goalposts and/or warp reality to justify my personal opinions. Prices and participation may vary. Speaker disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and reader is limited to the remedy of repair and/or replacement only. Recipient expressly agrees to consent to the jurisdiction of the Courts of Chesnais County and this agreement shall be governed by the laws of VCS Wonderland.
You forgot "For illustrative purposes only"
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1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:Even Frederic wasn´t incompetent
Lol, peace out.✌️
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You also have to consider what would happen if a Steve Jobs walked into l'atari right now. What if someone went to the board and said "Forget about these hokey cash-in schemes. We need to stop lining our pockets in the short term and re-invest what we make into building an empire 10-15 years from now."
The people in that room would be drawing straws to see who got to throw Steve off the Eiffel Tower.
It's not just the CEO. It's a company that, as has been said, has no vision, run by people who probably expect it to die at any time and are trying to get all the cheddar they can out of it before it goes. They aren't investing in a future company because they don't expect there to be a future.
Talking about a wizard CEO is kind of missing the point... l'Atari's culture is one of immediate gratification. Nothing more
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34 minutes ago, racerx said:No, you couldn't.
Each of those would be a separate license, and everything Atari is done as cheaply as possible.
Indeed. None of the big three will play well with each other, much less a has-been on a hotel venture doomed to failure. If L'Atari calls any of the main players on a hotel deal, I doubt that phone call even gets returned.
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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/piepacker/piepacker-online-multiplayer-for-retro-games
A crowdfunded console that plays retro video games. Hooo boy....
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Here's where I struggle with the "video games will bring people to the hotels" train of thought:
What video games?
Because not only are all of l'Atari's properties dated, but by making that their theme, other companies with actually recognizable IPs like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo won't touch it with a 10-foot-pole. And their absence will be glaringly conspicuous. I'd even think smaller players like Capcom, Sega, and Konami will think it against their best interests to get involved.
So when you say "video game themed" do you really mean video game themed, or themed around a handful of games that have been run into the ground.... and nothing else?
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1 hour ago, youxia said:Have they, though? What exactly were these succesful licensing ventures? I can only recall insta-forgettable ones (mobile apps), the ridiculous ones (hats or some such), and the shady ones - tokens or casinos. That's really not something to be proud of.
T-shirts, flashbacks, keychains, and LCD games seem to be evergreen products for them. I don't see those ever going out of style. I do see them being a point of diminishing returns, though, and l'Atari would be smart to try and build something relateable to people born after Watergate. Slapping their logo on anything and hoping for the best, however, isn't going to work. Even if they occasionally get a winner*, the losers they end up picking will decreaase the overall value of their brand.
*Let's call the VCS a "winner" for the sake of argument. It at least had positive cash flow. Yeah, I'm keeping my standards insanely low here.
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1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:Fair enough. They have been very successful in the passive part, but not so much in the active part.
Unfortunately, for all the money they make on the passive part, they seem to lose (or earn at a highly inefficient rate) money on the active part.
That's why 'strategy' is kind of important.
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If Atari did actually come up with a decent mascot, you just know they'd sell it off when their gas bill was due.
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9 minutes ago, leech said:Every Atari Dream? Can we get a remake of Custer's Revenge finally???
(Of note, I am not sure how E.T. is usually ranked as the worst video game ever, clearly this one wins!)
I have had way, WAY more fun playing Custer's
Revenge than E. T.
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13 minutes ago, Matt_B said:According to the news sites uncritically regurgitating their press releases, the first one is supposed to be opening in Las Vegas sometime in 2022. Seeing as hotels take a couple of years to build at the best of times, you'd think that construction ought to be underway by now if this is anything but BS. If nothing else they should at least be able to point to a location.
You can probably figure out which way I'm leaning though.
The renders look like something out Blade Runner, but if they ever get as far as making one it'll probably look like a derelict Howard Johnson with a few Fuji stickers over the logos.
I could also see this concept being downgraded to something like an Atari-branded bar inside a hotel that otherwise doesn't acknowledge the logo. Once the Atari contract expires, rename the bar and keep all the video game stuff.
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Retroblox
in Classic Console Discussion
Posted
I'd Actually agree that they would try to rebrand and relaunch... but at this point, I'm not sure they have the resources to even try. They have no money and spent almost two months without even a proper business license. The time has run out when they can play "cute".