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Would a relaunched VCS sell?


tz101

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I got to thinking what if the company now hiding behind the Atari logo were to somehow see some profitability in relaunching the VCS, along with a good assortment of the original Atari-branded game cartridges. You now, games like Centipede, Missile Command, Crystal Castles, Battlezone, and maybe even some new releases. Who knows, maybe Activision would even be a little kind-hearted and allow re-release of many of their original VCS game library along with the Imagic titles.

 

Do you think something like this could sell? What if a somewhat down-and-out retailer like say, K Mart in the US, could be persuaded that nostalgic gamers and lower budget game buyers might show some interest in a relaunched Atari game console?

 

Maybe this could work?

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Rex is right. What you're asking is to divorce the games from the Flashback and you won't get a retailer to devote shelf space to a large cartridge library that will probably never sell. The Flashback 2 was pretty much the right idea.

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So much negativity. While it won't play with the PS3 and 360 crowds, it most likely would have some appeal at a certain price point (i.e. $40-$50 range for the system, $10 for the games).

 

The Flashback 1 and 2 systems were limited in the number of games. This would allow for new releases, along with hundreds of re-released older games. You have to think outside the bun for a moment...

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So much negativity. While it won't play with the PS3 and 360 crowds, it most likely would have some appeal at a certain price point (i.e. $40-$50 range for the system, $10 for the games).

 

The Flashback 1 and 2 systems were limited in the number of games. This would allow for new releases, along with hundreds of re-released older games. You have to think outside the bun for a moment...

 

The problem is shelf space. Retailers need to make so much revenue per square foot. Selling Atari 2600's aren't going to cut it.

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I don't think he means the size of the original 2600. Maybe around the size of a Jr. I think it would be epic if it looked like an upgraded version of a Jr. and have backwards compatibility for old 2600 games or if the carts are different, there should be an adapter.

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So much negativity. While it won't play with the PS3 and 360 crowds, it most likely would have some appeal at a certain price point (i.e. $40-$50 range for the system, $10 for the games).

$10 a game? People here freak when they have to pay more than three bucks! I could get a GBA SP for $40-50. Cut the console to $10 and the games to $1 and maaaaaybe you'll find a market.

 

The Flashback 1 and 2 systems were limited in the number of games. This would allow for new releases, along with hundreds of re-released older games. You have to think outside the bun for a moment...

No, you have to think outside your atari-fetishist haze. Who exactly is going to buy it?

It just would not sell, except to atari-nuts who have to have every version of every atari system. I've got buckets of compatible games and I wouldn't buy it. New games are already being made, but not bought in numbers great enough to justify mass production.

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I think what may sell is a sooped-up Flashback with like 1000 games on it and a set of controllers that can do joystick and paddles all in one.

There you go. I'd buy THAT. For $30.

 

 

I don't think he means the size of the original 2600. Maybe around the size of a Jr. I think it would be epic if it looked like an upgraded version of a Jr. and have backwards compatibility for old 2600 games or if the carts are different, there should be an adapter.

 

That's not what epic means. Besides, Jrs still exist. If people want them, they can get them.

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Would a relaunched VCS sell?

No.

 

As much as I love classic consoles, it's clear to me that the cartridge-based 2600 is too anachronistic for most of the population today. The few of us who can still enjoy it already have the remaining inventory of "vintage" consoles and games, which should last us for quite some time.

 

O'Shea and Curt Vendel already explored the possibility of creating a new Atari console as a way of selling off the massive inventory of cartridges that O'Shea had. The numbers didn't add up, and that was with a glut of brand new games ready for sale. Having to go back and make new cartridges and a new console would put you even further in the hole, even if you found a retailer who was altruistic enough to give you the shelf space for free.

 

The Flashback 2 was as close as you're going to get to a relaunched 2600, and even that would have been a much harder sale if it had come out just a few years later than it did. Today, I suspect that the only market for vintage 2600 games is through emulation on modern platforms.

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New games are already being made, but not bought in numbers great enough to justify mass production.

 

The new games are being sold at $30-$50 a piece. Not exactly the $10 price point I am talking about.

 

You skipped where I said that people won't even pay $10; they demand 'em for $2 max.

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The problem is shelf space. Retailers need to make so much revenue per square foot. Selling Atari 2600's aren't going to cut it.

 

This is where slightly off the beaten path ( as far as video games, or just hurting to build business) retailers come in. K Mart, Menards, Kohls, Tuesday Morning, Kroger, etc. Retailers who are willing to take a little "gamble".

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No way. What the other guys said. There would be no point to it, no profit in it, no appeal.

...unless they rick-rolled it out with a slew of hip new games under a whole new marketing campaign for the modern times!

 

Fantastic new titles such as:

 

Baby Daddies

Divorce Court Hijinx

Rahm's Requiem

Bankruptcy 2011

Nutty Professors

Insane Clown Pussycat Rescue

Lender Bender

State Fair Thug Thump

Maury's Miscreants

Trucks vs. SUV's

Piercings and Pagoda's

Tramp Stamp Nation

Affirmative Action Jackson

Illinois Dream Acting

Earlobe Gauging Freak Fest

Donkey Puncher

Liberal Spin Twist

Bonafied Corporate Bonus Spuds

Entitlement Program Blaster

Bailout Bastards

Texting Trouble

Short Pant Teeny Bopper

Pajama Public Playtime

Wal-Mart Shopper Shooting Gallery

Conserv-a-Clash

Libertarian Island

Twin Tower Toppler

Bush*Whacker

Methadone Zombies

Packrat Intervention

Epic Meal Time

Trainwreck Terry, The DUI Game

mp3 Attack

Societal Engineer

Big Phat Pharma

Dizzy Druggies

Cancer Cure

Agenda Alignment

Promiscuous Texters

Salad Tosser

Silly Socialists

Medical Mary Jane

Moral Ethic Masher

Mob Riot Panic

Marxist Mayhem

Futures End

Millionaires and Billionaires

Cash Clunking

Trailer Park Boys

Electric Auto Dream

Straw Polling

Solar Panel Lobby

Gulf Oil Spiller Driller

EPA The OSHA

Tea Party Takeover

Wind Farmer

Czar Car

Media Manipulator

LinkedIN Stacker

Facebook Friending

Down Lo Mortgage Ho

Fannie & Freddie Farce

Stock Market Plunger

Inside Trader

Bernanke's Print Shop

AIG The Saga Continues

Pulitzer Prizing

Big Bill Stuffer

Cruisin' Iowa Caucus Edition

Marion Barry's No-Tell Hotel

Huffington Posers

Holy Hypocrites

Runaway Dems

Campaign Bus Crash

Rhetoric Rambler

Teleprompter Trouble

Wardrobe Malfunction Mania

Google Droid Wars

Asinine Apps

Windows Wanking!

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It would have to be small... about the size of a nes cart. It would have to support composite out. Have at least 50 built in with a cart slot. I think the most likely thing would be some grey market 20.00 thing like the faketendos floating around that also plays Genesis or something. I'm good with my original.

Though I would have to buy a nes/snes/sega/atari in a heartbeat to save wear on my original consoles.

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