New Atari Compatible Console & Controllers

[dstone]

NTSC only, and even then it'll only work in the states of Oklahoma, Colorado, and Rhode Island. Even then, it'll only be color output if your last name begins with a V or an C.

 

Well, at least I'll have it in black and white!

[nathanallan]

I nominate the name Curtari for this new 3200-like system. Maybe Ventari?

[raskar42]

I nominate the name Curtari for this new 3200-like system. Maybe Ventari?

 

 

Ventari has the 'ven' sound like in ADVENTURE! A cur, on the other hand, is a dirty dog.

[nathanallan]

I nominate the name Curtari for this new 3200-like system. Maybe Ventari?

 

 

Ventari has the 'ven' sound like in ADVENTURE! A cur, on the other hand, is a dirty dog.

Very true, and I like Ventari better anyway.

[jaybird3rd]

I think there will already be a company name attached to this:

 

This would NOT be an Atari product, it would not be licensed to use the Atari name, it would however be under a very well known video game company name that some may feel is equally as important as Atari.

I don't want to pry, but I'm intrigued as to what "very well known video game company" this could be. I have two or three semi-educated guesses, but I'll keep them to myself.

[+LS650]

I saw someone guess Activision earlier, and I suspect that is a good guess.

[Reaperman]

I saw someone guess Activision earlier, and I suspect that is a good guess.

That was my first thought too.

But the more I think about it, Namco had a stronger showing on 7800, and has a long history in the plug-n-play world.

Edited September 23, 2011 by Reaperman

[8th lutz]

Namco, Activision and Taito are my guesses..

 

Taito did Space Invaders 5-in-1 Plug'n' Play in the past. Taito had a good show on the 2600 and had a couple of their games released on the Atari 7800.

Edited September 23, 2011 by 8th lutz

[8th lutz]

I accidentally pressed the quote button instead of the edit button instead.

Edited September 23, 2011 by 8th lutz

[Atariboy]

Taito and Namo don't even own any 2600 or 7800 properties. Their games that appeared on those platforms are owned in their 2600 and 7800 incarnations by the company we've already been told isn't involved with this product. And as far as I'm aware, Taito never licensed any of their products out to be ported on the 7800 (Edit - Forgot about the Double Dragon port from Activision). So why would they want to be connected to a revival of a platform that didn't have any Taito content programmed for it?

 

And where the 2600 is concerned, neither Taito or Namco were very important (For biggies, we have what, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Ms. Pac-Man as significant licenses from those two companies that were a big deal on this platform? Not exactly a lot of major content there, although all three were big deals back in the day).

 

And neither are nearly as well known as Atari in the West, especially in the case of Taito (The average gamer doesn't have a clue what company this is). Namco has a bit more fame, but I bet there are plenty of people out there aware of Pac-Man today that couldn't even tell you that it was a Namco release.

 

Neither one seems to fit the description of being under "a very well known video game company name that some may feel is equally as important as Atari". Only Activision made a huge splash on the system outside of Atari, and is the only company I can think of with any significant ties to the platform that I could see someone viewing as just as important as Atari. And it's far more of a household word among gamers in the West than either Namco or Taito is.

 

The only thing that doesn't seal the deal for me is Activision's attitude. If this happens and it is Activision, I'd be surprised to see them bother with something that is profitable but doesn't have the potential to rake in tens of millions in profit. They appear in the media to only be interested in projects that have decent potential to be the next Call of Duty.

 

Something like this that is going to be more modestly successful seems to be a bit out of their character.

Edited September 23, 2011 by Atariboy

[8th lutz]

And as far as I'm aware, Taito never licensed any of their products out to be ported on the 7800 (Edit - Forgot about the Double Dragon port from Activision).

 

Taitio also licensed out Mat Mania Challenge on the Atari 7800. The 7800 version of Mat Mania Challenge is based off Mania Challenge - http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8614 and Mat Mania - http://www.arcade-mu...hp?game_id=8641

Edited September 23, 2011 by 8th lutz

[Wntermute]

At one point, I started a project to map out all the video game mergers and acquisitions. Currently, Taito's owned by Square Enix.. and they never had much to do with pre-crash systems.

 

Namco or Activision-Blizzard would be among my guesses. Given the hint that Curt gave.. I'd even go so far as to say possibly even Sega or Nintendo. The latter of which would be quite hilarious, given the history between Atari and Nintendo (insomuch as the 7800 was released in lieu of an Atari-branded Famicom and this new hardware is based on the 7800).

[Atariboy]

Nintendo doesn't even recognize their own arcade lineup from that era. I don't see them putting any money into marketing a product based on an competitor that they've likely not thought of in two decades that never made much of an impact in Japan (And both are systems they never developed for). Especially with their financial woes keeping them busy trying to appease their shareholders and combat their falling stock price, I'm sure their focus is on their core products, growing the 3DS, and prepping for the WiiU.

 

Sega's a bit more willing to revisit the classic era and doesn't mind a good deal when they see it, so I guess we can't easily dismiss them even though I'd be surprised to find out it's them.

 

Activision or Atari makes the most sense, and Curt already told us it isn't Atari. Activision has an entire back catalog of 2600 and 7800 games that many gamers have fond memories of that would attract consumers. A large corporation (Which I assume they are if they're somehow on the same footing with Atari's legacy) isn't getting involved here to provide the classic gaming community with a few hundred enhanced Atari 7800 consoles like one poster earlier in the thread assumed when he talked about the focus being on building a console for things like XM homebrew games and such. They're out to sell to the general public first and foremost and that requires plenty of software that older consumers remember. That means a focus on existing 2600 and 7800 games.

 

That's something Nintendo, Sega, Taito, and Namco can't bring to the table. They own a grand total of 10 Atari 2600 games to their name, with several of those relying on licenses including the Star Trek license that would be prohibitively expensive to acquire for a project such as this. And none of those 10 games made much of a splash back then.

 

There are two companies with the necessary library to support this. And we've already had one of the two ruled out for us.

Edited September 23, 2011 by Atariboy

[abaudrand]

A bit late for voting but I choose 3200 yet I dont like the design. It's not as classy as 2600 vader or 7800. I miss the O'shea 7800 design. For the name of the product, just call it "ACS" stand for Atari Compatible System. Like Amiga, it start with an A, so it will display on top of lists sorted by alphabetical order.

[+Mitch]

http://www.syzygygames.com/

 

Mitch

[raskar42]

I think there will already be a company name attached to this:

 

This would NOT be an Atari product, it would not be licensed to use the Atari name, it would however be under a very well known video game company name that some may feel is equally as important as Atari.

I don't want to pry, but I'm intrigued as to what "very well known video game company" this could be. I have two or three semi-educated guesses, but I'll keep them to myself.

 

Coleco ! V-Tech! Tiger Electronics!

Edited September 23, 2011 by raskar42

[abaudrand]

In 1971, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded an engineering firm, Syzygy Engineering

quoted from the wiki page of atari

It could be a tribute to that but the console name could be different from the company name...

[mckafka99]

http://www.syzygygames.com/

 

Mitch

 

 

 

http://whois.domaint...syzygygames.com - other similar domains registered as well.

[Rex Dart]

Pretty sure it's LJN.

[StephenJ]

Curt,

Like so many others in this thread...I just wanted to express my enthusiasm for this project.

I'm very glad to hear it's moving forward. I voted for the 3200 case and controllers, but I would be fine

with any of the choices in the poll.

 

- Since this is such a big deal with us Atari enthusiasts, maybe there should be section in AA exclusively for project updates...just a thought.

 

- Any idea of a time-line? (promise we won't hold you to anything)

 

Many thanks for your efforts,

StephenJ

[famicommander]

Holy crap, I am so super excited about this.

 

I don't even care what it costs. High quality video output and XM compatibility in a brand new yet still classic design? This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I have been waiting for.

 

Curt, just let me know when I can place a preorder.

[RangerG]

Just saw this thread, great idea and items that Curt has had a hand in are professional. Looking forward to this!

[Zonie]

3200 style or something totally new. A VGA compatible output would be nice, and if the case was just a thin box that can be placed under a TV or Monitor and have the cart port, switches and joystick ports all on the front with only the power and outputs on the back, They would take up little space, and bring them into the modern world. Think "Server Rack" look with holes on the sides so server rack tabs could be mounted. Who knows, with all this stuff we are connecting to our modern TV's, we're gonna need a server rack someday. Call it a "Gameserver" or something, use the same layout for future products that you are sure to come up with so they can all be put in the same rack. Perhaps a video switcher module that automatically senses which system is in use...

 

 

If this is a clean sheet approach, how about a controller that works. How about a controller more like the Bally arcade? Those are super comfortable, and have the paddle and joystick. Just add a thumb button just below the joystick knob, and make that Knob a round red ball instead of a panel knob.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2011 by Zonie

[Atari Dogs]

I was going to put in a guess for Coleco. Aren't the owners of the name just siting around waiting for something to put that name on?

[A_Locomotive]

Coleco !

 

This actually was my guess.