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Yes but that's only because most of what Steam has to offer is Unity shovelware asset flips. If you're asking if a $180 laptop can play modern games, I very much doubt it. You'd have a better experience, by far, saving up the extra $70 and getting an Xbox One S or for the same price (or less used) a 360 or PS3.

I assumed as much. Again, I'm still struggling with coming up with a business rationale for this thing.

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My two cents...

 

I like the futuristic theming, but personally, I don't care about the hardware specs. The 5200 wasn't very powerful and had the best arcade ports. The Jaguar was powerful for its time and flopped (and there was no decent first party content, besides the nostalgic Tempest 2000).

 

I don't care about emulation, as we have way too much of that already. "Accidentally" make it hackable, that will be enough ;)

 

Develop some NEW high quality first party arcade-style content, throw in a few quality remakes of classic games... then I'll buy one. They don't need the old crew to do this, but they need a crew that is willing to take the time to analyze and channel the creative simplicity that made those early Atari arcade games so successful.

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My two cents...

 

I like the futuristic theming, but personally, I don't care about the hardware specs. The 5200 wasn't very powerful and had the best arcade ports. The Jaguar was powerful for its time and flopped (and there was no decent first party content, besides the nostalgic Tempest 2000).

 

I don't care about emulation, as we have way too much of that already. "Accidentally" make it hackable, that will be enough ;)

 

Develop some NEW high quality first party arcade-style content, throw in a few quality remakes of classic games... then I'll buy one. They don't need the old crew to do this, but they need a crew that is willing to take the time to analyze and channel the creative simplicity that made those early Atari arcade games so successful.

 

The 5200 was very powerful at the time it was released. The Jaguar was theoretically powerful, but had some architectural limitations, and, as you say, limited talent/resources to "properly" develop for it. There was never a time that Atari didn't release something that wasn't at or near the power heap on the videogame side, unless you want to count the XEGS, which was just a late life continuation of the 8-bit/5200 concept.

 

In any case, I think your last paragraph again is going down the "too high expectations" rabbit hole for the reach of the present day Atari. I doubt they'll be able to develop any games specific to this hardware. Unless something has changed, that's not really necessary anyway, since it should run existing stuff. My expectation remains that this relatively low cost, modestly powered hardware will succeed or fail on whatever value/service proposition they can come up with. Anything else is really not something I can see them being able to pull off, especially if this goes the expected crowd funding route.

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In any case, I think your last paragraph again is going down the "too high expectations" rabbit hole for the reach of the present day Atari. I doubt they'll be able to develop any games specific to this hardware. Unless something has changed, that's not really necessary anyway, since it should run existing stuff. My expectation remains that this relatively low cost, modestly powered hardware will succeed or fail on whatever value/service proposition they can come up with. Anything else is really not something I can see them being able to pull off, especially if this goes the expected crowd funding route.

 

What good is a system if it brings nothing new to the table and doesn't have fun games? My expectations are reasonable.

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What good is a system if it brings nothing new to the table and doesn't have fun games? My expectations are reasonable.

 

I don't think they necessarily are since - media hyperbole aside - this is not a traditional console launch nor is it from a company with a particular bounty of resources.

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It depends on what you mean by "most," and to what extent your laptop is a craptop.

 

Modern console-style games (PS3/Xbox 360 era and up, like BioShock, Mass Effect, Skyrim) require a lot of storage and a dedicated graphics processor (at least an Nvidia 840M). You'll want a $600 desktop or a $1000 laptop for those and anything big that came out since.

 

Simpler games, including many indie games, and most older games, will run fine on a Cherry Trail, Bay Trail, or Apollo Lake processor. Something like this can run stuff from the Xbox era (Star Wars Battlefront II -- the real one, Morrowind, Knights of the Old Republic, anything from DOS) without breaking a sweat. Basically if it's under a GB or so in size, chances are good it will run. Emulators are great if you're into old games and computers. Anything the CRPG Addict is into can basically run on a potato computer.

 

They're a few years old now, but I liked the HP Stream line because of the keyboards, and the ASUS T100 line because of the screens. Either one can be had super cheap on eBay. If I were shopping for a new one, I'd look at the ASUS VivoBook and similar things that are basically a Chromebook that runs Windows.

 

These things are cheap, run without a fan, and make for great little toys -- arguably better than a handheld console. So long as you respect their limitations (most notably tiny and slow storage capacity), they're lots of fun.

This is actually the one scenario I can see where I would not only buy an Ataribox, but I would genuinely be excited to do so. If it had x86 architecture and could allow me to, with some minor finessing, play some old windows/dos games that I miss, in a form factor that's more practical than an old tower or craptop, I'd be in. And I would actually be willing to pay a decent amount for it.

 

I don't see what the financial incentive would be for Atari to go that route, but if they do, I'm happy

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if i'm going on the assumption that they know what the hardware is gonna be and the price point they want to hit and this marketing strategy is just to scour internet discussion for some angle on how to sell it. even with minimal resources and extreme risk aversion there are some options available.

 

if they went thru the list of people who sent them dev emails and entice a few to make timed exclusives in exchange for say. getting access to some license they still have or some atari branded fluff they got in a bin somewhere. i dunno. i'm not sure if they'll play in the dirt with us indies or not.

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I don't think they necessarily are since - media hyperbole aside - this is not a traditional console launch nor is it from a company with a particular bounty of resources.

 

Ah! I think I've got this figured out! You're talking about what you "expect" the system/games will actually be (MW dictionary says "to consider probable or certain"). You very well might be right about that, who knows at this point. But, I'm not trying to make a prediction, I'm simply stating what I "expect" the system/games to be in order for me to consider buying it ("to consider reasonable, due, or necessary"). Same word, two different meanings.

Edited by calamari
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This is actually the one scenario I can see where I would not only buy an Ataribox, but I would genuinely be excited to do so. If it had x86 architecture and could allow me to, with some minor finessing, play some old windows/dos games that I miss, in a form factor that's more practical than an old tower or craptop, I'd be in. And I would actually be willing to pay a decent amount for it.

 

I don't see what the financial incentive would be for Atari to go that route, but if they do, I'm happy

 

That's just a PC, then. You don't have to wait for Atari to make that for you.

 

Here's one for $221 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110131

a less capable one for $199 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16856110130

here's one with BYO RAM and storage for $130 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856205007

or if you want 2015 Atom-level CPU like my blue laptop and no fan, HP Stream Mini desktop http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Stream-Mini-Desktop-/232407510100?hash=item361c912c54:g:QoAAAOSwsXVZZsQZ

(this one looks better http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-ProDesk-400-G2-Mini-/172787734877?hash=item283af3995d:g:qhYAAOSw5h5ZcM9F )

 

Walled gardens are "fine" when they add value (exclusive software, simplicity, security), but it's very, very easy to make your own "game console" nowadays.

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Maybe the AtariBox just streams sound for video sources, music, and bluetooth for our smartphones straight to one of several styles of "Atari Hat"... and we get to PICK which hat we want! I mean nobody likes those silly blue-tooth things stuck in their ears really.

I might go with the Atari Aviator hat for the most direct sound... but the Atari Baseball cap is very safe really, but maybe I will get the Atari Cowboy speaker-hat for getting in touch with my redneck side.

 

Ok, sarcasm off... but now there is nothing left I can say without sarcasm, considering how silly this non-revel is. When a company has to let you know a date they are going to let you know something about a product that will be crowd-funded? Seriously? The economy is not SO bad that if you have a "real" product to put out, you can get someone to back it.

 

I find this whole thing an annoyance. I thought the hat thing was a joke though...

 

MrBlackCat

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They aren't supposed to fool anyone. It's more about nostalgia.

 

The ports are where they are because that's where they are on the Pi board.

I am very aware of the Pi form factor. It still looks dumb though with the fake mini Atari and NES cases with USB and HDMI exploding out the sides... Ever since the NES Mini came out and one intrepid hacker crammed a Pi in the case, they've been selling NES and other console shaped Pi cases. I have nothing against Pi, just the cases that look dumb. And that Atari is horribly disproportionate... :P
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Disproportionate can be cute, like a caricature with a big head and little body.

 

Personally, I don't care much about a console's appearance, I care how the controllers feel and what's on the screen. My Pi is in the official case, which is inoffensive and doesn't look like anything other than what it is.

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I'm staying far far away from this one because they want us poor suckers to take on the risk for them.

 

Since we reported on this story more details have come to light via a French note to investors issued at the end of last month. This note indicates the new Ataribox is to be crowdfunded, a detail which was left out of today's press release.

“To limit risk taking, this product will initially be launched within the framework of a crowdfunding campaign,” the note reads.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-07-17-first-look-at-ataris-newest-console

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Maybe the AtariBox just streams sound for video sources, music, and bluetooth for our smartphones straight to one of several styles of "Atari Hat"... and we get to PICK which hat we want! I mean nobody likes those silly blue-tooth things stuck in their ears really.

I might go with the Atari Aviator hat for the most direct sound... but the Atari Baseball cap is very safe really, but maybe I will get the Atari Cowboy speaker-hat for getting in touch with my redneck side.

 

Ok, sarcasm off... but now there is nothing left I can say without sarcasm, considering how silly this non-revel is. When a company has to let you know a date they are going to let you know something about a product that will be crowd-funded? Seriously? The economy is not SO bad that if you have a "real" product to put out, you can get someone to back it.

 

I find this whole thing an annoyance. I thought the hat thing was a joke though...

 

MrBlackCat

LOL, sarcasm or not, you may be onto something. Perhaps this isn't even a gaming system?

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In spite of my old grumpy comments I do wish them the best. If they don't half-ass the approach as many do, they might have a chance at whatever they intend to provide.

I will just wait and see what they unveil. I don't expect it to replace my PS4, but if it has any worthwhile content and it's reasonable in price, I may still pick one up. I'm a gadget freak, and Atari freak, so I'll probably get it for those reasons alone.

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I would encourage others not to take risks via crowdfunding, not for the puny rewards you'd be getting.

 

For major hardware undertakings, I agree with this. I want it to exist already and be something that comes off the store shelf or is sold by a major online vendor like Amazon, etc, so I have someone to bitch and complain to when it arrives broken or it does not work.

 

I don't feel comfortable putting a chunk of change down or preordering something that does not exist or putting money down on something via crowd funding that still exists in the ether. Even when there is a prototype, there are numerous things that can go very wrong from there. Sometimes these reasons are very legit, but I would still get too frustrated on having tossed money on it only for the project to vanish in a poof of smoke either for legit reasons or shenanigans.

 

Exceptions... I have someone modding a console, or it is a product where pre-orders are taken for simply making the next batch of something that already exists and we know works. Crowd funding for a new game in development... I really won't care all that much if my $10 goes poof when the project dies.

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I would encourage others not to take risks via crowdfunding, not for the puny rewards you'd be getting.

I backed a few hardware projects that were "successful" in that they delivered, but they still ran into problems and you feel like you are dealing with all the minor "bugs" of the first manufacturing run.

 

And these were almost all with established manufacturing companies where I could trust they wouldn't dissapear and had some kind of clue on what they were doing.

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