New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[Zonie]

Here it is!

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

This is something I'm curious about. When does "real" Atari begin and end for most people? Is it just Bushnell and Dabney Atari? Warner Communications? Tramiel Atari? Hasbro Atari? Infogrames? Atari Interactive? Atari SA? Someone show me the cut off point.

When the Jag died in the late 90s, that was when classic Atari "ended." And yes I am aware there was like 3 or 4 different Atari's in the 80s and 90s, put out 5 home consoles (6 including the XEGS), but none of that matters in modern tech where the IP has been bought and sold and repeatedly whored out to the highest biggers.

[Flojomojo]

I was thinking it could come pre-loaded with Atari classics. People bought the Flashbacks. And sure big budget developers probably won't develop for it, which was my main point really something for the people to make games for. And maybe Atari could release games occasionally as well and sell for download. So basically to me it would be like a flashback that has online access to homebrews you can buy. It doesn't need to come out right of the gate and compete with the other systems. This would be a step in the right direction I believe though. AtGames didn't say we can't compete with Microsoft and Sony and not make the Flashbacks.

Yeah, there's always the flashbacks. It amazes me they keep selling pretty much the same thing year after year in enough quantity to make it worthwhile to continue. As we have learned from Bill L's insider info, AtGames really wants to keep the price low so toy retailers will carry it. As a result, we often don't get what we the gamers want, but it's obviously good enough for them, as a short-term holiday toy.

[Flojomojo]

Here it is!

 

No, that's the brain fart of a lying POS

[Andromeda Stardust]

No, that's the brain fart of a lying POS

Ah, let him dream Flojo...

[Flojomojo]

Ah, let him dream Flojo...

Oh, all right. In that case, needs more expensive and unreliable legacy I/O ports, and cartridge slots for everything. Carry on

[+GoldLeader]

Here it is!

 

 

What? No VGA?

[Keatah]

Hi peeps,

 

[..]

 

Whaddaya think? Everybody post up their dream machine and maybe those Atari bods might take our advice!

Lets hear from you all then :-)

 

What would your Ataribox be?!!!! .....and I don't mean a fridge you can play Crystal Castles on..... then again.....

 

Everyone will have their own version of the dream box. Some of us will have already made it reality, other not yet. As a kid I always wanted a James Bond secret agent attache case full of levers and motors and lights, dials, knobs, and buttons that whirred and hummed and screens that could play every videogame and computer game ever invented.

 

And many years later I would have this in either the form of a laptop or stationary "boring-beige-box" pc. Sans the hollywood gadgetry effects of course.

 

You could commission me to build you an ultimate emulation rig with concierge services. Packages start at $4,999. If I don't like you it's gonna be an R-Pi drop-shipped from eBay. If I do like you it's gonna be night on the town and a week in my workshop. Woot!

Edited June 26, 2017 by Keatah

[+pboland]

I don't think that's going to be effective in today's market -- you need some kind of network effect to gain any momentum. Developers won't make software if there aren't enough people on the platform, and consumers won't buy it if there isn't enough software. See OUYA for a recent example of this.

 

Such a dedicated box would also compete with Android, iOS, Kindle, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, 3DS, and of course PC (and its myriad stores like Microsoft, Steam, Origin, Uplay, etc) or even the Chrome App Store.

 

A cheap pc seems way preferable to me. I guess they could be like OUYA though -- they don't need to hit a grand slam, just get enough crowdfunding and investor money to get on base.

 

 

For the most part I agree with you, but it still might work even if it is competing with Android, iOS, Kindle, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, 3DS, etc.

 

The way I look at it is there must be something to the Atari name that people like. The Atgames flashbacks sell like hot cakes every year (and year after year). Heck, at one point there was a problem with bootleg Flashbacks being sold (I believe it was the non Atgames version flashback 2). I know, I know, everyone is going to say "But those are sold to nostalgia old fart like us". I'm sure that is part true, but come on, year after year the same nostalgia people are buying recycled flashback units? That can't be right. They are selling too well for it to be just people seeking nostalgia. I mean, come on, Flashback 8 with HD output. They sell so well that Atgames feels they can make money with a HD version that they also including Activision games? That couldn't have been cheap.

 

Heck, I've seen some high school kids wearing t-shirts with the Atari name on it (and I don't mean the band). Some of these kids look at Atari as some kind of odd hip thing to be into. It's kind of like kids liking music from Led Zeppelin or the Beatles (the legends of Rock). In this case it's video games.

 

My point is, there might be just a little bit more than just a nostalgia thing with the Atari name and a modern product (what ever it might be) may have some weight just because it has the Atari name on it.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

 

You could commission me to build you an ultimate emulation rig with concierge services. Packages start at $4,999. If I don't like you it's gonna be an R-Pi drop-shipped from eBay. If I do like you it's gonna be night on the town and a week in my workshop. Woot!

Model 3 right? 5 grand? Sounds sweet.

 

You could build a Pi supercomputer at that price! Network 100 of them together. 400 cores. Imagine what I could do emulate with that!

[leech]

So, I can admit that I have hopped onto a few crwdfunding projects. But one thing I notice about all of them... they develop their own stuff and use crowdfunding to get out from under the crappy publishers that always dictate hard release dates and feature sets. Atari has only been a publisher for over 20 years.

 

Pretty much the 'death of Atari' for me was when they merged with JTS. People born that year are old enough to legally drink even in the state of Utah...

 

Maybe if they still had the license to make D&D games, they could have something useful. They still have a lot of IP, but without developers willing to work with them.. if they are sewing ones who did in the past..

 

Guess we can only wait, I still think it is a sexbot until otherwise corrected.

[Keatah]

Standard things on my entry-level rigs I've built for buddies would include X-Arcade panels, I-Pac interface boards, i7-6700T and now i7-7700T processors with lapped heatsinks and no fan. Titanium label 94% efficiency fanless power supplies. Everybody loves quiet computers that don't need constant cleaning and blowing. Gold plated connectors throughout the entire system. 1TB M.2 boot/system SSD. PCIE SSD. Real legacy serial and parallel ports, vga/dvi if you want it. Aerospace grade heatsink compound. 32GB system memory. Carbon-Carbon case, or standard aluminum, there's a lot that can be done here actually. 4K high refresh rate monitor, oled if you like. Klipsch audio. Enermax keyboard. And more. It's all your choice, but that's the minimum.

[Keatah]

The wife read some of this thread and thinks Atari blew up right after the Jaguar bombed out.

[zzip]

Crowdfunding...

 

So, at best, Ouya 2.0, and at worst, Atari Chameleon?

 

I mean, I want to be hyped, but damn Atari, you're making it hard to be hyped. Still curious about that value add Bill mentioned, at least.

 

or as they say- third time's the charm?

[zzip]

 

This is something I'm curious about. When does "real" Atari begin and end for most people? Is it just Bushnell and Dabney Atari? Warner Communications? Tramiel Atari? Hasbro Atari? Infogrames? Atari Interactive? Atari SA? Someone show me the cut off point.

 

I might be getting a little blasphemous here but it's all Atari to me. Sure, there was the golden era that I will always cherish. That era begins and ends at certain arbitrary points of my choosing. But I'm just glad that the brand is still alive and relevant in the modern era. The idea of walking into a store and seeing Flashback products and game collections makes me happy. Maybe it's just cheap nostalgia but I'm grateful my old friend is still around in one form or another.

 

I used to believe it ended with the JTS merger, and anything after that was just Atari in name only.

 

But then I realized how little the Tramiel Atari had to do with Bushnell Atari. So they were kinda Atari in name only too. So now I see it as whoever owns the name now could be just as legit. I only wish it was owned by someone competent with resources who could legitimately do something with it and revitalize the brand, instead of being the mark of doom it has become

[+Gemintronic]

Crowdfunding...

 

So, at best, Ouya 2.0, and at worst, Atari Chameleon?

 

I mean, I want to be hyped, but damn Atari, you're making it hard to be hyped. Still curious about that value add Bill mentioned, at least.

 

Ouya at least in theory wanted indie devs of all sizes to thrive. They just failed to execute. Basically you got devs who knew enough C to try and make an easy buck. I haven't heard enough of Ataris strategy to figure out if game makers will thrive (as opposed to asset flippers).

[Keatah]

 

I used to believe it ended with the JTS merger, and anything after that was just Atari in name only.

 

But then I realized how little the Tramiel Atari had to do with Bushnell Atari. So they were kinda Atari in name only too. So now I see it as whoever owns the name now could be just as legit. I only wish it was owned by someone competent with resources who could legitimately do something with it and revitalize the brand, instead of being the mark of doom it has become

 

Well what would a revitalized brand look like?

[toiletunes]

'real' Atari died with the Jr.

For most people, Atari = 2600 = VCS = Jr. A few might remember the 5200, unfavorably. Anything else is usually a surprise. I wish it weren't so, but that's just how it is. Otherwise, we'd have a Jag Flashback.

[zzip]

 

Well what would a revitalized brand look like?

 

Well Infogrames was on the right track when they were a major publisher selling modern IPs like Rollercoaster Tycoon and Neverwinter Nights under the Atari label. Too bad they went belly up. Revitalized would be current and relevant rather than being a retro play or a niche player.

[leech]

 

Well Infogrames was on the right track when they were a major publisher selling modern IPs like Rollercoaster Tycoon and Neverwinter Nights under the Atari label. Too bad they went belly up. Revitalized would be current and relevant rather than being a retro play or a niche player.

I think if they could manage to get the license to make D&D games again, we might have something. I don't even know who currently has the deal with Wizards of the Coast. ARC makes Neverwinter, which I think is the most current?

 

But yeah those are the last great games I remember being published by Atari.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Standard things on my entry-level rigs I've built for buddies would include X-Arcade panels, I-Pac interface boards, i7-6700T and now i7-7700T processors with lapped heatsinks and no fan. Titanium label 94% efficiency fanless power supplies. Everybody loves quiet computers that don't need constant cleaning and blowing. Gold plated connectors throughout the entire system. 1TB M.2 boot/system SSD. PCIE SSD. Real legacy serial and parallel ports, vga/dvi if you want it. Aerospace grade heatsink compound. 32GB system memory. Carbon-Carbon case, or standard aluminum, there's a lot that can be done here actually. 4K high refresh rate monitor, oled if you like. Klipsch audio. Enermax keyboard. And more. It's all your choice, but that's the minimum.

Do you also provide access to your "curated" ROM collection?

[+Sauron]

 

I used to believe it ended with the JTS merger, and anything after that was just Atari in name only.

 

But then I realized how little the Tramiel Atari had to do with Bushnell Atari. So they were kinda Atari in name only too. So now I see it as whoever owns the name now could be just as legit. I only wish it was owned by someone competent with resources who could legitimately do something with it and revitalize the brand, instead of being the mark of doom it has become

 

Tramiel era Atari is just as much "Atari" as the Bushnell/Warner era. They were just focused more on computers, but did manage to survive and even thrive for a short while, something that wouldn't have happened had Jack not bought Atari from Warner. So yes, real "Atari" died after the JTS merger.

[zzip]

 

but did manage to survive and even thrive for a short while, something that wouldn't have happened had Jack not bought Atari from Warner.

We don't know that for certain. If Warner didn't sell it, we know the market would have recovered it eventually. Sure they would have had to make cuts. But in this alternate universe, Warner Atari would have likely been better positioned against Nintendo. They probably wouldn't have had the GCC/7800 contract issue that kept Tramiel from selling the system for two years, they had a deal to market the NES in the works, and they might have even gotten the Amiga chipset in the end.

 

I'm inclined to think Atari would have done much better as a console maker under Warner. Tramiel had a computer focus first and foremost, and in hindsight, we know that business was doomed for anyone not making PCs whose name wasn't Apple. While the console business was still up for grabs.

Edited June 26, 2017 by zzip

[+Sauron]

We don't know that for certain. If Warner didn't sell it, we know the market would have recovered it eventually. Sure they would have had to make cuts. But in this alternate universe, Warner Atari would have likely been better positioned against Nintendo. They probably wouldn't have had the GCC/7800 contract issue that kept Tramiel from selling the system for two years, they had a deal to market the NES in the works, and they might have even gotten the Amiga chipset in the end.

 

What we know for certain is that Atari was in dire financial straits and needed a buyer quickly. Considering how little Jack actually paid for Atari, it's safe to assume that Warner most likely would have folded Atari and sold off its remaining assets. And claiming Warner would have been better in the console market is a bit ridiculous, considering that the last Warner era console (the 5200) was a failure and I believe sold worse than the 7800. Your "what ifs" completely ignore the reality of the situation back in 1984.

 

And regardless, this has nothing to do with the assertion that Tramiel era Atari should be considered "real Atari".

[Keatah]

Do you also provide access to your "curated" ROM collection?

 

I do not.