Bill Loguidice Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 All the more reason to use an SoC design such as AMD Jaguar. It's less work than creating your own custom chipset, it's been proven in other consoles, it's at least 5 years old so it won't be expensive. I believe it's been said it will be PC-based so that would be the way to go. If it's not PC based, I'd expect them to go with ARM As for why people are thinking big: it's been said its not retro, that its PC-based using modern hardware. It is low cost PC-based hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdp Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 It is low cost PC-based hardware. Cherrytrail - tablet level? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ufoDave Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 http://www.oneangrygamer.net/2017/07/atari-box-comes-in-two-versions-supports-classic-games-and-new-games/35298/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ufoDave Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hizzy Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 You know we're hungry for Atari products when pictures of a box with no info can get us excited. I hope this doesn't go Coleco Chameleon on us. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 (edited) I believe that the reason this press release has made the rounds is not just the residual power of the Atari branding, but the fact this case design ROCKS. Had it not been a good design I think people would be focusing more on the red-flags of it being nothing but a case-design and a plea for crowdfunding. If there's anything Atari did well back in its glory days it was industrial design. It was part of the joy of being an Atari guy, admiring the vibe of the thing sitting in your entertainment-center. I do question the viability of really any company building a commodity set-top-box like this. Even Valve, think about them. How has the Steam Machine project panned out so far? I haven't followed, but here's an article from last year that isn't promising. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/06/its-time-to-declare-valves-steam-machines-doa/ I just think the era of "consoles" in any classic sense of the word is over. Edited July 18, 2017 by mos6507 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Nothing has caused me to get excited about this and if Eurogamer is right about the crowdfunding, this is DOA. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Historian Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Nothing has caused me to get excited about this and if Eurogamer is right about the crowdfunding, this is DOA. They've said there will be crowdfunding. There will be crowdfunding. But everyone seems to be assuming it is to actually fund the product. What if it's a way to Pre-order for exclusive versions? Like a real wood front panel, kickstarter exclusive? Atari is currently profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djour Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 A lot of comments are geared toward the crowdfunding aspect of this topic. Essentially saying this will never happen if it needs crowdfunding. While I have never contributed to one of these, and doubt I ever will, many endeavors have been highly successful using this approach. Here's just 5: Oculus Rift - over $2 million Super Troopers 2 - $4.75 million Pebble Watch - $20 million The Micro 3D printer - $3.4 million Reading Rainbow Initiative - $5.4 million Even though Oculus Rift is floundering now, it was still funded, produced, and ended up in many consumers hands (actually heads). Why is crowdfunding taboo when it works? If a company is being ambitious and attempting a project that is beyond their means, they go after funding. Banks, mergers, foreign investors and other traditional sources all come with their own demons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 So stoked to see Super Troopers 2 (I backed that one). Sadly, Oculus was bought out by Facebook... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 I don't know why everyone is thinking so big with this, treating Atari like a powerhouse company. For better or worse, they are what they are. Limited resources, limited reach, etc., so temper your expectations accordingly. This in no way will be competitive with PS4, Xbox One, or even Switch. It's a niche product that may or may not be able to carve out a tiny market segment of its own. Previous comparisons to Ouya and Nvidia Nvidia Shield TV were apt and that's probably its ceiling in terms of the maximum potential of its popularity/reach. Because nostalgia can be disease-like. It get uncontrollable and out of proportion. It can consume one's entire awareness.. even if the original event years ago was small. Nostalgia grows in your head and can slow it to a stop later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Imagine if Atari made the Atari Box not only run Steam games, but in the same style as Sega Forever, run 2600, 5200, 7800, Atari ST and Jaguar games. Well.......... PC + emulators + steam + and anything else. Make a woodgrain box and there you go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 A lot of comments are geared toward the crowdfunding aspect of this topic. Essentially saying this will never happen if it needs crowdfunding. While I have never contributed to one of these, and doubt I ever will, many endeavors have been highly successful using this approach. Here's just 5: Oculus Rift - over $2 million Super Troopers 2 - $4.75 million Pebble Watch - $20 million The Micro 3D printer - $3.4 million Reading Rainbow Initiative - $5.4 million Even though Oculus Rift is floundering now, it was still funded, produced, and ended up in many consumers hands (actually heads). Why is crowdfunding taboo when it works? If a company is being ambitious and attempting a project that is beyond their means, they go after funding. Banks, mergers, foreign investors and other traditional sources all come with their own demons. It's easy to pick out the big winners, but even many of the things you list are deeply flawed or not quite relevant. Oculus Rift was an even bigger Facebook acquisition. Ouya was over $8M and people still treat it as a punchline. Super Troopers 2 is a film, not a game. Pebble is bankrupt and Fitbit has its assets. Micro 3D printer is neat, but one of a kind Reading Rainbow is wonderful, but not really germane to the discussion From my extensive list of Kickstarters I've backed, here are some retro game related things that have failed to launch: Intellivision Gen 2 Crystal Quest Classic Colecovision Vector Tanks 3 David Crane's Jungle Adventure Way of the Rodent Sure, that stuff is pretty niche, but I think it proves the point that not everybody gets to be an astronaut. There are many other things that I personally backed that: funded, but failed to deliver funded, but took forever to come to market funded and delivered, but disappointed upon arrival And that's just the stuff with which I was personally involved. High profile fuckups, like Coleco Chameleon (and its slightly less imaginary sister, Retro Magazine), seem way more similar to Ataribox than anything good or successful coming out of crowdfunding. If crowdfunding doesn't set off alarm bells in your mind, I think you're not paying attention. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldLeader Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Crowdfunding MAY or MAY NOT be the Death Blow...But it certainly sets off alarms (to me)...Then again there have also been successes...Just temper your enthusiasm as you will I guess... However I can think of other things that sound, to me, like empty promises, like "Your check is in the mail"...Things sold over and over again to millions of people each and every day...But the one time I'd rather not be cryptic; There are 2 things, per Terms of Service on AtariAge we are not supposed to talk about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 A lot of comments are geared toward the crowdfunding aspect of this topic. Essentially saying this will never happen if it needs crowdfunding. While I have never contributed to one of these, and doubt I ever will, many endeavors have been highly successful using this approach. Here's just 5: Oculus Rift - over $2 million Super Troopers 2 - $4.75 million Pebble Watch - $20 million The Micro 3D printer - $3.4 million Reading Rainbow Initiative - $5.4 million Even though Oculus Rift is floundering now, it was still funded, produced, and ended up in many consumers hands (actually heads). Why is crowdfunding taboo when it works? If a company is being ambitious and attempting a project that is beyond their means, they go after funding. Banks, mergers, foreign investors and other traditional sources all come with their own demons. Even traditional VC-funding has something like a 95% failure rate. That other 5% more than pays for all the failures. So crowd funding would be expected to have a high failure rate as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldLeader Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 I don't know why everyone is thinking so big with this, treating Atari like a powerhouse company. For better or worse, they are what they are. Limited resources, limited reach, etc., so temper your expectations accordingly. This in no way will be competitive with PS4, Xbox One, or even Switch. It's a niche product that may or may not be able to carve out a tiny market segment of its own. Previous comparisons to Ouya and Nvidia Nvidia Shield TV were apt and that's probably its ceiling in terms of the maximum potential of its popularity/reach. I wish I had a clever video or meme here...But I'm on a time frame today and life calls. Even if it is something available in other forms I may still want whatever this is, ...Just to get that Atari Logo! Anyway, regarding Bill's Post above... It's like...You know that scene in the movie where a character turns into a raving lunatic for a minute or so? And another character comes along, Says something like "Get ahold of yourself Man!" And then slaps the shit out of him? Even though we almost feel we should be mad, I think we should all look to Bill and say, "Thanks man! I Needed that!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 (edited) I wish I had a clever video or meme here...But I'm on a time frame today and life calls. Even if it is something available in other forms I may still want whatever this is, ...Just to get that Atari Logo! Anyway, regarding Bill's Post above... It's like...You know that scene in the movie where a character turns into a raving lunatic for a minute or so? And another character comes along, Says something like "Get ahold of yourself Man!" And then slaps the shit out of him? Even though we almost feel we should be mad, I think we should all look to Bill and say, "Thanks man! I Needed that!" Ataribox! New console! Edited July 18, 2017 by mos6507 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djour Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 (edited) It's easy to pick out the big winners, but even many of the things you list are deeply flawed or not quite relevant. Oculus Rift was an even bigger Facebook acquisition. Ouya was over $8M and people still treat it as a punchline. Super Troopers 2 is a film, not a game. Pebble is bankrupt and Fitbit has its assets. Micro 3D printer is neat, but one of a kind Reading Rainbow is wonderful, but not really germane to the discussion What a company does with the product after it hits the market isn't germane to my point. My contention is that crowdfunding is a legitimate way to raise capital, be it a film, game, or service. Even though the Ouya eventually failed, it was produced and ended up in peoples homes. Maybe I'm misinterpreting the hate for crowdfunding in all of the posts. Is it the way the money is raised, how the money is applied, that many of these projects fail at a later time, or some other reason that slipped by me? Edited July 18, 2017 by djour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 What a company does with the product after it hits the market isn't germane to my point. My contention is that crowdfunding is a legitimate way to raise capital, be it a film, game, or service. Even though the Ouya eventually failed, it was produced and ended up in peoples homes. Maybe I'm misinterpreting the hate for crowdfunding in all of the posts. Is it the way the money is raised, how the money is applied, that many of these projects fail at a later time, or some other reason that slipped by me? Read this. All of it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djour Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Not gonna do it. I may not have a life, but I'm not spending nap/game/hobby/porn time to read all of that. However, I did follow along during the entire fiasco as it happened. I also enjoyed watching Pat and Ian at the CUPodcast as they reviewed the entire saga. I understand the correlation to the Chameleon, and the ease of which people are making the comparison. But while this low hanging fruit does seem to be the same situation, there are many things that set them apart. The Chameleon was more of a scam from an individual who had nothing to begin with. He started with almost no capital and promised a relatively small run of a niche product. He made outlandish promises and doubled down over and over again even when it became obvious (thanks in large to the people at this forum), that it was a scheme. Atari is profitable now. They have assets, just not enough for an undertaking of this size. But... all we have so far is a few renderings and a few minor details. This isn't enough information to make an educated opinion one way or the other. I snicker at those ready to pledge money and pre-order at this stage of the game. But I also don't see why there is so much vitriol toward this particular endeavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowCemetery Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 for a corporation it comes off as just shifting the financial risk onto the consumer base. it's only natural to share their lack of confidence 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good_Times Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr SQL Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 I imagine they're going down the crowd funding route because that watch did so well: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gameband/gameband-the-first-smartwatch-for-gamers The page says the watch is running Android OS with 512MB, looks like 2600 emulators will be supported same as the Box. Reminds me a little of the RockBox firmware that had multiple emu's including a partial 2600 emu for a variety of tiny smart devices, I think development was halted on that project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Not gonna do it. I may not have a life, but I'm not spending nap/game/hobby/porn time to read all of that. However, I did follow along during the entire fiasco as it happened. I also enjoyed watching Pat and Ian at the CUPodcast as they reviewed the entire saga. I understand the correlation to the Chameleon, and the ease of which people are making the comparison. But while this low hanging fruit does seem to be the same situation, there are many things that set them apart. The Chameleon was more of a scam from an individual who had nothing to begin with. He started with almost no capital and promised a relatively small run of a niche product. He made outlandish promises and doubled down over and over again even when it became obvious (thanks in large to the people at this forum), that it was a scheme. Atari is profitable now. They have assets, just not enough for an undertaking of this size. But... all we have so far is a few renderings and a few minor details. This isn't enough information to make an educated opinion one way or the other. I snicker at those ready to pledge money and pre-order at this stage of the game. But I also don't see why there is so much vitriol toward this particular endeavor. exactly! best approach is wait and see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts