New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[Hannacek]

Brands occasionally comeback from near death. Lego, Mini, Apple and Nokia would be some examples.

However, they all did it on the back of desirable products that, at least for enough of their audience, had some hope of living up to the hype. If Atari are to do the same they're going to need something good, and the VCS definitely isn't it.

 

All those brands were in existence and making products at the time of their near death and come back.

 

The people who currently own the Atari name and are making AtariBox have released no products, and beyond a funded Kickstarter campaign, have done nothing. The AtariBox people were never really alive, so its difficult to say they can come back from near death.

[+Nathan Strum]

Intellivision/Amico/Tallarico is killing it with the well-written, informative, entertaining status updates. If you're at all interested in this stuff, you should sign up for their mailing list.

 

Who knows if they can keep it up for a full 2 years (I'm thinking they probably can), but they're running circles around the "why are you doing this again" VCS.

 

Even though the Amico doesn't exist any more than the Ataribox does (at this point), I'll give Tallarico mad props for doing his "Mean Message Boards" video. Just the fact that he's willing to put himself out there and humorously respond to critics puts him far and away above Fred Cheesewhiz in terms of community engagement. You'd never see Fred doing that.

 

How much goodwill would Fred generate, if he just shot a video of himself saying, "I've been reading all of the comments about the AtariVCS on AtariAge. It's great to see so many fans talking about something so passionately! I want you all to know that we all share your passion too!" Then pull back and show the entire Ataribox team voraciously devouring tacos. While someone in the background is playing 2600 Centipede. On a Flashback. With an Ataribox prototype sitting on top trying to "hide" it. And everyone is wearing SpeakerHats playing "Never gonna give you up".

 

A little self-effacing humor goes a long ways.

[Inky]

 

Even though the Amico doesn't exist any more than the Ataribox does (at this point), I'll give Tallarico mad props for doing his "Mean Message Boards" video. Just the fact that he's willing to put himself out there and humorously respond to critics puts him far and away above Fred Cheesewhiz in terms of community engagement. You'd never see Fred doing that.

 

How much goodwill would Fred generate, if he just shot a video of himself saying, "I've been reading all of the comments about the AtariVCS on AtariAge. It's great to see so many fans talking about something so passionately! I want you all to know that we all share your passion too!" Then pull back and show the entire Ataribox team voraciously devouring tacos. While someone in the background is playing 2600 Centipede. On a Flashback. With an Ataribox prototype sitting on top trying to "hide" it. And everyone is wearing SpeakerHats playing "Never gonna give you up".

 

A little self-effacing humor goes a long ways.

I can't seem to find it, but in this thread I had a bit of a run in with the "community engagement" people pages back. I asked the guy if he's read the thread on Atariage, and he responded something like "Yes. Very entertaining.".

Edited November 5, 2018 by Inky

[Matt_B]

i think you're thinking of companies that have come back from near death. Orphaned and pimped brands don't do that.

 

Mini was most definitely a pimped brand. It went through a crap-ton of owners before ending up at BMW, and the car as it stands now has practically no relation to the one that was made prior to them getting control of it:

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/mini/10456893/Mini-a-brief-history.html

 

That said, I'd be the first to agree that the VCS is a very half-baked attempt to pull the same strategy. The problem being that the new Mini managed to be a great car with a few nostalgic hints, but the VCS at best is going to be a mediocre PC. I've always said that the case looks nice, but whether they can fit any worthwhile hardware into it remains an open question, and even if they could, Atari just doesn't have the software to make it worthwhile.

 

If Atari are to make a genuine comeback as a brand, they'd seem far better advised to cull all their bad products and concentrate on the few things they can do well. I'd think that's unlikely to happen under the current management though, as they've shown themselves time and again to be just chancers who'll slap their logo on anything in the hope of a quick buck, no matter how ill-conceived.

[Matt_B]

All those brands were in existence and making products at the time of their near death and come back.

 

The people who currently own the Atari name and are making AtariBox have released no products, and beyond a funded Kickstarter campaign, have done nothing. The AtariBox people were never really alive, so its difficult to say they can come back from near death.

 

Atari have products. They've got shedloads of them, even. Just go to Amazon, search for Atari, and you'll see about twenty pages of results. They'll slap that logo on anything for a trickle of income.

 

The problem isn't a lack of product; it's that 99% of it's crap.

[Hannacek]

 

I've always said that the case looks nice, but whether they can fit any worthwhile hardware into it remains an open question, and even if they could, Atari just doesn't have the software to make it worthwhile.

 

If Atari are to make a genuine comeback as a brand, they'd seem far better advised to cull all their bad products and concentrate on the few things they can do well.

 

This reminds me of the Retro VGS. Mike Kennedy purchased the Jaguar molds and worked his way from that starting point to find a console to put in it. It always seemed like the Jaguar shell with many colors and limited edition variations was the most important part, and literally what they slapped inside that case at the last minute was the the least of their concerns.

 

The AtariBox has a nice design and case, but they seem to have spent all the time on the case, and not much attention on what is inside that case.

 

It's too confusing to call it the Atari VCS, because that already exists and was released in the 70s. Its like the new movie Halloween is just called Halloween. The first movie in the series had the same name, and so do the first movie in the reboot series have that same name. You need to come up with new names, or have a subtitle like The Search for Spock or whatever.

 

What do you mean Atari should cut all their bad products and concentrate on the few things they can do well? They have only one product, the AtariBox. The flashback consoles, and the handhelds, and the t-shirts are being handled by different companies.

[Hannacek]

 

Atari have products. They've got shedloads of them, even. Just go to Amazon, search for Atari, and you'll see about twenty pages of results. They'll slap that logo on anything for a trickle of income.

 

The problem isn't a lack of product; it's that 99% of it's crap.

 

Those are licensing deals. The AtariBox people didn't do anything to make any of those products. The problem with Ataribox isn't that they are spending all their time on t-shirts, flashback consoles, and mugs. The problem is developing and making a console costs millions of dollars, and needs a reason to exist so it doesn't become OYUA 2.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Hannacek

[Matt_B]

 

Those are licensing deals. The AtariBox people didn't do the work to make any of those products.

 

Obviously not, but I thought we were discussing the brand, not whether Atari are actually capable of making anything themselves. They plainly aren't.

 

Edit: And in case it's not obvious, I think they should stick to only licensing quality products and not allow their name to be associated with anything that's not yet ready for market. They obviously won't though, and it'll continue to be slapped on an assortment of bad vapourware.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Matt_B

[Hannacek]

 

Obviously not, but I thought we were discussing the brand, not whether Atari are actually capable of making anything themselves. They plainly aren't.

 

 

 

If people weren't buying the flashback consoles, then they wouldn't keep making new ones every year. The sales of The ColecoVision and Intellivision flashbacks were not good enough, so they only made them for one holiday season, and didn't make any more after that.

 

I have seen Atari t-shirts at H&M, and Mario Kart shirts at Abercrombie and Fitch. Nintendo branded merchandise is everywhere, so why can't Atari do it too? The merchandising is selling well enough for them to keep making it. The Atari brand is 99% nostalgia, so if anything the merchandise helps bring back those memories people have of it.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Hannacek

[+Nathan Strum]

They have only one product, the AtariBox.

They don't even have that. Even if they do end up making something that works, it's already been stated in their own corporate literature* that their intent is to license it to someone else to actually bring it to market once the Indiegogo thing is done.

 

*See the April 2018 Strategic Presentation, page 22:

 

[Matt_B]

 

If people weren't buying the flashback consoles, then they wouldn't keep making new ones every year. The sales of The ColecoVision and Intellivision flashbacks were not good enough, so they only made them for one holiday season, and didn't make any more after that.

 

I have seen Atari t-shirts at H&M, and Mario Kart shirts at Abercrombie and Fitch. Nintendo branded merchandise is everywhere, so why can't Atari do it too? The merchandising is selling well enough for them to keep making it. The Atari brand is 99% nostalgia, so if anything the merchandise helps bring back those memories people have of it.

 

Yeah, I doubt anyone would be weeping around here if Atari cut back to doing nothing but Flashbacks and shirts. On top of that they've published a couple of good games, albeit among a lot more bad ones, and some art books, but that's pretty much where they should be stopping. When everything else is just car-crash bad, why even bother?

[Max Ivi]

Still waiting...

 

be patient

 

before X-mas 2018 ;0)

 

I will show YOU

[OCAT]

 

 

This reminds me of the Retro VGS. Mike Kennedy purchased the Jaguar molds and worked his way from that starting point to find a console to put in it.

 

 

I'm in a fantasy mood right now thinking Mike had a glimmer of an idea there, I wonder if Atari should have made a super mini size (like 1/2 the size of NES mini) Atari, & sole super tiny cartridges, shipping cost would be nothing. Wifi for firmware updates, cartridge patch and basic online peer-to-peer gameplay, nothing else. No other features. Sell this on novelty and cuteness factor, publish tiny games with original limitations.. see what people can make in homebrew.

 

I have seen keychain sized retro consoles in stores you play on the TV, Mattel even released mini keychain LED Football/baseball/basketball replicas... I am even guilty of buying 2 Nintendo keychain GAME and Watch games.

 

But Mike was in LA-LA-Land dreaming of %100 flawless games sold on full size cartridges.

[+Spriggy]

 

be patient

 

before X-mas 2018 ;0)

 

I will show YOU

 

Oops .. typo. Looks like you had fat fingers mate. Happens to me all the time. It's ok, I'll correct it for ya.

 

be patient

 

before Taco Sunday 20180

 

I will show YOU

 

[+frankodragon]

I wouldn't hold your breath. (Or farts as this pic looks like he's trying to hold one in.)

 

[Curt Vendel]

Some hot sauce to pour on those taco's...

 

 

The secret LIES and LAWSUITS of the Atari VCS!

 

[toiletunes]

be patient

 

before X-mas 2018 ;0)

 

I will show YOU

Excellent, I will be here waiting to eat my tacohat.

[Hannacek]

What is a tacohat?

[Flojomojo]

Here is Feargal's complaint by way of DreamcastGuy, just in case that Mega link goes away. Doc 1 - Complaint.pdf

 

 

It's pretty crazy. Seems to me he's maybe entitled to like $7000 for expenses, not a portion of the bazillion dollars AtariBox would have made if only he was left in charge. Maybe a bit more penny stock at 20% off. It will be neat to see the countersuit, which probably details Feargal's dealings in the GameBand saga. The whole document is a quick and easy read, but since I know you're a lazy player of video games, here are some of the more amusing assertions by F-Mac:

 

In the absence of Plaintiff’s expert and experienced leadership and excellent relationships with key players in the industry, the project has fallen further behind schedule and failed to perform nearly as well as it would have absent Defendant’s wrongful conduct.

I wonder how he intends to prove this? Maybe he'll pull off Fred's mask who will be heard to say, "and I would have gotten away with it, if not for meddlesome Feargal!"

 

Notwithstanding Plaintiff’s fulfillment of all of his obligations in the Agreement, and the enormous amount of work Plaintiff did on Defendant’s behalf, and the great progress Plaintiff achieved for Defendant, Defendant has refused to comply with its obligations under the Agreement.

Enormous amount of work, great progress ... counterpoint: Gameband

 

First, Defendant has refused to pay Mr. Mac Conuladh the amounts due because of the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which success was only possible because of Plaintiff’s hard work, skill, and dedication. The crowdfunding campaign generated approximately $3 million, which means the amount due to Plaintiff is approximately $112,000.

Seems that Rob Wyatt is similarly able to plow money into no results, regardless of "hard work, skill, and dedication." Except Rob will work for eggy BLT sandwiches.

 

Absent Defendant’s wrongful exclusion of Plaintiff from leadership of the project, the Indiegogo campaign could have raised considerably more funds, thus potentially entitling Plaintiff to the full $600,000 payment contemplated in the Agreement.

Alternatively, it could have earned what it deserved, potentially entitling Plaintiff to a kick up the arse!

 

The amount of such revenue is of course currently not yet known, but projections by Defendant suggest that it will be hundreds of millions of dollars, meaning the amount due but unpaid to Plaintiff will be several million dollars.

Projections by this onlooker suggest that the amount of revenue will be dozens of pennies, meaning the amount due but unpaid to Plaintiff will be Diddly and Squat.

 

Then there are a bunch of technicalities about stock sales, assertions that he should be entitled to the profit in the meantime, and that technically he's still employed by them ... (surely their HR contract says differently?)

 

Atari Gamebox has refused to reimburse Plaintiff more than $7,000 in expenses for which he is entitled to reimbursement under the Agreement, notwithstanding near a dozen requests for such reimbursement and Atari Gamebox’s “we will look into it”-type promises. This is similar to Atari Gamebox’s refusal to pay the full amounts owed by Atari Gamebox to third-party contractors – with Mr. Chesnais withholding payment of the amounts due simply because he knew they did not have the resources to seek full recovery in court.

This seems plausible, or maybe I just like it because it shows Fred to be a deadbeat who doesn't pay his bills. Or maybe he figured it was a fair turnabout for the damage Feargal did to the already stanky Atari brand throughout the GameBand fiasco?

 

As a consequence of Defendant’s breaches of the Agreement, Plaintiff has suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial, reasonably estimated to be several million dollars.

Fortunately, the court will be the judge of what is "reasonable."

 

Defendant nevertheless refused and failed to act in good faith and deal fairly with Plaintiff, and breached those obligations to Plaintiff, including without limitation by acting to further its own economic interest at the expense of Plaintiff’s and by refusing to allow Plaintiff’s continued leadership of the Atari VCS project and thereby harming the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.

I can hear Feargal's charming brogue now: "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!"

 

In the absence of the Agreement, Plaintiff possesses intellectual property rights in technology, writings, marks, and other content that he managed, developed, and created in connection with the Atari VCS project.

I like this one too. In video game parlance, taking credit for the work of others is called "pulling an Atari."

 

There can be no winners here. Both parties are ridiculous -- Feargal is correct when he opens with

The Atari Group describes itself as a “multi-platform, global interactiveentertainment and licensing company” that “owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises.” Through and into 2017, however, the Atari Group had little to no experience relevant to advanced hardware development; for example, the Atari Group had not developed or brought to market a gaming console for more than 20 years.

and having this feud in public only serves to further damage the reputation of everyone involved. Atari doesn't have the money that F-Mac seeks, and the best outcome for him would be a settlement for $50K or less to shut up and drop it. But that would mean Atari would back down and eat the damage he did to their brand with the laughable GameBand project. Without seeing their countersuit, it's hard to guess at their side of the story, but the fact that they're escalating this implies they're willing to take it all the way.

 

The lawyers will make enough to buy a great many tacos.

 

What Atari thought they'd get with Feargal

 

What they actually got

 

Progress to date with the new team is not much better

[JBerel]

Thanks for that. I can't sit through 30 seconds of Dreamcastguy and his failed attempts to sound like a radio announcer. As they always said in the biz, the guy has a face for radio and a voice for newspapers.

[JBerel]

Wow....just on first read I gotta hand it to Ferggie. Not only is he an impressive, highly-experienced technology executive, having worked in high-level positions at various companies including Apple, Lexmark, Seiko Epson, and Lenovo over the course of a 26-year career. He also failed at contract negotiations repeatedly "as a gesture of good faith, and in light of the Atari Group’s superior bargaining power."

Normally, I hate to see these kind of disputes because customers and companies loose everything to the lawyers. In this case, the customers asked for it 10 times over, and the lawyers are more than entitled to everything they get out of these morons as a penalty for their idiotic get rich quick schemes.

 

At least everything can be paid in Atari stock options, so according to Max Ivy, everything is going to be just fine. Backers will get their linux box ahead of time with extra stuff in it, Feargal will get a huge settlement, and Atari will make millions. Millions I tell you! What could possibly go wrong?

 

For you backers.....that's sarcasm. You are well and truly screwed. There's no better excuse to welch on backer's than a claim of "pending legal action." It does wonders for a penny stock's value as well, so buy fast and buy often. Xmas is coming.

[ColecoJoe]

Well good thing they got that 3 million to cover their lawyer fees!

 

To all the backers,

 

Atari thanks you!

[Hannacek]

This could take years to get to trial, and block the release of the console until it is resolved. Not that there even is a console to release if they wanted to.

[JBerel]

Atari SA. such as it is, is nothing but a front trading on a worthless stock. They issue new stock and bargain for stock options like they're printing their own money. They're not growing any value, they just leverage and split stock to trade it as a commodity in and of itself. The only reason it barely holds any value in the 25-50 cent range is precisely because it's nearly worthless and attracts the Max Ivy types who think they're getting in on a bargain. I'm sure they are actively price fixing their stock price in house through releases and buy backs. I'd bet a thousand shares of their stock that they used a sizable portion of the crowdfunding money to buy their own stock back to raise the price.

 

It looks more and more like their operation is little more than a ponzi scheme based on the perceived value of their stock to their contract partners. I predict they will ultimately be fined by the SEC or similar regulatory agency, or be otherwise put to the trash heap over any number of financial improprieties. We've all seen these kind of shysters in operation before. Being able to use the word Atari has been the only thing allowing them to keep getting over on clueless people like the bitcoin speculators, Fragle Mac and nostalgic malcontents.

[glazball]

... So many unanswered questions. Let me see if I have the basic timeline down:

 

- F. Mac ropes in a chunk of change for the Gameband, one version of which has an Atari license

- With Atari SA's ear, he pitches the idea of an all new Atari console to them

- Atari SA bites, F. Mac (seeing a bigger pot of gold at the end) ditches the Gameband project and starts work on the Ataribox crowdfunding campaign

- Atari SA realizes they never needed F. Mac in the first place and fires him

- F. Mac sues trying to get SOME cut of the pie that he was expecting

- Atari SA countersues and here we are

 

Maybe poor Atari SA -is- the real victim here. After all, they got roped into making a game console they never intended to make in the first place! Also, what the hell ever happened to The Historian?