New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[carlsson]

All this speculation about the launch year made me look up the lyrics to "In the year 2525" by Zager and Evans (1968). They count up to year 9595. Hopefully either the Atari VCS has been launched by then, or at least the backers got some of their money back.

[JBerel]

Wyatt said he got hurt while doing a "high performance swoop landing".

I researched the topic as well and uncovered the following documentary that explains the science behind it....

 

 

Edited November 28, 2018 by JBerel

[digdugnate]

or release approximately in the 24 1/2 century.

 

 

[+Nathan Strum]

Eh hemmm....wasn't he fired from the Xbox project by Microsoft?

 

But at least the new """Atari VCS""" is in his safe and capable hands, and all the games. All the terrible, terrible games.

 

Oh, they don't have to worry about games...

 

Our strategy and criteria are a little different from that. We want to go with an open platform. Everything you find on the Internet that meets our criteria, meets our specs, you can play on our platform. It’s not really about content.

About Atari

Pioneer in video games, founded in 1972, Atari owns and/or manages

a portfolio of more than 200 terrible, terrible games and franchises, including world famous brands like

Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon®.

[Dr Manhattan]

So it took me almost a half an hour to catch up on this thread. And in all that time no one mentioned the super cool exclusive Atari VCS t-shirt they were offering to backers. Did I miss something or are you cats slipping?

[JBerel]

I believe it was mentioned, but in the scheme of things, them trying to take the backers for another $20 bucks or whatever so they can promote the fact that theyve been taken for a ride, really isnt surprising, remarkable or unexpected. Its just them going back to the trough that keeps payin off. Gotta wonder how deep that trough is.

 

Its just sad really. It looks more and more like those telemarketing scammers who prey on clueless little old ladies to get them to keep sending money to received their guaranteed cash prize. Once theyre committed, the scammers keep bleeding them dry because now theyre invested and feel like they have to see it through to get any of their losses back. In reality theyre on a quick trip to rock bottom.

Edited November 29, 2018 by JBerel

[Flojomojo]

So it took me almost a half an hour to catch up on this thread. And in all that time no one mentioned the super cool exclusive Atari VCS t-shirt they were offering to backers. Did I miss something or are you cats slipping?

Of course you missed it, not much gets by this group. It was the first thing anyone noticed about their "update #8," almost to the point where we nearly overlooked the link to the (neither rare nor well done) Medium post with warmed-over notes from months ago.

 

We shitpost because the project is ridiculous, poorly conceived and communicated even worse. And that t-shirt is boring and ugly.

[JBerel]

Not surprisingly, after they order, this is the shirt they really get....

 

[PlaysWithWolves]

First and second posts about the update-non-update:

 

Update time! No real progress on hardware or software, but anyone want a tshirt?

Holy crap.

 

 

I hope everyone's having a nice Thanksgiving. This situation reminds me of the Xmas updates about Retro Chameleon.

There's a link to a new Medium post in addition to that T-shirt offer.

 

<SNIP>

 

Why don't they just use Ubuntu, as it seemed they would be? Shouldn't we be further along by now?

 

That reminds me: Why is a spinning cube considered progress when the previous "summit" update showed them playing Centipede on the same hardware?

[Matt_B]

Eh hemmm....wasn't he fired from the Xbox project by Microsoft?

 

But at least the new """Atari VCS""" is in his safe and capable hands, and all the games. All the terrible, terrible games.

 

(Triple asshole quotes added for effect)

 

Unless he stopped turning up to work or was caught stealing something of value, I doubt he was actually fired. Most likely they just put him on gardening leave until his contract ran out.

 

Whatever happened, he'd most likely be a multi-millionaire now if he'd pulled his head in a bit, and stuck it out with them for the product's lifetime.

[Dr Manhattan]

We shitpost because the project is ridiculous, poorly conceived and communicated even worse. And that t-shirt is boring and ugly.

 

Yeah, I think I might have heard you say that a few times. But think about it, the Atari VCS project has given your life meaning and purpose.

 

And that t-shirt is the height of sextacular. What is sextacular? It's a word I made up to describe that shirt because no other words would do.

[+Nathan Strum]

And that t-shirt is the height of sextacular. What is sextacular? It's a word I made up to describe that shirt because no other words would do.

 

 

Do NOT Google "Sexy Atari T-shirt".

 

You have been warned.

[Flojomojo]

Atari. So much more than video games.

 

[Max Ivi]

I know the exact date this will ship... but I am bound by the Temporal Prime Directive not to disclose any information

 

By the way the replicators make horrible Tacos xD so enjoy them now!

 

he has not even been produced yet, how do you want him to have a send date?

[godslabrat]

 

I'll say "no" to your question there. Only because I'm not trying to claim I know for a fact whether or not they have something to show. We don't know what we don't know.

I always have been saying, I try to look at the situation from both angles. I don't want to have a biased view one way or the other.

Where I support your position is, Atari's been making some incredibly dumb communication decisions, and they have a bad philosophy for the product. But right now, our conversation seems to be shifted toward the question of "will there be a physical unit or not?" So that's what I'm answering to.

So, your perspective is that we can't prove that Atari DIDN'T actually truly design their amazing console in secret, while instead opting to use the non-functional second grade hobby kit as a decoy. Do I have that about right? And this is an example of a "dumb communication decision".

[+frankodragon]

After the failure of the AtacoboxthingyfromUranus, Fred will go onto other things. Like a Kick Starter for surgery for attaching another frontal lobe to his brain probably from the dark web.

 

[Lodmot]

So, your perspective is that we can't prove that Atari DIDN'T actually truly design their amazing console in secret, while instead opting to use the non-functional second grade hobby kit as a decoy. Do I have that about right? And this is an example of a "dumb communication decision".

 

Basically, yeah.. The proof we have is what they've shown us so far-- which I agree is very little. Unless one of us is actually working with Atari on the project and has direct communication with them on a daily basis, we really have no way of being certain of anything going on behind the scenes over there. From what it sounds like, Curt Vendel might be our closest link to Atari.

 

But yeah, if Atari understood the concept of crowdfunding they would know to keep pumping out regular updates at least twice a month-- and they haven't been doing that.. :/

Edited November 29, 2018 by Lodmot

[Garak]

I know the exact date this will ship... but I am bound by the Temporal Prime Directive not to disclose any information

 

By the way the replicators make horrible Tacos xD so enjoy them now!

 

Replicators... You Federation people are so dependent on those sad singular devices. On Cardassia, before the war, you could find the greatest tacos made throughout the quadrant. Ah, but that was another time. Now if you want decent tacos I highly recommend you talk to Quark.

[PlaysWithWolves]

Argumentum ad ignorantiam fallacy: The assumption of a conclusion or fact based primarily on lack of evidence to the contrary. Usually best described by, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

 

Basically, yeah.. The proof we have is what they've shown us so far-- which I agree is very little. Unless one of us is actually working with Atari on the project and has direct communication with them on a daily basis, we really have no way of being certain of anything going on behind the scenes over there. From what it sounds like, Curt Vendel might be our closest link to Atari.

 

I know this'll fall on deaf ears, but they bragged in the latest update about getting AtariOS to boot (spinning cube and all) but in the previous update they literally showed Centipede being played and listed a bunch of games that they tested:

 

 

 

 

Games and Apps

 

So what games and apps did our engineers show and share as demo’s at the recent ”summit?” There was Atari Vault of course, plus numerous third-party Linux games and several video streaming apps, running on the Atari VCS hardware in full HD.

 

Many favorites are already running well on our non-optimized AMD test boards in the lab, with many more being tested all the time. These include a variety of test titles such as Rocket League, Terraria, Basketball Classics, Borderlands 2, Broforce, Smugglecraft, Dropsy, Banner Saga, Shadow Warrior, and several others. The business development team is in conversation with many large and small studios, publishers and content providers about getting their games and entertainment into the VCS store, and there is a lot of excitement around these discussions.

 

If Atari had said outright it wasn't on AtariOS, then one could argue the latest is a slight step forward. But just like all their previous gameplay videos, they wanted you to believe they were farther ahead than they really are. Godslabrat was right: They appear to have even less than they did previously.

[carlsson]

In an attempt trying to fair to Atari, perhaps they're working on two tasks at the same time:

 

1) Emulator that plays 2600 games

2) Operating system that will host the emulator

 

If the emulator is cross-developed so it'll compile and run on any hardware roughly matching what the VCS will end up using, they can test it in a different environment without really having the OS in place yet. I would assume the emulator is the harder task to finish, unless they're reusing some existing code with proper licensing.

[Matt_B]

Atari Vault will already run on Ubuntu, so all they'd have to do to test the games out would be to install that on their dev board.

 

All they need to figure out now on the software front will be that this thing has such a limited market that it's not worth the effort of developing a custom OS.

[PlaysWithWolves]

They said in the part I quoted that they were running Atari Vault.

 

I'd be more forgiving if they didn't have a history of misleading people with Ataribox/VCS.

[JBerel]

For the record......Otherwise known as running a scam.

[+GoldLeader]

 

VCS is a computer system in the same was NES is an entertainment system. It is a marketing term that is used to sell the system. It doesn't mean anything. The point of any video game is to entertain, so every video game console would be an entertainment system.

 

The Atari VCS was the first console with interchangeable cartridges the vast majority of people had ever seen. Video Computer System was a marketing term they used to explain it had more than one game unlike Atari Pong or Atari Stunt Cycle, or Atari Pinball.

 

In 2018 Computer System and Game Program mean completely different things then they would to the average person in the 70s who was being marketed to. In the 70's App would be an appetizer or the Deli counter at a food store. Words change meaning over time. in 2018 App is programs you download on your phone.

 

 

 

Are you telling me that "Apps" are GAME PROGRAMS?

 

And Phones are a VIDEO COMPUTER SYSTEM?

[Flojomojo]

In an attempt trying to fair to Atari, perhaps they're working on two tasks at the same time:

 

1) Emulator that plays 2600 games

2) Operating system that will host the emulator

 

If the emulator is cross-developed so it'll compile and run on any hardware roughly matching what the VCS will end up using, they can test it in a different environment without really having the OS in place yet. I would assume the emulator is the harder task to finish, unless they're reusing some existing code with proper licensing.

Why would we assume any of that without evidence? They could also be working on a bitching spaghetti Bolognese or a cheerleader pyramid. We only have what they told us. The rest is pure speculation, and I see no reason to give them benefit of doubt while doing so.