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New Atari Console that Ataribox?


Goochman

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Okay, let's review...

 

Wal-mart is taking pre-orders for the Atari VCS at $389. These will likely NOT be in stores, but who knows. 

 

With the components we have seen, I cannot see this unit costing the manufacturer over $90/unit, with packaging. Linux? Open source operating system?

Wal-mart may see as much as a 40% markup, meaning their cost is about $233/unit.

 

I'm guessing Atari pockets $140/unit from each sold through a major chain.

 

I am convinced that all the money raised through crowd-sourcing was spent on executive salaries, advertising, and lawyers.

 

That means Atari is counting on selling enough through Walmart and other retailers to afford to send units to crowdfunders, assuming they keep their commitments. For every two units sold through Walmart, they can ship one crowdfunder.

 

Does this look like what is happening to you?

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32 minutes ago, keithbk said:

Okay, let's review...

 

Wal-mart is taking pre-orders for the Atari VCS at $389. These will likely NOT be in stores, but who knows. 

 

With the components we have seen, I cannot see this unit costing the manufacturer over $90/unit, with packaging. Linux? Open source operating system?

Wal-mart may see as much as a 40% markup, meaning their cost is about $233/unit.

 

I'm guessing Atari pockets $140/unit from each sold through a major chain.

 

I am convinced that all the money raised through crowd-sourcing was spent on executive salaries, advertising, and lawyers.

 

That means Atari is counting on selling enough through Walmart and other retailers to afford to send units to crowdfunders, assuming they keep their commitments. For every two units sold through Walmart, they can ship one crowdfunder.

 

Does this look like what is happening to you?

Selling the units to the general public first, and backers later?  That would be disastrous for Atari, but amusing for the rest of us.  Also, there's no way in hell they're selling 22,000 of these things to non-backers at that price with Atari Vault as the only playable content at launch. 

 

So, Atari said the December release was being delayed by "weeks, not months".  With the Chinese New Year, it's becoming obvious that they're not coming until at least mid February, unless there's already 11,000 systems sitting in a warehouse or boat somewhere.   I'm really not sure how even the most devout supporter stays on the bandwagon when the next "update" is released.   

Edited by Agillig
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16 minutes ago, CPUWIZ said:

We just decanted a $275 bottle of wine, probably more enjoyable than a box full of cheap PC components.  To go with a Chateau Brion.

 

No tacos today, we had those yesterday,

makes me feel better about the brie I had imported then 

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I've been thinking: between the Evercade and the Intellivision Amico, it seems like we're going to be seeing a lot of Atari games showing up on upcoming console launches before we potentially see the sole new-ish game and separate game collection promised for Atari's own crowdfunded console. Atari isn't going to pass up licensing or catalog re-release opportunities (not a criticism or knock against them, Sega, Capcom, Konami, the former Data East and other retro game companies do the same all the time), but it just makes Atari's own hardware seem that much less attractive when you think about the fact that there are two other pieces of hardware coming out this year that will have more games available if you're interested in classic Atari games. Hell, the VCS doesn't even have unique software available, as between Atari Vault, Tempest 4000 and the games that will be made available for the overly expensive, underwhelming Antstream, you can find all of those games available on all existing platforms.

 

Even assuming the VCS comes out for backers and retail within their current, vague ETA, being optimistic that it comes damned near perfect without any serious hardware or software issues, the "Unconsole" won't ever see any form of financial success to make back the money given for R&D; it's certainly not going to attract any bigger fish for a potential buyout if it hasn't already. Besides the speculative gaming press, the TacoBox hasn't had any real media coverage to attract speculative purchases from general consumers, and no one outside of the most insane or dedicated collectors of video gaming paraphernalia is going to buy a "console" with only two games on it that costs less than $40 USD altogether elsewhere without anything else unique to offer (or, alternately, an Atari badged, vaguely 2600 shaped mini PC). This is all assuming that the console will be released in "weeks not months" as Mr. Arzt says.

 

Even if Atari tries to rebrand the VCS as an open streaming box later in the game, even more heavily pushing that "Unconsole" nonsense, both its advertising and name will have it widely considered as a console by those who consider buying it or even just look at it. Once this thing actually does release to the public, it's all-but-certain that it will have a quiet release without any real sales; since the first day of a console is its most important, it will sell worse than the Stadia once it hits the proverbial store shelves. If backers getting their units is their win, I sincerely hope they enjoy it, but it's not going to be the triumphant return of Atari to the console market like they were sold on or they originally were boasting to "us trolls". I still have doubts that we will see these console out to backers or retail this year, but even if it comes out, what then? Virtually no one is going to approach Atari to put their games on the VCS, and as far as we know Atari hasn't approached anyone to put games on there. If such releases were planned, Atari would've sang the announcements from the rooftops by now like with Antstream.

 

Atari SA clearly has no plans of what to do with the hardware once they actually release something to backers, and they appear to either be unwilling or not in a financial position to actually get software made for their OH-SO TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE VIDEO GAME CONSOLE MARKET. If Atari wanted a buyout, I think that having a farcical display of making proprietary hardware is one of the more complicated and failure prone ways to get some bigger company's attention. Then again, aggressive merchandising and pulling an Oracle attempting to sue everyone certainly isn't getting the desired attention of Google or Warner Bros. I almost feel like the direct approach Fred of contacting these companies saying, "Hey, want to buy Atari from me," would work far better at this point. He'll get lowballed in how much he'll get having Atari taken out of his hands for sure, but at least he'll actually get that buyout and pocket a decent chunk of change in the process. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna make some tacos.

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