New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[Matt_B]

I'm still massively sceptical of any potential it may have as a commercial product too, but so long as they make enough of them for me to be able to pick up a second hand one on the cheap, to do a custom job with, it's all good.

 

 

[MarioMan88]

1 hour ago, Matt_B said:

I'm still massively sceptical of any potential it may have as a commercial product too, but so long as they make enough of them for me to be able to pick up a second hand one on the cheap, to do a custom job with, it's all good.

 

 

I’m still waiting to see if they can actually make, ship and stock the controllers..which is what I really want...that new classic controller with built in paddle function.

[OCAT]

This game console has as much market life as Windows 7, and that is like 4 more hours for me here :D

(By the way anyone who wants Windows 10 it is still free to upgrade with an old WIN 7/8 key for FREE!, I just did it last night)

Edited January 14, 2020 by OCAT

[Osgeld]

22 minutes ago, MarioMan88 said:

I’m still waiting to see if they can actually make, ship and stock the controllers..which is what I really want...that new classic controller with built in paddle function.

I have said that since day one, forget the box I want the controller, that's all they had to do and the would have probably made enough profit to totally fund this dumpster fire

[MarioMan88]

15 minutes ago, Osgeld said:

I have said that since day one, forget the box I want the controller, that's all they had to do and the would have probably made enough profit to totally fund this dumpster fire

Same! I have more interest in the controller...but it’s been pushed back more times I’m ready to give up.

[TankedThomas]

Too bad they decided to go with PowerA for the controllers. 

 

And I thought the ring around the base of the stick was meant to rotate for paddle controls but apparently it's just the stick itself, which sounds awkward and prone to breakage (especially considering who's making them). 

 

What I'm curious about is if the Last Gameboard actually works as intended. For all his idiocy, I'd love to see Rob Wyatt's project succeed with flying colours, just to really rub it in Atari's face. 

Edited January 14, 2020 by TankedThomas

[+frankodragon]

I came across the weirdest of CES 2020 and thought the guys with the Sauce Slider have better chances with selling their product than Atacobox.  No more wasted hot sauce.  (Go to 0:10)

 

 

 

[Lodmot]

9 hours ago, racerx said:

 

Enough units for what?

 

If they're tooled up, they can presumably make as many as demand dictates. The question is what demand is there?

I was referring to the backer units, which there will probably need to be between 6,000-10,000 of. For any other company, that number makes no sense, but for Atari-- thats a MASSIVE undertaking. xD

 

2 hours ago, TankedThomas said:

Too bad they decided to go with PowerA for the controllers. 

 

And I thought the ring around the base of the stick was meant to rotate for paddle controls but apparently it's just the stick itself, which sounds awkward and prone to breakage (especially considering who's making them). 

 

What I'm curious about is if the Last Gameboard actually works as intended. For all his idiocy, I'd love to see Rob Wyatt's project succeed with flying colours, just to really rub it in Atari's face. 

I actually have a couple of PowerA's controllers-- they're honestly pretty good, and they look cool too. I think I might be the only one that actually likes their stuff, lol

[TankedThomas]

1 hour ago, Lodmot said:

I actually have a couple of PowerA's controllers-- they're honestly pretty good, and they look cool too. I think I might be the only one that actually likes their stuff, lol

You and I obviously have different ideas of "good", because the one my little brother has is hot garbage. Even HE was unimpressed with it when I told him it's crap - usually he'd figuratively bite my head off for daring to even criticise something he bought.

 

 

In other news, I finally got perma-banned from Atari's shillreddit.

No reason given, but I have a feeling it's for the post where I asked them to "prove me wrong", or the one where I called them out for outboarding. Haven't found any of my posts deleted yet, but maybe I missed something. Don't really care. Sent them a message about the perma-ban anyway because I want to see what they have to say (probably nothing, just like when I messaged them the last time I got banned).

The irony being that I didn't make any assumptions - I only posted the facts as they've given them to us, but with less fluff and obfuscation, and then asked them to prove me wrong.

 

Guess they couldn't.

 

Also, you can edit posts on reddit despite being perma-banned, so that's fun.

 

I know I shouldn't be surprised by Atari's behaviour at this point because they've been doing this for a while now but... they just try to shut people up from legitimate criticism. Tommy Tallarico might say too much in some of his replies to criticism, but at least he actually replies and doesn't just stone-wall people.

 

I should just take my friend's advice: "Go play Asteroid, non believer".

[JBerel]

Had there been any evidence still of a functional paddle control on the classic stick? I'm still of the mind that they simply stuck a plastic pipe on a thumbstick. It's all but proven with the pics they've released. Besides that breaking in 5 minutes flat, there's no way that can provide paddle functionality. Their latest blog post said they're still working on paddle functionality, so I'm guessing they're no closer. Makes you wonder if Power A was even consulted with their decision to promote that feature. It sounds like the controller is as much in question as the box.

[Flojomojo]

Just tells. No shows. 
 

It seems that would be a difficult thing to get right. Remember the Xbox 360 "Arcade" stick that had the stiff little spinner in an odd place? I suppose it was durable but it didn't work very well. 
 

It was called "MadCatz Xbox 360 Arcade Gamestick" and it was not great. Like "Atari VCS," it sounded OK, on paper, for a certain purpose. 
 

I didn't hang on to mine for very long. 

[Lodmot]

19 minutes ago, JBerel said:

Had there been any evidence still of a functional paddle control on the classic stick? I'm still of the mind that they simply stuck a plastic pipe on a thumbstick. It's all but proven with the pics they've released. Besides that breaking in 5 minutes flat, there's no way that can provide paddle functionality. Their latest blog post said they're still working on paddle functionality, so I'm guessing they're no closer. Makes you wonder if Power A was even consulted with their decision to promote that feature. It sounds like the controller is as much in question as the box.

If PowerA is doing the joystick controller as well as the modern controller (which it sounds like they are), I would be more willing to trust them than Atari, because PowerA has a track record of actually releasing products.

[roots.genoa]

4 hours ago, frankodragon said:

I came across the weirdest of CES 2020 and thought the guys with the Sauce Slider have better chances with selling their product than Atacobox.  No more wasted hot sauce.  (Go to 0:10)

The sauce slider actually blew my mind! O_o It almost looks like there's SFX involved...

[Flojomojo]

3 minutes ago, roots.genoa said:

The sauce slider actually blew my mind! O_o It almost looks like there's SFX involved...

Was it similar to this?

Edit: I see from the source that it was. Note that my pasted video (which is the same clip as the CES 2020) was originally posted in 2011. 

[roots.genoa]

2 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

Was it similar to this?

Yes, that's it. That being said, I wouldn't use the sauce 'saved' that way, but at least it's a very efficient way to clean!

Edit: But then I guess you need a "sauce slider slider" to clean the sauce slider... ?

Edited January 14, 2020 by roots.genoa

[Flojomojo]

Or as the 2020 guy says, a solution in search of a problem. 

[roots.genoa]

And it must work for any kind of sauce, right? Like dog poop I mean. ?

[Flojomojo]

Worst sauce I've ever tasted. 

[roots.genoa]

2 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

Worst sauce I've ever tasted. 

I'll trust you since I've never tasted it but I meant any kind of "not completely solid" stuff of course. Maybe they souldn't call it the sauce slider by the way.

[MarioMan88]

5 hours ago, Lodmot said:

I was referring to the backer units, which there will probably need to be between 6,000-10,000 of. For any other company, that number makes no sense, but for Atari-- thats a MASSIVE undertaking. xD

 

I actually have a couple of PowerA's controllers-- they're honestly pretty good, and they look cool too. I think I might be the only one that actually likes their stuff, lol

I’ve got a few Power A controllers and like them.

[Flojomojo]

[PlaysWithWolves]

Hey everyone.  There's a reason I've not posted much the last couple of days. We were invited to a very special function.  Here's my story.  Please forgive me for being wordy but I'm coming down off such a high. I'm just plain excited to share this with you:

 

It was a dark and stormy night when I received the email.  I'd been searching for new CES 2020 news from Atari; aghast that they'd be so bold as to show up just weeks before release without a stronger presence. And, possibly without actual hardware.

 

The email itself was a surprise, but it shouldn't have been.  I'd left clues on AtariAge as to my real name; it wouldn't take long to find an email.  Sure, I have a couple of small Jaguar game credits under my belt—but I'm no Tommy Tallarico. It turns out it was from Uberstrategist, inviting me to an Atari Interactive function in New York.

 

I ask you to imagine my surprise:  Here I was, just lounging in my skivvies right before bed and I'd just been invited to a party in New York. And more shockingly, it indicated I'd be able to test the Atari VCS itself!  After a quick reply asking if I could bring my wife, we were set to go.

 

My wife is part owner of her livelihood and my employers are thankfully flexible, so we were able to take a couple of days off.  Though we had to pay for our own transportation it's only about a four hour drive to New York.  The last time we were there was my first time and we laughed about how lost I looked in front of my friends as they introduced me to the literally à la carte  dim sum in Chinatown.  Oh, how wonderful was that char sui bau!  Another first in a weekend of firsts, but I digress.

 

We arrived at the hotel that day.  The Limousine later picked us up to deliver us to Atari Interactive's spacious Park Avenue address.  Upon reaching the correct floor, we were first greeted not by a person—but the wonderful wafting scent of a certain Mexican delight. 

 

"Oh, those rascals", I thought. 

 

Michael Artz was recognizable from the many events, though seemed slimmer.  He graciously welcomed us to the event.

 

"Call me Mike", he uttered as he handed us each a gift bag.

 

The bags were black with the famous Fuji logo in white.  Mouse pads, stickers, and a black-on-black baseball cap with speakers.  How ironic was it that after all those posts I'd be the owner of not one—but two—Atari SpeakerHats?  We wanted to be gracious guests so soon we were adorned with the AtariLife headgear.

 

Scanning the room didn't take long; it wasn't a large party.  There were names and faces I recognized.  On some, their name tag would read like mine:  The real name followed by a username in italics.  Upon meeting some there were several times I'd quote a certain song about Piña Coladas: "Oh, it's you."

 

There was a presentation on the AtariVCS as we enjoyed our dinner.  It turns out they're farther along than we thought but they didn't want to emphasize the timeline because they value quality.  They don't want to be known for making junk but rather for an affordable piece of quality hardware.  Mike apologized for Fred Chesnais not showing. 

 

"He caught the infamous 'con crud' and will be down for a few days", expressed the Atari COO.  

 

That seemed reasonable.  Who knows how many hands Fred shook, or how many dirty hands touched that giant AtGames Atari joystick?  CES is a petri dish of both technology and common viruses.

 

After the presentation was over the real fun began.  We'd each be given time with a functional console; the 8GB RAM version.  An m.2 SSD was added to show off the Sandbox mode but otherwise it was the same 800 version that Indiegogo backers would receive.  In woodgrain, naturally.

 

Oh, how I wish I could describe for you the experience!  As I earlier expressed, they are farther ahead than we knew with the hardware.  The software was, as they were always transparent about, not quite as far.  But backers were aware they'd be helping the process along.  Games--oh, the games--were such a pleasure to play.  A delicious melding of the old and new.  Even a certain recent game played fantastically on PowerA's paddle-like joystick feature.  Needless to say, I left the game room very impressed!

The evening began to wind down when once again I had a chance to talk with Mike.  I had questions of which I hoped he could answer.  One was that I noted there were missing names in this small crowd. 

 

"Where is *********?  They have almost 30,000 AA-likes to my mere 7300.  Surely they'd be a greater influencer than I?  Or even ******, who is the hardest of doubters?  Why aren't they here in my stead?  Why would they miss the opportunity of a lifetime?", I quizzed as I tilted my head.

 

"Oh yeah, them" pondered Mike. "We invited them but they refused.  I don't wish to be mean, but some people live off the adrenaline of trolling.  Surely you can understand that?"  Mike winked.

 

I nodded and smiled, thinking of how much I enjoyed the memes and the chase for information.  Adrenaline is indeed addictive.

 

  "You got me there", I laughed.

 

The trip back in the limo was short-but-sweet.  It, too, was a first.  You see, though it was my second New York trip it was my first time inside a Limo in all my years.  A perfect ending to a perfect evening.

 

So, I implore you fine folks to trust in Atari.  We're looking indeed at weeks, not days.  When they say , "No news is good news" it's because they're working tirelessly instead of spending that time online.  Also, I don't want to name-shame anyone here, but absolutely be careful of whom you trust. There are indeed frauds.

 

You may find me posting less here, but you can trust me when I say that the "Ataribox" is real.  The SpeakerHats are surprisingly good. And boy, do I miss those Atari tacos. 

 

[Lodmot]

43 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

Yep, very typical "Atari communication": Just make a generic post saying "You're doing great carrying on a discussion here! :D", then only answering questions from people who are asking stupid things like "I LOVE ATARI! will this play Yar's Revenge and Asteroid? "

For the rest of us asking legitimate questions, here's the response we get:

 

?

 

 

(also, I've seen Atari even ignore its own diehard supporters, when they ask legitimate things too.)

[RedWolfJC]

4 minutes ago, PlaysWithWolves said:

It was a dark and stormy night when I received the email...

If they do end up making a book about this whole thing, this post should be the foreword. ?

 

[Lodmot]

So I found what probably could be considered the least sketchy picture of the Atari VCS running. The image below is from Kingston's official Twitter (so finally, a different source besides Atari themselves :P). You can see the system running the Atari Vault, and there are only two cables in the shot-- one running out the back of the console up to the TV, and the other coming out the front for the game controller. 

 

I know it's just a photo, which can easily be tampered with, but this is the best we have to go by. Also, it's comforting that it's finally NOT from Atari...