New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[tdp]

Yup - part of a massive push, because of the upcoming Blade Runner movie:-

 

http://www.familyfriendlygaming.com/News/2017/Atari%20Announces%20Wearable%20Technology.html

[The Historian]

Totally agree. Atari represents cutting edge technology and unbridled imagination.

 

That Atari hasn't exist since the crash...

 

Yup - part of a massive push, because of the upcoming Blade Runner movie:-

 

http://www.familyfriendlygaming.com/News/2017/Atari%20Announces%20Wearable%20Technology.html

And they've had the rights to that prior to filming, which is also prior to the current Atari.

Edited July 20, 2017 by The Historian

[Inky]

Seriously, Kosmic could have just pointed out it was a Spinal Tap reference instead of rambling on for half a page, but I don't think the guy ever met a cultural reference he didn't miss.

Why haven't I blocked you yet?

[Atariboy2600]

Yup - part of a massive push, because of the upcoming Blade Runner movie:-

 

http://www.familyfriendlygaming.com/News/2017/Atari%20Announces%20Wearable%20Technology.html

 

 

Okay.... SO Hats Off To Atari huh.

[tdp]

 

 

Okay.... SO Hats Off To Atari huh.

I should known where that was headed. Hats off to you though.

Edited July 20, 2017 by tdp

[zzip]

Also, "Amps to 11" is also a reference to the movie "This is Spinal Tap," where the band Spinal Tap had special amps made that go to 11.

The joke being 10 means "max volume", so the band was swindled by an amp manufacturer that decided to print 11 on their amps to make them seem louder

[Flojomojo]

<funny hydrating game controller>

That's just the backside of the Retro Chameleon. The things that look like pins are actually WaterPik jets.

 

[zzip]

That Atari hasn't exist since the crash...

Eh, I'd say since the introduction of the original ST in 1985. It was cutting edge for a few months.

[Flojomojo]

Yup - part of a massive push, because of the upcoming Blade Runner movie:-

 

http://www.familyfriendlygaming.com/News/2017/Atari%20Announces%20Wearable%20Technology.html

That site is a little different from others that have regurgitated Atari's press release. I haven't seen others refer to "the year of our lord" like this. Also, lots of links to the author's stuff.

 

[Good_Times]

That's just the backside of the Retro Chameleon. The things that look like pins are actually WaterPik jets.

 

scameleon.jpg

 

I heard those pins/jets were designed specifically for 'Topo' connectivity!

 

[leech]

 

 

Okay.... SO Hats Off To Atari huh.

Ha, and I just ordered an Atari hat, you mean I could have waited and gotten one with Speakers!?

[tdp]

The real question is, in 5 years time, will dentists still prefer this:-

 

Or will they upgrade to these:-

[Good_Times]

'Ataribox' REVEALED!!

 

[leech]

Ha ha, I want an Atari Falcon Book...

[Zookeeper]

Whatever it is, it sure looks cool.

[Flojomojo]

I remember that Atari Portfolio from Terminator 2.

 

[Keatah]

That's why I really want to get I involved in this community! One of my favorite things about Atari games is that they're almost always made by one person. The reason why consoles and games now have lost all their soul is that games and consoles have become so complex that incredible bureaucratic structures have been set up to manage them.

 

All the Atari programmers from the 70s and 80s tell you at the GDC conferences how stupid marketing departments are. Well now almost every AAA titles are run by them.

 

There's something pure about 8 bit hardware. One person, one game. Amazing artistic direction as a result.

 

That's right.

 

I'm not sure exactly when the 1 programmer = 1 game model went away. Maybe it was sometime around when franchises like Mario or Sonic were popular.

 

Maybe it was the 16-bit era? Anything more and the complexity of the machines demanded separate teams for sound, graphics, art, gameplay logic, and god knows what else.

 

---

 

On the other hand, with the 32 and 64 bit machines and the PC. One could say a lot of avenues had been opened up. There was enough "machine" to support work in many disciplines. The programmer turned into a director that orchestrated art and logic. And soon became known as a developer. And even the term "developer" expanded yet again to mean a development house consisting of many kinds of talent.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Keatah

[Flojomojo]

I'm not sure exactly when the 1 programmer = 1 game model went away. Maybe it was sometime around when franchises like Mario or Sonic were popular.

 

Maybe it was the 16-bit era? Anything more and the complexity of the machines demanded separate teams for sound, graphics, art, gameplay logic, and god knows what else.

 

Probably when the market started to demand something nicer than programmer art to look at. I don't think it was the complexity of the machines as much as the capabilities. If your competition is shipping games with beautiful, professionally designed animated characters, blocky running men a la Pitfall Harry and Intellivision aren't going to cut it. Just as games don't really NEED to weigh 20GB and more, but if you want beautiful textures, that's what you're going to get.

 

 

 

 

This is a big part of why I think mobile gaming is so neat. In addition to fitting in my pocket, it reminds me of the "garage era" of game development in many cases.

 

[Good_Times]

Ha ha, I want an Atari Falcon Book...

 

A hundred bucks (give or take) will snag you your very OWN Portfolio via Ebay!

[Flojomojo]

Ugh, that screen. I'll bet it can run for a month on a single aa battery, though.

[leech]

 

A hundred bucks (give or take) will snag you your very OWN Portfolio via Ebay!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Atari-Portfolio-16-bit-Personal-Computer-Rare-Discontinued-/232374583166?hash=item361a9abf7e:g:XnkAAOSwLsBZQ9-8

 

Ha, "Rare and discontinued." I tend to think usually something can't really be rare if it isn't discontinued, right??

 

I was never terribly interested in the Portfolio, but a Stacy or ST Book would/could be pretty cool. It's too bad they didn't produce a whole lot of either of them, or they didn't go with the Tablet one they were prototyping. If only they'd had the resources and the internet had been more prevalent, we could have Atari Tablets everywhere, wonder if they would have gotten into the smart phone arena too.

 

Ha, a MiNT based phone would be quick as hell, need hardly any resources and of course people could skin/theme it with MyAES or XaAES, but then again, I think if they'd gone that route GEM/AES/VDI would have been dropped or at the very least tweaked a lot to be more touch screen friendly.

[Good_Times]

I remember that Atari Portfolio from Terminator 2.

 

 

Look OUT, Eddie Furlong -- it's the T-1000 liquid metal Portfolio!!

 

[+frankodragon]

Crowdfunded. That's not a good sign.

[x=usr(1536)]

I still don't understand the negativity around crowdfunding.

In this context (and I'll ignore others since circumstances may not be 100% comparable between what's going on with the Ataribox and other crowdfunded projects), the big problem is this:

 

A company such as Atari should be able to attract suitable amounts of private investment and/or venture capital in order to develop a product without having to shove a tin cup in the direction of the general public.

 

And, no, Atari's not a giant in the sense of Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. But I've lived through the small-company hardware and software investment and development cycle on more than one occasion, and I can say that there is money out there to help bring products to market if investors have faith in both the proposed product(s) and the ability of the company to execute on bringing that product to market.

 

If any of the above looks shaky, the purse strings generally stay shut. Ten years ago that meant either looking for other funding sources, selling the concept to someone else, or just closing down development altogether. Today, however, it's possible to ask random strangers for change, and if you get enough of it you might be able to come up with... Something. Maybe.

 

There are definitely successful crowdfunding cases out there, and I've even invested in a few of them. But this is not one where the approach is exactly inspiring confidence in Atari's ability to bring a marketable platform to fruition.

Edited July 20, 2017 by x=usr(1536)

[+frankodragon]

I only want the rocket launcher and a single red fire button. And maybe also the buzz-saw and the Gatlin Gun. The rest of that controller is fluff.

How about one of these instead?