davidmt Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Bill, The Flashback Collection for the Nintendo Switch seems to be out of stock at most major retailers (Amazon, Target). Any idea if there will be any more shipments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Bill, The Flashback Collection for the Nintendo Switch seems to be out of stock at most major retailers (Amazon, Target). Any idea if there will be any more shipments? No worries there. We'll be getting more units out to retailers soon. It's been a slow roll-out since launch, but there's not expected to be any shortages or limited releases. In fact, we'll be getting more of the previous volumes and RCT games out as well. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsmith601 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 No worries there. We'll be getting more units out to retailers soon. It's been a slow roll-out since launch, but there's not expected to be any shortages or limited releases. In fact, we'll be getting more of the previous volumes and RCT games out as well. Dumb question, what does RCT stand for? Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Dumb question, what does RCT stand for? Greg You're not an RCT head? The RollerCoaster Tycoon games for PS4/PSVR and Switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugcatcher88 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 No worries there. We'll be getting more units out to retailers soon. It's been a slow roll-out since launch, but there's not expected to be any shortages or limited releases. In fact, we'll be getting more of the previous volumes and RCT games out as well. Glad to know more physical copies of RCT on Switch are coming. I missed out the first time last month and now sellers on Ebay are listing the game for more than its worth. Screw them, I'll patiently wait for retailers to get more copies in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrlefty Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Is it time for the 2019 Speculation Thread? My speculation for this year is that AtGames will NOT release paddles that work with the Flashback 9. Instead, they will fix it in the next iteration of this unit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBerel Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I'll put $10 on they'll promise to fix it for 2020. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TF14 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Will we get support for Stella 6.x? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I'm surprised the Blasts units don't seem to be getting marked down. At least here, I'm not sure my local Wal-Mart has sold more than a couple besides the paddle unit I bought. Shelf is still pretty much full of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiohead Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I'm surprised the Blasts units don't seem to be getting marked down. At least here, I'm not sure my local Wal-Mart has sold more than a couple besides the paddle unit I bought. Shelf is still pretty much full of them. Bed Bath & Beyond has them on clearance for $9.99. https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/s/blast-flashback My wife has a 20% coupon, so I might get the Bandai Namco Pac Man Blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boggis the cat Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 My speculation for this year is that AtGames will NOT release paddles that work with the Flashback 9.I found that a 10 kOhm pot will work. You would have to be comfortable replacing the existing 1 MOhm pot, then it should work. Atgames could have simply used a few transistors to amplify the current from the original paddles. Perhaps they have realised that going this route was a mistake, and will fix it this way to work with standard 1 MOhm pot paddles with the Flashback 10? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sracer Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I found that a 10 kOhm pot will work. You would have to be comfortable replacing the existing 1 MOhm pot, then it should work. Atgames could have simply used a few transistors to amplify the current from the original paddles. Perhaps they have realised that going this route was a mistake, and will fix it this way to work with standard 1 MOhm pot paddles with the Flashback 10? Thanks for the insights. I'm getting the sense from your post that ATGames is giving up on producing paddles for the FB9. Have they come out and said that they are no longer planning to produce them for the FB9? That seems a bit odd since it seems pretty straight forward to produce paddles that would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 (edited) No, they haven't said that. Assuming he doesn't have a source from within AtGames or some development was missed by the AtariAge community that confirms they're cancelled or heavily delayed, I assume he's just frustrated with AtGames for not providing this product in what's perceived as a timely manner. I too imagine we'll have to wait until at least next Fall. I don't picture AtGames rolling these out at what would be a very unusual time of the year for them for a product introduction. Nor do I see them paying for just a small run for their online store to placate the minority of FB9 owners that would go there to buy this accessory, or producing a sizable run of them and having to hold on to the bulk of them for over half a year before the FB10 enters production. But the last word we've had from an AtGames representative is that they're still in the works and coming. I see no reason to doubt that when paddles have been a regular accessory for them through the years, although I suspect we'll ultimately be waiting through the summer for them. Edited January 15, 2019 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBerel Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 And what are the odds that having working paddles won't require buying the next version yet again? I mean, I get the production and sales channel considerations, but it seems a lot of customers see these things as an appliance/console purchase, and it seems clear that AtGames sees them as a disposable seasonal item like those old Lifesaver books we used to get at xmas. I don't know where the best place to land on that is, but the continued teasing that "next year we'll get it right", while introducing some new limitation or glitch erodes trust in a product line which is usually poison for a product's customer base. I know repackaging the same tired licenses over and over and over again gets increasingly insulting to my intelligence. I'm not inclined to keep paying for something I own already. I'd much rather have new controllers or interesting new ways to play them, but the delivery always seems to be a compromised means to an end of tricking people into buying the same 30+ year old licensed game for the umpteenth time. At their price point, they can't really fall into the quality consumer electronics category, but they can't be pure crap either. This is an odd case where they may be coasting on the seasonal only approach to getting less discriminating customer purchases while deliberately making sure not to provide lasting customer satisfaction lest people keep them in use or expand upon them. Sounds like the new American way. If you make a lasting, quality product, you can't get rich selling it to them again and again. Right or wrong, it all seems like a manipulative tease to me, and I don't think that's going to translate favorably to other product lines they may have in the pipeline. I'm amazed retailers keep agreeing to give them shelf space, but I suspect seasonal shelf space for sparkling things is a very different animal than traditional consumer product sales. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sracer Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 At their price point, they can't really fall into the quality consumer electronics category, but they can't be pure crap either. This is an odd case where they may be coasting on the seasonal only approach to getting less discriminating customer purchases while deliberately making sure not to provide lasting customer satisfaction lest people keep them in use or expand upon them. Sounds like the new American way. If you make a lasting, quality product, you can't get rich selling it to them again and again. Right or wrong, it all seems like a manipulative tease to me, and I don't think that's going to translate favorably to other product lines they may have in the pipeline. I'm amazed retailers keep agreeing to give them shelf space, but I suspect seasonal shelf space for sparkling things is a very different animal than traditional consumer product sales. I'm pretty cynical myself, but I don't think it is the case here. AtGames, IMO, did a great job with the FB9. I think this is one, if not the only AtGames product that has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. I'd be curious to see how the FB9 sold compared to previous FB consoles. I hope they'll capitalize on the good will and produce the paddles. As for an FB10 follow-on, tweaks to the console itself (woodgrain contact paper instead of a distressed strip of orange paint), improvements to the joysticks (they're a bit too "squishy" for my liking), and maybe a greater mix of games would make it another winner. Then they can go work again on Intellivision and Colecovision FB units. (current prices for them are insane) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 People are saying they are better and that's great but lets be clear, JBerel is 100% correct - these are disposable consumer electronics sold at Christmas to the average consumer. Their own rep has said several times that they are targeting the average consumer, not gamers, not Atari fans per se, but soccer moms and nostalgic old folks who remember Atari as kids but don't know how much better the real thing is when compared to this. My guess is most don't care about the paddle situation and just think Kaboom and others are just bad games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boggis the cat Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 My guess is most don't care about the paddle situation and just think Kaboom and others are just bad games.Atgames have said that the reason for having new (incompatible) paddles was to make those games more responsive. People had been complaining that the response was poor, so they tried to fix the issue. So in my view Atgames are trying to improve the product. I just think that they went with a poor solution, in this case. (But I don’t know the manufacturing requirements and the restrictions that have to be met to meet a price determined by their customers. Also remember that Atgames’ customers are the retailers, not us.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sracer Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 People are saying they are better and that's great but lets be clear, JBerel is 100% correct - these are disposable consumer electronics sold at Christmas to the average consumer. Their own rep has said several times that they are targeting the average consumer, not gamers, not Atari fans per se, but soccer moms and nostalgic old folks who remember Atari as kids but don't know how much better the real thing is when compared to this. My guess is most don't care about the paddle situation and just think Kaboom and others are just bad games. Whether or not that is true, AtGames continues to incrementally improve the FB. And while they may be targeting the average consumer... gamers and Atari fans are increasingly being drawn in to buying them too. AtGames claimed that paddles for the FB9 are coming. That makes no sense if the majority of customers are "soccer moms"... because once Christmas is over, they're not looking to buy accessories for this "throw away" game. AtGames knows that retro gamers and Atari fans are the "influencers" they need to help sell their flashback systems. Impress us, and we'll give our friends and family the "thumbs up" when they ask if they should buy one. I believe THAT is one of the reasons for promising to produce paddles. I never bought any of the previous Atari FB systems... I didn't think they were worth the asking price. When I was asked my opinion, I told friends and family to skip it. I bought the FB9 and am quite pleased with it.. and with that, so too goes my recommendations. I hope there is no Atari Flashback 10.... rather, I'd like to see an "Atari Flashback Forever" which reaches a level of refinement that can continue to be sold beyond a single holiday shopping season, with accessories that can be purchased separately. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifan88 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 People are saying they are better and that's great but lets be clear, JBerel is 100% correct - these are disposable consumer electronics sold at Christmas to the average consumer. Apparently they are not as disposable as the Retron 77. I've read reviews on here that caused the buyers to return them as they broke right away or were DOA. That's just piss poor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwlngmad Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Personally, I think AtGames is improving the product. I finally got a Atari FBP (2018 version) and an SD card loaded up with a ton of games and really like the device quite a bit. Sure, I wish they could improve the portable even more than what they are offering. But, overall, it is a pretty good little product, especially if you can get one below for $25 or so like I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 So I'm curious, it's a couple weeks into 2019 now, is this topic going to keep getting used, renamed for use, or a new one made? I imagine people are curious what atari stuff is afoot but also all the changes with Namco and the Sega question floating about too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwlngmad Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 I would recommend a new thread for the 2019 speculation. Also, I, too, am interested into what Namco and Sega plan for 2019. Maybe Retro-bit will get a shot at producing some retro consoles for Sega instead of AtGames. Definitely lots going on, that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiktok4321 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Will there be a new portable in 2019? I agree, a new thread would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Will there be a new portable in 2019? I agree, a new thread would be great. Most of the usual products will be making another appearance. I'll definitely post about it as things develop (someone can definitely start a 2019 thread for convenience). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 There made one for everyone to muddle around in. Have fun with it. I'm curious to see what comes. While I never got into the atari packages much I still have that awesome arcade gamer pro game gear/master system handheld for fun around, also found a 2016 model SD unit a couple months back. I used it a couple times, makes me wonder if I should play more or find the HD unit since I heard the 2018 one got some kinks out. But all that is discussion for that new thread for the new year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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