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The Atari VCS Controversies Thread


Mockduck

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This company calling itself Atari...Is a group that bought the name dirt cheap.  I wonder if they inherited some debt with said purchase (?),  or if the world wasn't looking, or just how they got the name so cheap, but it doesn't matter, they did it...

 

Then they proceeded to treat it like a cow filled with cash.  They walked right up to it and they started milking;  And they continued to milk it, perhaps wondering when it will dry up?  Only, a few of us paying attention have noticed that's not milk.  In fact it's a male cow.  And sometimes they've got the wrong end.  But I don't expect their BS to stop anytime soon...

 

I don't even think they decided to release a console as a feather in their cap to the stockholders.   Just a guess mind you, but I think they saw Dreamcade was about to release an emulator box that somewhat resembled a VCS and they thought, "WE gotta sue them!...In fact,  We were gonna do that!" ... Sure if they can do it we could do it...Maybe they took a look at the Commodore Computer that had C64 games built in and thought, We'll just do something like that...They seem to be releasing this console out of SPITE.

 

Someone probably raised the issue of Games;   Only to be met with the idea that it could be outsourced like everything else they do.   "Games??   **Points to AntStream**  There's your Games!  Games as far as the eye can see!  (Problem solved.  Makes hand washing motion.)

 

And then when *someone* (Couldn't have been us...Never...) pointed out that this really isn't the same ATARI from the 70s that released the VCS...They said, "Oh Yeah?"   The world loves a remake!,  just look at movies!  So with a wink and a smile* they decided to call this thing a "VCS".  And now when people on the Internet do a search for Atari VCS,  Guess what comes up? 

 

 

*The only problem I see as they try to sell us this Flashback meets underpowered PC "Unconsole" with no games (Ahem,  I mean 100 games!),  is that as they wink and smile,  they are also flipping us off.

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Plex sounds good to me as I do want the Atari VCS to be a multi function device (new retro inspired games, indie games, modern games, a full PC that I can emulate other retro consoles on and a multimedia platform)

 

https://medium.com/@atarivcs/what-plex-means-to-the-atari-vcs-and-to-atari-vcs-owners-4fc9d36d3984

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Plex is actually pretty sweet, might be one of the more interesting partnerships. Setting up a plex media server in the home and running it through the native VCS OS might be a great use for it. IIRC plex can also be a pretty good way to get large files around. From the wikipedia: "Free Plex accounts can share their personal media libraries among a user's own collection of devices or to friends, and access Plex's content library of ad-supported video on demand (AVOD). Plex Pass is the optional paid-subscription service including synchronization with mobile devices, cloud storage integration, metadata fetching for music, support for multiple users, parental controls, live TV and DVR, trailers, extras, and cross-selling offers."

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Could make for an awesome looking retro web server.  The controller opens up potential re-design possibilities on games where rotation comes in to play. I agree with others that dev support and long term support of the platform will determine its success (if it does ship, which looks likely).  If it doesn't ship, you'll get $3 in a class action suit sent to your paypal in 2024 or so.

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1 hour ago, racerx said:

It's not that Plex support is a bad thing, it's just the latest in a long line of so what's.

 

4cowhv.thumb.jpg.8f47504ffa176557dcfd13a6576d40be.jpg

I see the trolls have moved to this thread now since the other Atari VCS  thread in the Atari 2600 section of the forums finally got locked.

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18 minutes ago, Agillig said:

Everything in the post was accurate. 

ROFLMFAO, Nothing at all was said, just trolling.  There will be new games just at the stated in Q&A last moth ( https://medium.com/@atarivcs/atari-vcs-july-2020-q-a-with-coo-381f121f664c)

 

Trolls are gonna troll.

 

https://i.imgflip.com/q4r5l.jpg

 

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Plex will be keen to push people into the paid premium subscription, like all of the other optional services being offered. It is sad that this is effectively an expensive box designed to charge even more money on a monthly basis if owners want to get full use of it. In the old days a cable service would give you the hardware free for such a “privilege”.

 

It’s also curious that this announcement of Plex being pre-installed comes at a time when there should be a substantial number of machines already on their way to the USA for shipping to backers ... are those units all going to be repacked with a new OS that includes Plex?

 

Regardless of what happens from here, assuming backers get their units, the VCS has become a lesser equivalent to the NVidea Shield, which does all the VCS claims, but better and with massively more content in terms of games, apps and streaming.

 

I’ve paid the price of entry for one of these things, but I am not confident it won’t simply become an expensive wedge shaped doorstop.

 

 

Edited by Chopsus
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1 hour ago, Tidus79001 said:

ROFLMFAO, Nothing at all was said, just trolling.  There will be new games just at the stated in Q&A last moth ( https://medium.com/@atarivcs/atari-vcs-july-2020-q-a-with-coo-381f121f664c)

 

Trolls are gonna troll.

 

https://i.imgflip.com/q4r5l.jpg

 

 

Quote

As of today, we have so far only announced the Atari VCS Vault of 100 classic arcade and home titles, along with Missile Command: Recharged, but there will be many more coming for launch and beyond that we very much look forward to announcing

It's just an announcement of a future announcement. You'd think in this late stage they'd have something concrete gaming wise instead of just more streaming services. 

Edited by AtariLeaf
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2 hours ago, Tidus79001 said:

I see the trolls have moved to this thread now since the other Atari VCS  thread in the Atari 2600 section of the forums finally got locked.


It is certainly not trolling to ask 'Where's the b̶e̶e̶f̶ games?!'. I would say it is a rather important question to be asking of a system that is supposed to be out in retail in around four months time and taking into account all we have seen for gaming on the Atari Box at this point is the Atari Vault, a free Antstream trial and the ability to run some Steam games (This conditionally; provided you also buy a Windows licence and additional storage for the system).

Partnering with a streaming service is a nice little extra, but it is not going to be a system seller. My Blu ray player can stream, my TV can stream, my laptop and PC can stream, my cellphone can stream, my streaming box can stream. I imagine that for most people they will be in a similar situation, with no lack of existing hardware and devices to stream media on already owned.

All Atari is announcing so far is the aperitifs and appetizers. Games are the meat and potatoes for a console (or un-console), and if I were a backer/potential customer I would find it worrisome there is almost nothing being said about this.

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9 minutes ago, Tavi said:


It is certainly not trolling to ask 'Where's the b̶e̶e̶f̶ games?!'. I would say it is a rather important question to be asking of a system that is supposed to be out in retail in around four months time and taking into account all we have seen for gaming on the Atari Box at this point is the Atari Vault, a free Antstream trial and the ability to run some Steam games (This conditionally; provided you also buy a Windows licence and additional storage for the system).

Partnering with a streaming service is a nice little extra, but it is not going to be a system seller. My Blu ray player can stream, my TV can stream, my laptop and PC can stream, my cellphone can stream, my streaming box can stream. I imagine that for most people they will be in a similar situation, with no lack of existing hardware and devices to stream media on already owned.

All Atari is announcing so far is the aperitifs and appetizers. Games are the meat and potatoes for a console (or un-console), and if I were a backer/potential customer I would find it worrisome there is almost nothing being said about this.

Tundrorock didn't ask anything.  All he did was put a trolling meme saying "there are going to be games for your gaming console, right?".  That implis that Atari has no intention of making games for the Atari VCS when they have stated "As of today, we have so far only announced the Atari VCS Vault of 100 classic arcade and home titles, along with Missile Command: Recharged, but there will be many more coming for launch and beyond that we very much look forward to announcing".  That is trolling trying to suggest non truths or spread misinform for the purpose disparaging something the troll personally of dislikes.

 

Trolls be like

https://i.imgflip.com/qizzg.jpg

Edited by Tidus79001
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25 minutes ago, Matt_B said:

Yet another fantastic partnership with a service you can run on a Raspberry Pi.

 

Atari are totally killing it. ?

I can't run a full version on Windows, full version of Linux or Chrome OS and easily emulate any console I want.  I like the flexibility of all it will allow.  Raspberry Pi's are too narrow in function and under powered.

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5 minutes ago, Tidus79001 said:

I can't run a full version on Windows, full version of Linux or Chrome OS and easily emulate any console I want.  I like the flexibility of all it will allow.  Raspberry Pi's are too narrow in function and under powered.

I'll give you some serious answers.

 

Atari seem to think Antstream, Plex and emulation of 2600 and Atari arcade games are their biggest selling points for the VCS, because they've not announced much else. You can do all of those on the Raspberry Pi right now; they're not hypothetical things that it might get in the future like Windows on ARM.

 

You can run full versions of Linux and ChromeOS on the Raspberry Pi too. You are currently limited to (free) Windows IOT, but when you factor in the extra costs of an additional SSD and licence, the VCS isn't exactly going to end up much like a cheap option for a Windows device. You can buy dedicated Windows nettops/HTPCs for around the $200 mark though, if that's really what you want.

 

In terms of emulation, the Raspberry Pi is generally good enough for anything up to the PlayStation, including all the consoles and computers Atari ever made. Dreamcast, Saturn and N64 emulation is a bit spotty but works well enough for a lot of games. That only leaves the PSP, DS, PS2, GameCube and Wii in terms of significant consoles that can be emulated well on a high-end PC but not the Pi. You will need an additional SSD to attempt to emulate any of those machines on the VCS though and the performance will not be as good as a decent Windows desktop, or even a mid-to-high laptop, because it's only got a low-power dual-core APU that's mainly designed for embedded applications.

 

Still, I get the advantages of being able to run Windows on an HTPC. I already use one that I first built in 2014 - to a fairly similar spec to the VCS although with much more storage - and it's still capable of doing a few things that the Raspberry Pi can't. However it's a much shorter list now than it was back then, and it wouldn't be much good for games any more if I hadn't been able to upgrade the graphics card. If flexibility is truly what you value, you're better off building your own.

 

 

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4 hours ago, Tidus79001 said:

ROFLMFAO, Nothing at all was said, just trolling.  There will be new games just at the stated in Q&A last moth ( https://medium.com/@atarivcs/atari-vcs-july-2020-q-a-with-coo-381f121f664c)

 

Trolls are gonna troll.

 

https://i.imgflip.com/q4r5l.jpg

 

Funny - I;ve seen many trolls before.  That to me looks like a blind brand supporter (i.e., Atari fan), not a troll.

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3 hours ago, Chopsus said:

Plex will be keen to push people into the paid premium subscription, like all of the other optional services being offered. It is sad that this is effectively an expensive box designed to charge even more money on a monthly basis if owners want to get full use of it. In the old days a cable service would give you the hardware free for such a “privilege”.

 

It’s also curious that this announcement of Plex being pre-installed comes at a time when there should be a substantial number of machines already on their way to the USA for shipping to backers ... are those units all going to be repacked with a new OS that includes Plex?

 

Regardless of what happens from here, assuming backers get their units, the VCS has become a lesser equivalent to the NVidea Shield, which does all the VCS claims, but better and with massively more content in terms of games, apps and streaming.

 

I’ve paid the price of entry for one of these things, but I am not confident it won’t simply become an expensive wedge shaped doorstop.

I'm so glad I finally have a way to use Plex.  I've heard about this cool thing since it came out all the way back in 2008 but have never been able to experience it.  The idea that I can pay $400 for a device that will let me run games from 2012 at 20 frames per second, and do this awesome new streaming thingy fascinates me.  Do you think this magical box will be powerful enough to get me on AOL (you know, that inter web thingy)?

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2 hours ago, Stephen said:

Do you think this magical box will be powerful enough to get me on AOL (you know, that inter web thingy)?

 

OMG.... the VCS will let us use chat rooms again! I'm glad I kept my AOL! Instant messenger here I come!

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19 hours ago, Chopsus said:

Plex will be keen to push people into the paid premium subscription, like all of the other optional services being offered. It is sad that this is effectively an expensive box designed to charge even more money on a monthly basis if owners want to get full use of it. In the old days a cable service would give you the hardware free for such a “privilege”.

 

It’s also curious that this announcement of Plex being pre-installed comes at a time when there should be a substantial number of machines already on their way to the USA for shipping to backers ... are those units all going to be repacked with a new OS that includes Plex?

 

Regardless of what happens from here, assuming backers get their units, the VCS has become a lesser equivalent to the NVidea Shield, which does all the VCS claims, but better and with massively more content in terms of games, apps and streaming.

 

I’ve paid the price of entry for one of these things, but I am not confident it won’t simply become an expensive wedge shaped doorstop.

 

 

It is a bummer that almost all of the apps that come with the VCS will have a subscription cost if you want to use them long-term. That said I genuinely expect this to be the way of the world when the PS5 and XboxoneboxsXs comes out. Thinking we'll all be having to get used to this in the coming years for our video games, movies, music, etc. Still, Plex is genuinely great at doing some things, particularly at being a cloud personal media server. So being built-in with Plex actively planning to support the VCS is good news. 

 

I too have thought about what you're saying in the 2nd paragraph. I am - guessing - that this stuff is getting shipped to California and then further OS/QA work is done. But then who's doing the boxing? Unless we are talking day one OS update, which I guess is probably not a surprise either. 

 

The folks who blast the VCS because it's like this other thing they like or own isn't that compelling an argument to me. I mean, great that you've already been using a similar device, hope it's working out awesome for you. But the whole, "why buy X when Y already exists" argument doesn't really matter that much. Maybe someone doesn't already own Y, and would rather own X instead?

 

If this Plex thing works out the VCS at the very least will be an attractive looking media server for my home that came with a joystick currently hooked up to my PC for playing retro games. That plus whatever other fun I get out of it is fine for the $320 shipped price I paid. I actually expect it to be useful for both work and personal stream use, and as an easy to travel with mini-PC. Sure, lots of options in that space, but I like this one. 

 

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9 minutes ago, TACODON said:

I'm not very excited by the fact that so much is going towards these subscription streaming services. I will admit though that it will become more likely other companies will jump on that also at some point.

To be blunt, I think there is nothing they can really offer game-wise that's going to be compelling at this point anyway (for a variety of reasons), so I suspect it will continue to lean heavily - and almost exclusively - on subscription service variety and using it, somewhat inexplicably, as an HTPC or as another hobbyist computer variant along the lines of a Raspberry Pi or Odroid. I think it's safe to say at this point that that's the micro-niche that they're targeting and are comfortable with. Whether that type of targeting can make for a sustainable product is anyone's guess (I don't think it can be), but it certainly takes the pressure off having to compete with Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, etc., or even the Amico people, as in it's NOT about the games.

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FYI I didn't actually plan to sub already to Antstream but I did over the summer. It's certainly niche, but is actually pretty cool. Got some obscure text adventure games and stuff too. Catalog is pretty small though given what it could be. Just a few hundred titles. Not a long-term $10/month option unless they dramatically increase their size and scope, but neat. 

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