Jump to content
IGNORED

It’s okay to like the VCS.


AlecRob

Recommended Posts

On 3/25/2021 at 9:26 AM, Mockduck said:

I think the Switch is actually Atari's current lead competitor, mostly because of the "Nintendo is a family console" history, the Switch's good indie and big budget Nintendo library (ok, maybe don't play too many 3rd party AAA's on it, but for everything else...), and most importantly its $299 price point. It is unlikely Atari will get even a fraction of Nintendo's user base or worldwide revenue, but I'd expect some folks to want to decide between the two for their family or self. The Switch offers portable gaming and big N gaming, but is getting a bit old lifecycle-wise, and its tech was fairly low end when it debuted. The VCS offers a PC/console hybrid and a retro focus. The VCS will definitely be cheaper to buy for long-term, since Nintendo only rarely discounts its $50-60 games throughout the entirety of the console's life and doesn't have a habit of lowering their game MSRP over time. So far I've probably played as much VCS as I have Switch even though I've had a Switch for years now, but that is more about me liking not loving the Switch and truly hating those terrible Joycons. 

Sorry man but I don’t see any situation where someone (not already on these forums and adding a new topic for every game release) holds up the VCS box and the Switch box and ends up going with the VCS. Let’s be realistic- this landed with a resounding whimper. Look at the forum itself- the only updates since last week are in the “it’s okay to like the VCS” thread. There is no interest in this anywhere. Hell, Atari isn’t even really talking about it. Y’all got exactly what we all said you’d get. If you like it, awesome, but it isn’t gonna be moving the needle.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still don't get it, about a month ago for $550USD i got a Ryzen 5 3400G with Radeon Vega Graphics @ 3.70 GHz which is about triple the speed in many areas of an Atari box. This system is strictly for the lounge room just like most VCS users and i can actually play some decent AAA titles if i really want.

 

Runs all the emulators i'm interested to play in it's sleep.

 

Lets not forget that's also with a legit copy of Win 10 home edition... So the VCS with a copy of Win10 would run you near $500USD anyway yet only a third of the power. I really can't justify the wasted money basically for the Atari branding and a gimmick joystick.

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention that was for a complete system RGB tower, 8 gig of RAM, MB, 480GB SSD, External DVD writer and they even installed Windows for me. Delivered to my door without having to even build the system for the first time. All i had to do was register my copy of Windows and update the OS along with drivers and boom! happy gaming. For that price i hardly even seen the point of building my own.

Edited by TwentySixHundred
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, TwentySixHundred said:

I still don't get it, about a month ago for $550USD i got a Ryzen 5 3400G with Radeon Vega Graphics @ 3.70 GHz which is about triple the speed in many areas of an Atari box. This system is strictly for the lounge room just like most VCS users and i can actually play some decent AAA titles if i really want.

 

Runs all the emulators i'm interested to play in it's sleep.

 

Lets not forget that's also with a legit copy of Win 10 home edition... So the VCS with a copy of Win10 would run you near $500USD anyway yet only a third of the power. I really can't justify the wasted money basically for the Atari branding and a gimmick joystick.

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention that was for a complete system RGB tower, 8 gig of RAM, MB, 480GB SSD, External DVD writer and they even installed Windows for me. Delivered to my door without me having to even build the system for the first time. All i had to do was register my copy of Windows and update the OS along with drivers and boom! happy gaming. For that price i hardly even seen the point of building my own.

You ruined it with win10... such a trash OS.  Wish I could go back tin win2k, arguably Microsoft's best release.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, leech said:

You ruined it with win10... such a trash OS.  Wish I could go back tin win2k, arguably Microsoft's best release.

Yes and no. I agree it's not the best product they have released but compatibility wise it fits the build. Personally I liked XP and 7 for many years. I also have a USB Linux bootable if I really need it. But as crap as it is I find it's not as bad as many make it out to be. Especially these days anyway. So yeah the rig is definitely worth the bang for buck. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i guess this machine isn't really for the old fans.  I look at the VCS and see a canvas full of possibilities.   Most everyone else thinks its a waste of time apparently.  Boo hoo.  I find the cynicism and harshness given to the VCS isnt really fair...  man give the thing a break it’s already 100x better and more useful than the POS jaguar ever was.  lol

 

I want to see the avid atari homebrew community to make the VCS into the quirky awesome modern atari console that it has the potential to be.   It seems unlikely that this hardcore hobbyist/homebrewer/demoscene crowd that the atari VCS needs most will accept the system though :(    
 

 

Edited by AlecRob
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 1
  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, AlecRob said:

i guess this machine isn't really for the old fans.  I look at the VCS and see a canvas full of possibilities.   Most everyone else thinks its a waste of time apparently.  Boo hoo.  I find the cynicism and harshness given to the VCS isnt really fair...  man give the thing a break it’s already 100x better and more useful than the POS jaguar ever was.  lol

 

I want to see the avid atari homebrew community to make the VCS into the quirky awesome modern atari console that it has the potential to be.   It seems unlikely that this hardcore hobbyist/homebrewer/demoscene crowd that the atari VCS needs most will accept the system though :(    
 

 

Well considering the Jag is over 26 years older i would hope the Atari box is more powerful... As for better!? id rather a Jag any day of the week as it has more character and will always hold a higher resale value. Also lets not forget how ground breaking the Jag was on release so there is no comparison. As much of a failure the Jag was, it's still a unique system that's pretty damn cool and special.

 

Like said on a previous comment "if you like the system then enjoy it" but you can't expect everyone else to feel the same.

 

It's a pretty average system with nothing all that special to offer and i think you view this system through rose tinted glasses. Modern day Atari is nothing like it was. Also it's proven for the same price range you can walk away with a PC that has alot more potential.

 

There is nothing worse then die-hard fanboys that will turn blue in the face trying to convince others to jump onboard with their inferior system.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, AlecRob said:

want to see the avid atari homebrew community to make the VCS into the quirky awesome modern atari console that it has the potential to be.   It seems unlikely that this hardcore hobbyist/homebrewer/demoscene crowd that the atari VCS needs most will accept the system though :(    

You're right, especially given all of the platform-specific software that the hobbyist / homebrewer / demoscene crowd put into the Atari PC-1, N386SX, PC-5, etc.  It's a complete farce, I tell you!

 

At least the Portfolio gets some lovin'.  It's a nifty little machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, AlecRob said:

i guess this machine isn't really for the old fans.  I look at the VCS and see a canvas full of possibilities.   Most everyone else thinks its a waste of time apparently.  Boo hoo.  I find the cynicism and harshness given to the VCS isnt really fair...  man give the thing a break it’s already 100x better and more useful than the POS jaguar ever was.  lol

 

I want to see the avid atari homebrew community to make the VCS into the quirky awesome modern atari console that it has the potential to be.   It seems unlikely that this hardcore hobbyist/homebrewer/demoscene crowd that the atari VCS needs most will accept the system though :(    
 

 

The reactions are bizarre.  I can understand being apathetic towards it, it's not for everyone.  But so many posts trying to convince people to buy a Pi, a Switch, A cheap PC, a good PC, anything!   Please buy literally anything else, but for God's sakes don't buy a VCS!

 

In a forum filled with collectors that will pay big money for weak systems with awful libraries,  we are suddenly supposed to buy systems completely on specs, and nothing else.   The warm-fuzzy feelings we get from the name or design-  meaningless, foolish even!

 

Whatever.   Like the thread says, it's OK to like the VCS.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are a few of us out there who see the possibilities in the VCS, but our voices have been hammered down enough over the years by the cool kids "poking light fun" at the VCS that it just ends up not being worth it to even try to converse here most of the time. Even saying it has possibilities will lead to people misinterpreting it, claiming you are calling the console a "hit", and having to deal with yet another round of idiocy online. Made for a fun Easter week with my 9 year old son. "Dad, why are people sending you mean messages on your computer?" "Just ignore them, son." I've heard some of these folks claim they aren't doing it, but this stuff starts the instant I post something here that they choose to attack me over, and the harassment goes away the instant they find another AtariAge target, only to return the instant they start paying attention to me again. I can literally track the messages based on AA forum post time stamp. Fun! Especially when it is one of the AA moderators involved. 

  • Like 1
  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Mockduck said:

There are a few of us out there who see the possibilities in the VCS, but our voices have been hammered down enough over the years by the cool kids "poking light fun" at the VCS that it just ends up not being worth it to even try to converse here most of the time. Even saying it has possibilities will lead to people misinterpreting it, claiming you are calling the console a "hit", and having to deal with yet another round of idiocy online. Made for a fun Easter week with my 9 year old son. "Dad, why are people sending you mean messages on your computer?" "Just ignore them, son." I've heard some of these folks claim they aren't doing it, but this stuff starts the instant I post something here that they choose to attack me over, and the harassment goes away the instant they find another AtariAge target, only to return the instant they start paying attention to me again. I can literally track the messages based on AA forum post time stamp. Fun! Especially when it is one of the AA moderators involved. 

Dude...  Take some freaking responsibility for your part in all of this.  Seriously, how many times are you going to make posts like these where you whine about mistreatment from <insert nebulous (and nefarious) unnamed parties here> while simultaneously ignoring the fact that you were out there swinging your junk with the rest of them?  Do you not realise that every time you make a post like this you're near enough to literally as doesn't matter painting a target on your back?

 

I'm not condoning the behaviour of people who may be doing this, but this one-sided 'boo-hoo, woe is me, I'm such a victim' nonsense from you is really hypocritical.  From that standpoint, it's next to impossible to feel much if anything in the way of sympathy for you or your situation.  Take some freaking responsibility for your actions, keep your kid off of the parts of the Internet that you don't want him to see, and stop these sporadic whinefests.  They're beyond old.

  • Like 4
  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, AlecRob said:

Jag was groundbreaking on release? Idk man... the library is really pitiful.  I dont think anyone was clamoring over the jag’s pack in game... starfox on SNES is much more appealing to look at even.

If Cybermorph was the pinnacle of Jaguar gaming, I'd be inclined to agree that the VCS has topped that low bar. However, it was also the lead system for games like Tempest 2000, Aliens vs Predator and Rayman which I'd think hold their own against the best games other consoles could offer at the time.

 

The hardware wasn't bad either; just poorly documented and released at a time when technology was moving so fast that it only took a couple of years for a system to look very dated. 

 

Ultimately the Jaguar was doomed primarily by the lack of investment on the part of Atari, who just didn't have the confidence to bankroll game development and give it the marketing push it would have needed.

 

I doubt the VCS will far much better in either regard. Still, as you say, it's hackable enough that the community can make something of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Matt_B said:

If Cybermorph was the pinnacle of Jaguar gaming, I'd be inclined to agree that the VCS has topped that low bar. However, it was also the lead system for games like Tempest 2000, Aliens vs Predator and Rayman which I'd think hold their own against the best games other consoles could offer at the time.

 

The hardware wasn't bad either; just poorly documented and released at a time when technology was moving so fast that it only took a couple of years for a system to look very dated. 

 

Ultimately the Jaguar was doomed primarily by the lack of investment on the part of Atari, who just didn't have the confidence to bankroll game development and give it the marketing push it would have needed.

 

I doubt the VCS will far much better in either regard. Still, as you say, it's hackable enough that the community can make something of it.

It is more likely Atari didn't have the cash to really pull off the Jaguar.  The VCS has a lot in common with it... both are years after Atari gave up on consoles, both have a luke warm (so far) reaction from Developers, etc. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Matt_B said:

If Cybermorph was the pinnacle of Jaguar gaming, I'd be inclined to agree that the VCS has topped that low bar. However, it was also the lead system for games like Tempest 2000, Aliens vs Predator and Rayman which I'd think hold their own against the best games other consoles could offer at the time.

 

The hardware wasn't bad either; just poorly documented and released at a time when technology was moving so fast that it only took a couple of years for a system to look very dated. 

 

Ultimately the Jaguar was doomed primarily by the lack of investment on the part of Atari, who just didn't have the confidence to bankroll game development and give it the marketing push it would have needed.

 

I doubt the VCS will far much better in either regard. Still, as you say, it's hackable enough that the community can make something of it.

So you are saying we will have way nice looking medical equipment in 15 years? :)

  • Like 2
  • Haha 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, youxia said:

Things would become much simpler if some folks took on board that VCS is basically a mini-PC, not some new and unique console.

The only things that make it unique.

1) Linux based Game system OS.  This is a first, as others have been BSD based, Windows Based, android based, or Custom.

2) AtariOS (sure not an epic user interface (yet?) But is serviceable.

3) the Joystick, though granted you can use the same joystick on a computer.

4) it is unique as a console that can run (most) generic PC peripherals. 

5) first console that REALLY supports an 'other OS' option from its concept, rather than something like the PS3 that they disabled, and never really gave full hardware access to.

 

Otherwise I agree, it is just an arguably good looking computer, with low to medium specs.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Given that you can just slap Drauger, Lakka or Batocera on pretty much any PC to get a better gaming experience than AtariOS can offer, I'd hardly think that a Linux based console that you can also put Windows on offers anything unique.

 

It's not the first either. Linux games consoles have been tried many times before too. The Dingoo A320, GCW Zero, OpenPandora, and Steam Machines are some examples. They just tend to fail in obscurity, so people mistakenly think it's a new idea when the next one comes along.

 

PCs tend to support PC peripherals too, so that rather gives the game away.

 

I'll give you the Classic controller though. It's just not likely to see a lot of support outside of the small amount of software written specifically for the VCS.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure if Atari is keeping its powder dry at this point or if this is going to be as good as it gets.

 

The VCS is still awaiting its retail rollout and I'm hoping that things do improve and that there is interest. Personally I'm not too interested in having a mini PC although having the option to run Windows on the thing is something that a lot of people have enjoyed.  

 

I think my VCS is great for what it is, having the Atari logo big-screen in the living room, the Fuji on the controller... there is a hint that everything could all be very magical. Will it be? Buggered if I know. If it is a dismal flop then there is PC mode, and the pretty cool Atari branded cardboard boxes. 

 

 

  • Like 5
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Matt_B said:

Given that you can just slap Drauger, Lakka or Batocera on pretty much any PC to get a better gaming experience than AtariOS can offer, I'd hardly think that a Linux based console that you can also put Windows on offers anything unique.

There is a difference between Linux based and Linux.  (See Android being based upon a Linux kernel, but having a crap, yet successful stack on top of it), AtariOS is somewhere in between.. like nit as crap as Android, and more like Steam Big Picture mode (all the Linux stack is there, just missing a full DE).  Sure, you can run actual Linux or Windows on it too.  But that isn't what I would call a console.

6 hours ago, Matt_B said:

It's not the first either. Linux games consoles have been tried many times before too. The Dingoo A320, GCW Zero, OpenPandora, and Steam Machines are some examples. They just tend to fail in obscurity, so people mistakenly think it's a new idea when the next one comes along.

Out of any of those, I have only heard of OpenPandora and the Steam Machines, and I have ran in Linux circles for decades... Steam Machines were less about Linux and more about running Steam, and were a failure only because there was no standard for them and so you ended up with either woefully underpowered hardware, or small smace heaters that were too loud to enjoy as a console.  also they were way too pricey.  OpenPandora was never mass marketed, and clearly the others were not either.  (I still want an OpenPandora, they are awesome.)

 

6 hours ago, Matt_B said:

PCs tend to support PC peripherals too, so that rather gives the game away.

 

Point is, AtariOS is very much not a 'PC' Operating system.  You can't really do general computing on it.  Sure, you could use Chrome to do that, but you could do the same on the Playstation 3+ browser as well, but no one would consider them 'PCs'.

And for the most part you can't really just plug in random USB stuff into them and have them work right.  Though to a certain extent some things do.

 

But yes, for tge most part, unless someone decides to rip AtariOS off the VCS and install it on a generic PC, then it is the most unique thing about the VCS outside of the shiny case.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, leech said:

unless someone decides to rip AtariOS off the VCS and install it on a generic PC, then it is the most unique thing about the VCS outside of the shiny case.

Already done

 

I forgot to add that it's fully released to the public aswell

Edited by TwentySixHundred
  • Like 2
  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 4/6/2021 at 8:11 PM, TwentySixHundred said:

Already done

 

I forgot to add that it's fully released to the public aswell

Ha I saw that the other day, hilarious, but expected.  I mean I was right away able to copy a game from the VCS to my Linux desktop and it worked without issue. 

 

With the rumor mill of the 'SteamPal' I tend to think any 'we're a mini-PC' thing is going to be dead if it's true.  If it is like people think and is basically a dockable portable system like the Switch, but allowing people to play their Steam Libraries, it'd be amazing.  Though of course that means they'll have to make sure the Offline capabilities of Steam are working right, as a portable shouldn't be expected to always be online, (unless of course they include a SIM card slot or something).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/5/2021 at 2:10 AM, AlecRob said:

it’s already 100x better and more useful than the POS jaguar ever was.  lol

 

I want to see the avid atari homebrew community to make the VCS into the quirky awesome modern atari console that it has the potential to be.   It seems unlikely that this hardcore hobbyist/homebrewer/demoscene crowd that the atari VCS needs most will accept the system though :(    

I think it is a bad sign if you need to compare it to the failure of the Jaguar to make it seem okay.

 

I think the homebrew community could be cool. However, how would doing this on the VCS be any different than what they are already doing? Unless it is exclusively released in the VCS store. Even then I don't see that moving sales.

 

On 4/5/2021 at 12:18 PM, Mockduck said:

There are a few of us out there who see the possibilities in the VCS, 

I'm curious as to what possibilities you see that make it unique, different, or better than a PC?

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/10/2021 at 3:14 PM, zzip said:

One of the Atari execs said the RCT license will expire.  I think in a year or two.

It expires next year, but it may be extended as it has many times in the past. I do think Atari tried to screw him not long ago, so maybe he will think twice about it. Or that might have been before he extended the deal last time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...