justclaws Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 The VCS demonstration event from January 2020 was labelled as being fake at the time, but of course now we know it's real as described, it might be interesting to see this again. At least, to me, because over time, it will be lost into the fog of YouTube. Not everybody was negative, and some people actually understood the proposition. This demonstration of the unit in January was also interesting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted December 20, 2020 Author Share Posted December 20, 2020 This was the first review, even before the shop was activated. After publishing the video, he contacted support, who immediately fixed his shop problem. There was a follow-up. (Added.) Now we wait for his 3rd update, perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 This was an interesting hands-on review today of the new VCS. The last post of 2020. Happy new year! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 There was another interesting review. YMMV Happy New Year AtariAgers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 Another great happy new year demonstration of the new VCS here, PLAYING GAMES. It also starts with a great section about Antstream Arcade. It demonstrates well why Atari's partnership with them makes a lot of sense for the VCS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 Another review from a more popular YouTuber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarick Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 1 hour ago, justclaws said: Another review from a more popular YouTuber. This was a solid review, but he seemed a bit misinformed on some of the key features. Like he bought this and then forgot about it, then said, "Well it's a pretty box but the Ouya was launched kind of this way, so it's exactly like an Ouya." I won't dispute that there are major issues in how this has been marketed and presented as a piece of tech, but it was slightly humorous to watch him lament a lack of games while failing to actually open the menu to show the games that were available. By my count, there are now something like 18 new/reimagined games available for the VCS, 6 or 7 of which are exclusive, plus another 100 or so with the two Vaults and then Antstream, so it's not like you're stuck playing Frogger for the rest of your life with the console. All told I was far more disappointed in seeing the total lack of content and support for the Switch upon release, but that's just me. At least this supports indie developers and has some play on both nostalgia and mod ability with the PC mode and controller. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 5, 2021 Author Share Posted January 5, 2021 GamingOnLinux article and feedback. Some people still write, rather than talk on YouTube, thank goodness. ? Here is a written article about the VCS, and further, most users quite positive. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2020/12/atari-vcs-games-really-are-just-plain-linux-desktop-builds 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 This is interesting, but for several reasons it's possibly best played on 2x speed, honestly. "One Eternity Later..." is his recurring theme. It's interesting to see how his setup goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 I put this first as an unboxing, by mistake. It's really a review. I never understand how John Hancock became "immortal"; but he's a lucky guy for sure. However, in view of that, he's doing an unboxing, and he has forever to make use of it. It's nice to hear a steady, well spoken, factually correct report. ? "I think they did delivery on what they promised they said they would do." "I do not regret getting it." His small criticisms are on the fan (which we know is set to "max risk averse" right now), the VCS store being "bare bones" right now, and base model at $300 (and it's $249/279). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 2 hours ago, justclaws said: I put this first as an unboxing, by mistake. It's really a review. I never understand how John Hancock became "immortal"; but he's a lucky guy for sure. However, in view of that, he's doing an unboxing, and he has forever to make use of it. It's nice to hear a steady, well spoken, factually correct report. ? "I think they did delivery on what they promised they said they would do." "I do not regret getting it." His small criticisms are on the fan (which we know is set to "max risk averse" right now), the VCS store being "bare bones" right now, and base model at $300 (and it's $249/279). Thanks for posting my video. A friend of mine saw my game room and gave me the nickname. The name works for YouTube as it distinguishes me from John Hancock Insurance. I look forward to doing a follow up video and looking at some new VCS games from the store. Do you have a list of release dates? How often will games be released? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 I got my review done as well today and published it. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 ...and some people are still surprised at review-time. He loves the look anyway, at the start, and during the review, it really grows on him. "Atari, good job!" ? I wasn't sure at the start, but he did an interesting review, and got to have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 So this guy didn't buy one, but traded it for some stuff he didn't want, and cash. Lucky him! He's not a fan. His review is summarised by his comment "lol thats my thoughts exactly, kind cool but sucks.. haha" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 On 1/6/2021 at 10:08 AM, Mockduck said: I got my review done as well today and published it. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Regardless of my own opinion or view of this console may I say I find your presentation engaging and very well done! Very enjoyable video. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarick Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 20 hours ago, justclaws said: So this guy didn't buy one, but traded it for some stuff he didn't want, and cash. Lucky him! He's not a fan. His review is summarised by his comment "lol thats my thoughts exactly, kind cool but sucks.. haha" He's one of strangest reviewers out there for me. I often find his stuff hilarious, but I can't reconcile the fact that half the time, I feel like I'm back in high school and he's some guy trying to sound cool while saying next to nothing. 1/3 of that review is him just talking about how the controller feels hollow. We take the long route to that assessment. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 42 minutes ago, Atarick said: He's one of strangest reviewers out there for me. I often find his stuff hilarious, but I can't reconcile the fact that half the time, I feel like I'm back in high school and he's some guy trying to sound cool while saying next to nothing. 1/3 of that review is him just talking about how the controller feels hollow. We take the long route to that assessment. Well summoned up, a perfect description, didn't take long to unsub after getting sick of his routine ? he brings nothing new 10000 other guys on youtube do and drags it out way to long to bother. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 9, 2021 Author Share Posted January 9, 2021 He's made a series of videos about the VCS before. His most shared I think is the one where he talks about the prototype VCS board being fake, which he released in October 2019. His "expert" analysis spawned a wave of conspiracies. Now he's received his VCS. You can see what he thinks about it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 Now we get a review from GenXGrownUp, who shows he's more grown-up. It's a lot more useful review than from somebody who already decided about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 Here's a new review which is also pretty good, but he doesn't recommend it. It's got good points, but bad points. He did not upgrade RAM or add storage, and that's fine because that's only an option for some. Again, he's actually done a bit of research, and did quite a lot more testing of it. His game testing clearly demonstrates, sadly*, how much better Windows 10 is for gaming at the moment, with games playable on that, unplayable on Ubuntu. This is a consideration when it comes to requests for ports of Windows games... He also had trouble with the controller, and that's where the bug fixes matter too. (e.g. I found my 3rd-party controller worked better, so far, in Stadia, on the VCS.) * Sadly, because I use Linux for both work, development, as as my daily O/S. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarick Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 29 minutes ago, justclaws said: Here's a new review which is also pretty good. Again, he's actually done a bit of research, and knows what's he's doing. Very reasonable review and well detailed. It confirms most of my suspicions (and hesitations) about it: slow frame rate for modern games, clunky hardware built in (meaning it would start showing its age after about a year, if not immediately), noticeable controller lag and cheap materials undercut their utility. I consider myself an aspiring hobbyist and a collector of sorts, thus why this thing appeals to me. I suspect any purchase of a VCS will have to be done simultaneously with adding RAM though. I have no idea how this thing will last as they continue adding more advanced games to the Atari store with that tiny amount of base memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 21 minutes ago, Atarick said: Very reasonable review and well detailed. It confirms most of my suspicions (and hesitations) about it: slow frame rate for modern games, clunky hardware built in (meaning it would start showing its age after about a year, if not immediately), noticeable controller lag and cheap materials undercut their utility. I consider myself an aspiring hobbyist and a collector of sorts, thus why this thing appeals to me. I suspect any purchase of a VCS will have to be done simultaneously with adding RAM though. I have no idea how this thing will last as they continue adding more advanced games to the Atari store with that tiny amount of base memory. The "tiny amount" of base memory, needs a little perspective though... The Xbox One also has 8GB RAM, unified, with it's AMD APU. Games have about 5GB free. The Xbox X has 12GB RAM, unified, for use by it's AMD APU. The Nintendo Switch has 4GB RAM total, with an Arm CPU. There are still lots of laptops being sold with 2-4 GB RAM, and a 32GB SSD, and Windows 10, amazingly. They're not cheaper, either. Currently the hottest deal on the biggest Dutch electronics store (MediaMarkt.NL) is 399 EUR, an i3 CPU, with 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD. The normal price is 529 EUR. That's the kind of PC which lots of ordinary people out there have at their disposal for playing games... I've upgrade the laptops of a couple of friends to 4GB, and replaced an HD with an SSD, and they're happy for Windows 10 daily work. It's ironic that now Android systems need more RAM in a phone than a desktop or laptop, for normal use. Also, for perspective, the new Intellivision Amico, with it's Arm chip, will have a non-expandable 2GB RAM according to their web-site. The original Xbox only had 64MB RAM, which was massive at the time, the Atari Jaguar had 2MB RAM, and a 2600 128 bytes. ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 11, 2021 Author Share Posted January 11, 2021 There's a follow-up video review from Spawn Wave, where he's a lot more positive. He discovered extra games on the base VCS, more games in the store have arrived, and he's using it for emulation, where it performed well, above his expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 This isn't a review, but demonstration video really. It demonstrates unboxing, updating the VCS and controllers, and installing some games. He's going to continue with a series, and I applaud him for the serious presentation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 A "one week with the VCS" review, for the people who've not had one a week yet! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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