IGN's VCS Review

[jerseystyle]

Ouch.

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/atari-vcs-review

 

 

Also, whoever designed the VCS case should win a ton of awards.  That person knew what they were doing.  All the positives about the VCS seem to go back to the case design.  If this was 80$ I'd pick it up just because of the case.

Edited June 25, 2021 by jerseystyle

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

There’s no doubt about it the case design is outstanding as is the full build quality of the console but the day I’d take serious or listen to an IGN review on anything hell would freeze over. IGN used to be a good source back in the day but I’d advise anyone who’s interested in buying a VCS to watch actual YouTube unboxing videos and gameplays instead of listening to IGN lol but that’s just my opinion, but I will say I’ve had the VCS since January and it’s been fantastic playing it alongside my PS5. I’d say it’s worth the price tag forvwhat tour getting if you go into it understanding it’s not designed to be a powerhouse plus it does a lot more than play games it’s actually a good little 2nd PC. 

[Mockduck]

Review is an opinion, but the person kinda seems to have barely spent time with the thing. Antstream Arcade is the VCS' digital storefront?!?! 

[skorphy]

That seemed like a weak review. While some points are valid I think the reviewer missed the point of the VCS.

[jerseystyle]

2 hours ago, skorphy said:

That seemed like a weak review. While some points are valid I think the reviewer missed the point of the VCS.

That’s the issue though, right? Has Atari ever said what the point was? Take the Amico for example: whether one agrees or disagrees with the concept, they have had a clear mission statement and direction from day 1. They’ve explained their vision and have stayed consistent with that. I really haven’t seen Atari answer the “why does this exist” question themselves. What I’ve seen is a lot of people figuring out ways to use it, which is awesome but doesn’t help the off the shelf casual market.

Edited June 26, 2021 by jerseystyle

[tripled79]

While I am pretty confused by part about Amstream Arcade, I can completely agree with the headache of PC mode. I've followed the instructions to a "T" numerous times and I just can't get the Windows USB drive to work. At least I'm not the only one frustrated by this aspect of the VCS.

Overall this is one man's opinion, and I would recommend the VCS to anyone looking for something different than a modern console.

[Mockduck]

Thing is, they didn't even try to use Windows. The person tried to boot up Ubuntu, failed, didn't realize they had to hold down the escape key or something, then just ditched that whole side of the review. Why couldn't IGN spring for a Windows 10 license?

[tripled79]

is holding down the escape key just for ubuntu?

[themadpeterson]

I'll give him that the fan is loud and runs more often than I'd like. Has anyone replaced the thermal tape with decent thermal paste noticed any noticeable difference? I don't want to crack it back open again if it's pointless, but when I checked my temps on Windows it was pretty hot.

 

I had Windows 10 up and running in no time, so no idea what his issue is. That's primarily where my use with the VCS will be. I've got Steam installed, along with a number of emulators. Now, I just need to move some of my ROM files over and then start figuring out which Steam games will actually run on it. Once that's done, I'll be pretty happy with the setup. It's actually decently priced for a Mini PC, although the cooling issue is kinda worrying me a bit.

Edited June 27, 2021 by themadpeterson
missed a word

[+swlovinist]

As an original backer, I have tried to spend some time with the VCS.   I DO want it to succeed.   I feel that now that it is released to the public, it will have to add content and reduce its price.    I don't hate it.   I don't love it.   I will continue to support it and look forward to what else they are going to offer on it.   The whole aspect of converting to a PC is going to carter to a very small group of people buying this that was already a small group of people.   Glad they did it, but not for me nor why I bought this.   It will be judged on what it offers on its own, and the price it is offering it at.  

[Djmicklovin]

A very biased, garbage review obviously. 

[jerseystyle]

4 hours ago, Djmicklovin said:

A very biased, garbage review obviously. 

In what way?  

[Matt_B]

IGN is short for ignorance, don't you know. ?

 

Seriously, other than the total failure to boot Ubuntu, I'd think that most of their other criticisms are on point. Atari OS is simply not in a good state with the poor performance of the 4K mode and the reliance upon the web browser for running most of the streaming apps. Also, paying a next generation price for a console that's only really good for indie games and emulators is indeed pretty poor value.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

5 hours ago, jerseystyle said:

In what way?  

He doesn’t agree with it.??

[Djmicklovin]

7 hours ago, jerseystyle said:

In what way?  

He fails to get PC mode running and Proceeds to call it overpriced. Obviously that’s where the value is with having access to hundreds of steam games. Not hard to get Windows 10 or Ubuntu running on the VCS as long as you can follow simple instructions… The guy is an idiot. I also don’t have to pay for crappy console online services such as PSN and Xbox Live so the VCS pays for itself in the amount of money i’m not wasting on that.

[Djmicklovin]

2 hours ago, Matt_B said:

IGN is short for ignorance, don't you know. ?

 

Seriously, other than the total failure to boot Ubuntu, I'd think that most of their other criticisms are on point. Atari OS is simply not in a good state with the poor performance of the 4K mode and the reliance upon the web browser for running most of the streaming apps. Also, paying a next generation price for a console that's only really good for indie games and emulators is indeed pretty poor value.

4k mode runs pretty smooth for me but then again i have my VCS upgraded to the max.

 

And not having to pay for crappy PSN or Xbox Live and having full PC capabilities as well as access to hundreds of steam games. Funny you forgot to mention that…

[Matt_B]

14 minutes ago, Djmicklovin said:

4k mode runs pretty smooth for me but then again i have my VCS upgraded to the max.

Tell that to these guys. I'm sure they'll appreciate the tips on how you managed to achieve what nobody else could:

 

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/315456-the-4k-experience-and-trouble-shooting/

 

14 minutes ago, Djmicklovin said:

And not having to pay for crappy PSN or Xbox Live and having full PC capabilities as well as access to hundreds of steam games. Funny you forgot to mention that…

Or you could just get a PC for that.

 

$399 plus whatever you spent on upgrades could probably get you something rather better for playing Steam games on, at any rate.

[justclaws]

I just read the article, and it's amazing to me what people still get paid to write these days.
I have no problem with a bad opinion, which differs to mine, but please, do basic research!

If he would even have managed to get the technical details right, which only require a basic
look at the web-site, and then could have figured out how to use the VCS Store, (perhaps it
was preloaded with Anstream Arcade, so he never noticed the Store tab) it would have been 
less embarrassing, but as it is, if I'd have had that published, I'd be emailing IGN and saying
they're accidentally published a draft version, and I'd very much like to correct fix that ASAP.

Obviously, he hasn't been to the Atari offices for his article, but perhaps he had one on-loan
and got details from the owner, only. Thus, I will assume that the article was rushed and he
thus sent the article for publication this way. I hope that he gets a bit more time to actually
have a look again, later, or better, somebody with a bit more interest gets that unit, next.

Commenting positively on the system in comments is pointless, because it's not really an
article to relay information, it's an article to get clicks, to make use of a "catchy" headline.
The comments are filled with people of course who already had an opinion, and looked for
an article to validate their opinions. Atari isn't even buying advertising, and being such a
small operation, with negligible advertising budget I'd imagine, there's no profit in praise.

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

1 hour ago, Djmicklovin said:

4k mode runs pretty smooth for me but then again i have my VCS upgraded to the max.

 

And not having to pay for crappy PSN or Xbox Live and having full PC capabilities as well as access to hundreds of steam games. Funny you forgot to mention that…

The only way I can get full 4K support from my VCS is in Windows 10 mode only,

from what I hear Atari are having issues with the Amd drivers for the Atari OS side of things but I will say 4K on Windows 10 mode is very smooth and good for every day tasks like YouTube etc it’s just weird Atari can’t fix there own Atari OS if I select 4K mode in the settings the console restarts and it’s pretty much a slide show. Having access to hundreds of steam games is definitely a plus point I’m enjoying myself obviously the VCS can’t compete with my gaming PC but it’s great to be able to just go into PC mode and launch some games in steam without needing to go into my other room and put on my gaming PC which I could never fit into my living room lol the form factor of the VCS makes it a good 2nd PC for me anyway and it’s certainly not as underpowered as people make it out to be either looks weak on paper but it can definitely perform with a bit of tweaking. 

[justclaws]

Also, like the new VCS review...
As well as the VCS, I recently bought an Oculus Go, 2nd-hand of course. I am very happy
with it, because I researched it in advance, I bought it for what it is, and what it does. I
did not buy it for full-body arcade games, or controller free operation; it fit my budget.

Now, somebody pointed out to me that there was a cheaper alternative! Like a Raspberry
Pi can do one of the things the VCS can do, THIS can do one of the things the Oculus Go
can do, and has 3, 3D discs. It beats the Oculus Quest 2 - as that has no content built-in.
(The Oculus Go does not even use discs - so it's pretty useless with only 8 "backgrounds".)

I'm thinking of writing an IGN article showing how an Oculus Quest 2 is a waste of money,
as this unit is lighter, does not require batteries, is cheaper. Full 3D! Also it's child-friendly.

[youxia]

The main conclusion of this review - that this machine doesn't offer enough for its price - is perfectly valid, and seems to be the general consensus. You can call this guy an idiot, the commenters biased, and nitpick the details, but to me it's rather obvious that you will never convince everybody to like the VCS. Best just to accept it and enjoy it yourselves, instead of valiantly fighting everybody with a different opinion.

[justclaws]

8 minutes ago, youxia said:

The main conclusion of this review - that this machine doesn't offer enough for its price - is perfectly valid, and seems to be the general consensus. You can call this guy an idiot, the commenters biased, and nitpick the details, but to me it's rather obvious that you will never convince everybody to like the VCS. Best just to accept it and enjoy it yourselves, instead of valiantly fighting everybody with a different opinion.

I agree that there's no point to argue the point! Also, our opinions here count for nothing.

Even though it's good value to me, to many other people it's totally not worth the money.
I'm no evangelist for anything, and say live and let live.

I don't call the guy an idiot. My IGN criticism would just be in publishing obvious mistakes.
IGN Middle-East recently also published an article about the Amico after visiting Intellivision
offices and getting a demo from their salesman there, and that was also controversial I think.


I tried to reply with a bit of humour to indicate my mood, with my Oculus Go follow-up.  

[zzip]

I really would not expect a good write-up from IGN,  they are filled with writers of the "nothing important happened in gaming before NES" mentality,  so to find someone there with nostalgia for Atari would be surprising.

On 6/25/2021 at 9:30 PM, jerseystyle said:

That’s the issue though, right? Has Atari ever said what the point was?

Are people really incapable of figuring it out without being told?   People who want a VCS know why they want one..   For everyone else there's a plethora of devices available that will meet their needs.

[Djmicklovin]

3 hours ago, Matt_B said:

Tell that to these guys. I'm sure they'll appreciate the tips on how you managed to achieve what nobody else could:

 

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/315456-the-4k-experience-and-trouble-shooting/

 

Or you could just get a PC for that.

 

$399 plus whatever you spent on upgrades could probably get you something rather better for playing Steam games on, at any rate.

See that’s the thing I don’t understand here. Then why would you need a PS5, Xbox, or Switch if a PC can play many of those same games on steam? Why not have one device that can do everything? Doesn’t make any sense to spend more money on additional devices. And $399 doesn’t get you much as far as a PC goes, you’d get maybe a basic desktop PC or laptop for that price.

[jerseystyle]

3 hours ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

The only way I can get full 4K support from my VCS is in Windows 10 mode only,

from what I hear Atari are having issues with the Amd drivers for the Atari OS side of things but I will say 4K on Windows 10 mode is very smooth and good for every day tasks like YouTube etc it’s just weird Atari can’t fix there own Atari OS if I select 4K mode in the settings the console restarts and it’s pretty much a slide show. Having access to hundreds of steam games is definitely a plus point I’m enjoying myself obviously the VCS can’t compete with my gaming PC but it’s great to be able to just go into PC mode and launch some games in steam without needing to go into my other room and put on my gaming PC which I could never fit into my living room lol the form factor of the VCS makes it a good 2nd PC for me anyway and it’s certainly not as underpowered as people make it out to be either looks weak on paper but it can definitely perform with a bit of tweaking. 

I guess that's part of my issue as well is the need to "tweak", or upgrade, etc.  Now that it's on stores, where is the appeal for someone who is gonna randomly pick it up from a store.  I am not a tech guy, and I don't wanna have to fiddle with anything (one of the reasons I don't do PC gaming).  I can see how enthusiasts are having a good time modifying it, but remember the initial pitch was for the "moms who don't know how Netflix works".  So, for them, is this worth $400?  If not, what happened to that big part of their marketing appeal?  It's like everyone forgot that this was supposed to be an easy living room box for everyone, not just tinkerers.  How will they grow the market in its current state?

Edited June 28, 2021 by jerseystyle