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The Atari VCS Controversies Thread


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2 hours ago, justclaws said:

For me, I bought one to have fun with, both as a console, and as a PC, as did most other people, and many

other people just want to make the most of what they bought, and to enjoy their purchase. Can't you see it?

Yes, and as has been said many times over: neither I nor anyone else is obligated to save you from yourself in terms of purchasing decisions that you may make.  However, that doesn't prohibit anyone from passing commentary on whatever it is you may purchase, should you choose to make that purchase known.

2 hours ago, justclaws said:


This is an Atari named forum, and so I, and others, want to come to AtariAge to make the most of the console,
no matter what other people say. People also consistently laughed at my Atari Jaguar, and mostly still do today.

Speaking as a Jaguar owner: so what?  Not everyone is going to agree with your (or my) choices.  If they're laughing at it, as you put it, let them.  We're not in the schoolyard any longer, so someone else's opinion shouldn't have the same effect as if we were.

2 hours ago, justclaws said:

Somehow the fact that there's a new community of Atari VCS owners who are enthusiastic, is upsetting some.

This is something I do take exception to: the idea that those who dislike the device and company behind it are somehow unhappy with others for enjoying the device that they have purchased.  Sure, there absolutely have been direct disagreements between people in both camps, but claiming a dislike of the company and its products extends to those who hold opposing views is logically-fallacious at best and disingenuous at worst.

2 hours ago, justclaws said:

There are forums for all the other consoles I don't own, but I don't see the need to go into those forums to tell
people who bought those, that they are somehow wrong, or stupid. Each to their own. Live and let live, for me.

Live and let live is fine, but does not create a bubble in which all contrary or dissenting opinion is impermissible.

2 hours ago, justclaws said:

I cannot imagine wasting time being angry about something I don't own, won't own, and does not affect me.

Yet you cannot let opinion of the VCS that's contrary to yours remain without justification for your purchase.  Quite a dichotomy there.

2 hours ago, justclaws said:

I don't have all the other consoles or a gaming PC. I bought the VCS. Now I just want to make the most of it.
Video-games are not my life. I have work, relationships, children, and now a new hobby, playing on my VCS.

So what you're saying is that you're in the same boat as everyone else.  Got it.

2 hours ago, justclaws said:

(Oh, and finally, what some people say, bothers me not at all, as I have already previously clicked "ignore".)

It's certainly nice to be able to insulate oneself amongst only those one agrees with, isn't it?

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2 hours ago, justclaws said:

what some people say, bothers me not at all

 

Why are you upset then? :?  That's a lot of text to think about and type it out, seems like a waste, if you don't care.

 

And putting people on ignore, is also a reaction, to something you don't like.

 

* I am not affiliated with any yogurt company.

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16 hours ago, CPUWIZ said:

Why are you upset then? :?  That's a lot of text to think about and type it out, seems like a waste, if you don't care.

And putting people on ignore, is also a reaction, to something you don't like.

 

* I am not affiliated with any yogurt company.

I did not say that I am upset. I said some people are upset that VCS owners like me, are enjoying their purchase!
(x=usr(1536), for example, did understand my meaning, I think. ?)

Ignore is simply a time-saver. If somebody does not have a VCS, and only writes put-downs, how does that help me?
Negative news always gets a lot of publicity, and any bad news (in all areas of life) gets repeated far and wide to read.

I don't argue with people's opinions, or try to change them. It's not for me to refute/correct negative news/opinions!
I share news which benefits my enjoyment of my purchase. Also, people who don't like my posts, can just ignore me.

I'm a bit Motorhead fan, and I think we all have a sense of humour still don't we?! ? 

 

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I normally don't post news in this thread, but this may interest some people here.

This is an 8 minute final summary, he posted today, and I enjoyed the balance.
He did a series where he's done a tear-down, upgrades, installed other O/S etc..
He's certainly not a fan-boy, ha ha.

 

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14 hours ago, justclaws said:

I did not say that I am upset. I said some people are upset that VCS owners like me, are enjoying their purchase!
(x=usr(1536), for example, did understand my meaning, I think. ?)

There is absolutely nobody here that is upset with you enjoying your purchase, and that point has been stated by numerous people time and time again.

 

 

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I am a new member at Atari Age.  (First post here)

I've been an Atari user since my first computer, an Atari400 in the early 80s.  Many of my friends had 2600s when I was a kid.  I've lurked the Atari Age site over the years and thought I should finally claim my main UserName here.

 

I bought a VCS primarily for the case (and a bit for the controllers) and was pleased to get mine a couple weeks ago.  For now I'm happy to participate in the beta-testing phase and help them de-bug and fix the flaws, but I've only fired it up a couple times so far.

 

I know there are other Atari sites but am surprised that, after all these years,  there is still no 400/800/XL section on Atari Age (though I kind of get why there is no Portfolio section).  I suspect that this (plus the comments in this thread) suggests that there will be no 2020VCS section added either... which , to me, is a bit too bad since it just makes reddit the big-box store of special-interest user groups.

 

... unless there is a VCS section or seminal discussion somewhere that I've simply overseen?

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^ Welcome!

 

1 hour ago, ManOfScience said:

I know there are other Atari sites but am surprised that, after all these years,  there is still no 400/800/XL section on Atari Age (though I kind of get why there is no Portfolio section).  I suspect that this (plus the comments in this thread) suggests that there will be no 2020VCS section added either... which , to me, is a bit too bad since it just makes reddit the big-box store of special-interest user groups.

See here:

 

https://atariage.com/forums/forum/12-atari-8-bit-computers/

 

Other than the Atari 2600 section, it's the most active section here on the forums.  (Unless you're referring to the AtariAge website itself, which has dedicated sections only for Atari consoles.)

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1 hour ago, jaybird3rd said:

^ Welcome!

 

See here:

 

https://atariage.com/forums/forum/12-atari-8-bit-computers/

 

Other than the Atari 2600 section, it's the most active section here on the forums.  (Unless you're referring to the AtariAge website itself, which has dedicated sections only for Atari consoles.)

Of course!   I appreciate the pointer :)      (In fact, you launched me into a good rabbit hole in there ;) )

I am just unfamiliar.
I was looking at the AtariAge website headings (and missed it in the forums because it's not under 'Atari Systems')

 

- I'm up to speed now! -
Thanks!

 

AtariAge Header Main Sections.png

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1 hour ago, Shawn said:

 

You have posted into the section you are looking for.

 

 

vcs.png

I also appreciate your pointer Shawn!
I googled into this thread & started too deep in the forum hierarchy... once I clicked on the red circle you added, I found a wealth of discussion on my new system!  I will still look at Reddit, but this might be a better default 'home' for VCS discussion.

 

Thanks!

 

Back on-topic for this thread: 

There is a lot to be disappointed in with the VCS, true, but I'm happy that:

- they didn't vapourize,

- there is an attractive retro-themed off-the-shelf Ryzen box that reminds me of my youth,

- Atari at least has a *hope* of iterating this into something that can give them presence in the early 2020's

  (if they can learn fast enough)

 

Personally, I think their best chance would be to partner with Stadia and clean up the launch screen to get folks into their games with fewer clicks.

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11 hours ago, ManOfScience said:

I also appreciate your pointer Shawn!
I googled into this thread & started too deep in the forum hierarchy... once I clicked on the red circle you added, I found a wealth of discussion on my new system!  I will still look at Reddit, but this might be a better default 'home' for VCS discussion.

 

Thanks!

 

Back on-topic for this thread: 

There is a lot to be disappointed in with the VCS, true, but I'm happy that:

- they didn't vapourize,

- there is an attractive retro-themed off-the-shelf Ryzen box that reminds me of my youth,

- Atari at least has a *hope* of iterating this into something that can give them presence in the early 2020's

  (if they can learn fast enough)

 

Personally, I think their best chance would be to partner with Stadia and clean up the launch screen to get folks into their games with fewer clicks.

I'm not sure if partnering with Google on anything for anyone would be a good choice (see note).  Antstream was a great idea for sure.  Partnering with gamingonlinux or at least getting some contact with a bunch of Indie developers that push their games out to Steam for Linux / itch.io, GOG, etc and getting them into the Atari Store will be their best bet. 

Though with the choice of a 32GB eMMC, they really did want most to just stream.  But if you install a m.2 Sata you can easily either install a Linux system with ext4 file system and use that as storage for the VCS games, or just format it as ext4 through the AtariOS and store games there anyhow.  That was a brilliant choice by them!  Fun thing is, if you install Linux to that, and then copy your Atari Store games to it, you can play them within the Linux install as well as within AtariOS.

 

(About Google Stadia: Google has seriously had the worse track record of just getting bored with something that they spent years to build up, only to decide they weren't making enough ad revenue with it, even though tons of people used the service, and then they just kill it off, or support it badly.  Since Stadia needs individual game purchases, your library could very easily just vanish one day.  Not to mention if you have a ISP outage day, or if you're in an area with crappy internet altogether, your gaming experience will just be terrible.)

 

Atari's best bet is probably to REALLY  target the games that Nintendo seems to be getting tons of ports of for the Switch, the Indie games that are released for Linux.  The ports are basically already done, they just need the bits that put them in menus in AtariOS.  They need a developer hunter group where either they contact developers directly, or maybe have users ask them to go after developers.

 

I also think they'd do well with getting the Genesis collection ported, or the other collections out there (like the Namco Museum one).  They also need to figure out the DLC / Integration thing so that Atari Vault matches the Steam version where the Vault 2 is just in the same menu as the Vault 1 games. 

 

But remember this is a 'pre release to backers' sort of situation right now, where we're helping them with feedback to sort out some issues and hopefully by March things will be looking better and the store will have more games for a launch. 

I also hope they eventually release a Steam App in AtariOS, or at the very least Steam Link.

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Sadly, I think you may be right about Google's track record, so yes, they may have cut Stadia's throat before they even launched it... like you said, gamer's are savvy enough to be wary of investing their $ in Stadia games.  In honesty, I don't think I would.

 

However; in addition to the storage issue you brought up, the VCS box is simply not a gaming rig - processing/graphics-wise.  So, yes, It is definitely streaming-only when it comes to performing as a modern console.  Steam, AWS & other infrastructure players may be able to prop it up without Stadia if Atari focusses on that.  All of the players in game-streaming seem to be platform agnostic so far (although I've not watched closely).  So what it really comes down to is publicity and baiting the general public into game-streaming and associating the VCS with simple, off-the-shelf, pre-set-up streaming. Stadia can fail while the VCS thrives as a Stadia Box if the interface is equally streamlined to use whichever streaming service kills Stadia.

 

BUT; You make same excellent points about emulation and remind me that there is a market for all these 'mini' Flashback-style devices that people buy, use for a week, then shelve away or garage-sale because they are clutter.  If VCS can become the Flashback aggregator for all platforms, combine that with Antstream, it could be seen as a real retro-emulator for all platforms if they provide a critical mass of legit-purchase, vetted ROMs in an easy, minimum-clickthrough launcher.

 

AND; You also bring up a good point about the hole in the market for physical platforms for indie games.  For gamers, there are store-fronts, but there is no off-the-shelf hardware platform to market those games to the mainstream public.  If the VCS can showcase those lower-horsepower indie games it might stay on people's tv-shelves and boost the indie market. 

 

They might be able to get away with marketing it as all 3; streamer, retro-emulator, & indie box.  Sadly, that marketing effort is as big a project as making the platform was in the first place.  I think Atari may not be big enough to cashflow that push. 

 

Time will tell -  I guess it will hinge on how much they de-bug and optimize the Box this Jan-to-July, and what they do for marketing next Aug.-Nov.  If kids (young and old) don't want a streamer, retro-emulator, &/or indie box in their stocking next Xmas, then I think VCS will likely die.

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2 hours ago, Oscar Manuel Rojas Maillo said:

This recently came out. None of us backers have been directly informed about this(mail, discord, twitter, IGG).

 

The usual way to "fix" things :(

 

 

 

My thought on this is that this was the part that they legit said they couldn't get enough of and had to delay shipping because they were short on them.  My guess is that some of them slipped through without the metal bar (whether prototypes that got boxed, or was on purpose by some asshole that figured they just needed to go out)  I haven't taken mine apart yet to see if it's in there.  So the whole 'it's a conspiracy!' is over hyped, it's probably by accident, or someone who said they just couldn't be delayed again and just packaged what they had.  Always look at stupidity / laziness over conspiracy.

 

Edit: Isn't this snapping of joysticks nostalgic?  I know I snapped a few CX40s back in my youth!

 

Also, they did tell us on Discord to file tickets if you have a Classic Joystick that is missing the metal bar.

Edited by leech
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47 minutes ago, leech said:

My thought on this is that this was the part that they legit said they couldn't get enough of and had to delay shipping because they were short on them.  My guess is that some of them slipped through without the metal bar (whether prototypes that got boxed, or was on purpose by some asshole that figured they just needed to go out)  I haven't taken mine apart yet to see if it's in there.  So the whole 'it's a conspiracy!' is over hyped, it's probably by accident, or someone who said they just couldn't be delayed again and just packaged what they had.  Always look at stupidity / laziness over conspiracy.

 

Edit: Isn't this snapping of joysticks nostalgic?  I know I snapped a few CX40s back in my youth!

 

Also, they did tell us on Discord to file tickets if you have a Classic Joystick that is missing the metal bar.

I think is  not a guess anymore when they officially say that they didn't ship it with the bar at all.

 

You're saying that all of us should disassemble the CJs to check for it?

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sshot-2021-01-26-20-46-20.png

 

Lol...I never watch these vids but love the intro screens...they crack me up. Like school drama production, only with 40+ geezers hammin' it up :D

 

It's not some terrible "conspiracy" buddy, just Atari being Atari, nothing new or particularly shocking. Get yourself a cup of tea and calm down.

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41 minutes ago, youxia said:

sshot-2021-01-26-20-46-20.png

 

Lol...I never watch these vids but love the intro screens...they crack me up. Like school drama production, only with 40+ geezers hammin' it up :D

 

It's not some terrible "conspiracy" buddy, just Atari being Atari, nothing new or particularly shocking. Get yourself a cup of tea and calm down.

Well, it isn't like l'Atari has been honest about... ANYTHING throughout this whole ordeal.  "Conspiracy" might not be the best word,  but they've been actively covering up a lot of their own ineptness.

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3 hours ago, Shawn said:

So they cut more corners. Don't know how this could be a surprise to anyone.

Don't know how many times I have to repeat this.  We "AA losers" called them out on this bad design decision longer ago than I care to remember (18 months, 24 months maybe)?  There was a fake photo with fake gears and fake springs.  I guess we know the fake plastic shaft was real.  Can we be surprised though?  The only thing Atari has given anyone in years is the shaft.  Come on folks, these jokes write themselves at this point.

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6 hours ago, OverMuch said:

If only someone, somewhere had seen this coming...?

Yeah this was both unsurprising an disappointing, as it seems like if there was one landing to "stick" here it would be the classic controller. That said, while I was sharing the YouTuber's view after his first video this one seemed a bit....sensationalized. I get it, it's missing the metal rod that appeared on the Medium site. But that was never codified as THE solution they went with, and I haven't seen dozens of reports of sticks snapping off (did his even break? I can't actually pin that down). 

 

Bottom line: they rushed it. That was evident from about mid-November on, when the Medium posts got more breathless and random orders started shipping. I also think, however, they have done the testing that they claim in his 2nd video to improve the initial quality. That said- they still need to QC the hell out of this thing because having classic controllers claimed as "new and improved" snap within days of purchase would be a tough meme to shake.

 

Side note: watching random YouTube takes of the VCS has been one of the hidden perks of this thing. Can't get over how many people who pre-ordered this, and ostensibly knew of it's capabilities, are "pleasantly surprised the classic controller doubles as a paddle- cool feature!"

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20 minutes ago, Chopsus said:

Sold my Collectors Edition “all in” bundle today, for a nice profit ... it feels so good to be free of FArtari’s clutches, lies and attempts to monetise worthless nostalgia.

 

Woo Hoo!

 

I would have bought that. :(

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