Atari VCS is coming.

Just got this in my email. What are your guys thoughts?


Did I read that correctly? $199?

I don’t see the appeal, personally.

Getting OUYA vibes, but double the price.

Well, to be fair, android and linux are very different beasts.

Seems like another Nvidia Shield/Ouya type device. Both controllers looks serviceable.

It does 4k but but does that include the 100 Atari games or just video media?

I realize that. It just seems like an overpriced machine that’s going to be hacked to death and loaded with emulators. I have zero faith in anything Atari spits out nowadays.

But Android is based on Linux. Their kernels are probably pretty similar even still, no?

Technically, yes. When it comes to being a gaming platform, no. You can’t really run Android games on Linux, and vice versa.

Considering it’s AMD hardware on Linux, this means that this machine is considerably more powerful than an Android box like the Ouya. It also means it won’t be clouded up by the trash that is mobile gaming, so hopefully some developers back it and make some good games.

It also means that the thousands of games that run on steam/linux will run on this thing (assuming you can install steam on it). Granted, this $199 hardware isn’t going to be near powerful enough to run a large number of them, but it does open the door to probably 1500+ games.

I’m not really convinced yet about this Atari, but I do think it’s exciting if it turns out to be a successful first attempt at them getting back into hardware.

Edit: At the very least, it would make a really killer Raspi replacement for an emulation box. It would be much more powerful, so running some of the later systems with 3D would likely work well.

Super stupid that it is named exactly the same thing as the original. Not ‘New VCS’ or whatever.

I hate that crap, just like Xbox 1 or PSX, there will be confusion.

Same. It’s become hard as hell to search for NES/SNES stuff as well with the release of the minis

Train wreck IMO.

And Atari is what brought me into the hobby. I LOVE Atari. But the Atari that exists now, that wants to sell Tempest 4000 for $30 digital?

They do not get it.

Everything they produce will fail.

(but I’ll buy Tempest and it will be amazing; even though completely mispriced for the mainstream)

I would be floored if this sold more than a million units.

$199 preorder for a linux box with (tbh) a brand and games not many are fond of nowadays, no controller and waiting around til 2019 for its release. Yikes.

My guess is it’s going to have a curated store with a selection of retro and indie games…? Which is kind of a big ol shrug because why not just get a cheap PC and install Steam and GOG and have access to everything.

I can’t go earlier than NES. I just can’t. Tried. Not for me.

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Yeah, and the 100 games that come on it are on steam right now for $10.

Yikes…

I’m with you man… I have tried so hard.