Items tagged with Atari
A key member of the Atari VCS project has quit the team, claiming Atari has not paid him for his work in six months. And by key member, we are talking about Rob Wyatt, the lead architect of the Atari VCS. From the outside looking in, Wyatt's departure is seemingly a big blow to a project that has seen multiple delays. Wyatt is an industry veteran who also helped design and launch the original Xbox console. He joined the Atari VCS team in June 2018, with Atari at the time promoting his expertise and resume in GPU hardware and 3D graphics. "While at Microsoft, Wyatt held roles on the development teams on DirectX and the Windows kernel before becoming the system architect of the original Xbox game...
Read more...
Now more than two years in the making, the Atari VCS is finally coming together in a literal sense—pre-production of the retro game console is underway, and at least for the prototype build, a printed circuit board (PCB) with an AMD Ryzen APU installed exists, as shown in the photo above. It has been a somewhat long and turbulent road getting to this point, or an "ongoing journey...filled with plenty of twists and turns," as Atari describes the situation. First revealed as the Ataribox at E3 in 2017, the Atari VCS is finally "nearing mass production," though Atari is not yet ready to change its status on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo from "Prototype" to "Production." The implication there...
Read more...
As of September 6th, 2019, the officially-licensed Evercade retro handheld console is available for pre-order. Like other retro consoles, Evercade is capable of emulating a number of older game systems, and like a few others, Evercade is also a portable handheld. Where Evercade differs from most retro emulation machines, however, is that it doesn't rely on digital ROM files or original release game cartridges. Instead, Evercade ships with its own officially-licensed cartridges, which carry a number of different games from certain publishers. Each cartridge serves as a numbered "Collection" from a Publisher's catalog, and can carry anywhere from 6 games to 20 games. For a full list of...
Read more...
We are finally starting to see light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the Atari VCS... at least we hope so. We were first introduced to the Atari VCS (previously known as Ataribox) back in July 2017 as a retro Atari console that would offer a more powerful alternative to similar products like the Nintendo NES Classic and SNES Classic. However, the console has been plagued with numerous delays and most recently got a brain transplant in the form of an AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 APU. Today, we're learning that Atari has advanced past its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and has officially cranked up its official presales of the Atari VCS. The console will be available...
Read more...
Retro gaming fans who have been awaiting the release of the Atari VCS (formerly known as Ataribox) are going to have to wait a little bit longer. Atari announced that it is pushing back the release again, this time until the end of the 2019, though the final product will be faster, cooler, and quieter thanks to a platform upgrade. Barring any further changes, the Atari VCS will ship with an embedded Ryzen processor with Vega graphics. It's essentially an APU (accelerated processing unit), though AMD has shied away from using that nomenclature. Nevertheless, the new chip is apparently a brand new SKU that AMD has not yet announced. Atari is not divulging all of the details at the moment, but did...
Read more...
It looks as though the VCS isn't the only "new" console on the way from Atari. The company has announced that it will soon be releasing the Atari Retro Handheld, which is in essence a portable version of the classic Atari 2600 home console. However, while the original Atari 2600 hooked up to your old 13-inch(ish) tube television, the Atari Retro Handheld has all the action taking place on a rather small 2.4-inch display. Flanking the display is a directional joystick on the left and two game buttons on the right. You'll also find select and start buttons near the top of the device. Atari is really playing up the retro aspect of its new portable device with the same ribbed black plastic...
Read more...
Four decades after the launch of the Atari 2600, it appears that the gaming company has "still go it". Yesterday, Atari opened up preorders for its VCS console, and things got off to an incredible start. When we posted our initial article yesterday afternoon, Atari had racked up $1.7 million dollars in funding via Indiegogo from 6,526 backers. Nearly 24 hours later, those figures have swollen to nearly $2.2 million from 8,300 backers. Needless to say, Atari crushed its "flexible goal" of just $100,000. Shortly after preorders opened, Indiegogo was having trouble keeping up with the voracious demand for the console, and the website had intermittent connectivity issues. In fact,...
Read more...
May 30th is here, which means that Atari VCS preorders are now open. You can preorder the console via Indiegogo for as little as $199 (in Onyx), which will get you just the console and no accessories. You'll have to pay an additional $30 to get a bundle with the Classic Joystick. You can preorder the VCS Collector's Edition with old school [real] woodgrain trim across the front for $299, which comes with a Classic Joystick. For those that want to go all-out, you can get the VCS Collector's Edition with Classic Controller and Modern Controller for $339. You can also separately purchase the controllers or get them together in a bundle for $59. As for the actual...
Read more...
Ted Dabney (left) and Nolan Bushnell (right) With A Pong Cabinet, Alongside Fred Marincic And Al Alcorn Ted Dabney, a video game pioneer and one of the co-founders of Atari, has died after having just recently celebrated his 81st birthday. News of this death sent a ripple through social media after Dabney's friend and video games historian Leonard Herman posted the unfortunate news update on Facebook. Apparently Dabney had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer in late 2017 and was given less than a year to live, according to Eurogamer. Born in San Francisco, California in 1937, Dabney enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. out of high school where he studied electronics. He was later hired...
Read more...
Atari announced today that preorders for its Video Computer System (VCS), which was originally called the Ataribox, will kick off on May 30th. The initial preorders will take place exclusively through the Indiegogo platform. Atari offered up some clarification on the retro-inspired woodgrain finish for the VCS, which has been shown prominently in press photos. According to the company, this version will be known as the Atari VCS Collector's Edition and will be offered on a time-limited basis during the preorder period. If the woodgrain trim is not to your liking, there's an Onyx version that offers a more modern black finish. Both Atari VCS consoles will come with a Classic Joystick...
Read more...
When Atari first announced the Ataribox last summer, gamers that are into all things retro were rightfully excited. The forthcoming console even looked like the Atari that gamers of the '80s grew up with. Not long after, likely many folks got a bit worried when pre-orders were delayed in December, with some fearing the entire project could be nothing more than vaporware. However, as the Ataribox draws a bit closer to prime time, it has undergone a name change to the Atari VCS. We already knew that the Atari VCS would have an AMD APU inside with integrated Radeon graphics and would offer a "full PC experience," as well as built in retro classic titles. This means the ability...
Read more...
What was once known as the Ataribox has a new name: Atari VCS. The new gaming console from Atari is based on PC hardware -- specifically, an AMD APU that has integrated Radeon graphics. The Atari VCS, or Video Computer System, harkens back to the Atari 2600, and is available with faux woodgrain trim (if you really want to go retro) and a rather familiar chassis design. The console runs Linux and come preloaded with "tons of classic Atari retro games" while at the same time being capable of delivering a "full PC experience for the TV." And given its modern hardware, the Atari VCS will be capable of tackling more modern games as well. In addition to the aforementioned AMD APU, there's also HDMI...
Read more...
Atari has just announced something that will surprise all the gamers out there who grew up on its consoles and games. The company made a big unveil today and while it's not a new console or game, Atari will actually be minting its own new type of cryptocurrency. The new altcoin type will be called "Atari Token" and no, it isn’t trying to take on Bitcoin. Atari Token won't be worth real money apparently, however, it will be used on a new digital entertainment platform to buy content like video games, music, and movies. The deal was inked by Atari SA, the French firm now holding all Atari properties and Infinity Networks. Technically Atari isn’t implementing the new cryptocurrency,...
Read more...
Atari has been trickling out information on its Ataribox gaming console for the past year, and we thought that were getting closer to an official launch. After all, the company announced earlier this week that pre-orders for the Ataribox would launch today, December 14th. However, that pronouncement appears to have been too good to be true. The gaming company announced this morning that the Indiegogo launch has been "officially paused". Interestingly, the company indicates via an emailed statement, "Because of one key element on our checklist, it is taking more time to create the platform and ecosystem the Atari community deserves. Building Ataribox is incredibly important to us and we will do...
Read more...
