Items tagged with atari vcs
Atari has been resting on its retro gaming laurels for the previous decade or more, it seems, with repeated follow-ups to past games like Rollercoaster Tycoon on mobile devices. However, this may be changing soon as the French company refocuses to develop “higher value-added premium games” on consoles and PCs. Yesterday, the iconic gaming company posted a press release explaining that it would be implementing a new strategy for Atari Gaming, the subdivision for games, the Atari VCS, and licensing under Atari, SA. Atari intends to “shift its video game portfolio to premium games for consoles and PC,” rather than the free-to-play market it has been in. As such, five free-to-play...
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The game console previously known as Project Ataribox and later rebranded as the Atari Video Computer Systems (or Atari VCS for short) is finally available at retail, four years after it was first revealed. Its arrival comes after Microsoft and Sony launched their Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles, which is notable because of the price. Therein lies the caveat or the Atari VCS (one of them, anyway). The base model Atari VCS 800 Onyx runs $299.99 without an bundled controllers, while the Atari VCS 800 Black Walnut and Onyx All-In System bundles run $399.99. Buyers who opt for the bundle receive an Atari VCS Classic Joystick and Atari VCS Modern Controller, each of which sells for $59.99...
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It may be hard to believe, but it's been a nearly 4-year-long saga for the Atari VCS. Atari announced the console way back in 2017, but the company now claims that it will soon be available to purchase at the retail level. And if everything goes according to plan, the Atari VCS will launch on June 15th. However, pricing for the Atari VCS might leave many scratching their heads, especially considering that it is retro-centric and uses seriously underpowered hardware compared to modern gaming consoles from Sony and Microsoft. The base Onyx system is priced at $299, while an Onyx or Black Walnut All-in Bundle includes a wireless Classic Joystick and a wireless Modern Controller. Unfortunately, that...
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The Atari VCS is one of those things that has been delayed time and time again, and it has become something of a myth. Atari still has them up on its website for preorder with claims that the new console will ship to consumers sometime this Spring. Ahead of the launch (maybe), Atari has sent some of the modern retro gaming consoles to reviewers and content creators. One such creator, TronicsFix, got his hands on the Atari VCS and promptly tore it down. When the Atari VCS was announced and shown off, people laughed at it a bit over the aging specs that would likely have to compete against other new consoles. Over time, the console was redesigned and upgraded from the Bulldozer-era part to a modern...
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There's finally light at the end of the tunnel for the initial backers of Atari's VCS retro-console. The device was first introduced to us just over three years ago as the Ataribox (before it was renamed), and preorders first went live on Indiegogo on May 30th 2018. Atari says that it has just put the "finishing touches" on the first batch of VCS consoles that will be shipping out to customers. The consoles are currently crossing the Pacific Ocean en route to Atari's fulfillment center in California. From there, they'll be shipped out to those early bird Indiegogo backers within the United States. Among the first batch of consoles being shipped are 6,000 Atari VCS 800 Collector's Edition...
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The long-delayed and long-anticipated new Atari VCS console may soon be coming to a living room near you. It was recently announced that the upcoming Atari VCS 800 will be available this autumn and is available for pre-order for $389.99 USD. The console bundles are expected to ship by the 2020 holiday season. The Atari VCS 800 bundle includes the console, Wireless Classic Joystick, a Modern Controller, free Atari Vault of 100 classic games, and access to the Atari VCS game and app store. Users can pre-order the bundle from the Atari website, GameStop, or Walmart, but each site sells a slight variation of the bundle. Users can only pre-order the system in Black Walnut from the Atari website and...
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Gamers have been waiting for years for the Atari VCS game system to launch. Development of the game console is ongoing, and the Atari VCS team has offered an update. Lots of work is being accomplished during the coronavirus pandemic and resulting quarantine. Developers say they're entering the home stretch on the project. The first 500 Atari VCS production units will exit the factory by mid-June. A slight delay was caused in the launch schedule when plastic parts were rejected by the factory and had to be re-fabricated. The developers behind the console say that the procurement teams have made significant progress with efforts to acquire outstanding parts and materials required to build the consoles...
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The first half of January was a busy month for the Atari VCS team. It was on hand at CES 2020, showing off the Atari VCS game console with live demos and more. After CES 2020 wrapped, the team headed to China to work on manufacturing. The company says that over a two-week period in January, the team oversaw a pre-production run of Atari VCS dev units. Those dev machines reportedly left the factory just as the team prepared for the two-week holiday break and New Year celebrations. A bunch of photos of the pre-production build process and the jigs used for construction were shared. Most of the work in the pre-production area was done by hand with workers plugging in individual components and wires....
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When it comes to modern gaming, we typically think of hardcore PC gaming rigs, or consoles from the likes of Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Atari doesn't typically enter the discussion due to its long absence from the gaming market. The fact that the company's VCS retro gaming console has been delayed multiple times hasn't helped its mindshare with the public either. Despite this, the company is pushing forward with what is quite an ambitious undertaking -- Atari-branded gaming hotels. The company says that its goal is to deliver "one-of-a-kind video game-themed destination(s)" for its patrons. The hotels will provide the ultimate in gaming experiences when you're away from home...
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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...
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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...
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Something new is headed to the Atari VCS, and this time it has nothing to do with hardware. These things are all about the games, in and that regard, the Atari VCS will offer a subscription service that will give retro gamers access to thousands of titles from various platforms through a partnership with Antstream Arcade. "Antstream Arcade is a perfect partner for Atari and its fans," said Atari CEO Frédéric Chesnais. "Anstream’s offering lets players instantly access a vast library of games, including many Atari titles that have not been available for streaming before now. This partnership further cements the Atari VCS as a highly versatile entertainment platform and multimedia...
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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...
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AMD's Ryzen Embedded family of processors is growing again. The company already has its Ryzen Embedded V1000 APU family, but this week announced the debut of the new R1000 series. The processors have a number of potential usage cases including digital signage, thin clients and networking hardware. The Ryzen Embedded R1000 family consists of two SKUs: the R1505G and the R1606G. Both are dual-core APUs that are SMT-enabled, meaning that they are capable of executing four threads. The onboard Vega GPU each have 3 CUs and they can support up to 3 external 4K displays at 60 fps. The primary difference between the two are CPU and GPU clocks. The R1505G is the lesser of two with a base CPU clock of...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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