[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

18 hours ago, Fred_M said:

 

🤣 I am waiting for CharlieChaplin to respond to this (sorry for my words) ridiculous remark.

 

Personally I think you should not state these kind of remarks. This has nothing to do with any country and that was also not what Charlie was saying, please do not try to mock countries and put words in someones mouth.

whoa ... I was not mocking anything. Just some light humor. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

6 minutes ago, carlsson said:

Speaking of which, is Gali Atari part of the advisory board?

No, but Atari Teenage Riot are. https://www.atari-teenage-riot.com/

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

10 minutes ago, CharlieChaplin said:

 

Errrmmm yes and no,

afaik the 2600+ is produced by the austrian company PLAION, formerly Koch media.

 

And allthough my name is Andreas Koch, I have nothing to do with it. 

 

Plaion is the contract manufacturer of the Atari 2600+. They have a lot of experience with retro consoles, and they worked pretty hard with our team to do a good job on the 2600+ and the controllers. A lot of revisions to make sure the plastics felt right, the tension on the metal toggle switches felt right, etc. Build quality, for me, so far seems really solid. Could be little heavier, but otherwise feels and functions really well. Time will tell, of course. I mean, it sounds like you are writing them off because their HQ is in Austria? I don't know what to do with that  especially as I my heritage is half Austrian and half Irish. 
 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

I had no idea it was Friday ... these days are blending together. Everyone have a good weekend. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

46 minutes ago, famicommander said:

I want you guys to do well. And I'm explaining to you that releasing devices that can't play your own games in 2023 is not the way to go about it, even if you sell a bunch in the short term.

I am listening and sharing your feedback within the organization ... 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

6 minutes ago, famicommander said:

 

I stand by what I have said about our goals. I have zero interest in getting into an argument.

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

5 minutes ago, Mercenary said:

Something like that really should be coming from Atari itself. 

Been discussed. Let's see what happens.

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

famicommander as I said earlier, not everyone is going to agree with everything we do, but hopefully you like most of what we do. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

2 minutes ago, Mercenary said:

What about a mini Lynx? Some guy recently put something together like that...

https://retrododo.com/atari-lynx-mini/

A bunch of built in games. And that's a winner right there.

You see the problem right? All these things are good ideas, we just need to do them bit by bit so we do them well. We talk about Lynx, Jaguar and ST all the time. It is just a question of what and when. Modern ports. Retro hardware. A really good mini. Maybe all of the above. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

2 minutes ago, zzip said:

Yeah ST has an amazing library, but it was almost entirely due to third-parties. Last we checked, Atari seemed to have the rights to very little of it, which we supposed is why Atari 50 skipped the ST.

 

The recent Accolade/Microprose deal should help somewhat, but might this mean more license/acquisition deals are incoming?

True, we can't publish what we don't own. But we have acquired a lot more ST titles recently, as you note. We've had three catalog acquisition announcements in the last year I think. I can't speak to what may or may be not on the horizon (illegal).

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

1 minute ago, famicommander said:

Didn't you guys try these devices yourselves? If you're really an Atari diehard it should be immediately obvious when you fire up a game that it's running at a lower speed, the music is off, and the flicker is more extreme than it should be. 

 

And, given the quality of other MyArcade devices, this should have been the expected result when you partnered with them in the first place. They are notoriously low quality devices despite relatively comparable prices to much higher quality Blaze/Evercade devices.

You are comparing a $40 device to a $130 device.  I cannot speak to the performance, I haven't played it and I don't work directly on that part of the business. As I said I will check out the reviews. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

4 minutes ago, famicommander said:

Reviewers have them in their hands. We've seen the Pocket and the and the little tabletop Micro Player Pro arcade machine in action and the emulation on them is visibly awful. Screens aren't good either. 

I don't like hearing that. But, I will pass on the feedback.

Just watched the GenXGrownUp review ... he calls if out for some flaws but recommends it. I will look for more. If you have links send them my way, but lets do that in another thread ... way off topic.

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

40 minutes ago, zzip said:

Yeah plenty of products back then that were questionable.    

One could argue majestic failure is in our DNA ... Nolan talks about that all the time ... https://www.gamedeveloper.com/console/how-failure-copycats-and-flops-helped-atari-find-success

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

22 minutes ago, famicommander said:

Then what in god's name are you doing with those MyArcade devices ....

I mean, those aren't even out yet. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

3 minutes ago, Mercenary said:

The Atari 8-bit line was the most impressive of the 8-bit systems overall, the ST was a very well received and supported 16 bit machine, and the Atari Lynx was a truly impressive, innovative, and ahead of its time system. 

I'd really like to see these legacy systems get more love from Atari. They certainly have their fanbases. 
 

100% you will see Atari ST projects down the road. What they are specifically, I cannot say. But there is so much good content from that era it would be a crime not to share it more broadly. This is an area where I think we are all aligned. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

1 minute ago, M-S said:

It's not that we think that the crypto stuff just wasn't well executed, we think that the entire concept of Atari getting into that stuff is bad. Even if there's a great virtual museum inside this "Metaverse" it would just be better at a place that doesn't require registering into a speculative value scheme from a company that could go bankrupt tomorrow.

I get it, some of the partnerships Atari got into Wade and team unwound really, really quick because we didn't like them either. 

But remove the speculative aspect of the equation and view it through that lens. You could argue that the crypto bros hijacked the technology ... I mean, that is just so how people are. If we get a whiff of a get rich quick scheme ... off to the races. But there is also a cohort of people who see beyond the hype and look at the underlying value of innovation. If an NFT had no monetary value beyond unlocking an asset or experience, or both ... then to me it becomes a really flexible, easy to create key.
 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

3 hours ago, 82-T/A said:

Only question I have is... (which I think has already been answered)... will we still be able to discuss other topics (other systems) on Atari Age? I'm pretty sure the answer is still yes, but I find AtariAge to be a better resource on almost everything related to video games.

Wholeheartedly yes, we will still discuss other topics (other systems) on Atari Age. Retro aeternum!

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

2 minutes ago, zzip said:

Wasn't Steve Wozniak somehow involved in making that hotel deal happen?

I can't speak to who is involved in Atari Hotels, or at what level, that information would need to come from Atari Hotels and/or GSD Group.

I can say that Woz is a renowned aficionado of good hotels and that the Managing Partner of Atari Hotels is also the Chair of the Woz Innovation Foundation. 
That is all in the public record.
 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

@TrogdarRobusto: when I wrote about culture clash, the reproduction PCBs @M-S is referring to above are an example of the sort of thing that I mean.

 

This is where the culture clash aspect comes in: it's clear that people who could have corrected these errors were never consulted; had they been, the product wouldn't have been released in this state.  But from the external perspective, it looks as though Atari just doesn't care about the product (or the people who may be interested in buying it) as long as there's a revenue stream to be had.

I will pass on that feedback. I actually do a lot of the writing here at Atari, and I tend to first research, then consult someone like Marty or Al, and then write. There is a lot of 'false history' out there, and copywriting and editing does seem to be a lost art (now I sound old). The PCB board copy was written by the licensee that makes the PCB boards. I will provide feedback. They are a good partner, they want to make things that the community will value, so they will want to hear the feedback about the copy.

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

19 minutes ago, Zoyous said:

I'd like to say one other thing about the notion of being the "real" Atari. This is something that becomes unintentionally apparent when looking at something like Tim Lapetino's beautiful book, "The Art of Atari." In an unfortunate way it shows how the incredibly high standard of artistic excellence from the original Atari gradually declined over the course of many years.

 

Tim is actually helping us source artists now for new key art. We usually do two illustrations per game, so we have an alternate for special physical versions. Atari created key art, we need to return to that standard from the golden era. That is a big focus, and important to me personally. We may not always nail it, but we are trying. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

14 minutes ago, Zoyous said:

Personally I'm not sure if the hotel and cryptocurrency was you guys or the previous owners of the name. I mean, I like the direction you're currently heading in and have several of the Recharged games and Atari 50. But the hotel and cryptocurrency thing was foolish. Was that you guys?

Our new games are solid, and I am really excited about many of the titles we have announced that launch in the next few months.

The Hotels are a licensing deal. I am still really curious to see how that plays out. It was signed by the previous admin, but it has potential. The concept is cool, but the pandemic blew a huge whole in their plans. I know a lot of people thought it was odd/silly/strange ... but remember it is a licensing deal, we didn't decide to suddenly become a hotel operator. It isn't going to distract in any way from our core business. But if those hotels are successful, wow what brand building.

Even if you thought the Atari Token was a good idea, and many, many people did not, the execution was not up to the standards of the new team which is why we shut it down. That was started under the previous administration, but we inherited it and we owned it. Had the execution been better, had they picked better partners overall ... it was an innovative play and innovation is something Atari has always been known for (some innovation went great, some famously not so well.) But some of the licensed crypto partnerships were truly cringeworthy. It also happened during a period when Atari wasn't making games, so it probably seemed even more directionally bizarre. The Atari content in The Sandbox metaverse is really cool, by the way. I would think any Atari fan who got to romp around in the environment would think it was pretty fantastic. I should share some of that creative work in here ... it is really well done, great celebration of Atari games.

Web3 technology holds long term promise ... and we are keeping a finger in that to see where it leads, but we think it is a good thing that all the crypto froth has dissipated and the get rich quick moment is over. 
 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

By the way, serious props to Al who is also answering questions non-stop in the AtariAge Facebook group. We need to let him get a little work done, he is still prepping for PRGE.

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

20 minutes ago, zzip said:

I'm less bothered by the noise on the VCS than how rapidly it spins up and down,  not sure if that's good for the fan's lifespan or if it would be better to run at a more constant speed for longer periods/  

I am pretty sure you can change that setting in the bios.

However, if there is one useful thing I ever do in the AA forums, here it is. I have my VCS sitting on an AC Infinity AIRCOM S6 cooling blower fan system, which is super, super quiet. As a result, I never, ever hear the VCS fan because it never turns on. $49.99 and it looks nice. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

13 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

My suggestion would be for Atari, SA to make a concerted effort at actually understanding that culture.  Be a part of the communities that exist, both here and elsewhere and not just for the sake of marketing.  This would go a long way towards bridging certain gaps, and hopefully improving communication and understanding in the process.

Culture is important. It is very much a topic of discussion within Atari.  Al is on the team now, such a great and critical link. We speak with homebrew developers more, like Dennis and Mike. We can go further and will. Atari historians like Marty and Tim (and Al). Matt on prototypes. We just launched the Atari Club. It feels like we are getting the band back together ... but it will take time and I know you can't pre-judge the outcome. Culture is also not static, so it will shift very slowly over time as we fold younger audiences into the brand. 

And hold us to it. Let us know when we are sounding tone deaf or off culture. We can handle the constructive criticism.

Off topic perhaps, but perhaps not ... no one inside Atari refers to this company as Atari SA ... that feels like a purposeful dig. Not saying that is how you are using it. But to me it is like when people refer to Atari as Infogrames or "the company that used to be Atari" or "French Atari." These alternatives names that are meant to say "you aren't the real Atari and you never will be." If Atari ceased to exist in 1979 when Nolan left the company then why are where are we all here? 

Just call us Atari. 

[AtariAge + Atari Q&A]

 

2 minutes ago, 82-T/A said:

 

I hope I'm not too off topic... I bought the Atari 50 on the VCS and it was fantastic. I want to get the Arcade 1Up, but I'm one of those people that's kind of snobby when it comes to arcade games. While I'm really happy that Arcade1Up exists and that people have the opportunity to buy and play them, at 6'3", these 1Ups are not really my style. They're too small, and entirely thin particle board.

 

Is there any thought (crazy idea) of offering an Atari 50 Arcade "kit?" Basically... graphics, JAMMA-compatible board, harness, and power supply separately? I know I can basically get all of this from the 1Up and then just transfer into a larger cabinet... but just a thought.

The Arcade1Up is a bit taller, doesn't require that base, but I am 6'5" so I hear you. Can't speak to an arcade kit, plausible.