7800XM1 - Project Update

[Spurge]

Thanks Curt for the update. They are looking great.

[Curt Vendel]

Thanks again to Pac Man Prime for the assistance, the box is being updated, now moving it to AI to submit to the printer... Just a few additional changes and such... getting close. This again is just for the look and layout, the image is a placeholder and several other aspects will be replaced/updated...

 

 

 

 

 

Curt

[HammR25]

I definitely like this second version of the box art a lot better.

[TrekMD]

Wow, that looks even better than the first one! Great job!

[DracIsBack]

Wow, that looks even better than the first one! Great job!

 

Same here! Had trouble reading the text in the earlier version. I love how this keeps the style of the old Atari era.

[AtariNerd]

EDIT - Naw, what's there is fine. Looks very nice, indeed.

 

Later Atari never seemed to understand the power of effective marketing speak. It is always a trade-off between giving the customer a (sometimes false) sense of control and empowerment, a belief that they have made an intelligent choice in buying the product and the anticipation that their options are wide open and their worries are unfounded. So one has to mix the affirmative voice, giving the impression that the user is in control along with the marketing buzzwords, while realizing the general public doesn't necessarily understand the technical aspects.

 

So my take would be something like this. :

 

- Save your High Scores! , High Score Saving Memory! or High Score Storage Memory!

 

User gets put in the pilot seat. Save the Princess, save the world, save your accomplishments to share with others. Otherwise, one Has to get across that scores are maintained even while the power is off. Not easy to phrase gracefully. :/

 

- Arcade Quality (Yamaha) Synthesizer Chip

 

I'd put this up closer to the top as one of the big misgivings was the inferior sound of the 2600/7800 compared to some of the competition. The mention of the Yamaha brand sound chip is optional and might give a little more authority to the claim, especially to those "in the know" who are at least familiar with period digital synthesizers. It doesn't harm the marketing to those who wouldn't know and might spark curiosity. One could leave it out, however.

 

- 128K of Memory for Advanced Games.

 

RAM size was definitely well in the consciousness of most buyers.

 

- POKEY I/O For Sound and Peripherals

 

This is squarely aimed at Atari computer users, who would know exactly what it means, though casual users may pick up on it.

 

- Future Expansion Capability

 

Further cements the previous for advanced users, confirming their hunch, while relating to the more casual users the potentiality.

Edited November 14, 2010 by AtariNerd

[petik1]

Is the metal/rainbow going to be on the finished version, or will it have the black with white text?

[gdement]

- 128K of Memory for Advanced Games.

 

RAM size was definitely well in the consciousness of most buyers.

They might get the basic concept of "memory", but most gamers would be confused how to compare this value to what they've read about other systems.

The only memory size ever discussed around game consoles was the megabit size of cartridge ROMs. Very few gamers understood the difference between the game ROM and the system's internal RAM, or the conversion factor between Megabits and Kilobytes. If you were to advertise "128K" in 1990, most gamers would think "this sucks - my Nintendo games are 2 Megs!"

At the time, I think you'd be better off just making a vague reference to "massively expanded memory capacity".

 

That confusion could even factor in today.

[AtariNerd]

guess one has to step bacl

- 128K of Memory for Advanced Games.

 

RAM size was definitely well in the consciousness of most buyers.

They might get the basic concept of "memory", but most gamers would be confused how to compare this value to what they've read about other systems.

The only memory size ever discussed around game consoles was the megabit size of cartridge ROMs. Very few gamers understood the difference between the game ROM and the system's internal RAM, or the conversion factor between Megabits and Kilobytes. If you were to advertise "128K" in 1990, most gamers would think "this sucks - my Nintendo games are 2 Megs!"

At the time, I think you'd be better off just making a vague reference to "massively expanded memory capacity".

 

That confusion could even factor in today.

 

Ahahaha, you're right - good catch. SEGA in particular practiced this quite a bit. I guess one has to step back a bit and realize that one is addressing the present reality as well as playing to a fantasy of the past and relay its' useability to modern audiences/users as well. Ah well.

Edited November 14, 2010 by AtariNerd

[PAC-MAN PRIME]

The purple text with the XM's features on looks odd to me. Personally I'd like to see it in easy to read text at the bottom right corner so it doesn't overlap the XM picture at all. Hmmm.... Something like

 

Saves high scores*

128 kilobytes of RAM

Twelve channels of arcade quality sound

Expandable I/O

 

*Game dependent

 

The marketer in me would suggest ignoring the technical stuff (cause not everyone knows what it is or what it can do) and focus on the benefits!

 

Example:

 

- Save your high scores!

- More memory for more advanced games!

- Adds fantastic arcade quality sound

- Add additional peripherals to your 7800!

I think Drac hit the target right here. The simpler wording is easily understood, while outlining exactly how consumers would benefit from adding the XM to their 7800.

 

+1

 

 

Thanks again to Pac Man Prime for the assistance, the box is being updated, now moving it to AI to submit to the printer... Just a few additional changes and such... getting close. This again is just for the look and layout, the image is a placeholder and several other aspects will be replaced/updated...

 

 

 

 

 

Curt

You are very welcome Curt. Thank YOU for making this a reality!

[ApolloBoy]

Is the metal/rainbow going to be on the finished version, or will it have the black with white text?

The all-black unit with white lettering was just a mockup. The actual unit will have an aluminum faceplate just like the 7800.

[Marc Oberhäuser]

I wouldn't use the "Exciting new games coming soon". Back in the days it was totally ok to advertise items that wouldn't be done by release of a console/add-on. You wouldn't promote the fact that there will be games for it in the future but not at the release of it.

[The Usotsuki]

I wonder if the fact that the keyboard jack is 15-pin and the XEGS has a 15-pin keyboard jack is significant?

 

*HIDES*

 

Might allow me to work on support for a keyboard before a keyboard officially exists.

[petik1]

I think the purple text should either be completely horizantal, or at the same angle as tye edge of the module. It would look more uniform that way. Also, a simple yellow square would look better than the irregular shape you have, i believe.

[Zonie]

Given the target audience here, you guys, I would think that dumbing down the features is not necessary...

[Justin42]

Given the target audience here, you guys, I would think that dumbing down the features is not necessary...

 

I sort of agree, although I like the idea of this LOOKING like something we would've bought in 1984/1985... but it's not like anyone's going to be walking into a store, seeing the 7800XM for the first time, and thinking "Yeah, I'll buy that!"

 

It does look amazing; the newer box art is great. and the unit itself is looking great, too!

[DracIsBack]

Given the target audience here, you guys, I would think that dumbing down the features is not necessary...

 

Not sure I like the term 'dumbing down' as a lot of the world isn't an engineer or technophile. Not everyone needs to know or care about the technology but I think most people care about how the technology can personally benefit them.

 

Positioning 101.

 

Example:

 

iPod was definitely not the first MP3 or even technically the best (don't kill me Mac-Heads). But they positioned it well.

 

Other companies spewed out a lot of technobabble in their marketing .... ___ GB of space, supports ___ bit-rates, supports ___ file formats, syncs .ics calendars, connects via USB version ___ etc.

 

Apple: 1000 songs in your pocket

 

I think there's value in supporting the benefits of the tech with how it goes about doing it, but don't ever agree with assuming everyone knows what the benefits of the tech are.

 

You're probably correct that the group that hangs out here skews more technical. Just something I'm a bit hyper-sensitive to.

Edited November 15, 2010 by DracIsBack

[GroovyBee]

In my mind, because its a product with a retro look and it comes in a retro looking box it should be degeeked to be in keeping with the 80s time frame. It just adds to the product's fun factor.

[Curt Vendel]

I agree with drac's dumbed down text, going to go that route...

[Rybags]

Generally a product will have a few lines of the "dumbed down" stuff on the front of the box.

 

Then on the sides, the lowdown tech stuff in point form. Take a DVD player as a good example.

 

On the front it might say "Upscaling and Divx Playback", then on the sides it'll give a brief technical description of each feature.

 

IMO if the box is dumbed down too much, people might wonder why they're expected to pay $90+ for one.

[HammR25]

Oh good the box will be better for dumb people like me.

 

I also agree with Rybags.

[+Random Terrain]

IMO if the box is dumbed down too much, people might wonder why they're expected to pay $90+ for one.

I'll pay $90+ if that 128K can be changed to a megabyte.

[DracIsBack]

Generally a product will have a few lines of the "dumbed down" stuff on the front of the box.

 

Dumbed down is not nice, because it suggests everyone who is not technology oriented is stupid. I think of it as 'benefit oriented'. How will this technology make my life better if I don't know or care about the technology implementation?

 

It's like the megapixel myth. I would love to see camera makers say,

 

"print a picture this big that looks this clear" instead of ___ megapixels.

[PacManPlus]

Looking absolutely fantastic, Curt. This layout looks much nicer.

[mimo]

Needs some PacManPlus screen shots on there though