Not sure where to drop this / ataribox

[Keatah]

I was kind of hoping they would announce something actually new... like "Look at this, we're coming back with something epic!" And why not? Most game platforms out there are just commodity PC parts slapped onto a board and put into a 'cool' case. Why couldn't Atari had put in the time and effort and made a new console? Retro things are huge, as Nintendo found with the NES classic. And if the Switch can sell enough to be out of stock everywhere....

 

Because no talent. No in-house engineering. Those two things are seriously cost-prohibitive. And come with a lot of liability. Something a fly-by-night operation doesn't need.

[Keatah]

I think you overestimate the level of brand recognition that the Atari name has. Being rather young for this hobby myself (I'm 20) I can tell you most people my age have no clue what I'm talking about when I mention Atari. It's not going to get any better as the world grows up.

 

And the younger they get the worse the brand recognition gets. I honestly believe whatever effort is being put into revive the brand is still going to result in mediocrity, still.

 

Part of the magic back then was the discovery and anticipation and newness of the art. Most of us being old farts recall all that just fine. But today's fresh audience is blinded by digital delivery and the whole experience of getting a new game on a cartridge doesn't even exist. There's no EGM to read. Buddies in school aren't interested in the new game coming out next month - they're wrapped up in social media instead. Parents don't make a big hollywood production of getting in the family car to travel to the department store to get cartridges.

 

All the good times and memory-making activities are blown away by instant gratification instigated by the smartphone and the internet. Everything happens too fast. No time to savor the moment.

 

But then again, we oldsters can make changing the aerator on a faucet into an all-day affair!

[Keatah]

Atari's CEO has said that the AtariBox is PC based hardware.

 

https://www.cnet.com/news/ataris-rumored-new-game-console-is-real-and-pc-based/

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

Yawn.. Too bad we won't see super-ultra modernized classic titles or anything cool. Prolly gonna be some DRM-laden closed platform or something equally uninspiring. But hey! Prove me wrong and you get the internets to take home.

[SignGuy81]

I wonder if any developers here have written them from the mail link they have on the website:

 

dev@ataribox.com?subject=I'm a developer and want to know more about your platform

 

If so they should know something I would think.

[explorer]

From mail:

 

Hey there!

Thanks a lot for contacting us!

While we are not able to share a lot of technical details on the Ataribox project just yet, you have already guessed it is a hardware platform, and like any great hardware platform its content strategy will be critical. We’ll be releasing more product information in the coming weeks/months, and specifically as we roll out our developer strategy you will be first to know.

Thanks again for reaching out, we’ll keep in touch!


The Ataribox project.

www.ataribox.com

Edited June 18, 2017 by explorer

[leech]

So I figured I'd try to dig to see who the current 'Atari' is.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/people/15574845-frederic-chesnais

 

This shows that he was already with Atari, S.A. (ex Infogrames)

 

He's been CEO of various Atari named things, UK, Interactive, etc. Now it's just 'Atari' again?

 

Either way, looks like it's the same 'Atari' that has been around since it passed off from Hasbro. I guess the question would be 'what beyond just the IP of Atari games did they get?' I could have sworn that I'd read the actual hardware plans were still with Hasbro (those that hadn't already leaked). Anyone know for sure? Like who actually owns TOS?

 

More a curiosity than anything. I do kind of think this is going to be a '40 year anniversary of the 2600' spin somehow.

[SignGuy81]

I just got the latest scoop on this whole thing.

 

Here is the finished product. Not a prototype.

 

 

Very professional looking, appears to have a CD or DVD drive but may be Bluray only time will tell. It has a big fan so this must mean this thing is going to be a beast. Looks like they used the same molds from the 2600. I believe the button on the upper left of the unit is to enable blast processing, I think they were able to use it once Sega's patent has expired, so like I say this will be a beast of a console.

Edited June 18, 2017 by SignGuy81

[leech]

Ha, blast processing. A friend and I were discussing that the other day. We couldn't decide if that was just random marketing blah, or if it was the Sega equivalent to a blitter.

 

Edit: Apparently it's something to do with the DMA controller. https://segaretro.org/Blast_processing

Also, I find this interesting.

 

One of the specific DMA programming techniques he was referring to was the mid-frame palette swap, where the color could be changed every scanline, increasing the colors displayed on screen, a technique that was used in Sonic 2

 

Isn't that basically what the ST's shifter can do? And how some of the crazy things I've seen recently (like huge color scans of the covers of games inserted into the boot up for the HAGA conversions?) are done? Or even Spectrum 512 for that matter.

Edited June 18, 2017 by leech

[JDTAY]

Well, explorer's post confirms that the Ataribox guys have a standard response for developer inquiries, since it's word for word what I got. And here I thought I was special. Oh well.

[Andromeda Stardust]

If they manage to get this done before winter, it may be the big seller that destroys M$ xbone. Everyone in 2018 will have one.

 

Bullcrap. I hate Microsoft as much as anyone, but unless they lay down and play dead, it ain't happening. But this fantasy is one I want to be a part of. Let me elaborate:

 

Better yet, Windows 11 is even more atrocious and restrictive than 10, doing away with legacy desktop exes so that all software is now curated through the app store, with mandatory hourly updates and mandatory resets. They file chapter 11 and Windows 7 source gets released to public domain. Then all existing Windows APIs are made to work under WINE, so we can all play our precious little Windows EXEs on Linux and DRM, corporate spyware is eliminated for good. Everybody rejoices!

[leech]

Bullcrap. I hate Microsoft as much as anyone, but unless they lay down and play dead, it ain't happening. But this fantasy is one I want to be a part of. Let me elaborate:

 

Better yet, Windows 11 is even more atrocious and restrictive than 10, doing away with legacy desktop exes so that all software is now curated through the app store, with mandatory hourly updates and mandatory resets. They file chapter 11 and Windows 7 source gets released to public domain. Then all existing Windows APIs are made to work under WINE, so we can all play our precious little Windows EXEs on Linux and DRM, corporate spyware is eliminated for good. Everybody rejoices!

You know they have already released or are very close to releasing Windows 10 S that only allows apps from the MS Store, right? It is the reason we have Steam on Linux, Gabe saw it coming from a mile away.

 

Ha, I doubt we would ever see the source code being left out in the wild. Too much code written for three letter agencies to have backdoors.

[Andromeda Stardust]

You know they have already released or are very close to releasing Windows 10 S that only allows apps from the MS Store, right? It is the reason we have Steam on Linux, Gabe saw it coming from a mile away.

 

Ha, I doubt we would ever see the source code being left out in the wild. Too much code written for three letter agencies to have backdoors.

NSA is the reason ransomware exploits exist. They needed a backdoor into Windows "for security" and hackers discovered this backdoor and used it to hijack systems.

 

It's as wide open and easy as Johnny 5 pointing his little antenna at your computer and "all your base is mine!"

[zzip]

Granted, I think the only company I could think of that could decently compete with the big three would be Samsung.

Samsung, Amazon or Apple IMO

edit: or Google

Edited June 19, 2017 by zzip

[zzip]

You know they have already released or are very close to releasing Windows 10 S that only allows apps from the MS Store, right? It is the reason we have Steam on Linux, Gabe saw it coming from a mile away.

 

Ha, I doubt we would ever see the source code being left out in the wild. Too much code written for three letter agencies to have backdoors.

Yes, and I believe this is the reason MS has been taking Xbox exclusives and putting them on their Win10 app store. They see Linux-based Steam as a potential threat to the Windows desktop monopoly and are using their games to help keep gamers on Windows.

[leech]

Yes, and I believe this is the reason MS has been taking Xbox exclusives and putting them on their Win10 app store. They see Linux-based Steam as a potential threat to the Windows desktop monopoly and are using their games to help keep gamers on Windows.

From my understanding of things, it's the main reason why Valve released Steam for Linux and is pushing SteamOS. They saw the writing on the wall as soon as MS opened their own app store. They knew that eventually MS would make a walled garden version of Windows. Which is so against everything that the computer stands for. It was always supposed to be an open system that you could run whatever software you wanted on. Not what is in essence a game console, where you are limited to just games.

 

As long as I have my Debian, I'll be happy. Debian 9 was just released, so 51,000 packages just a command line away!

[Bill Loguidice]

From my understanding of things, it's the main reason why Valve released Steam for Linux and is pushing SteamOS. They saw the writing on the wall as soon as MS opened their own app store. They knew that eventually MS would make a walled garden version of Windows. Which is so against everything that the computer stands for. It was always supposed to be an open system that you could run whatever software you wanted on. Not what is in essence a game console, where you are limited to just games.

 

As long as I have my Debian, I'll be happy. Debian 9 was just released, so 51,000 packages just a command line away!

 

This year, unlike the past 25, is DEFINITELY the year of the Linux desktop. Definitely.

 

But seriously, Windows 10 isn't going anywhere and I think the idea that Windows 10 S is anything more at this point than an attempt to compete with Chromebooks is rather overblown. It could certainly be the future course of Windows, i.e., to be more like iOS and Android in terms of a closed to semi-closed ecosystem, but that's unlikely given a lot of factors, including of course full Windows 10 is just a simple upgrade away on Windows 10 S machines.

 

And to be fair, Valve has rolled back a lot of their talk about breaking away from Windows, particularly as a lot of the things that were feared never came to pass. Linux/SteamOS for Steam have not exactly set the world on fire. Valve definitely has a backup, but it's a backup that the majority of gamers clearly don't desire like some would hope. And there's really been nothing in Windows 10 that would slow Windows' momentum much.

[dneedham]

Article on Forbes. I feel similarly to author. Irrational excitability about a product that may be nothing, but could be a lot more.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mitchwallace/2017/06/19/why-ataris-new-console-could-be-just-what-the-gaming-industry-needs/#4fc0ecc1167b

[yorgle]

1) the name "Ataribox" is a drastic departure from Atari's past product names

2) MicroSoft's has a PC-based console called a "box"; and

3) Atari can't afford to build hardware, but MicroSoft can.

therefore....

[Bill Loguidice]

1) the name "Ataribox" is a drastic departure from Atari's past product names

2) MicroSoft's has a PC-based console called a "box"; and

3) Atari can't afford to build hardware, but MicroSoft can.

therefore....

 

Therefore... a million times no, not happening.

[+x=usr(1536)]

This year, unlike the past 25, is DEFINITELY the year of the Linux desktop. Definitely.

I've managed to avoid those disappointments over the years by sticking with Windowmaker. Makes it easier to not care about KDE/Gnome usability issues because I'm in a window manager so obtuse it's almost openly-hostile.

 

(No, the sarcasm wasn't lost on me )

 

But seriously, Windows 10 isn't going anywhere and I think the idea that Windows 10 S is anything more at this point than an attempt to compete with Chromebooks is rather overblown. It could certainly be the future course of Windows, i.e., to be more like iOS and Android in terms of a closed to semi-closed ecosystem, but that's unlikely given a lot of factors, including of course full Windows 10 is just a simple upgrade away on Windows 10 S machines.

What we're seeing in the Windows 10 world is a rather polarizing division between how Windows is approached in Enterprise environments vs. how it's approached in consumer ones. TL;DR, expect editions below Pro to continue being treated more and more like appliances by Microsoft; Pro on up will let you regain some of that control, but really only in Active Directory environments.

 

As for the upgrade path from Windows 10 S to 'regular' Windows 10... I can see that being offered as an option, at least on some ARM and most x86/x64 platforms. Of course, I can also see where that may be something that is either allowed or disallowed by a hardware lock or fuse, so may be a per-manufacturer, per-device possibility.

 

Returning to the Ataribox for a moment: I really don't care what it runs, and I'm going to hazard a guess that the vast majority of potential purchasers don't either. But (and this one we've learned from history many, many times) without a comprehensive set of launch titles on hand and committed developers actively expanding that library, it's going to have one giant hurdle to overcome before it even gets to market. It's not clear if even that basic consideration is taken care of.

 

There also needs to be a compelling reason to buy it - unless it offers something the others don't, I'm going to vote with my wallet and buy something else. Streaming video apps and Twitter-on-your-TV aren't compelling when nearly every $49 Blu-Ray player does that. But an x64 box with an Atari logo on it isn't compelling either when it's just repeating that sort of functionality.

 

That's not to mention the capital and operating might that's going to be needed to make any sort of suitable run at Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony. I'm not talking about market domination: I'm talking about just being *noticed* in the marketplace enough to even build momentum. It doesn't sound like those considerations are in place, but I will admit that I am in no way privy to any information that supports or denies that assertion.

 

We'll see what it is when we see it, and hopefully it's not a repeat of the Tramiel / JTS era.

[zzip]

We'll see what it is when we see it, and hopefully it's not a repeat of the Tramiel / JTS era.

Even that was better than what we have now. Tramiel did release products that were taken seriously... at first anyway.

[+x=usr(1536)]

Even that was better than what we have now. Tramiel did release products that were taken seriously... at first anyway.

It was very much the flaming wreckage ploughing a several-mile-long furrow in the landscape that I had in mind when I wrote that. The takeoff went OK, but that landing was a real bitch.

[zzip]

It was very much the flaming wreckage ploughing a several-mile-long furrow in the landscape that I had in mind when I wrote that. The takeoff went OK, but that landing was a real bitch.

true

[Andromeda Stardust]

Just throw an Atari decal on a Steam OS box already (or a Raspberry Pi cab) and get it over with.

[evilmoo]

I just got the latest scoop on this whole thing.

 

Here is the finished product. Not a prototype.

 

Very professional looking, appears to have a CD or DVD drive but may be Bluray only time will tell. It has a big fan so this must mean this thing is going to be a beast. Looks like they used the same molds from the 2600. I believe the button on the upper left of the unit is to enable blast processing, I think they were able to use it once Sega's patent has expired, so like I say this will be a beast of a console.

 

You're drunk. This is from instructables.com, and at least three years old: http://www.instructables.com/id/Atari-SX2600-a-fairly-complete-Atari-2600-emulatio/