Ataribox

[FJosh]

If it's just an Android box what's the point? It's not likely to be using a more powerful SOC than the Nvidia Shield TV and you can buy one of those today and run an emulator from Atari on up to PlayStation 1 as well as Nvidia's game streaming service, and 4K Netflix/Amazon/YouTube/Whatever.

[Video]

This one will have an Atari logo though, and that's all that matters

 

Actually I suppose you could just get an Atari logo vinyl sticker and put on whatever box you had if that's all that really mattered (my original Xbox has one on it)

[LutzfromOz]

il buy one if it has some brand new original Atari games, cause that's what Atari needs, you can only keep re-releasing missile command, centipede and asteroids so many times, the other day at work on lunch break I was watching drag racing and thinking woudnt it be sweet if Atari made a modern version of dragster that plays like the classic but with todays standard of graphics

[Flojomojo]

il buy one if it has some brand new original Atari games, cause that's what Atari needs, you can only keep re-releasing missile command, centipede and asteroids so many times, the other day at work on lunch break I was watching drag racing and thinking woudnt it be sweet if Atari made a modern version of dragster that plays like the classic but with todays standard of graphics

Missile Command, Centipede, and Asteroids are what they have -- and they've been rehashed a bunch, in addition to straight re-releases, along with Star Raiders, Yars' Revenge, and Tempest.

 

Dragster was Activision, not Atari. Here's a phone game that fits your description. Dragster Mayhem - Top Fuel Simulator by Minicades Mobile

https://appsto.re/us/QWaXz.i

[LutzfromOz]

valid point, shame i dont really phone game cause my phone is a unsupported lumia, but on that note, atari could just call it atari drag racing, i confuse the 2600 era of activision as atari at times, but the again i think i read that activision was started by disgruntled employees who left atari, in spirit i do consider them atari

[FJosh]

The only way they could interest me, if this is basically just an Android box, is if they use the Nvidia X2 SOC. I don't see that happening though, Nvidia is probably tied up on that front churning out X1s for Nintendo.

Edited July 20, 2017 by FJosh

[Dr Manhattan]

If Google Play TV and Amazon Fire TV are struggling, coming from multinational conglomerates worth billions, how is an upstart piggybacking on the largely defunct Atari brand going to do any better?

 

I own both the Amazon Fire TV box and the Google Nexus player. These products were handled with such an appalling level incompetence that it's almost hard to believe they could be made by two of the biggest corporations on Earth.

 

I actually went to Google's offices in Venice Beach, CA to be part of a test market for another product. When I was there I engaged in some small talk with an employee who told me that they were working on a gaming device. The end result was the Nexus Player. The only thing the Nexus Player had going for it was its outstanding YouTube app. On both devices, Nexus and Fire TV, gaming was an afterthought. Both products were a failure in design from the ground up. They were also both horrible at presenting and selling gaming content. Neither seemed to understand the very nature of gamers themselves. It was as if the gaming elements of these products were designed by people who didn't actually play games.

 

To be quite honest, as a pure gaming machine, the Ouya outclassed both products, but it was hampered from day one by horrible, underpowered hardware, lag issues and a terrible controller. They fixed some of the issues with the Black Console (the 1.1 version), but by then it was too little, too late. Still, Ouya did the "it's a game machine" concept far better than either Google or Amazon. Both companies should be ashamed to have brought such half assed products to market. It would be better if the Nexus and the Fire TV Box didn't play games at all, and just stayed in the realm of being a media streaming box.

[FJosh]

I loved (still do) my Ouya. I really didn't and still don't understand the hate it got.

[FJosh]

Something for Atari to think about if using Android is how easy and rampant piracy is on the platform.

[+Nathan Strum]

Dragster was Activision, not Atari. Here's a phone game that fits your description. Dragster Mayhem - Top Fuel Simulator by Minicades Mobile

https://appsto.re/us/QWaXz.i

 

 

Actually, Dragster was originally an Atari (Kee) arcade game named Drag Race: https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7634

[Keatah]

Actually, Dragster was originally an Atari (Kee) arcade game named Drag Race: https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7634

 

Ohh how cool. My buddies and me would debate for hours on end why VCS Dragster was never made into an arcade game.

[Keatah]

What a cute little shitbox! Ahem Ataribox.

 

I'm surprised no one has yet added an R-PI to their real VCS. Not as a replacement, but as a real addition. Keeping both the old 3-chip chipset and the new R-Pi. An all-in-one. There's plenty of room in there.

 

 

 

Just buy one of these and it can be whatever you want.

 

 

[Andromeda Stardust]

These Atari and Nintendo shaped 3D printed Pi mini-cases are dumb IMO and fool no one. Even if they're slightly cheaper than gutting a Flashback or NES Mini, they never get the classic look right. Ports sticking out in all the wrong places too.

[Keatah]

Well yes. I prefer to think of them as examples of how people do not understand "retro". Let alone classic or vintage.

[keepdreamin]

Crosspost from another Ataribox thread, since this one seems to be getting all the attention:

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelarzt

 

-Responsible for launch of new connected device, wearables and hardware division that will reinvigorate Ataris legacy as a creator and marketer of fun and innovative consumer products.

-Oversight of new product development, marketing, OEM & strategic partnerships and associated tasks.

-Building Atari Connect to be a premier game, consumer product and pop-culture lifestyle brand for gamers and everyone who loves fun and useful devices and apps.

-Actively hunting for, and open to, any new and innovative connected product ideas worthy of the great and beloved Atari name!

 

Looks like Sigfox is what's in the box after all.

 

You guys haven't figured it out yet?

 

They're rolling out a hipster lifestyle brand. All the Atari Ringer Tees you could ever want. Buzzwords for the new console will include "authentic, vintage, history etc.."

 

The new console is meant to sit next to your vinyl collection and record player. You might toss on one of their ringer Tees one morning, under that leather jacket you picked up at a thrift store, lace up your Doc Martens and hop on your Ducati Scrambler for the commute to work.

[Flojomojo]

You make it sound as though it will only be available at Urban Outfitters and Hot Topic!

[dj_convoy]

I'd imagine modern Atari would be THRILLED if they could get that kind of distribution!

[zzip]

These Atari and Nintendo shaped 3D printed Pi mini-cases are dumb IMO and fool no one. Even if they're slightly cheaper than gutting a Flashback or NES Mini, they never get the classic look right. Ports sticking out in all the wrong places too.

They aren't supposed to fool anyone. It's more about nostalgia.

 

The ports are where they are because that's where they are on the Pi board.

[zzip]

You guys haven't figured it out yet?

 

They're rolling out a hipster lifestyle brand. All the Atari Ringer Tees you could ever want. Buzzwords for the new console will include "authentic, vintage, history etc.."

 

The new console is meant to sit next to your vinyl collection and record player. You might toss on one of their ringer Tees one morning, under that leather jacket you picked up at a thrift store, lace up your Doc Martens and hop on your Ducati Scrambler for the commute to work.

Well Apple went from being a "remember us?" hardware company to one of the largest companies in the world by positioning their products as fashionable lifestyle products.. So you never know, you might be onto something

[Greg2600]

Android box would be a DOA if you ask me. Nobody is interested. Beyond that, what marketspace does this have? I don't see any. If you want a full on console, it's Sony or Microsoft. If you want a hybrid console/mobile, it's Nintendo. If you want to game on PC or laptop, hello Steam. If you just want mobile, Apple is right over there. Got into it with some on the AA Facebook page. I just don't see where this product fits. They seemed to simply want the case if there's a crowd fund. Crazy.

[Flojomojo]

Someone who has knowledge of the product has already said it's based on PC technology, so Android is out. Not that Android would make any sense anyway.

 

Low end PC tech is nice, it's remarkable how many old games you can run on a $180 craptop. There haven't been many low-end Windows devices lately, which could change as Windows 10 S rolls out more fully. Windows 10 S is this year's Windows 8 with Bing, a stripped-down, locked-up OS designed for cheaper tablets and convertibles. Like Windows RT, this doesn't really solve any problems other than "how can Microsoft get a slice of the entry level Chrome OS/Android pie." It has a $50 upgrade path to Windows 10 Home, which I think is interesting. If Ataribox uses this as a base, at least it would have an instant, large software library.

 

That said, anyone following this stuff can guess that this is not the year that cheapass Microsoft-based products take over the world. This has been tried enough times it's not difficult to see the trend.

 

So it seems to me that the market doesn't want and never took to a locked-down Windows App Store, even one that is full of games and utilities supported by a major corporation. It seems like tilting at windmills to start up a little marketplace of ones own with even less to offer. Especially with a brand name that is associated with obsolescence and Gen X childhoods.

 

I'm with Greg2600, if there's a cute case, that's nice, but lots of things have cute cases.

[Greg2600]

I'm not a Steam user, but would a "craptop" be good enough to play most of what Steam has to offer?

 

PS: The crowdfund just to come away with a "new" shell was the RVGS after all. But at least those shells could be used on a Jaguar.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Greg2600

[Flojomojo]

I'm not a Steam user, but would a "craptop" be good enough to play most of what Steam has to offer?

It depends on what you mean by "most," and to what extent your laptop is a craptop.

 

Modern console-style games (PS3/Xbox 360 era and up, like BioShock, Mass Effect, Skyrim) require a lot of storage and a dedicated graphics processor (at least an Nvidia 840M). You'll want a $600 desktop or a $1000 laptop for those and anything big that came out since.

 

Simpler games, including many indie games, and most older games, will run fine on a Cherry Trail, Bay Trail, or Apollo Lake processor. Something like this can run stuff from the Xbox era (Star Wars Battlefront II -- the real one, Morrowind, Knights of the Old Republic, anything from DOS) without breaking a sweat. Basically if it's under a GB or so in size, chances are good it will run. Emulators are great if you're into old games and computers. Anything the CRPG Addict is into can basically run on a potato computer.

 

They're a few years old now, but I liked the HP Stream line because of the keyboards, and the ASUS T100 line because of the screens. Either one can be had super cheap on eBay. If I were shopping for a new one, I'd look at the ASUS VivoBook and similar things that are basically a Chromebook that runs Windows.

 

These things are cheap, run without a fan, and make for great little toys -- arguably better than a handheld console. So long as you respect their limitations (most notably tiny and slow storage capacity), they're lots of fun.

[FJosh]

I'm not a Steam user, but would a "craptop" be good enough to play most of what Steam has to offer?

 

Yes but that's only because most of what Steam has to offer is Unity shovelware asset flips. If you're asking if a $180 laptop can play modern games, I very much doubt it. You'd have a better experience, by far, saving up the extra $70 and getting an Xbox One S or for the same price (or less used) a 360 or PS3.

[PlaysWithWolves]

Atari's first new hardware is ... a baseball cap with speakers. I'm not familiar with Markee Dragon, but it sounds like he's also working with Atari on the console.