New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[CPUWIZ]

Some people think that this thread is AtariAge, so they don't participate in the entire site.

[Shawn]

Some people think that this thread is AtariAge, so they don't participate in the entire site.

 

[CPUWIZ]

No now, panties will be in bunches.

[MrBeefy]

So its the 20th and both threads are rather quiet.

[racerx]

Outside of a few ardent supporters and a few of us who enjoy having fun at "Atari's" expense, I honestly doubt many other people care about it one way or another.

[The Scallion]

Well I mean it's getting mild tech media coverage

 

Sent from my SM-J327T using Tapatalk

[carlsson]

So its the 20th and both threads are rather quiet.

 

Not sure which calender you are using. Monday was the 28th, Tuesday is the 29th and Wednesday will be the 30th. As far as I'm concerned, they still have at least 24 hours to go, assuming the Indiegogo campaign would start at midnight to the 30th, European time. Since the previous press release was rather late, Californian time which is like 9 hours later and it isn't given they'll start the campaign at midnight to the 30th Californian time anyway, I would give them at least 40 more hours before we should expect to see any action.

[PlaysWithWolves]

A reminder on the official start time:

 

I just got a handy-dandy countdown clock in my email from Atari. Project go-time is Wednesday at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET.

 

AtariCountdown2.jpg

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

Shamelessly stealing this from Reddit by way of this post over in the other That Ataribox thread.

 

Specs on the AtariVCSbox have apparently made it to the Indiegogo app. Assuming that they're at all accurate, the only description that fits is 'underwhelming'.

 

 

Couple of things:

• I'd like to see a teardown of one of these (if they're ever actually made) and a BOM with costing generated, but my off-the-cuff guess as to the cost of manufacture of one of these is probably in the $60-75 range in quantity (though I'll admit that I don't know at what manufacturing run size that price could be achievable), with a $299 MSRP. AtariVCSboxCorp, Inc., you're not Apple. Don't even try it.
• Wood is listed as one of the components. Somehow, I suspect that the 'wood' is actually going to be some sort of petrochemical product.

And yeah, they've said all along that it's going to be roughly hardware-equivalent to a low-end laptop, and they've certainly stuck to their word. Trying to find out if there's a reference platform out there that's close to the leaked spec (which would suggest using an off-the-shelf board design, which would also be about the smartest thing they could do in this regard), but am not having a lot of luck.

 

Either way, specs ≠ hardware on retail shelves (or in distribution centres). They still have to fund and build it, which is one hurdle they haven't yet addressed.

 

Also, I don't see a taco replicator listed in there, so I'm still not a potential customer.

[Osgeld]

dang, that doesn't even meet the 200$ mark on cheap laptops

 

I mean here's a dell at bestbuy, a place that has rent to pay and its about the same, I will give that it's only an R6 ... but its also 129 bucks WITH a screen

 

for the money they want you could buy a bottom of the line ryzen, hook it up to the tv and still stomp the shit out of the bawx

Edited May 28, 2018 by Osgeld

[godslabrat]

I give them a Not-A-Kennedy point for at least listing specs. Still comes back to... why do I want this thing instead of ten other devices that already exist at half the price?

 

A spec sheet can be as easy as pointing at the cheapest all-in-one board you can find and asking for a quote. If this system has any prayer, it's going to be on games. And so far, their big draw is getting Tempest 4000.

[+x=usr(1536)]

Well, there's a second part to this that I just don't understand:

 

There's nothing special going on here. Every component listed is off-the-shelf, except for the case and controllers - and even that's debatable in relation to one of the controllers. So how the hell can it take this long to not have a working prototype?

 

The only answer I can come up with to that is that they have no funding (which means no staff) to actually build it. This reinforces my belief that the company truly is nothing more than a brand licensor - and, if they do get what they're looking for on Indiegogo in terms of funding, will probably outsource all hardware and software development to <insert cheapest bidder here>.

 

That's assuming that they don't completely mismanage the process, burn through all the capital, and leave a partially-finished mess sitting there waiting for that difficult email to write to come along and put an end to the whole sorry saga. I don't believe that they'd be so outright criminal as to just cut and run with the Indiegogo funds, but I can see them being so incompetent as to (rather predictably) sink this through ineptitude once it does hit actual development.

 

Pardon me if there's no surprised expression on my face at the moment.

[yanbu]

Do you think they (AtariVcsBox creators / whoever on their side) watch this thread? I haven't sifted through all 300+ pages here to see if they've ever chimed in here. Just out of morbid curiosity.

[PlaysWithWolves]

nd yeah, they've said all along that it's going to be roughly hardware-equivalent to a low-end laptop, and they've certainly stuck to their word. Trying to find out if there's a reference platform out there that's close to the leaked spec (which would suggest using an off-the-shelf board design, which would also be about the smartest thing they could do in this regard), but am not having a lot of luck.

 

I do not wish to disappoint you further, but their FAQ promised it was comparable to a higher-end laptop:

 

---

 

[MrBeefy]

 

Not sure which calender you are using. Monday was the 28th, Tuesday is the 29th and Wednesday will be the 30th. As far as I'm concerned, they still have at least 24 hours to go, assuming the Indiegogo campaign would start at midnight to the 30th, European time. Since the previous press release was rather late, Californian time which is like 9 hours later and it isn't given they'll start the campaign at midnight to the 30th Californian time anyway, I would give them at least 40 more hours before we should expect to see any action.

LMAO i did 3+ hours in my garden today and it was 90+ degrees outside around the time I posted this. Guess my brain was fried from the heat.

 

Also I work in education. So once schools out my concept of time is well non existent.

[JBerel]

Do you think they (AtariVcsBox creators / whoever on their side) watch this thread? I haven't sifted through all 300+ pages here to see if they've ever chimed in here. Just out of morbid curiosity.

I'm pretty sure they follow these boards, and this topic in particular, from time to time.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/266480-new-atari-console-that-ataribox/page-328?do=findComment&comment=4032387

[+x=usr(1536)]

 

I do not wish to disappoint you further, but their FAQ promised it was comparable to a higher-end laptop:

 

Hmm, so it was. Thankfully, my lack of expectations of AtariVCSboxCorp, Inc. makes avoiding disappointment with their complete and utter joke of a company really easy.

[+frankodragon]

Do you think they (AtariVcsBox creators / whoever on their side) watch this thread? I haven't sifted through all 300+ pages here to see if they've ever chimed in here. Just out of morbid curiosity.

Nah, they're just still too busy with their zombie "This looks super awesome. Can't wait to play!" tweets on Twitter.

[+Nathan Strum]

 

I do not wish to disappoint you further, but their FAQ promised it was comparable to a higher-end laptop:

 

But they didn't say from which year...

 

[+frankodragon]

Could be one of those Univac Models. "Highly" portable.

 

[thetick1]

dang, that doesn't even meet the 200$ mark on cheap laptops

 

I mean here's a dell at bestbuy, a place that has rent to pay and its about the same, I will give that it's only an R6 ... but its also 129 bucks WITH a screen

 

for the money they want you could buy a bottom of the line ryzen, hook it up to the tv and still stomp the shit out of the bawx

The web link has a R4 GPU.. not R6 and well the specs sheet has R7 . Below are the currently available Bristol Ridge processors with R7 GPU: 9600 / 9700 / 9800. I seriously doubt Atari has an exclusive custom Bristol Ridge/R7 design, so very likely using one of the one shown below.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_accelerated_processing_unit_microprocessors#%22Bristol_Ridge%22_(2016)

 

Pretty lame considering Raven Ridge processors are available ... oh well it is Not My Atari afterall.

 

HDPC 2.2 implies a Raven Ridge processor unless Atari plans on using a yet released Bristol Ridge design with HDPC 2.2.

Edited May 29, 2018 by thetick1

[carlsson]

Weren't Atari supposed to be waiting until the last minute before finalizing the specs, as AMD would offer new chips (or reduced prices on old chips) by the beginning of next year? With a lot of positive thinking, the leaked specs might be current base line, the minimum you can expect once it is available. Otherwise all that talk about waiting for new technology were just empty words if they lock in the chipset already now.

[yanbu]

This kinda reminds me of an Indiegogo project I backed years ago - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/brand-new-colored-keycaps-for-your-commodore-c64--2#/comments- this was for some custom produced color keycaps for the C64. I backed it over three years ago and there is still not a finished product. Creator is posting updates about it once in a while still, and has apparently sunk a ton of money into it past what was funded. But still no product.

[godslabrat]

Indiegogo: Not Even Once.

[Flojomojo]

Well, there's a second part to this that I just don't understand:

 

There's nothing special going on here. Every component listed is off-the-shelf, except for the case and controllers - and even that's debatable in relation to one of the controllers. So how the hell can it take this long to not have a working prototype?

 

I think that presumes a level of competence and caring that is not in evidence from anything they've said or done so far.

 

Weren't Atari supposed to be waiting until the last minute before finalizing the specs, as AMD would offer new chips (or reduced prices on old chips) by the beginning of next year? With a lot of positive thinking, the leaked specs might be current base line, the minimum you can expect once it is available. Otherwise all that talk about waiting for new technology were just empty words if they lock in the chipset already now.

 

Seems more likely they're going to run out the clock and say:

 

(to the public) As much as we wanted to build the ultimate retro-themed Atari mini computer, the demand was insufficient to build the Atari VCS you deserve and expect. We will watch this market closely and could return when the time is right. In the meantime, please enjoy TEMPEST 4000 for PS4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. AtariBox mailing list subscribers can use the code VCSFOREVER for 10% off the retail price* of the physical version from our retail store, or get a limited edition SpeakerHat for the Spring Blowout Sale Limited Time Only price of $99.99. *try not to notice that they're selling it for $40 instead of Amazon's $29.99

 

(to the shareholders) Our partner Atari GameBox LLC generated a lot of enthusiasm and feedback from the community, without any risk to the company. Let's do some more attention-grabbing tricks until the rubes get wise to our desperation. Licensing and general brand-whoring to continue as long as we possibly can. Sinister laugh, fade to black.