Atari VCS at the Pittsburgh Gaming Expo

[BHG_Gaming]

I took my VCS to the Pittsburgh Gaming Expo to let the public play the system.   It had a good overall reception.  I had it right out in front along with a sheet that I made out with information about the system and how to order it.   Here's a video that I made of the experience.

 

Atari VCS at PGX 2021

 

Thanks.

Edited October 26, 2021 by BHG_Gaming

[+swlovinist]

Looks like a nice setup for playing games!  

[BHG_Gaming]

it was, I had myself about 30 systems from my personal collection set up, and there were two other sections full plus an arcade area.  Next year the convention is going to be at the same time, 10/1 and 10/2 and we're looking to expand the game lounge area.

Edited October 26, 2021 by BHG_Gaming

[Djmicklovin]

I grew up near Pittsburgh bro, i'll have to check that out when i'm back in town. Glad you're spreading awareness for the VCS. We never see commercials for it or anything. Us as fans need to do what we need to do, but Atari needs to do their part as well in promoting their product.

[BHG_Gaming]

4 minutes ago, Djmicklovin said:

I grew up near Pittsburgh bro, i'll have to check that out when i'm back in town. Glad you're spreading awareness for the VCS. We never see commercials for it or anything. Us as fans need to do what we need to do, but Atari needs to do their part as well in promoting their product.

Yeah for sure check it out if you can, it was a great time. 

 

I agree, right now it's the fans doing all the marketing.  I do have some plans coming up that I'll be posting soon that I hope spreads the word out, because right now it's all fan driven marketing.

[Djmicklovin]

2 minutes ago, BHG_Gaming said:

Yeah for sure check it out if you can, it was a great time. 

 

I agree, right now it's the fans doing all the marketing.  I do have some plans coming up that I'll be posting soon that I hope spreads the word out, because right now it's all fan driven marketing.

I feel like they need a celebrity or somebody to endorse and really push the brand, maybe not Soulja Boy but somebody. Say what you want about Soulja Boy but he brought some desperately needed attention to the brand, maybe not good but it was something. They need someone that can get people talking about Atari again and make them relevant.

[justclaws]

1 hour ago, Djmicklovin said:

I feel like they need a celebrity or somebody to endorse and really push the brand, maybe not Soulja Boy but somebody. Say what you want about Soulja Boy but he brought some desperately needed attention to the brand, maybe not good but it was something. They need someone that can get people talking about Atari again and make them relevant.

I understand your thinking but...
...having sort sort of celebrity out there talking lots about your product isn't always a good thing...

Actually, I personally hate "cults of personality" and also the "celebrity endorsement" thing, generally.
VCS is a hybrid console/PC, so I'm happy that they just push what it can do, and not some "face". ?

I like how the Atari Recharged podcast is featuring the developers, musician, designer, but it needs variety.
Knowing that some millionaire musician, sports figure, or TV celebrity endorses something for cash; no thanks.

[justclaws]

2 hours ago, BHG_Gaming said:

I took my VCS to the Pittsburgh Gaming Expo to let the public play the system.   It had a good overall reception.  I had it right out in front along with a sheet that I made out with information about the system and how to order it.   Here's a video that I made of the experience.

 

Atari VCS at PGX 2021

 

Thanks.

Interesting experience. Thanks.
I'm glad you posted that, BHG, and I'll tag it "vcs events". I hope it's the first of many reported.
If Euro-Jagfest happens next year, I'll certainly take a VCS to Germany if I have the opportunity.

By that time, I expect, we'll be running far more than 7800 games on the VCS under AtariOS too,
and there will be more European users, because distribution should start here in Europe quite soon.

[Djmicklovin]

23 hours ago, justclaws said:

I understand your thinking but...
...having sort sort of celebrity out there talking lots about your product isn't always a good thing...

Actually, I personally hate "cults of personality" and also the "celebrity endorsement" thing, generally.
VCS is a hybrid console/PC, so I'm happy that they just push what it can do, and not some "face". ?

I like how the Atari Recharged podcast is featuring the developers, musician, designer, but it needs variety.
Knowing that some millionaire musician, sports figure, or TV celebrity endorses something for cash; no thanks.

It worked for Sega, this guy used to threaten people to play a Saturn lol. Atari should hire this guy, that would be funny.

[justclaws]

7 hours ago, Djmicklovin said:

It worked for Sega, this guy used to threaten people to play a Saturn lol. Atari should hire this guy, that would be funny.

Sega, the company for whom the Saturn was an enormous flop, and subsequently gave up making hardware?
I liked Sega, but it's not a compelling argument, sorry.  (I realise it was a joke!)

Really, I'd rather Atari keep with their tight budget, small staff, and focus on small steps, with VCS and games.
I also don't think Atari have the money for big advertising spends, or wasting money at big expo events, so I
applaud BHG for his efforts. I know Atari fans generally are a friendly, gregarious group; we help ourselves.

[Djmicklovin]

5 hours ago, justclaws said:

Sega, the company for whom the Saturn was an enormous flop, and subsequently gave up making hardware?
I liked Sega, but it's not a compelling argument, sorry.  (I realise it was a joke!)

Really, I'd rather Atari keep with their tight budget, small staff, and focus on small steps, with VCS and games.
I also don't think Atari have the money for big advertising spends, or wasting money at big expo events, so I
applaud BHG for his efforts. I know Atari fans generally are a friendly, gregarious group; we help ourselves.

The Saturn wasn't entirely a flop. It still put up some numbers, it sold over 9 million units worldwide. It was successful in Japan and Europe where a lot of the better games came out for it. Compare that to how many VCS' Atari has sold which is maybe tens of thousands so far, if they're lucky? That's thousands vs millions. Even  the Atari Jaguar only sold about 250,000 units. Atari really has their work cut out for them to even hit that Atari Jaguar number.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Djmicklovin

[justclaws]

9 hours ago, Djmicklovin said:

The Saturn wasn't entirely a flop. It still put up some numbers, it sold over 9 million units worldwide. It was successful in Japan and Europe where a lot of the better games came out for it. Compare that to how many VCS' Atari has sold which is maybe tens of thousands so far, if they're lucky? That's thousands vs millions. Even  the Atari Jaguar only sold about 250,000 units. Atari really has their work cut out for them to even hit that Atari Jaguar number.

Yes, I agree; I wasn't arguing such points, which I think are undisputed facts. 
I thought you were making a jokey suggestion, so I replied in a jokey way.

It's like the Wii-U. Widely considered a "flop" also, but of course sold millions, and a great system.
Small companies can't hope to sell such huge numbers, so their success metrics will be different. 

What about the Pittsburgh Gaming Expo though? Any feedback for BHG? I think it's interesting.