Atari VCS (retail deals/discount thread)

[+SabertoothRetro]

My closest store is sold out. They had six units before the price cut. 

[+sixersfan105]

2 minutes ago, eightbit said:

its also a pretty darn good PC to have as a spare at a really good price

This intrigues me, beyond the "fun" factor, as I don't actually own a modern PC right now (been a Mac guy since the early 2000s), unless you consider a repair-in-progress Compaq Presario Pentium II modern ?

[eightbit]

1 hour ago, sixersfan105 said:

This intrigues me, beyond the "fun" factor, as I don't actually own a modern PC right now (been a Mac guy since the early 2000s), unless you consider a repair-in-progress Compaq Presario Pentium II modern ?

 

I hear you. I used to be all about the latest and greatest PC...but that was ages ago. I just can't afford it nowadays and I am not much of a PC gamer now either so that suites me fine. My main computer is a Pentium G3450 to give you an idea. That said, this VCS is now the most powerful computer in the house

[justclaws]

Some great BLACK FRIDAY deals from Atari here!

Use code
WALNUTFRIDAY for $20 Off any Atari VCS Black Walnut All-In system.
Use code
ONYXFRIDAY for $10 Off any Atari VCS Onyx Base system. 

Also for existing owners:
CELEBRATE "FLASHBACK" BLACK FRIDAY Fire up your Atari VCS starting Friday to access our first Big Game Sale!
All Atari Games in the VCS Store will be 33% off! 4 Days only! Friday, November 26 through Monday, November 29.
Sale includes:
All 7800 Titles: Desert Falcon 7800, Ninja Golf 7800, Scrapyard Dog 7800, Motor Psycho 7800, Dark Chambers 7800, and Planet Smashers 7800.
All Atari Recharged titles: Centipede: Recharged, Black Widow: Recharged and Missile Command: Recharged
Atari VCS Vault: Vol. 2: 14 vintage Atari arcade games, 16 Atari 5200 titles, 12 Atari 2600 M Network games, and 8 prototype/homebrew Atari 2600 games.

[eightbit]

That's awesome. Looks like I will be bulking up my VCS game collection starting now. Thanks for the heads up!

[eightbit]

So thinking about the Microcenter deal. I am just wondering... how did they swing it? This particular console set was not reduced anywhere else for Black Friday. Gamestop, Best Buy, even the official website are all $399.99. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the deal. I actually went back today and ended up scoring a second VCS at the $250 price tag as I was able to reserve one more (I guess somebody did not pick up their order) and now I have a spare for either an Xmas gift for a family member, trade item for the future, or maybe just one to keep sealed as a future collector item.

 

But, I still have to wonder about Microcenter. I personally sort of pit them in with the likes of "Crazy Eddie"...or maybe "Nobody Beats The Wiz" type of place. The reason behind that I will not get too into because it has to do with some shady things they have done to acquire and sell my own companies products that I am personally aware of and deal with quite often... so I guess what I say that they are not entirely on the "up and up" so to speak.

 

Hope they didn't fall off a truck is all I am saying

Edited November 27, 2021 by eightbit

[Atarick]

The Microcenter near me had I think 5 in stock on Monday and has 2 now. Will be interesting to see how much this has made sales jump. Might be a steer for future retail price or other discounts to come.

[+sixersfan105]

24 minutes ago, eightbit said:

So thinking about the Microcenter deal. I am just wondering... how did they swing it? This particular console set was not reduced anywhere else for Black Friday. Gamestop, Best Buy, even the official website are all $399.99. 

So I'm pretty sure that Micro Center had much more stock, on the whole, then any of the other retail partners. My understanding is that Best Buy barely stocks any in-store and I think GameStop is online-only? So I wonder if that had something to do with it? They were tired of each of their stores having a bunch of VCSs collecting dust for months on end, and thought they should do a deep discount to finally move some stock. Just a guess, but seems plausible.

[eightbit]

2 minutes ago, sixersfan105 said:

So I'm pretty sure that Micro Center had much more stock, on the whole, then any of the other retail partners. My understanding is that Best Buy barely stocks any in-store and I think GameStop is online-only? So I wonder if that had something to do with it? They were tired of each of their stores have a bunch of VCSs collecting dust for months on end, and thought they should do a deep discount to finally move some stock. Just a guess, but seems plausible.

 

Makes sense. But at $150 off I would have to assume they are losing money. I mean, that was significant price cut. On the flipside the controllers all sit at $59.99

[+sramirez2008]

Their selling units now. When I purchased mine on Monday, my store had 7 on-hand.  As of now, they have 1 left.

[eightbit]

35 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

Their selling units now. When I purchased mine on Monday, my store had 7 on-hand.  As of now, they have 1 left.

 

You are not kidding. My store went from 10 to 0 in two days. They probably could have lowered to $299 with the same result to be honest. The $399 price mark was extreme. I mean, I wanted the console and at least one new style controller and one classic controller. Both of those controllers in my opinion are necessary to own in order to obtain the full experience. The pack with both and console made sense, but the $400 price really didn't. The $250 price on the other hand was just a no brainer.

[+sramirez2008]

5 minutes ago, eightbit said:

 

You are not kidding. My store went from 10 to 0 in two days. They probably could have lowered to $299 with the same result to be honest. The $399 price mark was extreme. I mean, I wanted the console and at least one new style controller and one classic controller. Both of those controllers in my opinion are necessary to own in order to obtain the full experience. The pack with both and console made sense, but the $400 price really didn't. The $250 price on the other hand was just a no brainer.

The $250 price is why I purchased one.  I really had no intention of getting one and had not been keeping up with it.  Been reading through several threads, ever since my purchase.  

 

Btw, Crazy Eddie and The Wiz...purchased many LPs and CDs from them, BITD.

[eightbit]

3 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

Btw, Crazy Eddie and The Wiz...purchased many LPs and CDs from them, BITD.

Haha, me too. I was working at a local privately owned movie theatre around the time that the Wiz was purchased. Cablevision (here in NJ) purchased them, and then purchased my theatre! They offered me a $100 Wiz gift card, a percentage off my cable bill, and then finally the door when they liquidated me (I was the manager at the time) and all of my employees. I guess I couldn't beat the Wiz either...

[+sixersfan105]

Curious if Atari signed off on the Micro Center $150 off. Will be interesting to see if Micro Center restocks once they sell through their remaining stock or if this deep discount was a way to get out of the VCS game entirely? 

[eightbit]

6 hours ago, sixersfan105 said:

Curious if Atari signed off on the Micro Center $150 off. Will be interesting to see if Micro Center restocks once they sell through their remaining stock or if this deep discount was a way to get out of the VCS game entirely? 

 

That is what has me concerned. You would think everyone would have been at that discount...but only Microcenter? It is quite possible they bought into this system and just couldn't sell it at the $400 price tag. I can totally see that as I certainly would not have purchased it for $400. Not that I do not think it is worth the money as a whole (the system, two controllers, etc) but there's a lot of things that can be had with $400 and this would not remotely have been my first pick at that price point.

 

But, once you start reaching the sub-$300 price point I listen. Granted the Onyx console has been $300 but it does not come with controllers. 

 

Overall $250 was really a steal. Microcenter could have lowered it to $299 and I would have grabbed it at $100 off. 

[+sixersfan105]

14 minutes ago, eightbit said:

That is what has me concerned. You would think everyone would have been at that discount...but only Microcenter? It is quite possible they bought into this system and just couldn't sell it at the $400 price tag. I can totally see that as I certainly would not have purchased it for $400.

Yeah I'm with you 100%. Atari has been offering $10 off an Onyx and $20 off a Black Walnut this weekend with coupon codes but that's kinda silly compared to Micro Center's deal, which further leads me to believe this was not done with Atari's blessing. 

[The Helper]

8 hours ago, sixersfan105 said:

Yeah I'm with you 100%. Atari has been offering $10 off an Onyx and $20 off a Black Walnut this weekend with coupon codes but that's kinda silly compared to Micro Center's deal, which further leads me to believe this was not done with Atari's blessing. 

 

I am pretty sure Microcenter owns the stock they have in the VCS and this is a clearance type thing.  Microcenter has stocked Atari products in the past like the Atari Branded Arcade controller and once they are out they are out.  Would not be surprised to see a clearance on the controllers soon.

[joeatari1]

I honestly think they (Atari) are playing with pricing models still.  $150 off seems a huge discount, but if they are going to sell more units they will need to lower the retail price a bit.  Atari probably has enough profit built in to sell it at that price point and still make a few dollars.  The biggest issue they have is that the VCS is not being categorized or advertised properly.  Right now Micro Center lists the VCS under the Maker/STEM category when it should be dual categorized under gaming and mini PC.  At Game Stop, you can't find it unless you specifically type Atari VCS into the search.  It's not listed under consoles, or any other category for that matter.  Same goes for Best Buy.

[+sixersfan105]

13 minutes ago, joeatari1 said:

I honestly think they (Atari) are playing with pricing models still.  $150 off seems a huge discount, but if they are going to sell more units they will need to lower the retail price a bit.  Atari probably has enough profit built in to sell it at that price point and still make a few dollars.  The biggest issue they have is that the VCS is not being categorized or advertised properly.  Right now Micro Center lists the VCS under the Maker/STEM category when it should be dual categorized under gaming and mini PC.  At Game Stop, you can't find it unless you specifically type Atari VCS into the search.  It's not listed under consoles, or any other category for that matter.  Same goes for Best Buy.

So you think Atari told Micro Center to discount it? I'm not so sure. I noticed that about the categorization issues - not good. Kind of a shame that Micro Center is the only retail partner that actually stocks the VCS in stores. GameStop and Best Buy are online only or "ship to store." There's an occasional open box at Best Buy but those are obviously returns. 

[joeatari1]

48 minutes ago, sixersfan105 said:

So you think Atari told Micro Center to discount it? I'm not so sure. I noticed that about the categorization issues - not good. Kind of a shame that Micro Center is the only retail partner that actually stocks the VCS in stores. GameStop and Best Buy are online only or "ship to store." There's an occasional open box at Best Buy but those are obviously returns. 

I think they had a hand in it, yes.  And a super sale on black Friday isn't unheard of.  Micro Center probably wanted to clear some shelf space and Atari said ok, how about a black Friday sale?  I doubt Micro Center has $150 of profit built into the VCS.  I would venture to say probably $75 to $100.  Atari likely ponied up the difference as an additional incentive to move units.  It worked and now Atari has to ponder the validity of their pricing model.  They still need to fix the categorization and advertising though.  Word of mouth only goes so far.

[john_q_atari]

Last night they showed 1 available in Houston but this morning emailed me saying they were out of stock. I would do $250 but not $400 so no Atari VCS for me. 

[+sramirez2008]

Well, its been nearly a week and I'm pleasantly surprised by this microconsole.  On the PC side, I've added Windows 10 (via external SSD drive) and loaded Stella, A7800 and Altirra.  I've also ordered a 5200-daptor (can't wait for that to arrive) so I can use my original joysticks and trak-ball controllers with 5200 games. 

 

On the Atari OS side, I've downloaded several of the recharged games (Black Widow is difficult to master, but really cool), 7800 games (Food Fight of course) and really like that Antstream is included.  They have lots of classic coin-ops in their catalogue and its nice to get to play games that I haven't been able to for quite some time.  All-in-all, pretty happy with the purchase at the $250 price point.  The "classic" controller works well with its built in paddle, so that's a plus, but its throw is different from an actual CX10/CX40.  Not a big deal, but a bit of an adjustment for me.  Probably not an issue for others. 

 

This console has turned into my personal emulation station, which is new for me, as I normally play an actual hardware (CRTs included).  Happy gaming everyone.?

[Nall3k]

The marketing for the VCS isn't good. Their social media ads are the Newsweek article and trying to explain what the system is and does. That's always doomed to fail.

Show. Not tell. Compare the Wii U trailers (where they try to explain the system) to the Switch trailers (where they show what the system does).

They should be showing game footage, the UI, the streaming capabilities, mix in some shots of the hardware being used. Catchy music, etc. Essentially, the video on this page, https://atarivcs.com/games
 

Have that be your advertisement, not text trying to explain what it is.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Nall3k

[+swlovinist]

11 hours ago, Nall3k said:

The marketing for the VCS isn't good. Their social media ads are the Newsweek article and trying to explain what the system is and does. That's always doomed to fail.

Show. Not tell. Compare the Wii U trailers (where they try to explain the system) to the Switch trailers (where they show what the system does).

They should be showing game footage, the UI, the streaming capabilities, mix in some shots of the hardware being used. Catchy music, etc. Essentially, the video on this page, https://atarivcs.com/games
 

Have that be your advertisement, not text trying to explain what it is.

I have to agree with this.   There should be a clear message as to what games are also coming out for December/January/February, unlike the drip feed we have been getting.     We know about Asteroids recharged but what else?   While I am happy that old games are being rereleased on the VCS, it would be nice to know what else is coming and dates.   I don't expect the VCS to be like the Series X, PS5, or Switch.   I do think it is reasonable for people who are buying this console to expect what is coming out for it.    I want to like this console more than what it is offering.    

[justclaws]

Atari VCS Store
The Black Friday VCS software deal for the weekend has been extended to Wednesday,
apparently, due to the server problems over the weekend. (Everything working today.)

MicroCenter Black Friday VCS Deals
Many shops sold out, but apparently new stock is present in several shops, but price back to $399.