What does this latest statement from Atari mean for the VCS?

[tripled79]

Didn't they say earlier that this is the 50 year anniversary and that more announcements were to come?

[Atarick]

6 hours ago, tripled79 said:

Didn't they say earlier that this is the 50 year anniversary and that more announcements were to come?

They did, and if I recall correctly Rosen emphasized that Atari post-Chesnais was interested in returning to a focus on hardware and software, including the Recharged games and modest AAA (non-mobile) gaming. He also previously emphasized that the VCS was very much a hallmark product, something Michael Artz echoed. I'm not saying they couldn't change course given a sobering read of the accounting books, but I have a hard time believing that any path to redemption for Atari doesn't run through the VCS or new Atari games.

 

As stated before, consoles are a losing proposition without software, and Atari at present doesn't have enough of that to make any money. I can see a few novel things (2600 cartridge reader attachment for VCS? A preloaded USB?) Atari could do the rectify that, but do think that their best move is focusing on games, dropping the VCS price, releasing it in Europe, and just riding the wave to see what happens as new games drop. It would be a big jump to cut and run on the VCS given everything they (Rosen and Artz) said just 2-3 months ago. 

 

 

[RadiATIon]

What is reassuring is the planned recapitalization of Eur 22 to 25 million. This will restore cash flow. On the other hand for small shareholders it will dilute the capital so the stock will take a further decline. For me the Atari stock is especially for the main owners: Wade Rosen now before Frédéric Chesnais. Small shareholders will never find their interest... 

[THX-1138]

1 hour ago, Atarick said:

I have a hard time believing that any path to redemption for Atari doesn't run through the VCS or new Atari games.

My thoughts exactly, factoring the 50 year anniversary too I think if they walked away from the VCS it would be disastrous for them.

[Djmicklovin]

11 hours ago, SoCalAttorney said:

"On addition, while Atari is a party to usual litigation matters related to the protection of its intellectual property, Atari is currently appealing a loss in a unique intellectual property protection case and is resisting a demand for fees and expenses of over USD 2 million. Atari views the demand as unreasonable and legally questionable and will vigorously defend against the claim."

I want to track down that lawsuit and see what happened.

They were selling T-shirts and other merchandise with the Atari name and intellectual properties on them without permission, how the hell they lost i'll never know. There are other websites selling Atari stuff as well.

[+SabertoothRetro]

11 minutes ago, Djmicklovin said:

They were selling T-shirts and other merchandise with the Atari name and intellectual properties on them without permission, how the hell they lost i'll never know. There are other websites selling Atari stuff as well.

Here's an interesting take on the suit against Redbubble:

 

https://www.reedsmith.com/en/perspectives/2021/12/redbubble-scores-a-significant-win-against-video-game-company

[zzip]

16 hours ago, THX-1138 said:

It can be read negatively because it's so vague, but it can be read the other way too.  The latest Recharged game has only just been released, they were posting about Unsung Heroes being released soon on Facebook, they are raising more money and moving on the Euronext exchange, this makes me hopeful a UK/European release can happen.  I don't ever expect this to compete with high end gaming rigs or consoles, but as a niche mini-PC for Atari fans there is no reason it can't do well enough to continue.

My experience with press releases is when you have good news, you crow about it, you don't beat around the bush.

 

When you have bad news, you cover it in euphemisms..  example you don't announce you are heading for bankruptcy, you are "pursuing strategic options".

 

So that's why this release is a bit concerning.  It's hard to tell exactly what it's trying to say, but it feels like it is prepping people for bad news

[Mockduck]

I agree that Atari isn't going to stop the VCS run in 2022 during the 50th Anniversary; the console will certainly be a part of the year even if releases end up slowing down. However, they could end things this year and make 2022 its final year of official support, assuming they are doing it because they have no other choice, really.

[THX-1138]

1 hour ago, Mockduck said:

I agree that Atari isn't going to stop the VCS run in 2022 during the 50th Anniversary; the console will certainly be a part of the year even if releases end up slowing down. However, they could end things this year and make 2022 its final year of official support, assuming they are doing it because they have no other choice, really.

I don't think anything will happen yet, but let's be honest, what is the absolute worst case scenario?  Any purchases can be copied out of the storage partition and run on a regular Linux distro just fine.  So no money is lost on game purchases.  The Atari OS can then be removed and the BIOS password changed.  Whack whatever applications and games you want on it and just carry on - it's only a PC.  Discontinuation of any PC by a manufacturer doesn't have the same implications that it would for a regular games console.  At worst we'll end up with snazzy little Atari PCs that will work until the hardware fails, even then, those nice cases can be used for other boards etc.  Atari users have become very creative at making old machines last decades after they ceased production.

[jhd]

3 hours ago, SabertoothRetro said:

Here's an interesting take on the suit against Redbubble:

 

https://www.reedsmith.com/en/perspectives/2021/12/redbubble-scores-a-significant-win-against-video-game-company

 

Thank-you for sharing this.

 

Conceivably, then, Atari could bring actions against the individual (alleged) copyright infringers rather than the platform as a whole, but most of them would presumably be judgement-proof, and the cost of so much small litigation would more than consume any damages that they received.  

[Mockduck]

50 minutes ago, THX-1138 said:

I don't think anything will happen yet, but let's be honest, what is the absolute worst case scenario?  Any purchases can be copied out of the storage partition and run on a regular Linux distro just fine.  So no money is lost on game purchases.  The Atari OS can then be removed and the BIOS password changed.  Whack whatever applications and games you want on it and just carry on - it's only a PC.  Discontinuation of any PC by a manufacturer doesn't have the same implications that it would for a regular games console.  At worst we'll end up with snazzy little Atari PCs that will work until the hardware fails, even then, those nice cases can be used for other boards etc.  Atari users have become very creative at making old machines last decades after they ceased production.

Yeah, if it were to happen so far the VCS works just fine offline in AtariOS and I'd still get a few years of use out of it.

[Keatah]

Ominous statements like so concern me in these modern days, but they didn't in the old days.

 

Today if something goes away or the company collapses, that's the end of it.

Yesterday if something went away or the company collapsed, that's the end of it.

 

Difference being that the industry had new ideas and new products on tap back then. Stuff was changing so rapidly anyways, new capabilities and features were coming month after month. Today not so much. All this wrestling with streaming and on-line accounts and keeping track of it all. It's just churn'n'burn.

[DavidD]

On 2/22/2022 at 1:17 PM, Nall3k said:

Microsoft and Sony sell their consoles at a loss and make up for licensing and software. There is no money in hardware. The VCS is a cool mini PC, but Atari doesn't have the resources to sell worldwide and for a loss.

Eh... Nintendo and computer companies sell hardware for a profit.  I think it's a stretch to say "there is no money in hardware."  The question is more whether or not making a profit on hardware means there is too much of a cost barrier for the consumer, leading to a lack of software profits...

[Djmicklovin]

36 minutes ago, DavidD said:

Eh... Nintendo and computer companies sell hardware for a profit.  I think it's a stretch to say "there is no money in hardware."  The question is more whether or not making a profit on hardware means there is too much of a cost barrier for the consumer, leading to a lack of software profits...

Exactly, Apple, Dell, HP, all these companies would be out of business if there was no money in hardware. That’s why I laugh when people talk about how low the VCS sales are… Maybe it would be more fair to compare the VCS to PC sales. They maybe selling in low numbers but they aren’t taking a loss on every VCS sold.  The difference is that PC manufacturers don’t sell at a loss.

Consoles typically need big sales in order to attract developers to the platform. They sell consoles at a loss but make up for it with $70 games, expensive accessories, online subscription services, etc. Consoles in the past have been really limited in terms of what they can do because they run very proprietary hardware and software. That’s where the VCS has an advantage.