How much longer will the Atari VCS be on the market?

[THX-1138]

2 hours ago, leech said:

Yeah, I mean you can always get adapters for the DE-9 controllers, I have only used the VCS Classic controller a few times, but do feel there is a decent purpose for owning one for emulation purposes.

I was tempted by the USB Hyperkin Trooper II.

 

[Leonard Smith]

2 hours ago, THX-1138 said:

I was tempted by the USB Hyperkin Trooper II.

 

Get one.  I have one and it functions well, although the joystick throw is increased over a CX-40.

 

Its plug and play and the second fire button works fine on 7800 games.

[Tinman]

3 hours ago, Mockduck said:

Yes, the Classic works killer with Stella, just works when plugged in currently. Both in AtariOS and PC Mode or on PC or whatever.

We can run Stella in Atari OS??

[leech]

4 hours ago, Tinman said:

We can run Stella in Atari OS??

There is a method of creating selections on AtariOS and run your own software via dosbox and stella if I recall.

[Djmicklovin]

On 4/25/2022 at 11:22 PM, Leonard Smith said:

Reminds me of when the Dreamcast was discontinued, there were some gamers in the last few months of 2001 that couldn't let go and had it their heads that continuing buying games and accessories would somehow make Sega change their mind about abandoning it.    

That is the most cliché thing i've ever heard. Why is the Dreamcast brought up every time a gaming company is in trouble? This is nowhere near on the same scale as the Dreamcast failure. We're talking maybe thousands of VCS' vs millions of Dreamcasts left unsold in warehouses. And you realize Atari has other means of revenue coming in other than just video games right? Licensing, crypto, those speakerhats and merchandise also provide a cushion of revenue to whatever losses they're accruing with the VCS. Sega at that time didn't. They were banking everything on the Dreamcast, that's why they went under. 

Edited April 27, 2022 by Djmicklovin

[WAVE 1 GAMES]

35 minutes ago, Djmicklovin said:

That is the most cliché thing i've ever heard. Why is the Dreamcast brought up every time a gaming company is in trouble? This is nowhere near on the same scale as the Dreamcast failure. We're talking maybe thousands of VCS' vs millions of Dreamcasts left unsold in warehouses. And you realize Atari has other means of revenue coming in other than just video games right? Licensing, crypto, those speakerhats and merchandise also provide a cushion of revenue to whatever losses they're accruing with the VCS. Sega at that time didn't. They were banking everything on the Dreamcast, that's why they went under. 

but thats just it. They are not losing ANY money on the vcs systems sold at $99 from Gamestop. Gamestop already paid for those systems last year. Not sure how many units Atari has sitting around collecting dust but I'm willing to bet that the gamestop thing may have actually created some buzz for the console and its even possible that some folks who missed out on that deal may come and scoop up some of the unsold ones at Atari. Maybe not, but it's possible. Only time will tell.

 

for now the only thing for certain is Atari hasn't said anything about abandoning the VCS.

[zzip]

15 hours ago, Tinman said:

We can run Stella in Atari OS??

It's included in AtariOS for running 2600 games downloaded from the store.   Adding your own roms is a bit tricky right now but I understand it can be done.

[Mockduck]

15 hours ago, Tinman said:

We can run Stella in Atari OS??

Stella was integrated into the AtariOS a few months back, so it works like default when booting up one of the VCS Store's 2600 ROMs. There is a way to hack it to add your own, someone in the Discord knows more about that. Seemed complicated. While I haven't been able to get to the menu in Stella, the Function Keys seem to still do their thing. The Classic is just recognized in Stella these days without issue.

[Mockduck]

I should add that I used the words "plugged in" but the Classic works over Bluetooth in AtariOS and the VCS' PC Mode without issue as well. It works fine in my regular PC as well, although some users have reported the need to wire the controller into their computer through the supplied USB cable. 

[Leonard Smith]

13 hours ago, Djmicklovin said:

That is the most cliché thing i've ever heard. Why is the Dreamcast brought up every time a gaming company is in trouble? This is nowhere near on the same scale as the Dreamcast failure. We're talking maybe thousands of VCS' vs millions of Dreamcasts left unsold in warehouses. And you realize Atari has other means of revenue coming in other than just video games right? Licensing, crypto, those speakerhats and merchandise also provide a cushion of revenue to whatever losses they're accruing with the VCS. Sega at that time didn't. They were banking everything on the Dreamcast, that's why they went under. 

I'm fully aware of the differences between the Dreamcast and VCS scenarios, and have a working knowledge of how these things work.

 

The issue is, we're seeing the same misguided optimism by gamers who aren't seeing the full picture and dismiss these warning signs.  You get the usual comments like "oh well, I hope they keep releasing games because you know, it's Atari" and the "at least they're making a small profit" and "Gamestop isn't an important reseller anymore..."

 

The ship is sinking.  The VCS is now being clearanced from one less larger gaming retail establishment.  You and I may not shop Gamestop, but apparently many other gamers still do. 
Is this new Atari making inroads with Walmart or other large sellers?  Or is this going to be an online-only thing?  Even @tgames had a larger distribution network through national chains Family Dollar or Dollar General or whatever those crappy stores are to peddle their wares.

Youthful optimism and hoping isn't going to change things.  

And speakerhats -- LOL!! ?
 

[Djmicklovin]

3 hours ago, Leonard Smith said:

I'm fully aware of the differences between the Dreamcast and VCS scenarios, and have a working knowledge of how these things work.

 

The issue is, we're seeing the same misguided optimism by gamers who aren't seeing the full picture and dismiss these warning signs.  You get the usual comments like "oh well, I hope they keep releasing games because you know, it's Atari" and the "at least they're making a small profit" and "Gamestop isn't an important reseller anymore..."

 

The ship is sinking.  The VCS is now being clearanced from one less larger gaming retail establishment.  You and I may not shop Gamestop, but apparently many other gamers still do. 
Is this new Atari making inroads with Walmart or other large sellers?  Or is this going to be an online-only thing?  Even @tgames had a larger distribution network through national chains Family Dollar or Dollar General or whatever those crappy stores are to peddle their wares.

Youthful optimism and hoping isn't going to change things.  

And speakerhats -- LOL!! ?
 

But you don’t know the difference clearly. The VCS is not a console, it’s a PC.. So I don’t know why you people keep placing it in a category among other failed consoles. It’s a PC but you have expectations of a console… So i’m not sure where the confusion is… It wasn’t a device expected to sell millions of units, I don’t think anyone expected that. We’re lucky it even exists, this could’ve been way worse like the Intellivision Amico situation. They have found modest success with the small dedicated community that they have. Sales numbers don’t matter, it’s the money. As long as they can keep making some money on it and keep it afloat, that’s all that matters.
 

Yes people still shop at Gamestop but we’re moving to a future of online only sales anyway, whether people like it or not. Gamestop itself has been going under for years and they’ve already closed down hundreds of stores, with hundreds more expected to close. Brick and mortar retailers in general are on their way out and have been in trouble for years.

 

“Youthful optimism and hoping isn’t going to change things.” Man i’m sorry for the poor soul that has to wake up to you every morning, if you’re even married to someone which i’m sure you’re not with an attitude like that… Then why do you keep coming here?! I guess you forgot you’re on a site called AtariAge… Where we discuss Atari, imagine that… I guess i’m not allowed to have some hope and optimism anymore because a grumpy old man says so… 

[+Stephen]

23 minutes ago, Djmicklovin said:

Where we discuss Atari, imagine that

Some of us prefer the older innovative Atari.  not the patent trolls that ripped off Curt Vendel and sued Jeff Minter.  They've earned the disdain many of us have.  Living off a 50 year old name with no other link to the past doesn't do it for some of us.

[joeatari1]

Just now, Stephen said:

Some of us prefer the older innovative Atari.  not the patent trolls that ripped off Curt Vendel and sued Jeff Minter.  They've earned the disdain many of us have.  Living off a 50 year old name with no other link to the past doesn't do it for some of us.

And none of the people who did that are there anymore.  So what is your point?  It's ok man.  Let it go, just let it go.

[Leonard Smith]

1 hour ago, Djmicklovin said:

Sales numbers don’t matter, it’s the money. As long as they can keep making some money on it and keep it afloat, that’s all that matters.
 

Haha what?  Sales do matter.  Installed base is what developers and companies look for when deciding whether or not to support the platform.  You keep falling on the old "but it's a PC!!" notion, which it is, but that's not the primary selling point.  Especially since "Atari" continues to develop this Atari OS or whatever it is.

 

1 hour ago, Djmicklovin said:

“Youthful optimism and hoping isn’t going to change things.” Man i’m sorry for the poor soul that has to wake up to you every morning, if you’re even married to someone which i’m sure you’re not with an attitude like that… Then why do you keep coming here?! I guess you forgot you’re on a site called AtariAge… Where we discuss Atari, imagine that… I guess i’m not allowed to have some hope and optimism anymore because a grumpy old man says so… 

Haha!  What are you a psychologist and a business analyst?  Or a DJ?  Whatever you are, don't quit your day job!  

And yes, we do come to Atari Age to discuss ATARI.  Not this French-owned travesty that's banking on gullible fools like yourself.  How many speakerhats do you own?  
 

 

[leech]

6 minutes ago, Leonard Smith said:

How many speakerhats do you own?  

Ha, you know full well that in 30 years those speakerhats are going to be worth their weight in gold!

[Leonard Smith]

4 minutes ago, leech said:

Ha, you know full well that in 30 years those speakerhats are going to be worth their weight in gold!

Sad but true. ?
All the cringe-worthy junk usually comes back in demand 20 or 30 years later lol.  
 

[Cebus Capucinis]

I own zero speakerhats and candidly, part of the dark section of my psyche is sad for that.

[Djmicklovin]

3 hours ago, Stephen said:

Some of us prefer the older innovative Atari.  not the patent trolls that ripped off Curt Vendel and sued Jeff Minter.  They've earned the disdain many of us have.  Living off a 50 year old name with no other link to the past doesn't do it for some of us.

It’s time to let it go. There wouldn’t be a link to the past either way. I have said this before. Even if it was the same lineage, the original people that started Atari would be long gone. 

 

2 hours ago, Leonard Smith said:

Haha what?  Sales do matter.  Installed base is what developers and companies look for when deciding whether or not to support the platform.  You keep falling on the old "but it's a PC!!" notion, which it is, but that's not the primary selling point.  Especially since "Atari" continues to develop this Atari OS or whatever it is.

You think developers care what the sales numbers are for the latest Dell laptops? Probably not so much. When it’s a console it matters because consoles run very proprietary hardware. PCs do not and since the VCS runs off the shelf PC components, it’s very easy to port over PC games. And like others have said here, even if the Atari store ends up shutting down, people can still use their VCS as a PC unlike other consoles that end up as a brick at the end of their lifespans.

 

2 hours ago, Leonard Smith said:

Haha!  What are you a psychologist and a business analyst?  Or a DJ?  Whatever you are, don't quit your day job!  

And yes, we do come to Atari Age to discuss ATARI.  Not this French-owned travesty that's banking on gullible fools like yourself.  How many speakerhats do you own?

Yup I am a psychologist and a business analyst… That’s all you need to know. I will quit my day job and still have more money left over than you’ll ever make. Wow and DJ are my initials, is it really that hard to figure out?

 

More speakerhats than you get ? at night… How about that? Name the parking lot!

Edited April 28, 2022 by Djmicklovin

[Leonard Smith]

47 minutes ago, Djmicklovin said:

That’s all you need to know. I will quit my day job and still have more money left over than you’ll ever make. 

Keep dreaming, champ! ?

 

49 minutes ago, Djmicklovin said:

How about that? Name the parking lot!

Whoa, we got a badass over here! ?

[WAVE 1 GAMES]

This is starting to turn into the Jaguar forum. There is no need to exchange insults with one another come on guys.

 

And even if the company goes "under" the AtariOS games will still work too. They dont require network access.  (As far as I can tell)

 

I need to weigh in here a little more about my position on the VCS.

 

First of all, I am in love with it. But not for the reasons that are getting thrown around in this thread. About 20 years ago I had an idea to build the smallest windows PC I could and load that bitch up with a ton of emulators and ROMS and ISOS. It would have connected to a tv via RCA cables and used wireless controllers and would have been my go to system for playing all of my favorite games from the past via emulation.

I called this little box the emulation station.

I found a few parts and cases and even a video card that was good at the time that had RCA jacks on it. But I never finished the project. It never saw fruition. I really wanted something like that.

 

Holy shit here comes Atari years later proposing something similar and it will also have a console mode with new Atari branded games? I backed the funding and I was in.

 

I read along in the forums and saw all the hatred Infrogrames/Atari was getting and I too started to think it would be a scam like the Coleco chameleon. I was seriosly starting to doubt the thing would ever come out.

 

Then one day around Christmas of 2020 I started seeing all of these youtubers popping up saying they got their VCS in the mail and I was like holy shit its actually real!!!

 

Then I got mine.

 

Now I didnt expect much I really didnt. The bar was set really low especially reading all of the biased people saying it was a low end piece of shit PC. I wondered if it would even run N64 games.

 

Im getting ahead of myself. The controllers BOTH the classic and modern controllers are top notch. They are superb quality. I was blown away by how good they actually were. They delivered 100% on these.

 

Now. Lets get back to emulation. I went ahead and upgraded the RAM to 32 GB because I wanted to try some emulators I didnt dare try before on my PC. Particularly Wii U. Not the Wii folks, the Wii U. I fired up Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze and on the very first try after the RAM upgrade I was seeing my favorite Wii U game running at 60 FPS in 4K!!!! This game is the reason I bought a Wii U and I never thought I would see the day it would be emulated perfectly. And on a piece of Atari hardware. Imagine that. When Nintendo fucked up the Starfox series by releasing that garbage game Starfox Zero I had enough and sold my Wii U and denounced myself as a Nintendo fan. I was a Nintendo fanboy my whole life. But I was sad I would never play DKC Tropical Freeze again. But alas now I have the VCS with 32GB RAM and Im playing that, Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, Mario 3D World and a few others. Breath Of the Wild runs kind of choppy but overall this is very nice so far. Then I load up Dreamcast, Wii, PS1, PS2 and N64 emulators and all run great!  Well guess what? I got rid of my Dreamcast, my Wii, my PS2 and my N64 is now in storage. I dont need them anymore I have the Atari VCS.

 

Ok so you got some emulators Jeff so what? Well then I remembered this thing is also a PC and there are several older PC games I had that I would love to play onvthe couch. Pac Man Adventures In Time, Alien Rampage and Rollcage come to mind.

 

Ok Jeff so you can play some old pc games and emulators on your couch big deal you could have just built that yourself already.

 

Yeah I could have but I never did after many years and even if I did it would not have looked as cool and light weight as the VCS. The controllers probably wouldn't have been as cool either.

 

So then what about the AtariOS. Well here I can play brand new Atari released games as well as Antstream arcade which has thousands of classic games and challenges and tournaments.

 

Ok cool deal. Then XBOX CLOUD service became available and forbthe first time in my life I was able to play Killer Instinct 3!!! I thought surely this thing will have lag streaming an XBOX ONE game right? It does not!! Sea of Theives? Works great no lag!!!

 

Well it cant possibly run anything modern though right everyone said its a piece of shit. I thought hey just for shits and giggles lets install DOOM ETERNAL on the PC drive and see how it runs.

32GB RAM= 60fps DOOM ETERNAL ON ATARI VCS.

 

Yes 60 fps.

 

My point? Oh I definitely got my money worth on my VCS and even if Atari changes ownership tomorrow I will still get many more years of use out ot my VCS.

 

Im not holding Infrogrames/Atari up to the standards of Atari from the golden days because its pointless.

 

The almighty 2600 had the worst version of pacman to have ever been created. It was an abomination and I feel sorry for any kids who got that as a gift. Donkey Kong was almost unrecognizable. The 2600 was a good console because of third parties like Activision and Imagic not for anything Atari was doing back then.

 

Then the next incarnation if Atari was responsible for the late to the scene 7800 with the 2600 sound chip and the 5200 with the worlds worst controller.

 

Then there was the next version of the Atari company that made and released the Jaguar.

I will not get into that.

 

Whatever golden standard that people are remembering for "Atari of old" is completely made up in their heads. Whatever these people expected out of a new Atari console would have never been. No matter who was on the project. No matter what it still would have gotten shit on before coming out the door. These people took on an IMPOSSIBLE goal. Reinvent a dead ass brand that nobody is asking for and the people that SHOULD want to see such a thing are so stuck up now and hold the 2600 in such high regard they will never accept it.

 

Dont get me wrong. They shouldn't have called it the VCS. They should have stuck with AtariBox or something else. That was a dumb move. The price point was also too high. However I will say that sone of the price points these people are suggesting it should have launched at are also equally fuxking stupid. It definitely should not have been $400. But these ridiculous $50 and $100 prices people have been squawking since day 1 are also dead wrong. I even saw one person say " it should be $25" why? Why should it be $25? In what reality? ? It probably should have launched at $249 and then dropped to $199 by now. That should have been their price point and Tempest 4000 should have been a launch title not coming out so damn late. Im not sure why Infrogrames/Atari have done some of the things they have like ZERO marketing for the VCS and poor taste in name but I do like the end product and I choose to support the company. Im also happy with the upkeep of the OS and the variety of unique games. When I heard about Something Ate My Alien (exclusive to the VCS) I thought that sounds stupid what kind of $2 indiegame bullshit is this? Oh its Dig Dug mixed with Metroid. Holy shit its actually really good and fun! I look forward to the new Food Fight and the upcoming recharged games.

 

For me the VCS was a great purchase and just like any other defunct Atari console I will still get many more years of use out of it if they decide to call it quits. But nobody at Atari has said anything to suggest that is whats in their plans. I don't see why people get so giddy with hatred over this. Let it go people.

 

In this whole rant I have refrained from using the word "haters" but as I wrap this all up I cant think of any other word to call such negative people.

 

Carry on folks

Edited April 28, 2022 by WAVE 1 GAMES

[Matt_B]

Out of interest, how would people feel if Atari unveiled a VCS 2.0 that was of better specs, had improved connectivity, was fully backwards compatible and sold at a lower price?

 

Also, how would people feel about it if it turned out to be an existing mini PC from a no-name Chinese manufacturer but with an Atari badge slapped on it?

[Keatah]

1 hour ago, WAVE 1 GAMES said:

About 20 years ago I had an idea to build the smallest windows PC I could and load that bitch up with a ton of emulators and ROMS and ISOS.

Doing that 20 years ago was a tall order. 2GHz machines for home use were barely getting underway. And still quite expensive.

 

Emulation hadn't become serious yet. And host hardware was hot and heavy and big. Today it's a breeze. All kinds of attractive-looking SFF PCs, Intel Nucs, R-Pi stuff, MiSTer, and more, are available.. Today a miserly sum of $1500 will get you two or three quality platforms and accessories galore to cover all emulation aspects.

 

Quote

The 2600 was a good console because of third parties like Activision and Imagic not for anything Atari was doing back then.

The 2600 is what started Activision and Imagic. Games like Combat, Surround, Street Racer, Human Canonball, Sky Diver, Video Pinball, Miniature Golf.. And so much more.. Were utterly groundbreaking and loads of fun. Anything from the first few pre-1981 cartoony catalogs was cool.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed how Atari was developing the art of videogames back in 1975 - 1979. Innovation was key. And "Innovative Leisure" was an understatement.

 

1 hour ago, WAVE 1 GAMES said:

Whatever golden standard that people are remembering for "Atari of old" is completely made up in their heads.

It's in our heads because Atari put it there. And it was all good. Not having been there is a detriment to understanding what it was like. Atari of old was exciting and we could count on new cartridges every month. New material to explore. New material to collect. Schoolyard banter. EGM magazine. Atari Club. A great part of our culture.

 

Today no one (outside of these forums) knows or cares about nu'tari.

Edited April 28, 2022 by Keatah

[Keatah]

9 minutes ago, Matt_B said:

Out of interest, how would people feel if Atari unveiled a VCS 2.0 that was of better specs, had improved connectivity, was fully backwards compatible and sold at a lower price?

I don't know.. Better specs than the existing vcs? Fully backwards compatible with what? Original VCS cartridges?

 

9 minutes ago, Matt_B said:

Also, how would people feel about it if it turned out to be an existing mini PC from a no-name Chinese manufacturer but with an Atari badge slapped on it?

I suppose where it's made doesn't really matter in today's global economy. In effect they already slapped an atari badge on low-power generic PC.

[WAVE 1 GAMES]

7 minutes ago, Keatah said:

It's in our heads because Atari put it there. And it was all good. Not having been there is a detriment to understanding what it was like. Atari of old was exciting and we could count on new cartridges every month. New material to explore. New material to collect.

Gravitar Recharged comes out next month. You can count on that. It wont make you relive the years if 1977-1979 (75???) But it is a nice looking take on Gravitar. The art direction is a bold step in a new direction. Just because YOU are not excited about whats coming out in the next few months on the VCS doesnt mean other people aren't. Im lookikg forward to the new Food Fight, Red Rust, Spirit of The Samurai and Gravitar Recharged.

 

I also pay attention to their instagram like a stalker. I think the next 2 recharged games they are going to try are Yars Revenge and Major Havoc. (They have dropped subtle hints) How exciting is that? The reviews for the recharged games have been mostly positive. You cant deny that.

 

Theres no raspberry pi that can run Wii U games.

 

Why would I buy 3 systens for all of my emulation needs when the VCS does it all and I paid $300 + the $100 RAM upgrades?

 

(Well I have spent more than that now but thats because I have 3 of the damn things now because I have issues and not sure why I keep buying them thats MY FAULT)

[WAVE 1 GAMES]