Why is the ST being completely ignored by Atari in the 50th anniversary celebrations?

[chorlton655]

I live in the UK and in the late 80s and early 90s the ST was relatively successful, it was my main gaming platform from 87 to 94. So it’s very disappointing that Atari don’t even seem to acknowledge it’s existence now. 
 

[Steril707]

Seems they are strictly focusing on the consoles. 

[+x=usr(1536)]

9 hours ago, chorlton655 said:

I live in the UK and in the late 80s and early 90s the ST was relatively successful, it was my main gaming platform from 87 to 94. So it’s very disappointing that Atari don’t even seem to acknowledge it’s existence now.

As @Steril707 mentioned, Atari SA's focus seems to be on just the 2600 with the occasional nod to the fact that the 5200, 7800, and Jaguar even existed.  I've yet to hear them say anything about the Lynx, either.

 

This iteration of Atari is Atari in name only, so don't worry about the narrow focus.  It's just that the company has little interest in anything they can't milk to death.

[Steril707]

Yep. The 2600 is the one that made the company a legend, and has the most iconic old school brands behind it.
The current owner doesn't give a shit about the varied history of Atari.

[Cebus Capucinis]

Frankly is that really a shock? We retro enthusiasts may be curmudgeonly about their lack of representation of the things we remember, but we are not representative of the market as a whole (despite our protestation to the contrary) and niche products would certainly garner a harder business decision than the 2600.

[+LS650]

Don't even get started about the Portfolio....

[roots.genoa]

The ST won't be forgotten in the anniversary compilation though, even though it won't feature any ST game. Then again, which Atari-licensed ST game could they offer?

[Lord Mushroom]

1 hour ago, Steril707 said:

The current owner doesn't give a shit about the varied history of Atari.

I don´t think that is true. He was involved in game preservation or something like that some time before he became CEO of Atari. It is just a business decision.

[MrMaddog]

Because Sam Tramiel, then CEO of Atari, refused to market & advertise the ST line in the States.  And as a result no one , except for those who had one, even knew they existed even to this day!

 

Also too bad Atari SA sold off the Infogrames library since that had a lot of ST games that would appeal to European gamers.

 

To be honest, it feels like the ST was more of an imported computer than an American one...especially with the modern upgrade parts only available from East Europe.

 

 

[Lord Mushroom]

6 hours ago, Steril707 said:

Seems they are strictly focusing on the consoles. 

There are 8-bit computer games in the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration compilation.

[Keatah]

On 9/2/2022 at 4:18 PM, MrMaddog said:

Because Sam Tramiel, then CEO of Atari, refused to market & advertise the ST line in the States.  And as a result no one , except for those who had one, even knew they existed even to this day!

ST was marketed here in the states. At least here in the Mid-West. Had ads in magazines. Stores had demos set up..

[MrMaddog]

9 minutes ago, Keatah said:

ST was marketed here in the states. At least here in the Mid-West. Had ads in magazines. Stores had demos set up..

 

It depends on the region, STs really had more marketing on the West Coast of course and some in Mid-West.

 

For the East Coast, nothing but commercials for Atarigame consoles.  I would have neither heard of the ST if I hadn't subscribed to Antic for my 8-bit computer, nor actually gotten one if there hadn't been a local dealer that (briefly) sold them.

 

[zzip]

21 hours ago, Keatah said:

ST was marketed here in the states. At least here in the Mid-West. Had ads in magazines. Stores had demos set up..

What year was that?    Yes they initially did some US marketing, but by 87/88 the Atari ST focus was almost entirely on Europe and US ST owners were upset about that

[jhd]

There was one Atari ST dealer in Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) in the late-1980s/early-1990s. 

 

I do not recall seeing any advertising, but I knew a small handful of people locally who used the ST at this time period.

 

 

[+jgkspsx]

On 9/2/2022 at 4:43 PM, roots.genoa said:

Then again, which Atari-licensed ST game could they offer?

Asteroids Deluxe should be in the clear at least. It’s a unique version and would be interesting even though the frame rate is terrible.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

Such a missed opportunity to not remind the world about Bentley Bear's other game appearance, Magical Math!  

Other than that, I'm no expert on the ST library but does look like it'd be pretty underwhelming with what they could offer - Crystal Castles, Star Raiders, Whitewater Madness...maybe Atari Grand Prix?

 

Granted, the roster is weak on the 7800/Lynx/Jaguar too, but I get that they'd have to do a lot of licensing to get all of the gems there.

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by Shaggy the Atarian

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 hour ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Such a missed opportunity to not remind the world about Bentley Bear's other game appearance, Magical Math!  

 

What I want to know is how Bentley Bear went from that to this for the 50th anniversary:

 

 

That's one of the posters on the walls of the lab in the Room 133 game.  He looks kinda like a Village People reject.

 

1 hour ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Other than that, I'm no expert on the ST library but does look like it'd be pretty underwhelming with what they could offer - Crystal Castles, Star Raiders, Whitewater Madness...maybe Atari Grand Prix?

 

Unless they were willing to licence the home ports of their arcade games back from whomever was responsible for producing them at the time, most likely.  Then again, a lot of the home ports were...  Crap.  I'm really, Really, REALLY trying hard to think of an Atari arcade game ported to the ST that was decent, and it's just not happening.

 

To be fair, the ST had an awesome set of independent developers who cranked out some really good games.  But the arcade ports, not so much.

 

Actually, I want to say that the port of Road Runner was kinda OK.  Not great, but kinda OK.  So there's that.

[+CyranoJ]

9 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

I'm really, Really, REALLY trying hard to think of an Atari arcade game ported to the ST that was decent, and it's just not happening.

 

Star Wars. Can't see the affording whoever owns Domark, never mind Disney LOL

[MASTER260]

According to this video, Asteroids Deluxe for the Atari ST is in the collection, so I don't know what you're talking about:

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=WMSzSV-GVnE

[MASTER260]

Also, in the latest issue of Retro Gamer, they specifically said that the collection has games from seven platforms, and going by the video, it's:

 

1. 2600.

2. 5200.

3. 7800.

4. Jaguar.

5. Lynx.

6. 800XL.

7. ST.

Edited September 12, 2022 by MASTER260

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 hour ago, MASTER260 said:

According to this video, Asteroids Deluxe for the Atari ST is in the collection, so I don't know what you're talking about:

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=WMSzSV-GVnE

They really should have gone with the arcade version.  Including a single title that does nothing to demonstrate the ST's capabilities is just pathetic.

 

Given that they probably don't have the spondulix to obtain the licences to the ports of their own arcade titles, though, it's perfectly understandable.

 

Also, how dare they ignore the Portfolio.  Of all the nerve!  There are undoubtedly tons of people out there with fond memories of Othello, Eliza, and Hangman who are understandably feeling overlooked by this egregious omission.  For shame, Atari SA!  For shame!

[roots.genoa]

4 hours ago, MASTER260 said:

Also, in the latest issue of Retro Gamer, they specifically said that the collection has games from seven platforms, and going by the video, it's:

 

1. 2600.

2. 5200.

3. 7800.

4. Jaguar.

5. Lynx.

6. 800XL.

7. ST.

There are arcade games as well, and someone from Digital Eclipse confirmed no ST games. Maybe it has changed though...

[Shaggy the Atarian]

Even though I have an ST sitting on a shelf as a premium dust collector (I really should sell it off), I hadn't been aware of the ST port of Asteroids Deluxe until this thread and....

 

Saying it's rough is being generous. If you were going to go to the trouble to have any ST content, I'd think you'd want to avoid some of the worst games and put something at least average on there, like Crystal Castles or spend a few bucks and license Dungeon Master. This would definitely be a case of better nothing than something. 

 

Again, I get that they don't have the money to license all the stuff everyone wants but this is kind of the case for the 7800/Lynx/Jaguar. Anyone who has never played Club Drive or Basketbrawl sure is in for a "treat."  At least there's Ninja Golf, Warbirds and T2k though.

[+x=usr(1536)]

5 hours ago, MASTER260 said:

According to this video, Asteroids Deluxe for the Atari ST is in the collection, so I don't know what you're talking about:

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=WMSzSV-GVnE

Hang on.  I just picked up on something I really should have earlier.

 

That video wasn't put out by Atari SA.  That makes it completely unofficial, which in turn means that it can't be considered to have even the slightest bit of accuracy.

 

Although no source is quoted, the following post indicates that there are zero ST titles included:

 

 

Either way, Asteroids Deluxe on the ST still sucks big fat ones, so not having it on there is a definite improvement over it being included.  Hell, if the handheld version of Touch Me is what nudged it out, that's a mercy killing.

[Atariboy]

The confusion was caused by the reveal trailer from Atari SA/Digital Eclipse that announced this collection. It included a few seconds of Asteroids Deluxe footage from the ST. But Digital Eclipse quickly clarified on social media within a day or so of the unveiling that no ST games were included. So we've known for certain almost since the start that no ST games were here.

 

I suspect it was some sort of mistake by the person that created the trailer. For instance perhaps they quickly grabbed some Asteroids Deluxe footage off YouTube to "borrow" a few seconds of, not realizing that it's not the right version for the game that we now know is included (Arcade Asteroids Deluxe is in the leaked final game list). 

 

If not, perhaps the appearance of that footage hints that they were serious at one point about including ST games before realizing just how little they'd have to work with without licensing outside content? I suspect we'll never know.

Either way it's not news that no ST games made the cut since we've known that since June.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Atariboy