AtariAge + Atari Q&A

[+save2600]

...just awoke from a nap and read the news, or did I? Can't tell yet if this is a dream or nightmare. 😱

 

Albert, with heartfelt 'thanks'... have appreciated the community here, the site itself and all the work that has gone into maintaining it all these years. Looks like things won't be changing too drastically in the near future for you and us - but all the same, congrats on the sale!  👍😀

[Mayhem]

Well, as noted, the signs were there. Congrats Al, the work over the decades has now expanded to something even bigger than it was. As long as nothing changes, I’ll be happy, not that I’m optimistic about that, nothing does stay the same (having been through three work related mergers and acquisitions) but given reps for Atari are actually posting here too, then that at least says some of them are prepared to receive fire peering above the parapet!

[ApolloBoy]

Considering that Atari also owns MobyGames, will there be any kind of cross-pollination between AA's and Moby's databases or are those going to be kept totally separate? 

 

Hoping for the best on this acquisition...

[+mytek]

I'm a bit dubious of the 'goodness factor' of the news myself. Call me a pessimist, but I have worked at several places that were taken over by a larger corporations, and although it's all rainbows and unicorns in the beginning - stuff changed, and it wasn't good in the end.

 

But I can be bought just like anyone else, so if the new Atari would reinstate manufacture of the Pokey chip that was earlier suggested, and sell it for $10 or less you've got yourself a follower

 

BTW, @Albert I love what you created and maintained for all these years. Truly great stuff 👍

[Albert]

Just now, ApolloBoy said:

Considering that Atari also owns MobyGames, will there be any kind of cross-pollination between AA's and Moby's databases or are those going to be kept totally separate?

It's too early to know on that front, but the MobyGames database is fantastic with their recent update.  At the very minimum, I'd love to see the sites cross-link their related entries.  The database will get renewed attention once we streamline the store operations, which is my major pain point at the moment. 

 

 ..Al

[+jgkspsx]

4 hours ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

 

So many good 7800 games. What was going on with developers during this period? Shooting aliens on the shore while waterskiing in Alien Brigade? Ninja Golf? MotorPsycho? Very much one of my favorite eras. I do hope we start to release carts for these games and dig deeper into the catalog.

Pleaaaaase figure out how to get Grandpa’s family to sign off on a Midnight Mutants rerelease.

 

Also I am very in the market for a Fatal Run 2600 NTSC cart (it’s IMO better than the 7800 version!) but not at the $5000 level that was originally proposed

[Albert]

2 minutes ago, mytek said:

But I can be bought just like anyone else, so if the new Atari would reinstate manufacture of the Pokey chip that was earlier suggested, and sell it for $10 or less you've got yourself a follower

Well, there are third-party alternatives to the POKEY now, although manufacturing new POKEY chips would be pretty interesting.  I have no idea how much that would cost to do, especially for DIP parts that are going out of style...

 

 ..Al

[Nall3k]

Albert, will AtariAge's site get a modern overhaul? A lot of current links lead to 404 pages.

[Albert]

1 minute ago, Nall3k said:

Albert, will AtariAge's site get a modern overhaul? A lot of current links lead to 404 pages.

Yes, the main site with the games database is absolutely going to see attention.  Many of those errors were from a few years ago when I had to make some changes to the underlying database access for that portion of the site, and I didn't have time to go through it as thoroughly as I needed to.

 

 ..Al

[ApolloBoy]

4 minutes ago, jgkspsx said:

Pleaaaaase figure out how to get Grandpa’s family to sign off on a Midnight Mutants rerelease.

 

Also I am very in the market for a Fatal Run 2600 NTSC cart (it’s IMO better than the 7800 version!) but not at the $5000 level that was originally proposed

I'd also love to see some rereleases of rare carts if possible.

[+OLD CS1]

20 minutes ago, CharlieChaplin said:

 

Maybe they will buy the Amiga brand, Amiga OS, etc. and finally release an Atari Amiga... ?!?

 

Silence, heretic.

[+mytek]

2 minutes ago, Albert said:

Well, there are third-party alternatives to the POKEY now, although manufacturing new POKEY chips would be pretty interesting.  I have no idea how much that would cost to do, especially for DIP parts that are going out of style...

 

 ..Al

I'd take it as an SMD as well.  Or an entire Atari 8-bit computer on a chip would also be rather nice, making for some interesting development projects to come. Yeah I know there's not much of a market in that sort of thing, but I guy can dream

 

It's just that no one here that I know of can foot the bill for having a new chip run done.

[+jgkspsx]

I was horrified to see “Atari” proposing casinos and doing NFTs and cryptocurrency and hotels. I was very down on the new company.

 

But I got a VCS on sale at Micro Center in 2021, was very impressed by it, and thought, well, maybe they’re not all bad. I have liked the modern games Atari has released more and more with each new title. Atari 50 is probably the best playable museum ever released. I now look forward to new releases with a level of excitement I have not felt about Atari as an active company in my lifetime. So far the actions Atari has taken (or more importantly hasn’t) with regard to MobyGames and NightDive have been exemplary.

 

I am cautiously excited about this news. I hope Albert can spend more time doing high-value stuff, that Atari takes community feedback more seriously, and that this community stays strong, engaged, and most of all as feverishly creative as it has been. I hope we see Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx, Jaguar, 8 bit, and ST homebrew on the Nintendo Switch and the Evercade and other places where more people can discover that these wonderful systems are still alive.

 

Yes, I look at what has become of Embracer’s busted megagrowth and I do have serious fears about what could happen if Atari doesn’t keep doing as well. I see many of the most important names in Atari 2600 homebrew freaking out and I feel bad for them and share their feelings more than a little. I think back on the very recent Republic/Fig Gaming Shares debacle (which thankfully was cancelled and all payments refunded) and the fact that the NFTs and Crypto stuff is still somewhat active and I do have concerns that the bad old days aren’t gone entirely.

 

But all of that is out of my control. I believe in Albert, I trust his judgment, and I believe that a good community will survive whatever may come. I think the upside opportunity is very exciting and hope that the downside risk keeps away from the worst case scenario. 

[buescherking]

Congratulations Al, So happy for you, you deserve all the success that this will bring. Does this mean Atari will send a helping hand to help you solder all those carts now? That would be nice. Since Atari is listening here now I'd like to say I love the idea of the 2600+ (I ordered one, can't wait,can't wait) in other atari consoles, say a mini jaguar that runs Bigpemu with a cartridge slot (similar to the 2600+). I think a lot of people would buy one who have been hesitant to start into the jaguar retro collecting because of the exorbitant initial cost. Maybe include a multipack game, I think it would sell like gangbusters. Any I'd buy one. Okay fantasizing is over now, carry on with regular programming. Congrats Al!

[carlsson]

2 hours ago, Atari the Jedi said:

I hope the Atari age logo doesn't go away.

Atari's logo's red,

AtariAge's is blue,

This became quite a thread,

but I'm happy for you @Albert

[+jgkspsx]

4 hours ago, CapitanClassic said:

I think you are missing a ‘t’ in there, unless people are doing untoward things with their Atari cartridge ports.

I dunno about that @NE146…

[AtariLeaf]

28 minutes ago, insertclevernamehere said:

But still no shipping to Canada?  I hope that gets fixed soon and doesn't mean AtariAge will also stop shipping to Canada.  I've had to order Mr Run & Jump and have it shipped to a friend in the US who will then ship it to me.  Far from ideal but then it DOES avoid getting a big Canada Customs fee slapped onto it.  Would still rather have direct shipping though.

 

Oh, and big congrats to Albert of course.  I'm excited and cautiously optimistic about this epic news.

Amazon canada does have the 2600+ on their site as a preorder. $150 Cdn

Edited September 7, 2023 by AtariLeaf

[+jgkspsx]

1 hour ago, Vectrexer said:

Maybe @Albert could run a vocational program as an After School Enrichment Program for 6-12 grades. Both to pass on the enthusiasm, and to recruit new builders.  Oh wait,,,, that would be yet another job....   

Hey, it works for Peer Johanssen’s Vectrex Academy, as you well know! Honestly, Atari folks, Peer’s model would be one to emulate. It would make for really great press (and really great games).

[Mr Hudson]

Still waiting to hear an official statement from B. Koda and @BIGHMW

[+Stephen]

3 minutes ago, Mr Hudson said:

Still waiting to hear an official statement from B. Koda and @BIGHMW

Please don't tag him.  We don't need begging for more 5200 ports (among other things) in this thread.

[Albert]

2 minutes ago, buescherking said:

Does this mean Atari will send a helping hand to help you solder all those carts now? That would be nice.

Absolutely, we'll be working to streamline the production process, such as by having flash boards produced en masse that I can use for games.  That alone will save an enormous amount of time.  And I should be able to hire someone to help with physical production at some point as well, especially once we are using flash boards for most everything, as it's a lot easier for me to teach someone how to program a flash-based cart, test, and label it than it is to teach someone how to program EPROMs and other devices, correctly populate the boards, and solder them well.  Not that that can't be done, mind you, but it's also much more efficient for someone to program flash carts than build DIP-based boards.

 

 ..Al

[+jgkspsx]

3 hours ago, Brentarian said:

About Atari buying IPs, please buy back the Battlezone IP!  That should have never been sold.  

The problem is that Rebellion has to be open to selling it, and they don’t seem to be. I would love to see this settled, even if it’s just a licensing agreement or something.

[AtariLeaf]

A little off topic but...Berzerk Recharged please 🙂

[doctorclu]

6 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Is there a way out of this if Atari should be taken over by the wrong people again?

6 hours ago, Sauron said:

This news is mind-blowing. Really, I heard the rumors, but didn't expect it to be true. It does not come without its share of concerns, though, and I think the primary question on my mind is, what will happen to the AtariAge site should this iteration of Atari fold? 

These are two long time AtariAge memebers whose voices I respect, and they bring up a good question.

 

 

6 hours ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

Hey there, Trogdar from Atari. It is a fair question, we all know that Atari has had its ups and downs and that some chapters in the company's history have been less than ideal.

What I can say is that team at Atari today is committed to ensuring Atari remains a relevant brand in gaming and pop culture 50 years from now, long after we have all moved on. We understand that we are caretakers to something very special. And we recognize that the fan base and homebrew community has played an outsized role in the sustained popularity of the Atari brand and our legacy software and hardware platforms. 

In teaming up Atari and AtariAge our intent is to provide that same kind of long-term stability for the site and the community. 

 

 

This was a good corporate answer from the current Atari.  I say current because we've seen Atari take many forms and owners over the past decades since the Jack Tramiel days, and like many would be amazed if the current version of Atari lasts any notable time.

 

So I'll ask along with Thomas and Sauron:  is there an exit clause in this agreement for Atariage should the current Atari, or a later Atari turn out to be a less favorable partner/owner?

 

 

6 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

I wonder who owes us developers our royalties (etc.) now? 

 

This is also a valid question.

[carlsson]

Besides obtaining old IP, perhaps someone at Atari can work as a guiding counselor, a coach, a mentor in what it takes for new indie games to become valuable assets to the community and the company. I understand there is lots of smaller indie games on other platforms and this is what Atari wants the VCS to have as well. Earlier this summer when the big clearance sale was announced, there was a lot of debate about many people feel they're game developers, not game designers and if there were no existing games to model their homebrews upon, they may as well call it a day. That would be awful, and lots of talent going to waste. If Atari means serious business, I feel this is an area where they could step in with professional services - though not charged at professional prices since we're still talking about mostly homebrew/indie approach.