AtariAge + Atari Q&A

[famicommander]

8 minutes ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

You are comparing a $40 device to a $130 device.  I cannot speak to the performance, I haven't played it and I don't work directly on that part of the business. As I said I will check out the reviews. 

Like I said, there is a new model of the Evercade coming out next month that is 60 dollars with your choice of 17 built in Taito or 12 built in Capcom games. It has a much higher quality screen, much better emulation, and it plays every existing Evercade cartridge. 

 

Further, the home version of the MyArcade is the same price as an Evercade VS home console (the single pack, not the two player pack). 

 

If bad emulation is the best you can do for 40 dollars then you shouldn't devalue your brand by releasing it in the first place. Should've just done what Capcom and Taito did and licensed an Atari-branded Evercade Super Pocket for 20 dollars more. Then it would have good emulation, a good screen, modern features, good customer support, and a cartridge slot that allows access to 50+ other carts (including 2 carts full of Atari 2600/7800 games, 2 carts full of Atari Lynx games, and 1 cart full of Atari arcade games).

 

Don't just say you care about quality and then partner with MyArcade to release a device that can't emulate games from 1977 at full speed. Put in the work to find a partner that can deliver a device worthy of the Atari brand.

Edited September 8, 2023 by famicommander

[roadrunner]

Do long time AA members get a cut of the check Al got from Atari for helping grow this site?

 

[TrogdarRobusto]

2 minutes ago, Mercenary said:

What about a mini Lynx? Some guy recently put something together like that...

https://retrododo.com/atari-lynx-mini/

A bunch of built in games. And that's a winner right there.

You see the problem right? All these things are good ideas, we just need to do them bit by bit so we do them well. We talk about Lynx, Jaguar and ST all the time. It is just a question of what and when. Modern ports. Retro hardware. A really good mini. Maybe all of the above. 

[Mercenary]

1 minute ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

You see the problem right? All these things are good ideas, we just need to do them bit by bit so we do them well. We talk about Lynx, Jaguar and ST all the time. It is just a question of what and when. Modern ports. Retro hardware. A really good mini. Maybe all of the above. 

I get that it can't all be done at once.

For me, one of the more interesting projects is coming from Revive Machines. The Revived 800XL. That looks absolutely superb, and I've seen quite a bit of interest over it too from people.

Something like that really should be coming from Atari itself. 

[+frankodragon]

I do think some of the responses of doom and gloom are a bit going overboard which the news broke early this week.  Especially one that thinks Al sold his soul to the devil which is preposterous.  

[TrogdarRobusto]

famicommander as I said earlier, not everyone is going to agree with everything we do, but hopefully you like most of what we do. 

[youxia]

3 hours ago, Flojomojo said:

Why worry about the loss of community before it happens? Wouldn’t you rather contribute to making the site what you want it to be, leading by example? The people are the same, so what difference does corporate sponsorship make?

Seriously? Do you really believe that a corporate sponsorship - or shall we say ownership - makes no difference in such situations?  Do you really think that a harsh critique of Atari products, such as the Taco Thread, would be even remotely possible?  Tbh this is just an extreme example, off top of my head, because I'm a little bit shocked - I only learned about it right now, as I don't frequent this site as often as before, and when I saw a thread about it yesterday I really thought it's a joke. So I didn't really have time to think about thoroughly, but I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of other downsides (haven't there already been roms/creators withdrawn?)

 

I'm sorry, I did read Albert's statement on the matter and while it is full of reassurances - and its author is a respectable and believable person - I've been around for too long to not know that in the long run this will not turn out well. It's a pity, because AA is (was?) the biggest and best still existing independent forum dedicated to old computers and consoles. This is why I ended up being a poster here, not because I'm a nostalgic Atari fan.

 

I simply cannot fathom how it being taken over by a corporate operator, especially one of such terrible pedigree, doesn't ring more alarm bells in people.

[TrogdarRobusto]

5 minutes ago, Mercenary said:

Something like that really should be coming from Atari itself. 

Been discussed. Let's see what happens.

[famicommander]

4 minutes ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

famicommander as I said earlier, not everyone is going to agree with everything we do, but hopefully you like most of what we do. 

You're the one who made the claim that you care about the quality of your licensed products. You made that claim and I countered with a licensed device that is releasing imminently that can't even play the games it is being sold with at full speed. What other measure of quality is there for a gaming device more important than being able to play its games?

 

It's not like you designed a piece of clothing that some people find stylish and other people don't. This isn't a subjective issue. This is a device designed to play Atari games, releasing with your branding this year, that plays Atari games very poorly. Which is pretty much what we came to expect from the last regime and their awful partners at AtGames. If you want to put the old regime in the rear view mirror you have to be better than they were.

[TrogdarRobusto]

6 minutes ago, famicommander said:

 

I stand by what I have said about our goals. I have zero interest in getting into an argument.

Edited September 8, 2023 by TrogdarRobusto

[+DjayBee]

15 minutes ago, Mercenary said:

For me, one of the more interesting projects is coming from Revive Machines. The Revived 800XL. That looks absolutely superb, and I've seen quite a bit of interest over it too from people.

Something like that really should be coming from Atari itself. 

As great as it would be, I doubt this will happen due to the price tag attached to FPGA devices.

[+cvga]

 

5 minutes ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

I stand by what I have said about our goals. I have zero interest in getting into an argument.

Thank you for being so open and available. Looking forward to what you'll be doing in the future.

[famicommander]

1 minute ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

I stand by what I have said about our goals. You clearly are looking to get into an argument. I have zero interest in that. Ain't gonna happen.

I am not looking to get into an argument, I'm pointing out a very valid criticism that you asked for. I promise this isn't a "gotcha" or an attack. These are the tough questions. When you say you want criticism and you say you care about the enthusiasts, this is what that looks like.

 

These devices play the games it is being sold with at a slower speed, with extra flicker, and off-pitch music (likely a consequence of the lower speed). And you guys put your logo on them. This is one of the many reasons why people don't trust you. Because you're willing to put your weight behind companies like AtGames and MyArcade who present our favorite Atari games in a format that does not live up to what they truly are or should be. Imagine some kid picks up the MyArcade and that's his only exposure to Atari. He's going to come away from that experience thinking that's what Atari 2600 games were really like and that's incredibly sad.

 

And I'm not anti-Atari or anti-you guys buying AtariAge. I have a 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx, Jaguar, Jaguar CD, XEGS, and VCS 800. I adore the Atari 50 Collection. I have Atari shirts in my closet. I'm not one of the people bailing on the site because you guys bought it. 

 

I want you guys to do well. And I'm explaining to you that releasing devices that can't play your own games in 2023 is not the way to go about it, even if you sell a bunch in the short term.

[Crimson Tibiasm]

Well there's one problem that comes to mind when someone talks to me about the 2600+

 

This is mainly in regards to its hardware, it's backwards legacy hardware support for controllers and accessories.

Is there legacy support?

The reason I bring this up is I did speak out on the old wireless controllers. 

https://twitter.com/ProximityDrone/status/1698851795005485108

Edited September 8, 2023 by Crimson Tibiasm
small error

[+cvga]

2 hours ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

By the way, serious props to Al who is also answering questions non-stop in the AtariAge Facebook group. We need to let him get a little work done...

 

Holy cow! It's the day after the announcement of your acquisition and you're already driving him to do more work. Greedy corporate bastards!

[Atari_Force]

Specifically about the Altirra emulator. Will it be censored?

[r_chase]

Friendly reminder to those that jump ship and then come back later: don't forget you're here forever.

:P

[r_chase]

2 minutes ago, Atari_Force said:

Specifically about the Altirra emulator. Will it be censored?

My gut tells me no it will not be altered in any way, shape, or form.

[Andreatari]

What are the plans about an important resource to new games support like ZeroPage Homebrew?

[TrogdarRobusto]

46 minutes ago, famicommander said:

I want you guys to do well. And I'm explaining to you that releasing devices that can't play your own games in 2023 is not the way to go about it, even if you sell a bunch in the short term.

I am listening and sharing your feedback within the organization ... 

[Rogerpoco]

1 hour ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

You are comparing a $40 device to a $130 device.  I cannot speak to the performance, I haven't played it and I don't work directly on that part of the business. As I said I will check out the reviews. 

Been complaining about those for YEARS.

To be fair, if a company stance is "You are comparing a 40$ device to a 130$ device", it should have some caveat of, "you are buying a piece of crap, and Atari can be much, much better"...

Not angry, just saying.

Even offered playtesting skills, coming from a pixel perfect player, but I guess there was plenty of $ being made.

 

My biggest issue with all the garbage released is that it's gonna be what people who never had exposure to a real Atari will think it was like.

It's a shame, really.

[zzip]

Hopefully we see some love for the most neglected piece of Atari hardware of all time - the ATW-800 Transputer workstation!   We will of course require a remake of this in handheld form to play such transputer classics like "Hello World",  "Guess the Number" and maybe "Hunt the Wumpus"    

[MegaManFan]

Unwarranted two cents - emulation devices should be reviewed the way Taki Udon or Russ from Retro Game Corps does (I need to work harder at it in my own videos) in pointing out the price to performance ratio. Sometimes you can get something cheap that does way more than you'd expect, sometimes you get something expensive that does way less. It's not always "you get what you pay for" though it often seems that way when it comes to MyArcade or Arcade 1-Up products. Frankly the only time I 100% "got what I paid for" was a $10 retro handheld from Five Below. The buttons and D-pad were stiff, the emulation was crap and games crashed randomly or didn't boot at all, the roms selected were mind boggling, the only thing impressive about it was the screen -- which at that price you could harvest and put into a better device. Anyway if I want a good handheld Atari experience it's always going to be dependent on the specs, the OS, and the cores. A device could run 2600 or arcade games great and run Jag like crap if you don't optimize it. Most aren't perfect right out of the box. ANYWAY if you're looking for a cheap above average experience I recommend either the Taito or Capcom version of Evercade previously mentioned in this thread along with the Atari collections made for it. To my untrained eye it's well optimized.

[TrogdarRobusto]

I had no idea it was Friday ... these days are blending together. Everyone have a good weekend. 

[+CharlieChaplin]

17 hours ago, OLD CS1 said:

Yup.  At the very least, the 2600+ is an Atari product.  Not atGames, not licensed, but a real, actual Atari product.  The compatibility list says it will play every cartridge I have in my small but not insignificant library.  A pretty big deal, IMNSHO.  I had some harsh words for the TheC64 and I ate those words and learned my lesson.  I eagerly await the 2600+ as my birthday gift this year.

 

Errrmmm yes and no,

afaik the 2600+ is produced by the austrian company PLAION, formerly Koch media.

 

And allthough my name is Andreas Koch, I have nothing to do with it.