Atari VCS has now been on the market for 3.5 Years. What are your thoughts?

[roots.genoa]

3 hours ago, JLee said:

the fans were very annoying

You could say the same about Atari in general, now that I think about it. 🙂

Spoiler

Just kidding, it was too hard to resist.

 

[leech]

22 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

You could say the same about Atari in general, now that I think about it. 🙂

  Hide contents

Just kidding, it was too hard to resist.

 

Depends on the console... some of them don't have fans at all.  (keeping the double meaning here is great!)

[adamchevy]

I've been watching the new VCS console's progression with mild interest since its release.  I wasn't held back because of the price, and I was very interested in owning one.  I wanted a good console experience and access to the Atari Libraries.  Now that they own Atariage I am surprised that they haven't capitalized on creating a digital storefront for their entire homebrew section that's here on Atari age.   I know many of the older Gen gamers like their physical cartridges and have great nostalgia for the physical experience.  It seems like a missed opportunity to not utilize there full back catalog of releases/homebrews/hacks to create some type of service like Gamepass, but for Atari games.  I admittedly don't use gamepass, but that's mainly due to the games they have available.  A gamepass full of Original Atari games and homebrews would be something I would be thrilled to subscribe to. 

 

I don't think most people are interested in the Hybrid PC nature of the VCS. Most folks have a PC and don't need another one to access Steam or to be another computer.  I think they just want to have a newer Atari console for the Modern age with access to the games they love.

Edited September 21 by adamchevy

[tripled79]

Still coming out with system updates almost four years later. That's much better support than I though I would get when I backed the console back in 2018. Makes you wonder if the AtariOS will live on in some other form or if Atari plans to support this VCS long term...

[Flyindrew]

On 10/5/2024 at 11:27 AM, tripled79 said:

Still coming out with system updates almost four years later. That's much better support than I though I would get when I backed the console back in 2018. Makes you wonder if the AtariOS will live on in some other form or if Atari plans to support this VCS long term...

Ive been hearing "this system is on its last legs" for 2 years now. After the most recent system update, Atari sent a message, not only mentioning what the update contains, but the last line in the message reassures users that more updates are to come. Suffice to say, this system is still being supported by Atari and ignore the "death talk" regarding the VCS.

[+swlovinist]

Nice to see it being supported still and approaching 4 years in December.   What else is in store?  

[RollOut]

"Reports of the VCS' death have been greatly exaggerated."

 

Mark Twain... probably 

[Mockduck]

So at this point I assume we're probably somewhere beyond the half-way point in the VCS' commercially-supported life, just based on the way hardware and software goes. It's been so great an overall experience over the years compared to what it might have been had things gone differently that the remaining persistent negative voices are just gonna have to live with the fact that people who aren't them are enjoying it, which is very difficult for some people. I think us more positive VCS owners are probably gonna have to live with the reality that whatever it's biggest commercial potential was has probably passed, and at this point we are looking at slowly diminishing support over the next couple of years. But I can see the hardware itself still being totally usable for at least another five years, so we'll see I guess! And slowly diminishing support still means plenty of good to great games coming out for some time to come.

 

It seems like the VCS has also found a nice niche as a way for very small developers to get their games in front of actual people, both for minor commercial benefit and for very important real-world feedback. So the value of the console remains very high on the developer side I think, although this is for people who are happy selling hundreds of copies per platform. There are a LOT of game devs not even doing those numbers, including so many on Steam you might be able to argue "most". 

Hardware still looks good and plays great years later, I've had no major hardware issues since December 2020. Controllers are another story, I think the Modern Controller's final judgement will be it was a good controller to use, great controller even, but it had some hardware issues that gave them too short of a life span before left stick drift sets in. I've gone through four controllers, on my fifth, so I guess I like it, but their life span for me is about six months if I'm lucky.

Classic controller is a similar story, it's a game changer and fantastic but also a bit rickety and prone to developing issues after about six months of regular use.

 

Edited October 8 by Mockduck

[+swlovinist]

15 hours ago, Mockduck said:

So at this point I assume we're probably somewhere beyond the half-way point in the VCS' commercially-supported life, just based on the way hardware and software goes. It's been so great an overall experience over the years compared to what it might have been had things gone differently that the remaining persistent negative voices are just gonna have to live with the fact that people who aren't them are enjoying it, which is very difficult for some people. I think us more positive VCS owners are probably gonna have to live with the reality that whatever it's biggest commercial potential was has probably passed, and at this point we are looking at slowly diminishing support over the next couple of years. But I can see the hardware itself still being totally usable for at least another five years, so we'll see I guess! And slowly diminishing support still means plenty of good to great games coming out for some time to come.

 

It seems like the VCS has also found a nice niche as a way for very small developers to get their games in front of actual people, both for minor commercial benefit and for very important real-world feedback. So the value of the console remains very high on the developer side I think, although this is for people who are happy selling hundreds of copies per platform. There are a LOT of game devs not even doing those numbers, including so many on Steam you might be able to argue "most". 

Hardware still looks good and plays great years later, I've had no major hardware issues since December 2020. Controllers are another story, I think the Modern Controller's final judgement will be it was a good controller to use, great controller even, but it had some hardware issues that gave them too short of a life span before left stick drift sets in. I've gone through four controllers, on my fifth, so I guess I like it, but their life span for me is about six months if I'm lucky.

Classic controller is a similar story, it's a game changer and fantastic but also a bit rickety and prone to developing issues after about six months of regular use.

 

Yikes, the modern controller for me has been pretty good, but the classic controller had definitely gotten more loose after not much use.   

[Flyindrew]

21 hours ago, Mockduck said:

So at this point I assume we're probably somewhere beyond the half-way point in the VCS' commercially-supported life, just based on the way hardware and software goes. It's been so great an overall experience over the years compared to what it might have been had things gone differently that the remaining persistent negative voices are just gonna have to live with the fact that people who aren't them are enjoying it, which is very difficult for some people. I think us more positive VCS owners are probably gonna have to live with the reality that whatever it's biggest commercial potential was has probably passed, and at this point we are looking at slowly diminishing support over the next couple of years. But I can see the hardware itself still being totally usable for at least another five years, so we'll see I guess! And slowly diminishing support still means plenty of good to great games coming out for some time to come.

 

It seems like the VCS has also found a nice niche as a way for very small developers to get their games in front of actual people, both for minor commercial benefit and for very important real-world feedback. So the value of the console remains very high on the developer side I think, although this is for people who are happy selling hundreds of copies per platform. There are a LOT of game devs not even doing those numbers, including so many on Steam you might be able to argue "most". 

Hardware still looks good and plays great years later, I've had no major hardware issues since December 2020. Controllers are another story, I think the Modern Controller's final judgement will be it was a good controller to use, great controller even, but it had some hardware issues that gave them too short of a life span before left stick drift sets in. I've gone through four controllers, on my fifth, so I guess I like it, but their life span for me is about six months if I'm lucky.

Classic controller is a similar story, it's a game changer and fantastic but also a bit rickety and prone to developing issues after about six months of regular use.

 

I also wonder, going forward, if the streaming apps (XBox, media apps) will be supported? One overlooked feature of the VCS is its ability to employ XBox cloud gaming. Being an avid pilot on Flight Simulator, I use the VCS (via Xbox cloud gaming, modern controller) many times to fly and it runs beautifully. 

[J344R3Y]

The original Atari VCS (1977-1992) support lasted 15 years. I expect no less than that for the new Atari VCS. So from 2021 to 2036. 👍

 

The Atari VCS-2, in whatever form, should be released in 2027 for the 50th anniversary on the original VCS and also be supported for 15 years. (2027-2042).

 

Atari can easily be profitable enough to endure with the unique position of being both retro and modern at the same time. I’m enjoying being able to play games that can be finished and not be abandoned for being to frustrating and complicated. Keep It Simple.

[roots.genoa]

4 hours ago, J344R3Y said:

The original Atari VCS (1977-1992) support lasted 15 years. I expect no less than that for the new Atari VCS. So from 2021 to 2036. 👍

Sure. Except for the fact that the original one was way more successful and Atari was a totally different company back then, it makes sense. 🙂

[JPF997]

13 minutes ago, roots.genoa said:

Sure. Except for the fact that the original one was way more successful and Atari was a totally different company back then, it makes sense. 🙂

Bro why are you so black pilled on the modern VCS? Who cares if it doesn't sell as much as the original 2600 did ? No other Atari product ever did, all that matters is that it's a great system and a true return to form for Atari ( it would be even better if they stopped with the US exclusivety nonsense, I really hope the VCS 2 has international shipping available on launch day ).

Edited October 11 by JPF997

[tripled79]

On 10/8/2024 at 11:23 AM, Mockduck said:

So at this point I assume we're probably somewhere beyond the half-way point in the VCS' commercially-supported life, just based on the way hardware and software goes. It's been so great an overall experience over the years compared to what it might have been had things gone differently that the remaining persistent negative voices are just gonna have to live with the fact that people who aren't them are enjoying it, which is very difficult for some people. I think us more positive VCS owners are probably gonna have to live with the reality that whatever it's biggest commercial potential was has probably passed, and at this point we are looking at slowly diminishing support over the next couple of years. But I can see the hardware itself still being totally usable for at least another five years, so we'll see I guess! And slowly diminishing support still means plenty of good to great games coming out for some time to come.

 

It seems like the VCS has also found a nice niche as a way for very small developers to get their games in front of actual people, both for minor commercial benefit and for very important real-world feedback. So the value of the console remains very high on the developer side I think, although this is for people who are happy selling hundreds of copies per platform. There are a LOT of game devs not even doing those numbers, including so many on Steam you might be able to argue "most". 

Hardware still looks good and plays great years later, I've had no major hardware issues since December 2020. Controllers are another story, I think the Modern Controller's final judgement will be it was a good controller to use, great controller even, but it had some hardware issues that gave them too short of a life span before left stick drift sets in. I've gone through four controllers, on my fifth, so I guess I like it, but their life span for me is about six months if I'm lucky.

Classic controller is a similar story, it's a game changer and fantastic but also a bit rickety and prone to developing issues after about six months of regular use.

 

I wish there was a way to replace the left analog as apposed to buying a new modern controller. I just went and bought an xbox controller since my VCS modern got too much drift.

[roots.genoa]

9 hours ago, JPF997 said:

Bro why are you so black pilled on the modern VCS? Who cares if it doesn't sell as much as the original 2600 did ? No other Atari product ever did, all that matters is that it's a great system and a true return to form for Atari ( it would be even better if they stopped with the US exclusivety nonsense, I really hope the VCS 2 has international shipping available on launch day ).

What does it have to do with what I was saying? Have you actually read what I was replying to, which is so weird I even wondered if it was trolling? I don't care if the VCS sells well or not, I just don't see the correlation between the original VCS support and the new one. And claiming the original Atari VCS was supported 15 years is even exaggerated to begin with. It's as dumb as claiming something will happen to the Switch because it happened to the NES mind you.

[CapitanClassic]

Yeah, the Atari 2600 was basically only supported from 1977-1984 (8 years). 1985 was basically dead, with only a handful of games (Ghostbusters, Cosmic Commuter, Obelix, Asterix) being released due to the 1983 NA video game crash. Not much changed in:

• 1986 (6 games?)
• 1987 (6 games)
• 1988 (5 games )
• 1989 (14 games)
• 1990 (0 games)
• 1991 (4 games)

The Sega Master System support is greatly exaggerated as well, with Brazil getting new releases through 1998. The real support window was about 8 years in PAL world. The NES also only lasted about 8-9 years as well. The difference in hardware capabilities is just so huge after 5 years (maybe not now), that most people move on to the new hardware. 

 

[JPF997]

On 10/11/2024 at 9:18 PM, roots.genoa said:

What does it have to do with what I was saying? Have you actually read what I was replying to, which is so weird I even wondered if it was trolling? I don't care if the VCS sells well or not, I just don't see the correlation between the original VCS support and the new one. And claiming the original Atari VCS was supported 15 years is even exaggerated to begin with. It's as dumb as claiming something will happen to the Switch because it happened to the NES mind you.

I mean  no one can predict the future, maybe the new VCS will be supported for another 10 years maybe it won't, the original (2600) was supported  from 1977 all the way up to  1992 so anything is possible (remember Fatal Run  the last official game released for the 2600 came out in the early 90s so it still counts as official support from Atari).

Edited October 13 by JPF997

[Mockduck]

On 10/9/2024 at 10:56 AM, Flyindrew said:

I also wonder, going forward, if the streaming apps (XBox, media apps) will be supported? One overlooked feature of the VCS is its ability to employ XBox cloud gaming. Being an avid pilot on Flight Simulator, I use the VCS (via Xbox cloud gaming, modern controller) many times to fly and it runs beautifully. 

If it ends up being like other console life cycles the online apps are usually the first to bail in terms of platform functionality. But with the VCS mostly just being Chrome links I wouldn't expect it to die in the same way say Skype for PS3 did with dedicated console apps.

[+swlovinist]

As a hobbyist hybrid mini pc console hybrid, I have been surprised that the VCS has chugged along.   Having realistic expectations of this device, I have gotten my enjoyment out of playing Atari games on it.   I am curious about the future polymega device for the VCS and when that will be released.