FB3...

[nathanallan]

MRB, your controller is a nice concept! I wonder, though, have you thought of the actual hardware that would be involved in making one like that? It would be pretty tightly packed, for sure. Havning a roller-ball device next to the devices needed for two different potentiometer-like controls AND an ir... seems pretty crowded for a handheld controller. Neat concept, though.

 

Nathan

[Math You]

seems pretty crowded for a handheld controller.

True, in fact it looks a real mess! I was just thinking that it would add a new dimension to games, something that's more 'virtual reality' and less 'move joystick and press fire'. I suppose the i.r sender could be removed as the tilt mechanism could be used to detect movement. I kind of like the trakball though. It would make a good knife in games like trauma centre, or you could use it in other games to write messages on walls to remind you if you've been somewhere before.....or draw crucifixes if you're in the house of the dead!

[+pboland]

I believe in Curt, but with how vague he is, it really is pointless for any of us to assume what's going on until he gives us new info in 2008. For all we know, this advanced project really could be the Jaguar I spoke of...and my sources tell me I'm getting warmer.

 

 

Maybe a Jaguar II Just dreaming though

[nathanallan]

seems pretty crowded for a handheld controller.

True, in fact it looks a real mess! I was just thinking that it would add a new dimension to games, something that's more 'virtual reality' and less 'move joystick and press fire'. I suppose the i.r sender could be removed as the tilt mechanism could be used to detect movement. I kind of like the trakball though. It would make a good knife in games like trauma centre, or you could use it in other games to write messages on walls to remind you if you've been somewhere before.....or draw crucifixes if you're in the house of the dead!

I'm thinking about it, and maybe a trackball could be replaces with a laser type mouse (saves space), and it could also do the job of the IR (spreading it out, sperate from the mouse function)... leme see what I can come up with.

 

nathan

[+pboland]

An faster version of the Jaguar would be good, particularly since it would be difficult for other companies to emulate without using expensive hardware.

 

If the Jaguar was to be re-released as a modern console (not a flashback console) then it would benefit from an innovative controller. I once had an idea for a Swiss army joystick (no, it doesn't have a knife built into it!) with extra buttons and dials that would emulate real life objects.

 

Its not a bad idea, however it would put Atari in direct competition with the Wii and I don't think Atari has the money to do that. The only downside that I see is, Atari may look like a copy-cat to the Wii, but then again, if it makes money who cares

[nathanallan]

Its not a bad idea, however it would put Atari in direct competition with the Wii and I don't think Atari has the money to do that. The only downside that I see is, Atari may look like a copy-cat to the Wii, but then again, if it makes money who cares icon_wink.gif

 

So far as I can tell, everyone copycats. But yeah, it would take a LOT of money to compete with the Wii the way it's going. Still, seems that wireless motion-control is gonna be the way to go and a new bar to match.

 

I can't see M$ or Sony NOT going with a wireless motion controller with the Wii's success. But I digress, this is not the thread for that.

 

Nathan

[Fort Apocalypse]

Curtwatch: kind of like Baywatch, but without Pam or the Hoff

[Math You]

I suppose it does look like a me-too product (or is that wii-too).

 

Joystick/Lightgun design removed for copyright reasons.

Edited November 15, 2007 by MRB

[Math You]

Joystick/Lightgun design removed for copyright reasons.

Edited November 15, 2007 by MRB

[Raised_on_Asteroids]

Hey folks;

 

I have been coming to this forum since prior to the FB2 release. Never bother registering, just looked to it as a sense of information and to see if a new FB was on its way.

 

As much as I fondly remember the days of playing the woodgrained 2600 in my woodpanelled parent's basement, I have to wonder about the marketability of the FBs overall. Jakks kind of lept onto the scene and brought the retro gaming thing out into the light. There have been a lot of retro consoles, and the pinnacle has to be the FB2 with it's real 2600 look and it's real 2600 core. I had been meaning to find another FB2 to tastefully hack. Sadly I gave my 2600 and a bunch of carts away a decade later in a yard sale for $7. I fortunately kept a lot of my carts with (don't laugh) a Coleco Adam+2600 Add-on...so I would like to hack a FB2 just for fun.

 

Anyhoo.. I have been into gaming since Space Invaders (Asteroids was my all time fav of course), and have consoles and games spanning 2 decades in my basement. But outside of the nostalgia these fun machines bring to you and me, what is the demographic? My 5 and 10 year olds love beautiful high tech games like Viva Pinata on my Xbox360 and when I plugged in the FB2 to show them how it was in "my day" they had less than zero interest. Couldn't understand what to do nor would they even try more than 5 mins. I can't blame them.. they don't have that nostalgia built in like you and I do.

 

As much as I would like to see a FB3, I just don't see the market as being alive enough to take it. The 2600 was an icon from our past, so non-gaming parents with gaming kids would still wax nostalgic over seeing it, but would they for a case shaped like a 5200? Nope.. I cannot see it.

 

You would. I would, but I know those machines, and I know the games.

 

A handheld is the only logical direction from a marketability standpoint IMHO, but that has to be a hard sell for someone like Curt - or whomever is the primary flagwaver for this sort of thing inside Atari.

 

Perhaps the FB3 will be a portable 5200/2600 combo?

It has to be cheap, have mass appeal, be almost zero cost in the support side, and be able to turn a profit. With the right marketing I think it could, but is the "stand-alone" retro scene as alive as it was a few years ago? I think the new generation of game consoles has kind of taken the sales out of that. I haven't seen anything new come on the shelf in a long while.

 

FB3? I don't know if it's time has past.

[nathanallan]

I have noticed a new interest in BBS's lately. If the FB3 really is an 800 in a game console case, then it could be considered more than a console and even an appliance. I can see hooking it up to a modem and dialing your buddy's console, or even using the wireless router on your home PC's net connection. There are plenty of homebrew games and free demos out there for people to get for their 800 machines, and that would make getting them easier. So I have to disagree that the FB3's time has passed. There's too much possibility for it.

 

Nathan

[Math You]

I guess there's some truth in the 5200/800 not having the nostalgia that the 2600 had, but as Nathan said, it's more than just a console. I suppose the success of the 800/FB3 will depend on the type of software that comes with it. Personally, I think the 5200/800 FB3 needs a gimmick such as a built in trakball or a membrane keyboard.

 

Joystick/Lightgun design removed for copyright reasons.

Edited November 15, 2007 by MRB

[Asaki]

The 2600 was an icon from our past, so non-gaming parents with gaming kids would still wax nostalgic over seeing it, but would they for a case shaped like a 5200? Nope.. I cannot see it.

 

But I think the joysticks are more recognizable than the console itself, and the FB3 is going to use the same joysticks as the FB2, so I think they're just about set...not to mention, I'm sure the box will be covered with big fancy fonts that say stuff about how it's a computer, etc. etc., to pique further interest. Being able to add on peripherals/games straight out of the box will surely be a big selling point for it.

 

Personally, I think the 5200/800 FB3 needs a gimmick such as a built in trakball or a membrane keyboard.

 

Dunno if it'll be membrane, but built-in keyboards will be optional.

[Raised_on_Asteroids]

Membrane keyboard would be styled around the Atari 400 as the only option.

I like the point about an Atari 800 themed machine. Smaller in size, cheap on price and with built in basic perhaps? That would be a blast from the past! I'd buy right off the shelf depending on the price. God, the home computer race of the 80s was such an interesting time.

 

Plus, its the only way I can see this system separating itself from what's already gone out until now. No-one has brought attention to the 8bit Home Computer craze of the 80s yet with the exception of the C64 joystick all-in-one... which I personally thought would have achieved massive sales had it been somehow visually designed to look just like a little Commodore 64. An atari 800 console at 1/2 the size of the original with a mini keyboard, one joystick, basic, 40-50 built-in games and a moddable system board.

 

That's sweet and arguably the most marketable possibility for the FB3 - outside of Curt's portable FB2 in the corner that is.

Edited September 5, 2007 by Raised_on_Asteroids

[supercat]

Dunno if it'll be membrane, but built-in keyboards will be optional.

 

I don't see how a keyboard can be merely "optional", given that THE game for the Atari 400/800 requires one. An FB3 without Star Raiders would be like an FB2 without Kill The Advancing Aliens.

[A Sprite]

What if the Flashback was more than one system? Is it possible to create a "history of Atari" type of console?

[Math You]

I think it would be good business sense to design a single circuit board that could be used in different systems. If the FB2 had an LCD driver built into it from day 1 then it could have been used for a Flashback portable without being re-designed.

 

Asaki, will the FB3 definitely use FB2 joysticks?

But I think the joysticks are more recognizable than the console itself, and the FB3 is going to use the same joysticks as the FB2,

[Asaki]

Asaki, will the FB3 definitely use FB2 joysticks?

 

I don't remember which thread it was (probably this one), but Curt said it would.

[Asaki]

I don't see how a keyboard can be merely "optional"...

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1327704

[atarilovesyou]

What if the Flashback was more than one system? Is it possible to create a "history of Atari" type of console?

 

 

Of course it could be done, take a look at ebay and see all the knockoff NES/SuperNES "two in one" fakes that are selling for twenty bux. It 'can' be done, but at this point, will it make anyone a LOT of money to do so?...who knows.

[Fort Apocalypse]

What if the Flashback was more than one system? Is it possible to create a "history of Atari" type of console?

 

Lately I've been thinking this is the new Atari plan for spring 2008.

[Math You]

What if the Flashback was more than one system? Is it possible to create a "history of Atari" type of console?

 

Lately I've been thinking this is the new Atari plan for spring 2008.

Sounds like the 'Omni' project that Atari was working on in the 80's

[Asaki]

I don't think an "all-in-one" is too far-fetched at all...at least not a 8-bit+5200+2600. Dunno about 7800, but since 2600 is already on a little chip (and improved in FBP form), Curt could easily slide it in there, with Atari's approval.

[MrBeefy]

I just hope that this thing makes it out, who cares what it is at this point. I need a flashback seeing how I missed out on the FB2 due to lack of funds.

 

Feed me FB3!!!!! MrBeefy is hungry!

[Math You]

I don't think an "all-in-one" is too far-fetched at all...at least not a 8-bit+5200+2600. Dunno about 7800, but since 2600 is already on a little chip (and improved in FBP form), Curt could easily slide it in there, with Atari's approval.

I suppose anything is possible. I think all the 8 bit Atari's used a similar processor.