What would you buy?

[Math You]

From my point of view, if somebody was to make a new Atari product then it has to be based on genuine hardware. Emulation is OK in the short term, though the disappointment I experienced after buying the emulated Atari games has stopped me from buying any Atari product since. I certainly wouldn't want my children playing poor quality games with glitchy graphics and frustrating gameplay, in fact, the frustration of playing poor quality games would probably give me concerns about how it was affecting their health.

 

One thing to consider when making products is that making a console that offers good 'value' isn't the same as making a console that's 'cheap'. The success of the Flashback 2 proves that a high quality product at a reasonable price can provide real customer satifaction aswell as leave customers wanting more! Just look at how excited everyone is about the Flashback 2 portable! I doubt people would feel the same level excitement if the portable version was based on emulation.

 

Selling cheap products doesn't always lead to success either, a lesson I learnt the hard way through my work in the hi-fi industry. A few years ago I designed a hi-fi cable that received some very good reviews. The cable cost around $20 though the editor of one magazine compared it to another manufacturers cable that cost over $100! There was one problem though, he said it was too cheap for people to take seriously. As such, the $20 cable sold reasonably well while the $100 cable with it's expensive looking plugs and fancy packaging achieved hugh success.

 

The moral of the story? People like quality, and they're very willing to pay extra for it!

[purenergy]

Quality all the way.....

 

I barely touched the original Flashback, nor did I ever see it displayed in a retail store. The games on it didn't impress me, because I had the original games at home, ready to play. Never heard a word about the Flashback locally, but eventually found it on the Internet. Still did not have a desire to purchase the original Flashback.

 

When news came out for the Flashback 2, I watched carefully, and thought "Could this be true? Classic games, on a newly designed VCS console?" I think the first time I actually saw one was at VGXpo in Dallas, with no one at the display (were they even working?) After searching through the electronics department of several retailers, I was ready to purchase Flashback 2 online, because it simply wasn't available in my area. But, while looking for something in the "Toys" department, lo and behold, there it was, the Atari Flashback 2.

 

The Flashback 2 may have been a sucess, but how many "average gamers" actually knew it was available? Could it have sold even better? Not with high budget advertising, but getting the "Big Box" retailer to display it better. A quality product (such as the Flashback 2) will sell. Original hardware that has quality design and quality games will result in repeat sales, because the consumer views this product came from a quality company. (If Atari is reading this: Better sales=more profit.)

 

Consumers that have bought a Flashback 2, are looking for more. And the possible Flashback 2 portable would be a product that will sell well.

Edited March 11, 2007 by purenergy