Let's hope they don't bundle Kodi with it to make it a media box !!!
Insert coin: Atari retro console is coming back
Atari confirmed on Friday that the reborn biz will indeed produce its own games console, understood to be built out of PC tech. Earlier this month, a vague video emerged on Youtube showing what looks like the top of an old Atari console complete with wood paneling. That now appears to have been part of the company's ongoing …
COMMENTS
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Saturday 17th June 2017 14:57 GMT Mage
Kodi
Be better than the garbage Android TV that Sony inflicts on TV owners now instead of their own better SW. I could fill a page with what is wrong with Android TV, short version, apart from privacy the fonts assume desktop use or bigger than 72", it also assumes you don't care about organising 2500 satellite channels (Diseq 4 way) and that Android apps are more important than TV. I bought it to have a TV! I have a phone, tablet, laptop etc.
Why shouldn't it do media too? More sense on a games console than a TV set.
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Saturday 17th June 2017 14:52 GMT Mage
cut-price Apple-style effort
It doesn't look like a pippin to me (which curiously ran Mac OS, note version 9 and earlier are almost unrelated to Mac OS X*, later OS X then Mac OS. It made the Newton look really successful. The Newton could have be a success if they hadn't hyped the handwriting recognition so much. Maybe needed a bit of a tweek, but it and Archimedes did help launch the ARM CPU.
[Curiously Apple then stuck on 10, presumably liking the X, which came out the same year as Windows XP, really NT 5.1 Windows 2000 was NT 5.0, Server 2003 was NT 5.2 and Vista / Win7 are NT 6.x family. Perhaps that's what MS means when they claim Windows 10 will be the last Windows]
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Saturday 17th June 2017 19:22 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: cut-price Apple-style effort
"[the Apple Newton] and [Acorn] Archimedes did help launch the ARM CPU"
Historical note: the ARM CPU (Acorn RISC Machine in original guise) was designed by Acorn to power the firm's Archimedes PC, which came out in 1987 - the first ARM silicon was delivered by VLSI Technology to Acorn in 1985. Apple got interested and involved, Advanced RISC Machines Ltd was created in 1990 to carry on the CPU project, that firm transmuted into ARM Ltd (owned by ARM Holdings plc), and Apple used an ARM CPU in the Newton which apparently first shipped in 1993.
Arguably, DEC had as much influence as Apple in introducing the ARM CPU architecture to the world by licensing the architecture and developing the StrongARM range of CPUs - sold to Intel in 1997, and used to replace Intel's rather elderly home-grown CPU architecture. This led to Intel's XScale architecture, which I suspect has had somewhat more influence than Apple's Newton PDA.
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Sunday 18th June 2017 13:44 GMT Amorous Cowherder
Sadly you're right
I found that a lot of my memories of early 80's gaming on 2600, Dragon32 and Amstrad CPC were so heavily rose-tinted, I tried out a few old games on emulators and it was nice to go back and remember them but they were like visiting an old relative you used to have so much fun with. Only now there they are staring out of the window of the nursing home. Your memories are still strong but seeing them so old, frail and aged so ungracefully, you just pay your respects and leave quietly as they're simply not the same fun person you remember them to be. Leave them in the past, along with your happy memories and move on.
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Monday 19th June 2017 07:55 GMT regadpellagru
Re: Sadly you're right
"Leave them in the past, along with your happy memories and move on."
I'm on the same page. Even though some games genres disappeared entirely (not entirely true as kickstarter revived some), the look and music feels very old now.
And there are such current immensely good games that it's pointless to loose on those for so old games ...
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Monday 19th June 2017 13:25 GMT ArrZarr
Re: Sadly you're right
@DropBear
Allow me to help you. The last thee years have given us Watch Dogs 2 and Saints row 4 if you're into stupid but fun. On the lines of more serious games we have The last of us and Spec ops: the line. The indy scene is going from strength to strength with amazing stuff like The Sexy Brutale and Undertale. Even Doom made a resurgence into the PC shooter we've been waiting for since the turn of the century.
Gaming is doing just fine, thanks.
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Monday 19th June 2017 17:09 GMT regadpellagru
Re: Sadly you're right
"Allow me to help you. The last thee years have given us Watch Dogs 2 and Saints row 4 if you're into stupid but fun. On the lines of more serious games we have The last of us and Spec ops: the line. The indy scene is going from strength to strength with amazing stuff like The Sexy Brutale and Undertale. Even Doom made a resurgence into the PC shooter we've been waiting for since the turn of the century.
Gaming is doing just fine, thanks."
Yep, and depending on taste, there are many others like, Stellaris, Hitman (burnt so many hours in it, and I'm not even done), Tales from the Borderlands, Prey etc ...
I think this is the golden age of video gaming ...
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Monday 19th June 2017 18:56 GMT DropBear
Re: Sadly you're right
I appreciate the suggestions, but I suppose this is highly subjective. I have the entire Saints Row series on backlog, so there might be something I didn't know about - otherwise, FPS games are not really my thing, multiplayer ones even less so (so thanks but no WoW / EVE / Minecraft / Overwatch for me); I saw Undertale back when it was still a demo and it really, really didn't work for me so I left it at that; and while "Borderlands" is also in my backlog I did play "The Wolf Among Us" and had to conclude that "story-on-rails laced with quick-time events" is a seriously shitty format compared to a proper point-and-click (please, do not mention the Bearded Guy of LucasArts fame or I'll still be cursing this time tomorrow). So I kinda stand by my original opinion...
PS. Okay, I yield - you might have a point with Thimbleweed Park... it's just.. uh... also on backlog so I forgot about it *hangs head in shame*
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Monday 19th June 2017 09:12 GMT TheWeenie
Re: Sadly you're right
I found that a lot of my memories of early 80's gaming on 2600, Dragon32 and Amstrad CPC were so heavily rose-tinted, I tried out a few old games on emulators and it was nice to go back and remember them but they were like visiting an old relative you used to have so much fun with. Only now there they are staring out of the window of the nursing home. Your memories are still strong but seeing them so old, frail and aged so ungracefully, you just pay your respects and leave quietly as they're simply not the same fun person you remember them to be. Leave them in the past, along with your happy memories and move on.
Beautifully put.
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Monday 19th June 2017 10:47 GMT Tachikoma
I dug out my Sega Saturn the other week as I fancied some old school Sega Rally, I had to turn it off after half an hour, the warping textures and inconsistent framerate made me feel nauseous. I even fired up the original Tomb Raider and had the same problem, 2D games were fine (Baku Baku Animal is still amazing) but the early 3D console games are just an unpleasant experience now.
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Sunday 18th June 2017 13:51 GMT Trilkhai
Re: Buck the trend
Well, here's one major reason on the business level: there's very little in terms of creations competing for the attention (money) of the many people that enjoy vintage/retro-style games, and an ongoing avalanche of brand-new titles competing for the funds of people that enjoy modern-dry gaming.
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Monday 19th June 2017 09:57 GMT phuzz
Re: Buck the trend
"Why not just build something new?"
Well, they could try and build a brand-new console, but that would take years and enormous amounts of money to compete with Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft.
Instead, they could aim for something less powerful, but there's not much point in building a new console that's as powerful as (for example) an original Playstation, because the PS1 already exists, and has a massive software catalogue already.
All Atari have that might help them make money, is the rights to a big stack of games. So perhaps they're going to create a modern-ish console, that can play all the different eras of Atari games, whilst still having modern features like HDMI output etc. A completely new console would be a complete waste of money for them (if they even have enough dosh to develop one).
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Monday 19th June 2017 10:01 GMT phuzz
Re: Dead brand
Commodore was mainly responsible for it's own demise, although it's mummified corporate skin has indeed been worn by a number of different zombie companies over the years.
I suppose at the end of the day though, Commodore just made better hardware than Atari ;)
(I'll never be too old to stop fighting the Amiga vs ST holy war!)
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Sunday 18th June 2017 03:40 GMT Jonathan 27
Very few people care about Atari games, even if this is a great product I don't seem them selling vary many. Look at the Sega throwback system sales, and the Genesis is a much more marketable property than the 2600 (or any other Atari console).
The NES Classic was an unexpected, runaway hit for 3 reasons. 1.It's a cute little NES that a lot of people want to have even if they don't want to play it. 2. It's Nintendo, they're the Apple of the console world. 3. NES nostalgia is really hot right now, spurred on by popular YouTube shows about collecting NES games.
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Sunday 18th June 2017 09:54 GMT Shadow Systems
At Mark L 2, re: the Atari joystick thing.
I was going to post about that very device but you beat me to it. Kudos, you damned ninja. =-)p
I believe the joystick thing was an officially licensed product, but I could be wrong. Given all the work someone would have to go through to revamp a manufacturing facility to produce an Atari joystick clone, make the mainboard with the ability to run MAME, fill it with old Atari ROMs, package the thing & then ship it in bulk to retailers like Target (where I saw the first one), I figure it would have been cheaper to license it from Atari; then Atari would provide the CAD files used to make the joystick body, the PCB details to do the chip stuff right, & official ROMs with which to load on to it.
If Atari wants to make a retro console filled with old games, they would have to do something impressive to justify all the internal (wasted) space. If you can make it all fit in a device the size/shape of an old Atari joystick, making an entire *console* would mean you would end up buying a fekton of empty air. =-\
But I like the idea of including the old Atari arcade games that we enjoyed in the glittering, noisy dives of our youth. Getting to play Tempest again would be rather fun if I don't have to futz with MAME settings out the wazoo to make it play (right/at all).
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Monday 19th June 2017 09:13 GMT Mark Dempster
>If it's a retro console they are planning on building then there are already plug into a TV joysticks that come with loads of Atari games on them (not sure of the legality of them though) so why it would be years in the making I can't understand.<
It's always possible that they're just going to repackage the same tech under the official Atari brand name.
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Monday 19th June 2017 16:41 GMT StheD
I've got one of them, and I bought it in a real store, so I'm pretty sure it is legal. I have it out, ready to play when I get a chance, but the old Adventure game (Atari version, not text game version) works fine - including the first Easter Egg.
The one thing missing is the ability to load new games.
I bet it will appeal to geezers like me who don't want to spend hours and hours on complex games.
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Sunday 18th June 2017 18:08 GMT bombastic bob
RPi, Linux, xmame, LICENSED ROMS!
Here's a thought:
Get an RPi, running Linux, with xmame, and provide a nice menu with LICENSED ROMS that work correctly with the attached hardware (joysticks, buttons, trackballs, whatever). Plug this into your HDMI-capable TV, and you've got a working 80's style game console with all of the classic Atari games!
Easily priced under $200.
(sadly, some d0rk will assume "Win-10-nic" and ruin it from that point forward)
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Sunday 18th June 2017 19:15 GMT OliP
Kodi isnt far away from supporting game emulators and roms - so interesting to see who makes it to market first. i'd put my money on the kodi integration being a runaway success being that everyone already has it installed and won't need to go spend the $60 or whatever atari want to charge.
seems they are going for the hollywood model of just live off the great ideas of the past.
sad times, i doubt it'll end well.
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Monday 19th June 2017 00:42 GMT Captain DaFt
"Atari confirmed on Friday that the reborn biz will indeed produce its own games console, understood to be built out of PC tech."
It might work if...
They slap a decently spec'd PC game computer in a nostalgia based case, include mame software and games and retro controllers.
Plays the latest games for PC, plus all (eh, most) the old Atari stuff. Could be a hit, if they're lucky.
Sure, you could do it yourself, but to a lot of gamers out there, this would tick a lot of boxes if done right.
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Monday 19th June 2017 13:07 GMT Dave 126
What you describe is not dissimilar to a Steam Box, and the idea of a Steam Box hasn't been a wild success even with Steam being a huge presence in PC gaming.
If I go to my local ironmongers, I can buy wood-effect adhesive plastic by the metre and stick it on any PC case I want. For a few quid more, I could buy some real wood veneer and some contact adhesive!
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Monday 19th June 2017 08:11 GMT GeezaGaz
speculation
"That means it is almost certainly working on a retro console that can play original Atari games".
That is pure speculation you don't *know* what they are working on so why assume?
And this line:
"You know, the ones that triggered the 1980s video games crash."
don't you mean the original games that triggered the 1970s video game boom?
Read up on the history of Atari, its all there.
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Monday 19th June 2017 08:52 GMT BinkyTheMagicPaperclip
Hopefully they'll actually include most of the decent games
Probably won't though, it'll be a limited selection of 2600 games. What they should really do is emulate not only that, but the 5200 and 7200 too.
I see they tried this in 2004 and there was a cancelled improved prototype thereafter (Flashback console). I wonder if they're smart enough to reboot that..
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Monday 19th June 2017 13:12 GMT Dave 126
Re: F*ck Atari
The Atari ST usually had good ports of Amiga games (from Sensible Software, Bitmap Brothers, Codemasters, Psygnosis amongst others), though the usually Amiga got them first. However, the Atari had MIDI ports built in, so lots of fun with keyboards, guitars and GM modules. As such it was usually found in the homes of your schoolmates whose dads left a strange herbal smell about the place.
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Monday 19th June 2017 16:58 GMT JCDenton
How can it be a good idea?
No way to tell yet, but if it is a new console, then it is doomed. Very difficult to compete with Sony/MS/Nintendo, and technically Valve.
If it is a retro console with pre-loaded games, that is a much better idea. It won't last since, as somebody mentioned, you can already buy a Joystick Console with Atari games on it. Also the Mini NES was sold largely as a novelty. I never met somebody who was hardcore into actually playing it.
A retro Atari console with the best of the 2600/7200 library could sell around Christmas time, but it will still just be a novelty.
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Tuesday 20th June 2017 20:07 GMT Phukov Andigh
so yet another
incompatible, "platform exclusive" system to do what the other Big 3 are already doing.
But I still find a few games on one system that I'd love to play, but isn't available on others.
Had to decide on which had the most titles available when I decided to go "console" for more casual gaming, since I wasn't ready to upgrade the PC for another year and it was having a hard time playing the AAA titles I enjoy-plus the PC is upstairs where lack of central AC means "too hot to play in the summer" so wanted to be downstairs on The Big TV. Went with Sony because it had some newer versions of old favorites.
Can't aim with a gamepad worth sh*t. Will be attempting to use some sort of keyboard/mouse emulator soon. And no, I don't do multiplayer so "cheating" isn't a concern.
But as a videogame junkie, I still don't see the business case, nor consumer/gamer value, of yet *another* console offering. And I'm one of those guys who bought a nVidia Shield.
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Thursday 22nd June 2017 13:42 GMT Lamont Cranston
Steam Machine with a wood panelled case
(plus a deal with Valve to release a bundle of classic games), or something Android based (in a wooden case, with a clutch of classic games)? Complemented, in either scenario, by an awful joystick that's no good for playing anything that isn't in the "Atari Classics" bundle.
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