Atari VCS

[Famous Mortimer]

Old topic here - https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,60768.0.html

Well, it looks like it's finally ready for release. I like the look of it, even if I'm fairly sure it won't sell a lot more than the ones for the Kickstarter people (unless there are a few really good games for it). Anyone got one ordered?

[Chedney Honks]

My mate got the wooden one on order with all the trimmings, about...what, four years ago? I wonder if he remembers it.

[madhair60]

scam

[Famous Mortimer]

If you can clear the Atari software off it, then it would make a nice-looking Linux PC, but I'm presuming it'll do as well as the Steam Box and that other open-ish-source gaming system from about ten years back that I can't remember the name of.

[Huxleys Babkins]

It really is still ridiculously nice to look at and, if it does fail, the ability to install Windows on it means you'll at least have the sexiest possible PC to post on CaB and do your pivot tables on.

But, yeah, $400 when there are new proper consoles out at the end of the year is a heck of an ask.

If you can clear the Atari software off it, then it would make a nice-looking Linux PC, but I'm presuming it'll do as well as the Steam Box and that other open-ish-source gaming system from about ten years back that I can't remember the name of.

The official site reckons you can dual boot another OS, so no need to nuke the Atari partition.

[Jim_MacLaine]

It doesn't look good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRcSgVu331Y

[Sebastian Cobb]

I've still got a woodgrain heavy sixer.

[Famous Mortimer]

It doesn't look good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRcSgVu331Y

"$400 Atari VCS Console Is An Ouya Level Scam & Disaster"

OUYA is the name I couldn't remember! Thanks!

I think modern Atari are a bunch of bastards, but I'm an old man who grew up on the 2600 and the idea of a PC shaped like one sounds like fun. Having been burned on crowdfunding in the past, I'd never do it again, and looks like I would have been right in this instance. But, Gamestop have got it for pre-order (with a December ship date) so...dunno.

[SavageHedgehog]

Looks better than the Intellivision Amico at least.

[Pinball]

I buy loads of this type of retro thing, but wouldn't touch this ripoff with a bargepole. They haven't bothered to invest in anything proprietary, it's all generic crap. Their crowd-fund of $3 million was not re-invested. Their top staffers have left as weren't paid.  Scammers.

[Chriddof]

I'd quite like to buy just the case, so I could put a Raspberry Pi in it.

I think modern Atari are a bunch of bastards

Isn't it more the case that "Atari" nowadays are just a name and logo owned by a holding company, who license it out to various groups? Which is how you get things like this happening. At least the ZX Spectrum Next seems to have worked out, after the insane Vega drama.

[Sebastian Cobb]

One of those spectrum next's are about 500 usd. I'm not sure what advantages it has over an actual speccy and a sd card interface.

[Famous Mortimer]

Sorry Chriddof, I meant the people who now own the name (Infogrames, I think?) I think all Kickstarters, especially those set up by people who can afford to make and sell the product themselves, but choose not to, are to be avoided.

(I did a Kickstarter for this smartwatch, as well as two other campaigns that completely failed to deliver, so I eventually learned my lesson)

But if it makes it to shops, and seems within the realms of reasonableness in terms of price, I might get one. 

[Chriddof]

Sorry Chriddof, I meant the people who now own the name (Infogrames, I think?) I think all Kickstarters, especially those set up by people who can afford to make and sell the product themselves, but choose not to, are to be avoided.

Ah, right. Fair enough.

One of those spectrum next's are about 500 usd. I'm not sure what advantages it has over an actual speccy and a sd card interface.

Unlike everything else we've seen, it's a massive upgrade of the original hardware that is also backwards compatible. Up to 2 megs RAM, beefed up graphics (a proper 256 colour palette, hardware sprites with no colour clash), optional WiFi capabilities, built in Multiface for save states, PS/2 port, and three AY sound chips (after the single one in original late 80s Spectrums) outputting in stereo. Also the Z80 CPU is an advanced version built using an FPGA that has numerous "turbo" modes.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah I've done some digging now. They've got the z80 up to a whopping 28mhz and are trying to tune the fpga to get it to 56!

It's technically very impressive but I think I'd still prefer an original machine (+2 or +3).

I really liked this: https://twitter.com/RealJamHamster/status/1291376935252172806

I know you can get expansion cards that can load stuff instantly (rather than going through the slow and unreliable tape modem) but I like the workmanship!

[Hand Solo]

Sorry Chriddof, I meant the people who now own the name (Infogrames, I think?) I think all Kickstarters, especially those set up by people who can afford to make and sell the product themselves, but choose not to, are to be avoided.

It's all gone over in this chap's video, he also has others on the channel covering the OUYA and Game Stick debacles and similar.

[Famous Mortimer]

It's all gone over in this chap's video, he also has others on the channel covering the OUYA and Game Stick debacles and similar.

I don't have any desire to revisit the OUYA, I'm just glad I never bothered buying one. I'd never even heard of the Intellivision machine until this thread, partly because I never gave a shit about Intellivision when I was a kid (I think the person making that video underestimates just how popular Atari was in the years before the NES, which is probably why the people holding the name were able to raise all that money).

[SavageHedgehog]

2600 sold 30 million compared to 3 million for Intellevision, so yeah it wasn't even close (and Intellevision was the second most popular of the pre-NES consoles). I have a soft spot for the Intellevision as it was the first console I played (a hand-me-down when I was 5 or 6), so I was intrigued by the new system but it's become clear that it's obvious dreck, and their CEO is a creep (which hurts me to say because he was the music composer for Cool Spot).

[Chriddof]

The Intellivision Amico has an exclusive new Earthworm Jim game for it, for some reason. There's a video which shows some gameplay and... it's more of a basic test than gameplay, really. The video lasts under a minute and is really really LOUD. (Seriously, turn down your volume if you click that link.)

[Famous Mortimer]

It looks like Walmart over here are listing the new Atari VCS 800, in Walmart-exclusive colouring, with a delivery date of November. I'd suggest this makes the chances of it being an actual legitimate thing higher, but honestly I have no idea how these things work.

I definitely won't order it til it's actually released, but it looks like fun, and can be used as a normal Linux machine, so...dunno. Maybe?

[Famous Mortimer]

This popped into my head, so I thought I'd go and see if I could actually order it now, the original release date having come and gone. Well, turns out Walmart are saying March now, and Gamestop are just "release date TBD". According to Twitter, some of the Kickstarter backers have actually received their consoles within the last week, so...who knows if it'll ever be an actual thing you can buy in shops?

[QDRPHNC]

Here's a couple of videos laying into it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRcSgVu331Y and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz1GazhuCik&t=586s

[Famous Mortimer]

Here's a couple of videos laying into it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRcSgVu331Y and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz1GazhuCik&t=586s

I looked at a few YT reviews of the actually delivered Indiegogo reward console, and they're not exactly glowing. Ah well.

[Chedney Honks]

My mate finally got his, the full wooden panel job. Sounds absolutely shite so far but he saw one going for £1500 on eBay so he might be able to get his money back, at least.

[Pinball]

I'm on their email list and they are operating an online casino too. Utter scammers.

[lazarou]

Doesn't really need repeating at this point but avoid this like the plague. People are saying this is an ouya-level disaster but the situation is honestly quite a bit worse if anything. Even total sub-ouya failures like the GameStick made outreach attempts to get developers onboard whereas this has been an absolute ghost town ever since it was announced, even among my bedroom coder pals who release to esoteric platforms for fun I don't know of anyone working in that direction. It really is only worth it if you're dead set on a funky-looking linux box or something because there is most likely nothing coming for it.

[Famous Mortimer]

The videos of it in action emphasise how shite the Atari frontend is, as well (not that I'd spend more than a few minutes playing those games).

I would really like a funky-looking Linux box, but I might as well just get a Raspberry Pi and a weird case for about a third of the price of this.

My mate finally got his, the full wooden panel job. Sounds absolutely shite so far but he saw one going for £1500 on eBay so he might be able to get his money back, at least.

I just had a quick shuftie and they're $500 - $800 on eBay over here, so I don't reckon your mate is going to make a lot, I'm afraid.

[Chedney Honks]

Yeah, that expensive one didn't sell and it's getting a pasting, so seems he's fucked. He said the app/game store will only connect for a couple of hours in the morning and times out otherwise. Amazing.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Looks like shite. There's a raspberry pi like development board but with an fpga that looks like it can emulate upto about the psx, but also including more traditionally difficult to emulate systems like the amiga. Kind of like a multi-system Spectrum next.

Mister de 10 - https://youtu.be/e5yPbzD-W-I

[Famous Mortimer]

Looks like if you insert a drive into it (which it has space for) you can run Windows on it and have yourself a decent emulating PC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6sAnRLmLsI