DIGITISER
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Game Reviews
  • FAQ

THE NEW ATARI VCS IS DOOMED TO FAIL

3/5/2018

22 Comments

 
Picture
Atari, bless, isn't exactly known for its lack of bad decisions. The company remains iconic today only due to a) Having a cool logo, and b) Having once been the biggest games company on the planet. Indeed, at one point you didn't play video games - you played Atari.

Until, you know... E.T.,  video game crash, Atari ST, Lynx, Jaguar, oblivion... blah blah blaaaaaah.

Of course, Atari today is only Atari in name. It was bought by Hasbro in 1998, then Hasbro was bought by Infogrames in 2001, and then in 2003 Infogrames changed its name to Atari. It's a bit like, I dunno, changing your name to that of somebody you just bought a car off, and then turning up at their place of work and insisting to their boss: "I got this, for I am Grahem!"

"Do you mean 'Graham'?"

"...For I am Graham!"


It's a classic Ship of Theseus paradox; if something has had its components changed so many times, can it really be considered the same thing? The people responsible for "classic" Atari's decisions - both good and bad - are long gone. 

Unfortunately, along with the name, logo, and a back catalogue of games, the new(ish) Atari also seems to have inherited its predecessor's knack for doing things which everybody but them can see is a really awful idea. 

I'm specifically referring to the Atari VCS. No: not the original one. This new one that they announced last year as Ataribox, and that they're crowd-funding on Indiegogo starting May 30th. Yes: a major corporation is resorting to crowdfunding to make a thing - that's how confident they are that there's a market for it!

And they should have doubts, because this new Atari VCS is essentially a living room PC, which - as  many other companies have learned to their peril - is something that nobody ever seems to want. 
Picture
HAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!
Initially the Atari VCS appeared to be catering for the nostalgia crowd, being pre-loaded with classic Atari games (all of which are, of course, available freely and illegally and easily online). Indeed, the design - with its faux wood veneer and joystick - is a clear homage to the Atari 2600. 

However, they've since revealed that it'll be driven by Linux, and allow users to install compatible applications, games, streaming, internet access and this and that. It'll apparently have enough oomph to be comparible to a mid-range PC, but not powerful enough to run most high-end AAA releases. 

It's a terrible idea. Like, in the long history of games industry bad ideas, it's up there with the Virtual Boy and Nokia N-Gage... but worse, because at least those had something distinct about them.

In fact, it's sheer ordinariness is what makes the VCS even more terrible than the other recent terrible idea Atari had; Speakerhat, a terrible baseball cap with speakers built into it. That sounds like a joke, but no; it really is something that Atari made. It beggars belief. 

But what's most troubling about the Atari VCS is what it represents; a lack of broader thinking. Atari appears to be ignoring the utter failure of the living room PC market to date. The Steam Machines seemed to offer the best hope of such technology gaining a foothold, but have - by Valve's own admission - not sold well.

Consequently - and entirely justifiably - there doesn't seem to be a single person expecting the Atari VCS to be anything other than an utter failure.
Picture
RISKLESS BUSINESS?
Of course, it's a relatively minimal risk for Atari. The VCS crowd-funding campaign will, essentially, work as pre-orders, so Atari will be able to gauge interest (though a quick Google would also do the same), and ensure that they don't lose too much money.

Beyond that though? There simply isn't a market for something like this, and it's astonishing that Atari appears to be barrelling forwards with this project, utterly oblivious to that fact. Atari isn't positioned - and doesn't have the resources - to challenge Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. It also doesn't seem to be offering anything sufficiently unique to make the VCS stand out in a market that even Microsoft is struggling to remain relevant in. 

Yes, there'll be a load of old Atari 2600 games stuffed up its bottom, but - to most gamers - playing an Atari 2600 game holds as much appeal as watching a Harold Lloyd film does to a 14 year-old. This is the position Atari is in; it's a brand which has a certain degree of nostalgic appeal, but that's associated with gaming's distant past. It's games are so old that they don't even offer the sort of playability you might get from a Mega Drive or SNES game.

​To succeed, the VCS needs to offer something distinct and must-have, but thus far Atari has revealed nothing that this $200 system (and that's just the base unit without controllers) can really call its own. Although it might... but unfortunately, Atari has been incredibly vague about what this VCS actually is.

​Consequently, there's no hype around it... merely speculation, and gathering storm clouds which suggest that the Atari name will, once again, be associated with a flop. 
SHAME
I write all this not because I want to revel in the inevitable failure of the Atari VCS, but because I think it's a shame.

I had an Atari 2600. I had an Atari ST. I coveted the Lynx, and - despite Atari's best efforts to convince me otherwise - I really wanted the Jaguar to succeed. Heck, I even own an Atari-branded laptop bag. That logo still gives me warm, fuzzy, feels. When I saw it on screen during Blade Runner 2049, I felt both excited and sad; it was a glimpse at an alternate future where Atari had remained the biggest video game company in the world.

I dunno. I'm probably just wistful. Maybe Atari deserves the position it finds itself in, and when this new VCS fails to make any sort of impact - beyond hundreds of articles following up pieces like this one, in which we all bleat "I told you so" - it will have been because Atari has once again demonstrated a stark lack of both self-awareness, and zero understanding of the modern games industry. 

Just as we all knew the Jaguar was going to fail, so we see the Atari VCS grinding towards an inevitable oblivion, like watching a slow-motion car accident. 

There's no excitement building, merely a weary sense of the inevitable.
SEND AN EMAIL TO THE DIGITISER FRIDAY LETTERS PAGE, PLEASE
digitiser2000@gmail.com

22 Comments
DEAN
3/5/2018 09:45:30 am

I agree; it will fail. They should have just made a cute little thing like Nintendo what did done. Still would have failed though because the games are *mostly* a mixed bag ranging from shit thru to total and utter shit.

SNK are now too -

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2018/04/19/snk-is-releasing-a-neo-geo-classics-retro-console

And that's just dandy n'all but what I want, what I really, really want is a mini PC Engine. PLEASE NEC!!!

Reply
Lol
3/6/2018 06:03:07 pm

Atari already has released a "cute little thing like Nintendo what did done" well before Nintendo ever did. It's called the Atari Flashback, and there has been 8 of them...

Reply
Mark M
3/5/2018 09:53:11 am

"And they should have doubts, because this new Atari VCS is essentially a living room PC, which - as many other companies have learned to their peril - is something that nobody ever seems to want. "

I'm probably an exception in wanting one but I agree that I'd not have bought something like this.

I thought it would be a stupid idea that would end up gathering dust but building a small form factor PC for my living room was the best thing I'd done in ages - playing games like Quantum break on a big TV with a full surround setup is friggin' awesome.

Between that and my PS4 I'm enjoying gaming more than I have for years. Sometimes the PS4 jars me a bit with certain games not running at 60 FPS so where possible I can go for the PC version instead. Also, being able to map the Dualshock 4 gyro to mouse aim for PC GTA5 and the like is glorious and almost as good as KB+M. Actually, it's more satisfying in some ways.

Reply
Charlie link
3/5/2018 09:57:54 am

I imagine you're right, though given that the pre-order/indiegogo thing starts just before E3, they might have something more interesting to announce then.

Reply
Rock Chippington
3/5/2018 10:20:24 am

Thing is, if you want to play an awesome run and gun game, Contra 3 on a Snes Mini is still one of the best of the Genre. Mario 3 on a NES Mini is a great platformer. We all own Xbox or PlayStation today but they don't make those kinds of games any more and the SNES era is a joy to re-live.

Atari offers you god-awful Pac Man. Games like Smurf that were great in the day but offer nothing whatsoever to today. The best of the best on the Atari will offer you an hour of nostalgic fun before you switch off.

Sadly this is true of a lot of the early era. You buy a C64 mini only to realise that you didn't like Thing on a Spring after all, you just liked the music and that's on YouTube. For me, proper quality nostalgia starts with the SNES , the Playstation, and Dreamcast. Playing Atari games today is like listening to a caveman beating a stick on a wall and pretending it's just as good as Depeche Mode or Curtis Hairston.

Reply
Stoo
3/5/2018 10:29:28 am

I was thinking the same. Maybe I'm just a few years too young to appreciate it, but despite my love of retro gaming the Atari is too primitive to hold any interest for me.

Reply
CdrJameson
3/5/2018 10:43:41 am

'Combat' is still a fine cartridge, as is 'Space War'. Both were excellent simple local-multiplayer games in their day, and so still are. I'd struggle to name any others worth playing though.

Mark M
3/5/2018 10:48:29 am

Plus if you have an android box or Pi, you can easily play this stuff for nothing if you want to.

At least after five minutes when you realise how crap it is, you can then go back to watching Netflix or whatever without being left with an expensive doorstop.

I really don't understand how Atari games held my attention for so long as a kid.

Craig Grannell link
3/5/2018 08:20:12 pm

"Sadly this is true of a lot of the early era."

I suspect it mostly comes down to the games that are included. The SNES Mini had a decent chunk of properly great hit titles. Nintendo's fortunate in that manner. But I don't personally see the SNES as inherently some kind of quantum leap from the C64, which had a slew of titles NOT included on the C64 Mini that still play well. They are, however, certainly less intuitive and immediate, and not nearly as forgiving. For me, the tipping point's before that point. I can't see the appeal in most VCS fare – and I've tried my best.

The one that always gets me though is the early arcade stuff. It's a crying shame all the people with old arcade games can't figure something out to make 'MAME' legal. I'd love a little 'arcade cab mini' into which I could squirt legally purchased games that still play really well: Robotron; Bubble Bobble; Defender; etc.

Reply
Super Bad Advice
3/5/2018 10:42:51 am

The VCS is one of those machines where someone (specifically, an idiot) has seen that retro is popular and assumed ALL retro is therefore popular, and been blinded by potential $$$. But in the process they've forgotten that retro is 80% nostalgia (often from people who never actually lived through the era) and 20% actual classics still worth experiencing. And the further back you go, the smaller the 'worth playing' percentage gets.

Unfortunately for Atari, they're both WAAAY back, and thus most if not all of that classic 20% is not on any of their older systems. Buying a NES mini for Super Mario Bros. etc I can understand - many of those still hold up. Buying a VCS for it's shonky ports of Pac-Man or Pitfall, or a selection of other boring games that look like they're photographs of Duplo, I don't.

The fact they've made it a middling PC as well makes me suspect someone knows that the games won't ever sell it so needed some sort of carrot to entice custom. Regrettably, this is a pretty lousy carrot.

Reply
Robobob
3/5/2018 01:44:28 pm

"the further back you go, the smaller the 'worth playing' percentage gets."

Agreed. I like retro gaming nostalgia as much as the next (last?) person. But, other than in individual personal nostalgia cases, basically anything that wasn't pretty much uniformly accepted as a bona fide classic at the time is not really worth playing today. It has to be so damn playable that you can overlook the clunky sound and terrible graphics.

Even merely "average" SNES/Mega Drive games have dated awfully, let alone Atari 2600 games.

Reply
Konstantinos
3/5/2018 06:22:05 pm

Photographs of Duplo made me laugh, thank you!

Reply
Dan Whitehead
3/5/2018 10:50:49 am

The best thing to carry the Atari name recently was the Centipede comic from Dynamite. That was enjoyably weird and interesting.

Reply
Frank Chickens
3/5/2018 11:52:38 am

The N-Gage was a great portable handheld unit and for £40 new it was good value for money. Granted, it wasn't up to much as a phone, but then that wasn't its primary purpose.

As for this, oh dear. No confirmed hardware specs, release of it being delayed and for $200 you can't even use it without spending more on a controller? Oh dear.

An article in The Register today really rips the piss out of it:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/05/03/atari_console/

Reply
MENTALIST
3/5/2018 01:24:35 pm

Atari aren't a "major corporation".They aren't even the entity formerly known as Infogrames any more.

They're a dozen people in an office above a post office in Paris, who operate under the brand name they salvaged from the corpse of a previous doomed incarnation.

This is their headquarters (actually the sum total of their presence), 78 Rue Taitbout:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/78+Rue+Taitbout,+75009+Paris,+France/@48.8769603,2.3354666,3a,75y,75.81h,103.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sp1_V1jt_jqDwLpEMH0ipTg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x47e66e47f0fa24eb:0xbd75c3cb5f2c7aed!8m2!3d48.8768977!4d2.3357546

Reply
Adam
3/5/2018 02:54:44 pm

Hooray for Harold Lloyd!

Reply
Mark
3/5/2018 03:23:43 pm

I read somewhere this thing was gonna be around £400 which makes it even more pointless I reckon it’s gonna be a raspberry pi in a fancy case with overpriced controllers

Reply
Meatballs-me-branch-me-do
3/5/2018 03:34:08 pm

The only sort of “living room PC” the masses want are those MXQ 4K Pro Android boxes that let them watch Kodi and its derivatives. Those boxes are complete cack and so this Atari thing will be.

Also, don’t forget the Commodore name got resurrected to slap the logo on the side of a short lived set of high end gaming PCs.

Reply
Treacle
3/5/2018 08:34:47 pm

In related news after a series of takeovers I now have the European rights to the Ronco brand and will be launching a crowd funding campaign to help with the production of the Ronco Cheese-o-Matic, a special dispenser for bite size cheeses.

Unfortunately it will not be compatible with Babybel.

Or Dairylea

Reply
Bilstar
8/5/2018 09:28:56 pm

"It's a classic Ship of Theseus paradox; if something has had its components changed so many times, can it really be considered the same thing?"

Trigger's broom surely? :)

Reply
Lummox60N
10/5/2018 09:24:33 pm

A good few years ago I bought one of those Atari Flashback machines, as a bit of fun for myself.
Man, it was shite. Those 2600 games, they're awful. Utterly awful. The children were all under ten at the time, and got excited by the prospect of a "new" games machine in the house. Then they played the games and just didn't understand...any of it.

I'd buy a Jaguar again, though.
No question.

Reply
Thorsten Günther
16/5/2018 05:41:03 am

I beg too differ from the current notion that 2600 games were all bad or awful - there are a vast number of titles that still play great such as Frostbite, Beamrider, Jawbreaker, Ms. Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Phoenix, Solaris, Star Raiders, Battlezone, etc.. The problem is that the vast majority of these titles either were licensed, third-party or previous "Ataris" already sold the rights to them.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    This section will not be visible in live published website. Below are your current settings:


    Current Number Of Columns are = 2

    Expand Posts Area =

    Gap/Space Between Posts = 12px

    Blog Post Style = card

    Use of custom card colors instead of default colors = 1

    Blog Post Card Background Color = current color

    Blog Post Card Shadow Color = current color

    Blog Post Card Border Color = current color

    Publish the website and visit your blog page to see the results

    Picture
    Support Me on Ko-fi
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    RSS Feed Widget
    Picture

    Picture
    Tweets by @mrbiffo
    Picture
    Follow us on The Facebook

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2022
    May 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014


    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Game Reviews
  • FAQ