Here comes additional details concerning Atari's big, ambitious comeback in the video game console market!

In an exclusive interview last week with GamesBeat, Ataribox creator and general manager Feargal Mac announced that Atari will begin a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo this fall and launch the Ataribox in the spring of 2018. The console will run Linux on an AMD custom processor with Radeon graphics, with a user interface customized for TVs and will cost between $250-$300.

The Ataribox will launch with a large back catalog of the publisher’s classic games. The idea being to be able to "create a box that makes people feel nostalgic about the past, but it’s also capable of running the independent games they want to play today, like Minecraft or Terraria". In addition to indie games, the console will run those that a mid-range PC can handle, but won't run AAA games that require higher-end specs. Mac added that it will also perform PC-worthy stuffs like streaming, running apps, browsing the web, and playing music.

“I was blown away when a 12-year-old knew every single game Atari had published. That’s brand magic. We’re coming in like a startup with a legacy,” Mac said in the interview. “We’ve attracted a lot of interest, and AMD showed a lot of interest in supporting us and working with us. With Indiegogo, we also have a strong partnership.”

“People are used to the flexibility of a PC, but most connected TV devices have closed systems and content stores,” he said. “We wanted to create a killer TV product where people can game, stream and browse with as much freedom as possible, including accessing pre-owned games from other content providers.”

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“People are used to the flexibility of a PC, but most connected TV devices have closed systems and content stores,” Mac said. “Ataribox is an open system, and while our user interface will be easy to use, people will also be free to access and customize the underlying OS. We’ve chosen to launch Ataribox with Indiegogo given their focus on delivering technology products, and their strong international presence in over 200 countries, allowing us to reach and involve as many Atari fans around the world as possible.”

“It’s a very flexible product, and you won’t need to spend more money if you don’t want to,” he further added. “In some ways, you are buying some freedom.”

So what do you think of the Ataribox in the light of the new details? Are you considering backing it on Indiegogo? Or is it awfully reminiscent of the OUYA to you?

For more updates, you can signup on ataribox.com.

SOURCE

 

[Deleted User]

its just ouya 2.0 its gonna flop hardcore

 

[Xzi]

Super disappointing. Just another Steam Machine destined for failure, unfortunately.

Were Steam machines this cheap? IMO is a good price point if its got a decent GPU in it, but I'd probably be disappointed with how many of my Steam games can run on Linux. Wouldn't be in the market for something like this unless my all my PC components suddenly failed and I didn't have the money to replace it all. Especially since I bought Shield TV at half the price ($150) years ago.

 

[Pluupy]

Hmm I could rig this thing up as an HTPC, maybe. It's really cute.

The only problem I have with PC's, at least in gaming or hardware performance is that everything from finding a PC to getting the right equipment is confusing. Even if someone makes a company and makes the quote "High performance PC's" you still don't know if your getting a good deal. The same goes with what console your buying but when you have it narrowed down to three options its easy to pick and chose, but with PC's and having hundreds of options I can see why some may prefer just buying something like the Atari Box or the Steam Machine just so they can play games or run gud graphics.

This is easily solved by...learning about PCs. A wild concept, I know.

A simple course introducing how computers work will easily teach you everything you need. From starting computers with a screwdriver to using Windows PowerShell to force Windows 10 to have the same advanced features as Windows 7 before crying yourself to sleep.

All cellphones and video game devices are just subpar computers with proprietary software. Simply learning about standard computers will give you a new perspective, maybe even an appreciation, of the work that goes into them.

Community Colleges typically have these courses.

 

[jimmyleen]

It'll just be running a Linux distro with a "customized interface", so it's going to just be a PC with Linux installed.

I wander how many hardware driver errors people will run into.

 

[RedBlueGreen]

So it's just a mini PC running Linux? Disappointing. What's to stop people from buying a used slim PC and putting a lightweight Linux distro on it to run a bunch of emulators? You'd be better of buying a used PC and sticking in a low profile GPU and possibly a cheap used CPU.

 

[Taleweaver]

At first I didn't understood the comments. Failure, failure, failure? Was I the only one reading this correctly? I mean...

The Ataribox will launch with a large back catalog of the publisher’s classic games. The idea being to be able to "create a box that makes people feel nostalgic about the past, but it’s also capable of running the independent games they want to play today, like Minecraft or Terraria". In addition to indie games, the console will run those that a mid-range PC can handle, but won't run AAA games that require higher-end specs. Mac added that it will also perform PC-worthy stuffs like streaming, running apps, browsing the web, and playing music.

and

“Ataribox is an open system, and while our user interface will be easy to use, people will also be free to access and customize the underlying OS.

...seem like pretty good treats. It's more like a multimedia-box with some atari games thrown in as a bonus, but hey...should be decent, right?

Turns out I completely overlooked the price point: 250-300 bucks? Ouch. I thought this was going to be a 100 bucks machine. With these bells and whistles probably a bit more expensive than that mini NES, but not much. The current price point is in range of other consoles, and there's almost no way it can compete with that. Heck...it can't even compete with a GPD win, which does all that and more, AND can be used as a portable computer.

I'd be willing to give it a chance if it scores perfectly on the controller and a smoothly integrated user interface (something like steamOS attempts to do but can't quite pull off yet), but the fact that they're not showing either really says they've got nothing on that front. And that's a shame...a linux game console absolutely has potential (just take a look at lutris), but with this price point, I really doubt it'll sell anywhere near enough to spark enough interest for a hacking community that I guess is assumed to come to save the day.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Were Steam machines this cheap? IMO is a good price point if its got a decent GPU in it, but I'd probably be disappointed with how many of my Steam games can run on Linux. Wouldn't be in the market for something like this unless my all my PC components suddenly failed and I didn't have the money to replace it all. Especially since I bought Shield TV at half the price ($150) years ago.

They weren't, Steam Machines were generally overpriced, over complicated, underpowered PCs that just had Steam Big Picture mode on boot and came with a controller...which made them not remotely worth the price. This looks like it'll be an ok priced, over complicated, underpowered PC that'll use some custom "Atari" launcher on Linux and come with a controller...which isn't really that enticing to most people. And you can tell it's not going to have that great of hardware by how tiny the actual box is (that's the actual "console in the flesh" as posted by Atari on their Facebook), there's no way they're stuffing decent hardware in this thing without heat issues.

The fact that it's being crowd funded makes me think Atari isn't 100% on the outcome of these, either.

 

[Foxi4]

Difference with Nintendo is that they have first party support, that's a draw to the system, and since the thing is pretty popular, 3rd party support is flooding in. The ataribox will get neither, no first-party stuff nor AAA support, it has no draw.

Except for the quadrillion of PC games that are already out and compatible with Linux either natively or through WINE, most of which will never be released on the Switch.

 

[Kioku]

I worry about the future of games. A Former top dog is asking fans to crowdfund a project that has failed in various ways before. There's truly nothing enticing about this. The price point leads me to believe the hardware will be laughable at best and that you're better off just buying one of the big 3 and getting a mid range computer. Just my thoughts.

 

[CathyRina]

I still think this product is unnecessary

 

[geodeath]

Surely DOA if it is just a pc in another box and i do not mean architecturally (before some nut says the xbox and ps4 are the same) but rather as a platform etc. There might be a market for people wanting to play pc games in their living room but for me that is the line i draw between where i game. It is not like i am going to play starcraft 2 on my 55" 4k, if i wanted to do that, i would already have my htpc setup for games.

 

[LightyKD]

Hopefully the GPU is on par with a Nvidia GT-1030 and we can remove Linux and add Windows. if that's case, coupled with how tiny this thing is, I would love to have this under my TV!

 

[Jonna]

Hmm I could rig this thing up as an HTPC, maybe. It's really cute.


This is easily solved by...learning about PCs. A wild concept, I know.

A simple course introducing how computers work will easily teach you everything you need. From starting computers with a screwdriver to using Windows PowerShell to force Windows 10 to have the same advanced features as Windows 7 before crying yourself to sleep.

All cellphones and video game devices are just subpar computers with proprietary software. Simply learning about standard computers will give you a new perspective, maybe even an appreciation, of the work that goes into them.

Community Colleges typically have these courses.

To be fair, identifying graphic cards is quite cumbersome with the variance in how companies handle naming protocols. Nvidia at least has a scheme to their numbers, but then it was botched up when throwing in 3 and 4 digits. Ati can't decide which way their numbers want to increase or decrease in relevance to the power of the gpu. And then don't even start trying to understand third party companies having the name of a card, but modified in one way or another to either cheapen the price or take claim.

I have great experience with pc hardware, but graphic card comparisons are the bane of my existence in that realm.

 

[the_randomizer]

Yes, nothing says "nostalgia" more than a $300 Linux based budget gaming PC posing as an Atari box. Who's the demographic for this, rich gamers?

 

[Deleted-355425]

Yes, nothing says "nostalgia" more than a $300 Linux based budget gaming PC posing as an Atari box. Who's the demographic for this, rich gamers?

Adults more then likely.

 

[the_randomizer]

Adults more then likely.

Still a rip off price, Retro Pi can do the same thing and is 75% cheaper.

 

[Kioku]

Still a rip off price, Retro Pi can do the same thing and is 75% cheaper.

No... No it can't...

 

[the_randomizer]

No... No it can't...

Oh? Do tell me how this is better than a Raspberry Pi. This this is a bloody waste of 300 dollars that people can play the same Atari games on a device that's cheaper. How exactly am I wrong again?

That's what I thought.


Edit: Well then....

 

[Deleted-355425]

Oh? Do tell me how this is better than a Raspberry Pi.

You are comparing a raspberry pi to this that has a decent cpu and an dedicated gpu.... hardly the same kettle of fish to be honest.

 

[Kioku]

Oh? Do tell me how this is better than a Raspberry Pi. This this is a bloody waste of 300 dollars that people can play the same Atari games on a device that's cheaper. How exactly am I wrong again?

That's what I thought.

You're joking right? This is touting more than retro gaming...