New Atari game console is on the way [2017]

[Deleted member 13524]

Presumably they are trying to hit a specific price point for profit reasons. When you compare price to performance, older is invariably better when it's on a last generation fab which there are lots of and will have a lot of capacity. Mature tech on mature fabs = super cheap.

Sure, but the question I have here is if AMD will even be producing 28nm Bristol Ridge chips in H2 2019 when 7nm is the norm and 14nm is the lower-cost option.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Sure, but the question I have here is if AMD will even be producing 28nm Bristol Ridge chips in H2 2019 when 7nm is the norm and 14nm is the lower-cost option.

I'm sure AMD would be more than amenable to licensing the use of an old piece of tech, especially if producing it was your problem rather than their problem. That sounds like free $$$

 

[Deleted member 13524]

I'm sure AMD would be more than amenable to licensing the use of an old piece of tech, especially if producing it was your problem rather than their problem. That sounds like free $$$

I don't think this Atari console will ever get enough demand to justify the production of an old SoC, much less having Atari themselves licensing the chip and making the orders themselves, but we'll see..

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I don't think this Atari console will ever get enough demand to justify the production of an old SoC, much less having Atari themselves licensing the chip and making the orders themselves, but we'll see..

I agree. But from AMD's perspective, if somebody wants to throw money at you for an EOL technology solution, why would you say no?

Equally, resurrecting production of an old IC design on an old IC fab isn't difficult or expensive. There are a lot of old fabs because of the speed with which technology moves on.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I imagine there are enough old A10's lying in a drawer somewhere to satisfy the market demand for this thing.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I imagine there are enough old A10's lying in a drawer somewhere to satisfy the market demand for this thing.

This occurred to me but then I wondered who commissioned production of these things then didn't commit them to a product...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

AMD made a load of A10s to sell to IHVs. They might well have had a few tens of thousands left over that Atari bought up. How many is Atari going to need? I don't see this as a legitimate product with a future with someone requesting 200,000 SOCs plus 50,000 a month thereafter for three years. It costs as much as a PS4 while being vastly inferior in every way, and how many people really want to play the Atari classics enough to spend $200??

They should more realistically stick an emulator on iOs and Android with the entire library. I genuinely think the only reason to run this hardware plan is to exploit venture capitalists. I learnt from a friend there's some odd tax thing in the UK where you want/need to invest a lot in products with a high risk of failure to save money; he had many millions to invest and to find 20 opportunities that were high risk. I can't see any realistic proposal for this product and can't imagine any industry personnel recommending in favour of it. Low spec machine, badly priced, from a reanimated corpse of a brand with little contemporary value, with nothing to add but a thread-bare library of ancient nostalgia that appeals to guys in their late 40s...let's commission ten million to start with and go from there.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

At least the company who makes their controllers, PowerA, has made great controllers in the past (I personally own 2 myself). If it falls, It probably won't be because of the controllers (like OUYA).

I genuinely think the only reason to run this hardware plan is to exploit venture capitalists.

Do they need venture capitalists? Within 24 hours, they already raised over $2.2 Million and it doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon.
I won't be surprised if they reach over $20 Million throughout the campaign, and then just open up a website for direct pre-orders.

Looking at the hardware, since the release is so far away, I wonder if they will even change it at some point.
AFAIK Bristol Ridge is little more than a Carrizo adapted to be easily replaceable by Raven Ridge. Come late 2018 they could just replace that A10 with a Ryzen 3 2300U or better, and/or if RAM keeps going down in price they might even change from 4 to 8GB.


As for the value, it's very similar to nvidia's Shield TV which sells at a similar price.


Also, I'm glad to see they at least didn't pull any punches regarding wireless capabilities (5GHz AC), 4x USB 3.0, Gigabit, microSD card slot.
The console also has a 4-mic array for voice commands, and it already has TWITCH streaming.

 

[Kaotik]

AFAIK Bristol Ridge is little more than a Carrizo adapted to be easily replaceable by Raven Ridge. Come late 2018 they could just replace that A10 with a Ryzen 3 2300U or better, and/or if RAM keeps going down in price they might even change from 4 to 8GB.

Bristol Ridge is Carrizo with DDR4 support enabled, only handful of Carrizos ever got released with DDR4-support for mobile use and I think the official excuse for sticking with DDR3 (on almost all models) was "we didn't want to confuse the market with different memories"

 

[Deleted member 2197]

Atari VCS faked gameplay footage as well as showing a port the creator knew nothing about

In the Atari VCS trailer on Indiegogo, it shows Tempest 4000 running ‘natively’ on the Atari VCS system, but this is impossible as there is no Linux version of the game. As this Reddit investigation shows, the creator of Tempest 4000 has even confirmed he didn’t even know about the Atari VCS, and was also dark on his game being ported to it.
....
Atari has since officially responded to the developer of Tempest 4000 stating the footage used was, in fact, running on a PC, but they fully expect games like Tempest 4000 and others like it to be available on the platform.

In addition to Tempest 4000, Atari also faked footage of Yar’s Revenge, with a poorly edited shot that can be seen here.

https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/ryan...howing-a-port-the-creator-knew-nothing-about/

 

[AzBat]

I know all of you are waiting patiently for more news. You're now rewarded with another 9 months of more waiting...

The Atari VCS will now be powered by a 14nm AMD processor featuring high-performance Radeon Vega graphics architecture and two “Zen” CPU cores. This new processor replaces the model from the “Bristol Ridge” family that had been in the plan since originally selected for the Atari VCS back in 2017. AMD’s all-new Ryzen embedded chip will be faster, cooler, and more efficient, allowing the VCS to benefit from a simpler and more effective power architecture and thermal solution. The new processor includes built-in Ethernet, Native 4K video with modern HDCP, and a secure frame buffer that fully-supports DRM video (Netflix, HBO, etc.).

The North American schedule is now targeting end of 2019 for delivery.

https://medium.com/@atarivcs/more-power-is-coming-to-the-atari-vcs-20c02f3aefc2

Now you can buy two more knowing it has a better brain. LoL

Tommy McClain

 

[Cyan]

I know all of you are waiting patiently for more news. You're now rewarded with another 9 months of more waiting...





https://medium.com/@atarivcs/more-power-is-coming-to-the-atari-vcs-20c02f3aefc2

Now you can buy two more knowing it has a better brain. LoL

Tommy McClain

actually, I thought it was dead before being born, but it's not.

 

[AzBat]

The Indiegogo campaign is done & now you can pre-order directly from Walmart.com, Gamestop.com & the new AtariVCS.com.

Looks like there are 3 different versions of the VCS 800 All-in bundle:



Walnut trim - Atari
Onyx trim - Atari & Gamestop
Gold kevlar trim - Walmart

Anyway, seems kind of expensive @ $390 but it does allow you to install any OS you want in the Atari Sandbox Mode & you do get and HDMI cable and both the classic joystick & moden controller.

I'll wait for the release to see reviews & then might pick one up at $50 when they go out of business.

Tommy McClain

 

[Cyan]

The Indiegogo campaign is done & now you can pre-order directly from Walmart.com, Gamestop.com & the new AtariVCS.com.

Looks like there are 3 different versions of the VCS 800 All-in bundle:

View attachment 3142

Walnut trim - Atari
Onyx trim - Atari & Gamestop
Gold kevlar trim - Walmart

Anyway, seems kind of expensive @ $390 but it does allow you to install any OS you want in the Atari Sandbox Mode & you do get and HDMI cable and both the classic joystick & moden controller.

I'll wait for the release to see reviews & then might pick one up at $50 when they go out of business.

Tommy McClain

install any OS, my favourite feature

 

[AzBat]

Not satisfied with the continued delays for the VCS they have no decided to start their own blockchain...

Atari Token - https://www.atarichain.com/

• Casino - Our tokens can also be used to play games in Atari Casino. Beside standard games like Roulette, Poker and Blackjack, we are working on innovative gambling games where your skill increases your chance of winning.
• Skills Matter - Compete against other players to earn tokens. We are working on innovative games in which you invest some of your tokens to play games against others. The best player wins the prize
• Safety Priority - Since each transaction is stored in a decentralized way it is impossible to tamper with it or make new tokens from thin air reducing their value.
• Liquidity - Our objective is to work on providing liquidity to Token holders. We will work on listing the Atari Token on exchanges, enabling Token holders to exchange them against other crypto-currencies.
• Easy Integration - We aim to enable other developers to easily integrate the Atari Token in their games.
• Much More - This is a long-term plan, our objective is to provide as many use cases as possible, in accordance with applicable regulations.

About The Atari Token
Our goal is to make the Atari Token available to as many users as possible and to develop over time as many use cases as possible. We are starting with casino games playable with cryptocurrencies, and aim at gradually extending the use cases in other games and in any type of industry, always in accordance with applicable regulations. We are also working on listing the Atari Token on an exchange to provide liquidity.

The number of Atari Tokens is currently limited at 7,771,000,000 . Before buying any Atari Token, please refer to the Risks Section.

On their roadmap they're are currently in the Pre-sale Round 2 & it's value is currently at 0.08$. They are planning on 2 more rounds of pre-sales this month & full launch/public salea "this summer" & their exchange Atarichange.com launching "late summer". Looks like other exchanges will launch shortly afterwards.

You can purchase tokens "in pre-sale using standard cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash. By purchasing the tokens in pre-sale, you’re getting a voucher for the amount of tokens you bought, which you can claim when the Token goes live."

They also have a Wallet for Android in testing. Says it currently supports Bitcoin & will get Atari Token support once it gets listed on the exchanges.

BTW, don't bother trying to download the whitepaper. It only has 1 page that only says "subject to non-disclosure agreement". LOL

No idea if this will ever fly, but kinda interesting. I was kinda expecting Microsoft or Sony to do something similar themselves for their next-gen systems.

EDIT: Here's the Atari Casino that goes hand-in-hand with Atari Token.

Tommy McClain

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Given Atari keeps going bust, this sounds like a money sink to me.

 

[AzBat]

Given Atari keeps going bust, this sounds like a money sink to me.

Most definitely. Just thought it was technically interesting & thought it might be nice to add it here for posterity.

Tommy McClain