Atari is indeed working on a new game console, CEO confirms

[Shawn Knight]

A YouTube video earlier this month teased what appeared to be a new console from Atari. The 21-second clip showed glimpses of a plastic and wooden machine although when E3 2017 came and went with no announcement, many assumed the teaser was fake.

As it turns out, the teaser was legit and Atari is indeed making a new game console.

Atari CEO Fred Chesnais on Friday confirmed the news with GamesBeat, noting that his company is “back in the hardware business.”

Chesnais didn’t provide the publication with a wealth of details but did say that the console was based on PC technology. They’re still working on the design, he admitted, adding that a proper reveal would take place at a later date.

Based on what was shown in the teaser, it’s entirely possible that Atari is looking to cash in on the retro revival. Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition was met with overwhelming demand last holiday season. Given Atari’s catalog of classic games, it’d make a lot of sense for the company to re-release its library – or maybe just a handful of fan-favorites – on a “modern” console that easily connects to today’s televisions via HDMI.

Would you be interested in a retro Atari console? If so, what’s the sweet spot as it relates to pricing and what games would you like to see ship with it? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image courtesy GameMaster Magazine

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https://www.techspot.com/news/69755-atari-indeed-working-new-game-console-ceo-confirms.html

 

[Squid Surprise]

It's got to have Breakout, Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Pitfall, Frogger, Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers, Centipede, Q*Bert, and my personal favourite - Pole Position....

If they play like they used to (and maybe with save game features added in), I'd pay $50-75, depending on the build quality...

 

[psycros]

Updated Atari favorites had seen mixed success over the years but they've certainly done better than classic Atari collections. If their only planning on releasing their legacy catalog on this thing then their wasting their time..retro may be kinda hot with 90's kids but I think we've all outgrown first gen stuff. Besides, you can play damn near every 2600 game ever made online for free or via emulators (and the same is largely true for the 5200, 7800, etc.) Activision would almost certainly be up to the task of giving us a wicked-cool new Centipede or the like. Honestly, I think Atari should aim for the sweet spot between the childlike charm of Nintendo and the oh-so-edgy XBox and PS audiences. "Tweens" were always the core audience for their games anyway. There's really no limit on how far developers could take the concepts of the original games. For example, Adventure could be re-imagined as an open world RPG that wasn't either totally cartoony or dark and R-rated. There's another thing this new console could do which the competition really doesn't: provide full keyboard and mouse control. If its going to be based on PC hardware there's no reason not to. I wouldn't even care if they handicapped the mouse aiming somehow..I just cant use a controller to save my life, and I know I'm not alone. Perhaps a trackball or trackpad could be added to the controllers. This would be great with classics like Missile Command but also pretty nice for FPS games and system navigation.

Of course all of this speculation is moot without the games. Atari's hardware would need to provide some compelling reason for developers to spend the time porting their wares to the platform. I really don't know what this might be, to be frank. Support for open source tools might spark some interest although Microsoft is getting a lot better in this regard. I suppose they could use Nvidia for the GPU if they could cut a sweet deal. That would definitely turn some heads. As I said, there's no market for a new programmable console that only supports first-gen cartridge games, so if Atari wants back in the fray they will need to rock the house somehow.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Atari is still in business? I remember my grandpa bouncing me on his knee back in the 50's telling me about them and his grandpa used to do the same thing to him.

 

[David Matthews]

This has to be some kind of retro console. I doubt that Atari is gonna somehow squeeze in on the Xbox/Playstation/Switch trifecta right now.

 

[Shotgunnner]

Atari is still in business? I remember my grandpa bouncing me on his knee back in the 50's telling me about them and his grandpa used to do the same thing to him.

LOL!

 

[Catweazle]

Atari is still in business? I remember my grandpa bouncing me on his knee back in the 50's telling me about them and his grandpa used to do the same thing to him.

No, the Atari we all knew has been defunct for decades. This is another case of a company buying an old name and then slapping it on their products. This "Atari" is actually the French company Infogrames who bought the rights to the name and logo and renamed their company Atari. It has no relation to the original company.

 

[slamscaper]

I already get all my retro games using emulators on PC and there are emulators for NES, SNES, Genesis, and all the Atari machines that are virtually 100% accurate.

If this console is based on PC tech, I'm betting it's going to use emulation anyway.

 

[petert]

People bend over way to much to this crap. This is why companies have the balls to publish a PC game caped at 30 fps or push underpowered gadgets to the market ... because fanboys. Was a reason Atari went out of business ... it can stay dead for what I am concerned.

 

[cuerdc]

I hope its a mini PC powerhouse size of a console with amazing specs with a free lil Atari emulator

 

[bandit8623]

Likely a steambox? My guess anyways.

 

[captaincranky]

Atari is still in business? I remember my grandpa bouncing me on his knee back in the 50's telling me about them and his grandpa used to do the same thing to him.

My grandfather never bounced me on his knee for any reason! The thing was, he hated children. Hey, maybe that's the reason I turned out the way I did...

I would have given you a like on this post, but I'm just too damned bitter and jealous that you had a grand pop that liked you...

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

My grandfather never bounced me on his knee for any reason! The thing was, he hated children. Hey, maybe that's the reason I turned out the way I did...

I would have given you a like on this post, but I'm just too damned bitter and jealous that you had a grand pop that liked you...

How about I bounce you on my knee now to make up for what you missed out on . I find it strange that your grand pappy didn't like children, he had his own after all.

 

[captaincranky]

How about I bounce you on my knee now to make up for what you missed out on . I find it strange that your grand pappy didn't like children, he had his own after all.

No so fast. My grandfather had my grandmother's child (singular), and then moved into the back bedroom for the rest of his life.... Plus, my grandmother spoiled me so intensely, he most likely had every reason to not like me.

How about I bounce you on my knee now to make up for what you missed out on .

Well, if I'm ever in South Africa, I'll stop by and take you up on that. (y) "A beer and a knee bounce", I like it.

 

[Emexrulsier]

This has to be some kind of retro console. I doubt that Atari is gonna somehow squeeze in on the Xbox/Playstation/Switch trifecta right now.

Would be pretty cool if they did though. For high end consoles you really only have the likes of Sony and Microsoft with others such as Nvidia and Switch sitting at the lower end. Would be great if a big major player came to take on the big boys. Imagine the Atari Jaguar II X RM 4K R2 with major game support. Sure it might just do exactly the same as the xbox or ps4 but then ps4 for example survives when it does the same as xbox so why cant anyone else join in.