Ataribox will run Linux on custom AMD processor and Radeon graphics

[Shawn Knight]

Atari over the summer teased its upcoming Ataribox, a retro-inspired console that some believed would compete with other nostalgia-inducing offerings like the NES and SNES Classic Editions. When further details of its hardware emerged, however, it was clear that Atari was working on something a bit more powerful.

Now, we’ve got some additional details to go on.

In an interview with VentureBeat, Ataribox creator and general manager Feargal Mac says the company is planning to launch an Indiegogo funding campaign by the end of the year. The final product will ship sometime in the spring of 2018, Mac notes, at an estimated retail price of between $250 and $300.

That’s no small sum of money but according to Mac, the Ataribox also won’t be lacking in power as a custom AMD processor with Radeon graphics will run the show on a Linux OS.

"People are used to the flexibility of a PC, but most connected TV devices have closed systems and content stores," Mac told the publication. "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."

Mac said they selected Indiegogo due to their focus on delivering technology products and their strong presence in more than 200 countries. The latter fact, he said, will allow them to reach and involve as many Atari fans around the world as possible.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/71137-ataribox-run-linux-custom-amd-processor-radeon-graphics.html

 

[erickmendes]

I think I saw this movie... it's called Dawn of The Steam Boxes.

 

[Jeff Schmidt]

So is it supposed to be a more powerful Ouya? Cause I'm confused why anyone would pay $250-$300 for an atari system when most of there games could be emulated on a flip phone from 10 years ago. I doubt the hardware will be anywhere near xbox one/ps4 levels. Probably not even Nintendo switch levels but they are going with that price range.

 

[Nero7]

"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."

So one would be able to install Steam on it? So its a Steam box without steam os but with the atari logo...

Sounds much more compelling than the other retro consoles. Heh we'll maybe be able to put emulators on it to play nintendo and sega games on it xD

 

[Vulcanproject]

*Looks up niche in the dictionary*

Sees picture of ataribox

 

[Kenrick]

No pokemon, zelda and mario to a 300dollar console, consider it dead on arrival.

 

[Puiu]

It's way too expensive. They are not Nintendo to be able to overcharge and still sell

 

[erickmendes]

Still think of Steam Boxes having strange offspring with Ouyas... Stouyas?
I still think they are trying to create a cheaper steam box, literally.

 

[theBest11778]

2018 with AMD hardware at $250-$300 indicates Raven Ridge APU to me. While this offering seems very steambox like I actually think it's more comparabale to and Intel NUC (also in that price range.) Ultimately it'll come down to how "custom" the hardware is (gddr5/HBM2 vs ddr4, more CU cores over standard Raven Ridge, and if they're using a custom built Linux distro or just something stock standard.)

If Atari can pull off something more user friendly and more compatible than most Linux distros I can see it being a decent HTPC replacement. Of course some exclusive content would be necessary to really seal the deal. To me it's something to keep an eye on.

 

[treetops]

So is it supposed to be a more powerful Ouya? Cause I'm confused why anyone would pay $250-$300 for an atari system when most of there games could be emulated on a flip phone from 10 years ago. I doubt the hardware will be anywhere near xbox one/ps4 levels. Probably not even Nintendo switch levels but they are going with that price range.

1. They are not going to use there old games as their core content...

2. Our "modern consoles" are what 5 years old? If anything the hardware will be better not worse....

Sources: Common sense....

 

[Theinsanegamer]

So is it supposed to be a more powerful Ouya? Cause I'm confused why anyone would pay $250-$300 for an atari system when most of there games could be emulated on a flip phone from 10 years ago. I doubt the hardware will be anywhere near xbox one/ps4 levels. Probably not even Nintendo switch levels but they are going with that price range.

1. They are not going to use there old games as their core content...

2. Our "modern consoles" are what 5 years old? If anything the hardware will be better not worse....

Sources: Common sense....

1. so what is their core content? This is an atari console, what has atari made recently? Are they going to push TV content, because that is an already crowded market with much cheaper boxes available. If it is games, what service will they use, because steamOS has not really caught on yet.

2 our MODERN consoles have high power components. The lack of cooling vents point to this using a mobile part TDP wise, and sorry, but a 15 watt APU, or even a 35 watt APU, wont come close to PS4 performance level this generation.

Source: critical thinking skills

 

[erickmendes]

1. so what is their core content? This is an atari console, what has atari made recently? Are they going to push TV content, because that is an already crowded market with much cheaper boxes available. If it is games, what service will they use, because steamOS has not really caught on yet.

2 our MODERN consoles have high power components. The lack of cooling vents point to this using a mobile part TDP wise, and sorry, but a 15 watt APU, or even a 35 watt APU, wont come close to PS4 performance level this generation.

Source: critical thinking skills

1. A simple Google search show Atari games from 2017... Atari still active, just not in the big league anymore.

2. Our modern console have high power components because it's almost 5 years old design... New GPUs/CPUs that can compete with them use a lot less energy.

 

[Jeff Schmidt]

1. A simple Google search show Atari games from 2017... Atari still active, just not in the big league anymore.

2. Our modern console have high power components because it's almost 5 years old design... New GPUs/CPUs that can compete with them use a lot less energy.

1. So someone is going to spend $200 on an Atari console on the hopes that Atari is going to be making some insane new games that will only be sold on that system.

2.So you think that the apu from an xbox one or ps4 has been shrunk down so much that it doesn't need a heatsink/fan combo. And it can compete with something that has a heatsink/fan from 5 years ago. If that was the case both the xbox one s and ps4 ssslim wouldn't have fans on them and wouldn't produce much heat. I think anyone with a ps4 slim or xbox one s will tell you they produce a ton of heat and probably wouldn't last very long without a fan.

Cpu/gpu technology has not increased that much. Especially cpu wise. Since a lot of people are still using Intel 2000 series cpu's and the 8000 series is almost out. Plus its an AMD cpu and untill the Ryzen AMD has been lower end and not offered very good single core performance. Even bulldozer/excavator were equivalent to i5's. And they were high end AMD stuff. I say that being more of an AMD fanboy than anything that they have been lower end.