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Atari Launches Linux Gaming Box Starting at $199 (linux.com)
An anonymous reader quotes Linux.com:
Attempts to establish Linux as a gaming platform have failed time and time again, with Valve's SteamOS being the latest high-profile casualty. Yet, Linux has emerged as a significant platform in the much smaller niche of retro gaming, especially on the Raspberry Pi. Atari has now re-emerged from the fog of gaming history with an Ubuntu-based Atari VCS gaming and media streaming console aimed at retro gamers. In addition to games, the Atari VCS will also offer Internet access and optional voice control. With a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, the system can be used as a standard Linux computer.
The catch is that the already delayed systems won't ship until July 2019... By the launch date, Atari plans to have "new and exclusive" games for download or streaming, including "reimagined classic titles from Atari and other top developers," as well as multi-player games. The Atari VCS Store will also offer video, music and other content... The hardware is not open source, and the games will be protected with HDCP. However, the Ubuntu Linux stack based on Linux kernel 4.10 is open source, and includes a "customizable Linux UX." A Linux "sandbox" will be available for developing or porting games and apps. Developers can build games using any Linux compatible gaming engine, including Unity, Unreal Engine, and Gamemaker. Atari also says that "Linux-based games from Steam and other platforms that meet Atari VCS hardware specifications should work."
Atari boasts this will be their first device offering online multi-player experiences, and the device will also come pre-loaded with over 100 classic Atari games.
An Indiegogo campaign this week seeking $100,000 in pre-orders has already raised over $2.2 million from 8808 backers.
The catch is that the already delayed systems won't ship until July 2019... By the launch date, Atari plans to have "new and exclusive" games for download or streaming, including "reimagined classic titles from Atari and other top developers," as well as multi-player games. The Atari VCS Store will also offer video, music and other content... The hardware is not open source, and the games will be protected with HDCP. However, the Ubuntu Linux stack based on Linux kernel 4.10 is open source, and includes a "customizable Linux UX." A Linux "sandbox" will be available for developing or porting games and apps. Developers can build games using any Linux compatible gaming engine, including Unity, Unreal Engine, and Gamemaker. Atari also says that "Linux-based games from Steam and other platforms that meet Atari VCS hardware specifications should work."
Atari boasts this will be their first device offering online multi-player experiences, and the device will also come pre-loaded with over 100 classic Atari games.
An Indiegogo campaign this week seeking $100,000 in pre-orders has already raised over $2.2 million from 8808 backers.
They started a campaign to FUND the future launching (if there are not manufacturing hiccups).
Come back in 2019 and the console ships and repost this.
Cheeky cunts.
So a silly box in a silly case with nothing but fake promises.
I'm sure it will last ;-)
+----------------- | What is the question!
with Valve's SteamOS being the latest high-profile casualty
SteamOS is still being actively developed. It's Steam Machines that are no longer being produced. It's still possible to build your own Steam Machine and install SteamOS on it.
A computer 10 years ago or the first raspi could emulate these games fine. The nostalgiafags are going gaga and will pay 200$ for a fancy looking box (and convenience of having everything setup).
These atari games were a bit before my time, but I can't stand similar tactics from nintendo for reselling super mario 1 for every system they release. There's a South Park JJ Abrams joke here somewhere where we want different but the same shit. I'm just tired of the constant reboot/sequel strategy everyone is doing.
Companies have failed to make money, (ab)using the free work of others.
The whole point of Linux nowadays is, that it can be whatever you want it to be. On the distribution level, on the use case level, and on the personalization level, so it fits you perfectly.
By pushing it into the mold of cancerous memes, of those who print out the Internet, like "the desktop" (meaning cumbersome user-crippling colorful clickables) or walled-garden-of-fixed-function-modules "game consoles", they are ruining and raping that very point.
So yeah, I gladly see them failing at it, hurting themselves until they learn ... or die, ever, time.
The company wearing Atari's skin thinks it can make the Ouya work.
To be fair, Ouya didn't even try to make the Ouya work. And with advances in ARM processors and their matching GPUs, now is a better time in terms of hardware. But other than their excellent physical design, there's nothing that gives me any confidence that this will go any better.
(Also: We can't call Valve's dabbling in Linux a failure considering that they didn't fully charge ahead with it. They succeeded at creating a pressure release valve that kept Windows Store from picking up steam with publishers, and they continue to work toward that end.)
The issue is that "Atari" (not sure who they are at this point, the name keeps changing hands) are trying to sell us nostalgia, which I already have via a FPGA system. So what will they offer, that I can't get elsewhere for less? Far as I can tell, they got nothing. I see nothing about the unique platform specific games that would make me want to shell out anything for such a system.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Steam OS was a casualty? https://store.steampowered.com... Steam Machines perhaps? https://www.polygon.com/2018/4...
In gaming, BSD has beaten Linux so far with the PS4, the number one platform for this generation.
it'll be reposted by tomorrow morning if we're lucky, this afternoon if we're not.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Attempts to establish Linux as a gaming platform have failed time and time again
Most of the studios making actually good game are releasing on Linux these days.
Acid Wizard? (Darkwood) Check. ...
Snapshot? (Phoenix Point) Check.
Obsidian? (Pillars of Eternity) Check.
InXile? (Wasteland 2/3) Check.
Almost Human? (Grimrock) Check.
Frictional? (Amnesia) Check.
Re-Logic? (Terraria) Check.
Catalyst? (Shadowrun) Check.
On and on - that's the tip of an iceberg. Most of the interesting games are releasing on Linux. On the other hand, if you think Call of Duty 49 or Madden 290 is your idea of a good game, well... yeah, you're SOL. Go back to your mindless mainstream microtransacted shit.
Stick to the more interesting games and you have a hell of a lot of choice in Linux gaming. There's more good Linux games releasing now than at any point in history. What doesn't get released is the AAA shovelware that's married to lootboxes and online DRM. Good riddance.
at that price point. It's an AMD SOC with 4 gigs DDR & 32 gigs storage. The trouble is ram prices are pretty high. The board/CPU can probably be had for $50 bucks in quantity (neweggs got one for $70). The ram's gonna be at least $30 unless they use the cheap stuff (and they'll pay for that later in returns). Figure $5 for the storage. Figure $20 for the case and $15 for the controller, another $15 for packaging and another $20 to ship the thing (including cost of getting it to them and then to the consumer). I'm gonna guess that case cost them $5-$10 to get made (custom tooling is expensive and it doesn't look anything like the existing flashback consoles). They're getting close to $150 bucks. Take 8% for Indiegogo's cut and you've got almost all your profit.
Now let's talk support. It's Linux and not Chrome. Not sure if that matters. If the only folks who buy it are techies they might be OK, but there's still going to be support costs.
Still, it's Indiegogo, meaning probably no prototype to speak of. The whole thing feels like a scam. If it's not that price point would make it a great little Linux box though.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
with Valve's SteamOS being the latest high-profile casualty
So, either:
A) SteamOS has been discontinued (news to me), or...
B) Whatever moron wrote the above has no idea what those words even mean...
I don't think I really want to spend $199 to play Atari 2600/5200 games.
Now if the catalog was all the PC games Atari/Infogrames/GT Interactive has published for the last 25 years then that is more interesting. For example: Roller Coaster Tycoon, Alone in the Dark, Test Drive, Deer Hunter, Unreal Tournament (technically), Neverwinter Nights, Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard, Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes, ... there are lots of decent to good games in their catalog.
Lots of contracts and agreements to hammer out as I'm sure many rights have reverted back to the original owners by now. But I'm optimistic because there is a convincing argument that money can be made.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Or somebody who bought the name and jumped on the bandwagon of retro gaming box running linux and PROFIT!
The company wearing Atari's skin thinks it can make the Ouya work.
The following clause from the summary also made me think of OUYA: "and the games will be protected with HDCP." High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) blocks the use of (legal) HDMI capture devices. This means that in order for fans and reviewers to give exposure on YouTube to games worth buying, they'll have to invest in a combination of TV and camcorder suitable for making a video through the analog hole. The lack of YouTube exposure stemming from the requirement for all games on OUYA to use HDCP is one of the many factors that led to lack of user demand for OUYA games.
Let's hope that, among those "re-imagined" clasics, they are able to port the games on the "Atari Arcade" to the browser of that machine.
I played those games back in the day while I was still using Windows (on MacOS since 2009) and those were good fun.
You can try them (with variable sucess, depending on browser) even now:
https://atari.com/arcade#!/arc...
*** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
Damn. It would have been funny if there had been 720 or 722 less backers.
#DeleteFacebook
A hi-fi amp or desktop sized case with a CPU/GPU specification similar to the XBox One X but underclocked with a silent fanless design, NVMe based SSD for crazy loading times and a sensible amount of the new persistent RAM for instant boot to minimal media centre + browser based desktop OS but with complete open source support across ALL hardware. Would gladly pay up to $499 if by default it came with a solid default media player and gaming Linux distribution, maybe SteamOS or Chrome OS based, Android app support but with tweaked GPU drivers and app/game development tools/engine built in. Full MacOS or Windows support might be nice too but as optional extras not the default minimal secure Linux mode.
And just like the long gone (real) Atari they are selling promises of things like "new games" that will never see the light of day. They are just a startup who won the lottery this go around to get the Atari name brand so they can get the public to fund them, like what happens every 3 years, so they can develop a few units, pocket the funding profits and then wait another 3 years to repeat. The nostalgia for retro Atari, like Commodore, never fades. And they continue to exploit that.
well, I won't, but I certainly won't buy a promise of one a year in advance, come on. They get $200, I get the promise of a box. Not a good deal.
Is this another raspberry pi with antes emulator like the NES and SNES mini?
Why would any retro gamer want a console?
The hardware doesn't look that bad to me. I mean Much better specs than Ouya, Ubuntu instead of Android, and a standard hardware platform instead of the chaos of Steam Machines. The promo video also seems to imply that "Atari" understand we can't live on recycled 2600 junk, and there will be coin-op arcade games and even some modernized ones following the model of Tempest 4000. If those actually materialize, they could possibly get me on board.
But it's a YEAR away, even assuming there are no further delays (haha!). And right now you can play Atari Vault on Steam, while Tempest 4000 will be on Steam and other platforms real soon now, way before the new VCS ships. There had better be some new things revealed for the software catalog in the coming year if they want this to be viable.
Here's a suggestion: Cut a deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment who (according to Professor Wikipedia) now own all the rights to all the coin operated games developed by "Atari Games" after the split in 1984. I'm talking about: Marble Madness, Gauntlet, RoadBlasters, STUN Runner, Klax, Vindicators, and a ton of others. They turned out some real classics that AFAIK have not appeared on home systems (outside of MAME, of course!).
That's very rare for game consoles to enforce HDCP on games. Microsoft has never done it, and Sony only did it on the PS3 - they finally let you disable it on the PS4. Nintendo has never enforced HDCP, either.
$200 on a machine that plays 30+ year old games....
Yeah, this is DOA..
This Atari VCS device supports Twitch streaming.
I am unfamiliar with Twitch, other than that it is a video game live streaming service owned by Amazon. Does Twitch allow a game reviewer to edit together excerpts of gameplay to form a review? The answer to this question is important if Twitch is the only way to get video out of the device.
There are enough videos on Youtube of every Atari 2600 game
I was under the impression that not all games exclusive to the VCS (2019) would be from the 2600, 5200, and 7800.
The Playstation 3 enabled HDCP for every game (until a patch near the end of its life) IIRC.
The PlayStation 3 console also had component out, which streamers and reviewers used.
The best memories of gaming as a kid was split-screen multiplayer, but nowadays it's all about everyone playing at their own house playing online multiplayer.
Online multiplayer is fun and all, but nothing beats seeing the face of when your pwn your friends.
The gamecube will always be connected to my TV for as long as there are so few split-screen multiplayer games.