Atari finally has its VCS redux ready for a general release in the Spring. This is more than just a pre-loaded retro console, though. The Atari VCS, on paper, has a lot to offer.
Atari VCS: Filling the PC-Shaped Space in Your Living Room
The Atari VCS was first touted back in 2017. Since then, the road has been a rocky one and 2020s COVID pandemic had a tremendous impact on Atari’s ability to deliver its revamped VCS.
However, that was 12 months ago and, now, Atari is ready to get a device bearing its name into your living room. Beta consoles have already shipped to Indiegogo backers and are being met with positive feedback.
What Exactly Is the Atari VCS?
Speaking at the Techfluence Pre CES 2021 event, Michael Arzt, Chief Operating Officer of Atari VCS, stated that the Atari VCS categorically is not a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X, and nor should you be comparing it to those devices.
Arzt sees the Atari VCS as more of a living room PC, stating that the device “compares specs-wise to a lot of mini-pcs”. His colleague, David Lowey, furthered this point stating that it is a “totally solid mini-pc.”
Atari design the console as a catch-all for modern media. It is capable of 4K video output, streaming current-gen, triple-A gaming titles via the likes of Steam and Stadia, and beaming HQ audio to Bluetooth speakers.
Not only that, but as it runs Chrome natively, via the Atari OS (running on a custom Debian Linux), you can access the full Google suite. So Docs, Sheets, and anything else Google app-related can run on the device too.
Who Is the Atari VCS Intended For?
You may well scoff at Atari’s attempt to launch a console not only during a global health pandemic, but also at the same time as Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X.
With that in mind, if you fixate on Xbox or PlayStation and can’t accept the existence of other entertainment devices, this isn’t the product for you.
So who is it the product for? Well, Michael Arzt states that the Atari VCS “has two main target markets; those over 35 years of age who know and appreciate the original 80s Atari consoles, and those under 35 who want an all-in-one media device” that isn’t a big, clunky old PC.
However, Arzt also states that the computer-console has “appeal to makers, hackers, and tinkerers,” meaning that its open-platform nature ensures the perfect environment for creativity along the lines of tech-tinkering.
When we asked what Atari feels about the propensity for its platform to be used to run grey-market emulated hardware, Arzt didn’t even flinch. In response to whether the controversial RetroArch app, for example, will run on the system, he simply said, “We are working on something similar that is native.”
What Games Are Available on the Atari VCS?
Of course, the console is able to play games that Atari still owns the intellectual property for.
In fact, it includes 150 of them for free in the Atari Vaults 1 and 2, which you can launch directly from the console’s OS (not sure what the Evercade retro games console will think of that…)
By offering access to the likes of Steam and Stadia, Atari is ensuring that the console satisfies fans of modern, triple-A titles. “It can play a certain Cyberpunk 2077 title,” Arzt tells us.
However, he went on to say that “today’s indie game is tomorrow’s triple-A”. With that in mind, he states that one of the primary focuses of the console will be indie titles, with ease of discovery at the forefront, ensuring these games get the limelight they deserve.
The Atari VCS Is Available Soon
In essence, and without actually testing one (Techfluence is a virtual event for 2021, as you might expect), the Atari VCS seems like a really neat idea.
Its open-platform nature is a real boon in these times of ring-fenced, inaccessible technology. David Lowey stated that Atari is “looking to break down the walls and liberate the user”; a notion that is rapidly becoming obsolete across the modern tech landscape.
It might not compare to the likes of the PS5 or the Series X, but it isn’t trying to. Having seen what this device is all about, we are confident that it will find a place on the market where it appeals to a wide user base.