Author Topic: Atari VCS, Amico, Micro Consoles (Read 333266 times)

ThePerm · « **Reply #25 on:** January 25, 2020, 01:27:50 AM »

That's better than anything "Atari" has shown.

If nothing else the Amico is an amazing soundtrack player.

ShyGuy · « **Reply #26 on:** January 26, 2020, 01:26:54 PM »

Okay, I'm team Intellivision now.

nickmitch · « **Reply #27 on:** January 26, 2020, 05:33:18 PM »

That Amico is kinda cool looking. One thing I really love about it that it seems like it's gonna release in the wood grain. The Atari seemed like it was a kickstarter, early back exclusive that's long since sold out. If you wanna sell these nostalgia boxes from that era, you gotta have the wood grain at least somewhat broadly available. I'm really considering the Amico for almost exclusively that reason.

Another note. I remember a quote from an entrepreneurial studies class I took. The guy was a successful entrepreneur, selling **** on TV, and was talking about a hot, new invention: the VCR. I can't find the quote, but he basically said he'd put an orange racing stripe or something on it to get attention in the living room. While he was pretty wrong on that one, but I think that's what they're going for with the Amico. It'll stand out in any entertainment center, and look cool.

UncleBob · « **Reply #28 on:** January 27, 2020, 10:14:01 PM »

https://www.intellivisionamico.com/amico-founders-edition

Mine's preordered. Wood grain.

ejamer · « **Reply #29 on:** January 27, 2020, 11:50:25 PM »

I don't understand the appeal. You are playing slightly psychedelic remakes of classic games on a $300 console?
Someone spell this out for me. The soundtracks are fine, but I must be missing something.

UncleBob · « **Reply #30 on:** January 28, 2020, 04:49:25 AM »

To be fair, it's a $200 console. The "Founder's Edition" is $300 because it includes a bunch of extras, including pack-in games and $50 worth of store credit towards more games.

For me, a lot of the appeal is nostaliga, but they're also doing original titles as well as remakes. Honestly, as soon as they announced a remake of TRON: Deadly Discs, I was onboard, but seeing things like a new Earthworm Jim has me really interested.

Think of how many people keep their Wii/Wii U plugged in mostly because of the Virtual Console games they've loaded onto it. I mean, I have a dozen ways to play Super Mario Bros. 3, but I still pay $20/year for Switch Online.

ejamer · « **Reply #31 on:** January 28, 2020, 07:44:13 AM »

Fair enough.
I'm probably just not the target market, so it doesn't resonate with me.

BeautifulShy · « **Reply #32 on:** January 28, 2020, 04:51:03 PM »

Speaking of Atari in general guess who is making a video game hotel in Phoenix. Yep Atari. Construction is supposed to begin mid 2020. No idea if it is going to be in downtown Phoenix or someplace else but this is a thing that is happening.
https://www.azfamily.com/news/new-atari-video-game-themed-hotel-coming-to-phoenix/article_d65fc42a-415d-11ea-9c57-f33d49f1a7bc.html

pokepal148 · « **Reply #33 on:** January 28, 2020, 07:20:57 PM »

Is it also a love hotel?

UncleBob · « **Reply #34 on:** January 28, 2020, 08:56:48 PM »

That sounds like something that will definitely happen.

UncleBob · « **Reply #35 on:** January 28, 2020, 09:07:25 PM »

https://youtu.be/oLQTKc1NIFI

ejamer · « **Reply #36 on:** January 31, 2020, 01:54:41 PM »

Yeah, still not feeling the Amico love after watching a couple of videos.

There is just too much that doesn't resonate with me - digital-only distribution of games, odd controllers (although really, these could be awesome... it's just unproven and needs to show why they are supposedly so innovative and useful), promises about related phone apps. Even the game remakes they've shown so far haven't really looked polished enough to be appealing - maybe they will be once done, but they games seem like flashy demos instead of complete experiences.

That said, I do like many of the concepts they are building around. Once the product gets released, I'd be happy to re-evaluate and see if my concerns now are overblown.

However, I my interest was piqued by the Evercade after seeing Piko Interactive and Mega Cat Studios release a collection of games. Collectible, cartridge-based, officially licensed retro games... even an actual headphone jack built in. Yeah, my tastes probably aren't going to be very popular. ;D

ejamer · « **Reply #37 on:** February 18, 2020, 03:33:59 PM »

Evercade announced they are releasing a cartridge collection of Atari Lynx games. The first cartridge has a few curiosities on it, but doesn't hit the games that would really pique my interest. I'm holding out hope that a second cartridge will be released later though.

Somehow, playing Todd's Adventures in Slime World has been on my mind lately, so the timing of this little bit of nostalgia could be really amazing... If that game actually gets released again. [Edit: And that game is one of eight included on the announced second Lynx cartridge.]

ejamer · « **Reply #38 on:** July 02, 2020, 10:56:13 AM »

How are these different platforms going? Are they progressing along? I haven't followed announcements, but would love to hear from people watching Amico or Atari to see how they are feeling about things.

Evercade was the only one I've been watching, and it's released now. I'm having a hard time deciding whether I want to actually buy one or not.

There are two primary things holding me back. First, the hardware has a few little niggles that are less than ideal based on reviews that have come out. These all seem fixable, but waiting for a second edition might mean just passing entirely if the system isn't successful enough. Second, I've got so many games already that it's hard to drop another $100 another portable console (before adding in $20 per game that interests me).

That said, the game library still has some appealing content. The Piko Interactive collection in particular catches my eye, as it contains a bunch of retro games that are right up my alley and not easily/legally available elsewhere at reasonable prices. There are also two Atari Lynx collections coming out, the Oliver Twins collection (with a whole bunch of Dizzy games that I've never played but was always curious about), and the Mega Cat Studios release.

I guess it's a wait-and-see for now, at least until all of the games that interest me get released. Hopefully by then some additional reviews and opinions will be available online.

Adrock · « **Reply #39 on:** July 06, 2020, 06:37:27 PM »

Atari 800 VCS Console Gets a Release Date, Costs $399

The link states it will ship on November 27. This thing is walking right into PS5 and Series X. WTF is Atari thinking?

Kairon · « **Reply #40 on:** July 07, 2020, 05:00:26 PM »

Quote from: ejamer on July 02, 2020, 10:56:13 AM

Evercade was the only one I've been watching, and it's released now. I'm having a hard time deciding whether I want to actually buy one or not.

Wow, Evercade was not on my radar before but it definitely is now. It looks really neat, and the price might just be doable...

Most of the problems I've had with these things is that as cool an idea as they are, I need games to be excited about. The Amico is a weird and interesting idea, and I think I find the principles behind it likable, but all the game footage they've shown so far has just been unexciting. I'd expect their marketing to put the best foot forward and maybe they're definitely stumbling on that point, but beyond that in the handful of gameplay videos they've shown off I only NOW found something remotely interesting in the co-op dungeon crawler Cloudy Mountain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOTsRYf6-XI). In general, retro games and retro-style games are so small-concept that I have a hard time getting excited for them.

With Evercade, the retro game collections are sort of uninspiring, but yeah, the Interplay and Piko interactive collections really caught my eye, and a bunch of the more modern/indie ones too. I generally enjoy the weirdness of physical media too, so it being on cartridges gives me an extra kick.

Hmmm... these Amazon listings for Evercade are tempting... I really shouldn't be spending, but a little window shopping couldn't hurt...

Kairon · « **Reply #41 on:** July 07, 2020, 05:25:11 PM »

Quote from: ejamer on July 02, 2020, 10:56:13 AM

First, the hardware has a few little niggles that are less than ideal based on reviews that have come out. These all seem fixable, but waiting for a second edition might mean just passing entirely if the system isn't successful enough.

Aside from the tight cartridge fit and HDMI audio weirdness when doing game capture, is there anything else that's going on with the Evercade? Neither of those two things disturb me that much, so I was wondering if you were aware of anything else.

nickmitch · « **Reply #42 on:** July 07, 2020, 06:52:51 PM »

Quote from: Adrock on July 06, 2020, 06:37:27 PM

Atari 800 VCS Console Gets a Release Date, Costs $399

The link states it will ship on November 27. This thing is walking right into PS5 and Series X. WTF is Atari thinking?

LMAO, what?! The only fathomable strategy I can see here is Atari expecting shortages of the other consoles? Which I guess would make theirs available by comparison? I just can't see the market settling for a novelty with the new hawtness is out.

ejamer · « **Reply #43 on:** July 07, 2020, 10:02:53 PM »

Quote from: Kairon on July 07, 2020, 05:25:11 PM

...
Aside from the tight cartridge fit and HDMI audio weirdness when doing game capture, is there anything else that's going on with the Evercade? Neither of those two things disturb me that much, so I was wondering if you were aware of anything else.

Those are the main niggles that I was talking about - well, those and the HDMI cable not staying fully inserted which causes the system to reset sometimes unexpectedly for some people. I've also seen reports about battery issues, but those seem uncommon enough that I'm not really concerned.

There is apparently a software bug in Top Racer (aka: Top Gear) where using nitro means you can't ever slow down afterwards. Piko is supposedly looking into it.

Totally agree that it's the oddball stuff (not the classic compilations that we've all played dozens of times on other platforms, but games that are generally hard to find official/licensed versions of) that make Evercade seem like an interesting option. If I were to get one, that would definitely be my focus.

While poking around for reviews online, I saw another rumor (with official response hinting that it's likely) about a "home console" version coming in the future that would support two players and use the same cartridges.

ejamer · « **Reply #44 on:** July 07, 2020, 10:51:46 PM »

And kind of related, for people who like homebrewed retro-styled games that they can play for free online, if you haven't seen Pico-8 yet then you should check it out.

https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php

ThePerm · « **Reply #45 on:** September 24, 2020, 06:35:06 PM »

Amazon is launching Luna. Not really a micro console, just more Stadia type nonsense.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/24/21451371/amazon-luna-cloud-gaming-service-twitch-alexa-controller

Kairon · « **Reply #46 on:** October 01, 2020, 03:15:21 PM »

Evercade is just sitting in my Amazon "Save Items" List. I can't bring myself to pull the trigger on even though I've easily spent as much money already on Switch games in just a single month.

I'm also still slightly keeping track of Amico. There are honestly a handful of games I've seen for it that I'd get a bit of a kick out of. With the delay to April next year though, I don't have to make a decision on that yet.

Finally, I've had an Oculus Quest/Quest 2 sitting in my Best Buy saved items list for about a year now... can't bring myself to pull the trigger on that either, especially given the rough review Are Technical's gave the VR headset recently.

Lemonade · « **Reply #47 on:** October 03, 2020, 09:16:09 AM »

On the latest Gameinformer podcast, there is a very interesting interview with Tommy Tallarico, some of which was about the Amico. I'm definitely interested in the system now. I will be keeping a closer eye on news for it.
https://www.gameinformer.com/video-podcast/the-game-informer-show/2020/10/01/gi-show-review-impressions-for-star-wars-squadrons

ThePerm · « **Reply #48 on:** January 18, 2021, 05:31:58 PM »

The VCS is finally out. A few youtubers got it. Not entirely Vaporware. Probably DOA unless Google buys Atari.

Order.RSS · « **Reply #49 on:** January 18, 2021, 05:33:22 PM »

Quote from: ThePerm on January 18, 2021, 05:31:58 PM

The VCS is finally out. A few youtubers got it. Not entirely Vaporware.

Idk if that's enough proof to go on. Apparently Youtubers also had access to a functional copy of Cyberpunk 2077. ;)

News:

Author Topic: Atari VCS, Amico, Micro Consoles (Read 333266 times)