At E3 this year, Atari announced that it would be returning to the hardware business, with a brand new console. Many expected another set-top Android box, loaded with licenced Atari emulators and the ability to play a few current Indie games.
It turns out that’s not quite the case. Atari has revealed more information on its Ataribox, and it seems like it’ll be a little beefier of a machine. The ghost of Atari is set to launch an Indiegogo campaign for the machine within the next month, with an expected release sometime next year.
It’ll run on an unspecified AMD chip, with AMD Radeon tech powering the visuals. It’ll also run a custom implementation of Linux, as a way to make the platform open. The system will come loaded with a library of classic Atari games, but also offer the sorts of things you’d expect from a PC: streaming, browsing, apps and the like.
“People are used to the flexibility of a PC, but most connected TV devices have closed systems and content stores,” Atari’s Feargal Mac told Gamesbeat. 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 it’s essentially a mid-range Linux PC in a very nice box with retro wood panelling. It’ll sell between $250 and $300 apparently, putting it in the same cost range as the current consoles; the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo’s Switch. That makes me think this will be a bit of a niche offering but one I wouldn’t mind owning – purely because it’s so damned sexy.
Are you interested in a budget-minded set-top TV box?
Last Updated: September 27, 2017
Magoo
September 27, 2017 at 13:31
At that price, it’s more of a novelty than a sound choice in gaming entertainment.
Skittle
September 27, 2017 at 13:32
AMD and wood panelling… anybody else smell something burning?
HairyEwok
September 27, 2017 at 13:48
Kindle your inner gaming rage with our new Atari console. Its burning to be played.
Admiral Chief
September 27, 2017 at 14:22
Proper wood WOODn’t burn that easy
HairyEwok
September 27, 2017 at 13:33
Seriously like the retro roots design of the console.
Admiral Chief
September 27, 2017 at 14:22
Ditto
Matthew Holliday
September 27, 2017 at 13:52
“between $250 and $300”
So by the time its released, between R7 000-R160 000?
RinceThis
September 27, 2017 at 14:01
hahahahahahaha
VampyreSquirrel
September 27, 2017 at 14:24
Linux? Sounds a little too much like the Steam Machines and SteamOS… I wonder if they got AtariOS to run anything yet.
Domaldel
September 28, 2017 at 23:36
I actually was a Linux only gamer for about a year last year.
You can actually play most modern titles there these days.
Not actual of course, but most.
It varies how easy it is thought and the performance also varies…
On the CPU side of things Linux actually got Window beat I think.
But gpu drivers are still a little bit behind.
Although it has actually been half decent the last couple of years.
I reached about 80% Linux games in my steam library while I was a Linux only gamer.
I’m down to about 50% again now after reinstalling windows (for non-game reasons).
A lot of the ones that’s causing issues are actually older DX11 and DX10 titles.
DX9 and older titles can often be made to work on Linux.
And modern titles usually has native Linux support because of increasing game engine support.
VampyreSquirrel
September 29, 2017 at 09:12
Yeah, I’ve noticed the gfx driver issue as I work on linux daily. I also had a copy of linux running a bunch of games on an older machine, but some titles are a pain to get running. Seems like too much work.
Just hoping Atari gets their OS right or there’s going to be a lot of issues, and this little box is going to fail.
Domaldel
October 18, 2017 at 15:57
It depends on the API, GPU and game engine.
It doesn’t need to be all that much work to get them running just fine.
When did you have those issues?
I’m guessing a few years ago at least?