Another Linux-based gaming system is coming, this time from Atari. The Ataribox [Official Site] will run on an AMD processor and it sounds quite interesting.
It will use an AMD customized processor, with Radeon Graphics technology. This likely means a proper CPU for a desktop and not an ARM chip like found in other devices. It runs Linux, but they will be customizing the interface as it's mainly aimed at using it like a console on a TV. Even so, they say it will give a "full PC experience for the TV". You will also apparently get full access to the underlying Linux system, so there might possibly be a proper Linux desktop included to achieve this.
It sounds like it's going to remain quite open too, as they say you will be able to access games purchased from other "content platforms" as long as it's Linux-compatible. So, it sounds like installing Steam will be possible for example.
It will come pre-loaded with classic Atari games too and even some current titles from a range of different studios. It will be interesting to see if these current titles are games already on Linux, or games they will get ported. If they are new ports, I hope they continue to be open with them and not do some kind of exclusive "Ataribox store" deal. They say we will learn more about the titles soon, so I will keep you updated.
It will launch on Indiegogo soon, they say "this fall". It might seem strange for a bigger company to go to crowdfunding, but they say this is because they want the community to be part of the launch. Honestly though, it's mainly so there's less risk involved for them, but it's also a good way for them to gauge real interest in it.
As for the proper launch, that will be in "late Spring 2018" with a price between $249-$299. That depends on what edition and configuration is purchased.
The wood edition, pictured above, is made with real wood. Now that I would love to sit next to my TV! That's a real unit, not a render.
This is something that could help push Linux gaming further. Especially if it really will be as open as they claim, it could help Linux gain even more support from developers. I don't want to overstate how well it will help though, since it's not going to be massively powerful. Even so, it's hard not to get excited about the possibilities here. Another big name pushing Linux gaming can only be a good thing for us.
While Valve's Steam Machines didn't do as much as some people hoped, it did open up Linux a lot more to game developers and we've now got thousands of games on Linux as a result of Steam coming to Linux and later the SteamOS announcement. Perhaps this small kick from Atari will help continue progress, but who knows.
What do you think to this? Exciting or not? I will likely grab one, the price seems good and it sounds like a fun platform. It also looks pretty awesome!
Update: For those curious if it's really real (there's been a few comments about it across our various social groups). Here's the press email, also the official Atari Twitter account even linked to it, as did the official Atari Facebook. On top of that, it seems the AMD CEO is excited by it.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
slaapliedje Sep 30, 2017
Also wondering how Commodore got the later Ultimas after 4 ported, they were practially unplayable on the c64 with all the disk swapping.
Quoting: slaapliedjeI am still puzzled why Jumpan on the c64 is missing the awesome music in places that the Atari 8bit has.
Also wondering how Commodore got the later Ultimas after 4 ported, they were practially unplayable on the c64 with all the disk swapping.
you mean jumpman? it became mario :v
slaapliedje Oct 1, 2017
Quoting: elmapulQuoting: slaapliedjeI am still puzzled why Jumpan on the c64 is missing the awesome music in places that the Atari 8bit has.
Also wondering how Commodore got the later Ultimas after 4 ported, they were practially unplayable on the c64 with all the disk swapping.
you mean jumpman? it became mario :v
Yes, Jumpman, stupid phone...
Apparently it was inspired from Donkey Kong, so technically that's the other way around. From Wikipedia;
QuoteJumpman came about after Glover saw Donkey Kong[13][14] in a local Pizza Hut (having replaced Pac Man).[15] This led him to become interested in making a version for home computers. He visited a local computer store who had the TI-99/4A and Atari 400. He initially purchased the TI-99 due to its better keyboard,[16] but when he learned the graphics were based on character set manipulation, he returned it the next day and purchased the Atari.[17]
Quoting: slaapliedjeOnly problem with that logic is that Commodore and Amiga never really made Video Games, only hardware and all of their patents / IP have been completely plundered.
Commodore went under over 20 years ago; its patents have long since expired. I agree about the “plundering” of the IP, though. As an Amiga guy, I never had much love for Commodore itself, but it's been sad to see both brands dragged through the mud.
Interestingly, the last credible plan I remember for Amiga (I've never counted the current proprietary PowerPC-based OS4 as “credible”) was an Amiga-like environment - Workbench, public screens, Datatypes, userspace filesystems, user-feedback-tuned scheduling, etc. - on the Linux kernel. This was a good five years before Apple put a Mac frontend on Mach/BSD, and about a decade before Android. It would have been more like the former than the latter, since I don't recall any talk of the Amiga parts being open source, but given the success of Android and the USP of some of those Amiga features, in retrospect I can't help thinking that it might have had a chance. I don't think it ever went beyond the presentation stage.
slaapliedje Oct 1, 2017
Was a great idea that was stomped out of existence by the IP holders, if I recall correctly.
Aros is good, but like a lot of open source efforts is taking a long time to get there.
The AmigaOS had so many good ideas in it.
Quoting: MohandevirWhat about a thunderbolt connector for eGPU compliance? Just an idea...
Edit:
Overwatch System requirements:
https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/65159
I think it isn't out of reach in the case of a zen based apu, if the goal is to run games at medium settings like many actual consoles do.
But it's just speculation. IMO, the day Blizzard port it's game catalog to Linux is the day Linux gaming has won. It's more a dream than a possibility. :)
This said, hardware needs exclusives to sell. That's why Steam Machines failed. There was nothing you couldn't get by other means or on "the other OS"... Let's see what Atari has in store, this time...
The reason SteamOS didn't succeed isn't because of exclusives, it's because games ran worse PLUS lack of compatibility. You can have one or the other and people would go for it, but both is death.
slaapliedje Oct 1, 2017
Quoting: slaapliedjehttp://www.hd-zone.com/amithlon/Oh, I'd almost forgotten about Amithlon. That brings back some memories. :) (Never got a chance to try it, though.) But, from what I remember, it was really a heavily optimized UAE running on a stripped-down distro with the (very cool) capability to run x86 code transparently from the emulated Amiga for extra grunt. Really nice idea, and it could've been a contender if Amiga Inc. hadn't put their foot down, but what I was talking about was actually, for about six months, Amiga Inc.'s own official Plan for the Future, to develop an Amiga-like DE from scratch on top of Linux. I don't think there's any connection between the two. In fact, I can't help thinking that the reason they put a stop to Amithlon was that it was too similar to the “Amiga DE” (I'm sure that's what they called it), but not similar enough to be useful to the project.
I remember some people dismissed it as just an “Amiga window manager”, and I didn't know enough about Linux at the time to argue, but looking back there was clearly more to it, and it really was incredibly similar to OSX in its basic concept: new, but familiar, APIs and UIs on top of a totally different kernel, with transparent emulation for legacy apps. I don't think it was going to use X11, for example, but I can't remember. And now that I come to think of it, I can't actually recall whether it was to be x86 or PPC either. Or something else entirely. I don't think they knew themselves.
slaapliedje Oct 2, 2017
Quoting: DuncQuoting: slaapliedjehttp://www.hd-zone.com/amithlon/Oh, I'd almost forgotten about Amithlon. That brings back some memories. :) (Never got a chance to try it, though.) But, from what I remember, it was really a heavily optimized UAE running on a stripped-down distro with the (very cool) capability to run x86 code transparently from the emulated Amiga for extra grunt. Really nice idea, and it could've been a contender if Amiga Inc. hadn't put their foot down, but what I was talking about was actually, for about six months, Amiga Inc.'s own official Plan for the Future, to develop an Amiga-like DE from scratch on top of Linux. I don't think there's any connection between the two. In fact, I can't help thinking that the reason they put a stop to Amithlon was that it was too similar to the “Amiga DE” (I'm sure that's what they called it), but not similar enough to be useful to the project.
I remember some people dismissed it as just an “Amiga window manager”, and I didn't know enough about Linux at the time to argue, but looking back there was clearly more to it, and it really was incredibly similar to OSX in its basic concept: new, but familiar, APIs and UIs on top of a totally different kernel, with transparent emulation for legacy apps. I don't think it was going to use X11, for example, but I can't remember. And now that I come to think of it, I can't actually recall whether it was to be x86 or PPC either. Or something else entirely. I don't think they knew themselves.
The 'Amiga DE' never came about, and was meant to be some sort of embedded OS. Much like so many other things that Amiga Inc. promised, nothing came of it (apparently, they had something about T-shirts that no one ever got either.)
Amithlon was exactly that though, it was OS3.9 running on top of a Linux kernel. Unfortunately since it hasn't been updated in a long time, you'd have to get some old hardware (or plausibly a VM) to play around with it.
Quoting: wvstolzingThe C64 was never really a *good* gaming machine -- its strongest assets were the SID chip, and the possibilities it harbored for homebrew tinkering. I've come to realize only recently that games on the NES had WAY better playability, compared to what we had on the C64. So if there's to be a C64 revival, it should be in terms of 6502 (6510) hacking -- something akin to the new BBC Micro, and not really gaming nostalgia.
I'd say in a general sense that is true regarding older Atari games as well. I think that's a big part of why the NES lead to a revival of the popularity of video games. Some of the games on it just had a deeper appeal than what had preceded it. I was never even really a fan of the game play of Super Mario Bros., but it's clear why it had a deeper appeal than older games. The Legend of Zelda didn't look like much when you just saw it, but if you actually played it for a bit, you started to get it. Castlevania and Megaman were appealing to me almost from the minute I laid eyes on them.
That being said I remember liking Chopper Command on the 2600 and Fort Apocalypse on the Commodore 64 a lot.
Also, computer gaming really split away from console gaming in the era that the Amiga was introduced, playing to the different strengths of computers compared to consoles.
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