Pre-production is still ongoing for the Linux-powered Atari VCS, with the team giving a fresh update on how it's doing. So far, it seems like it's actually progressing well.
After showing it off during the recent CES trade show, they went back to their manufacturer to continue the preparation and run a fresh pre-production run of Atari VCS development units. A shot of which you can see below (click to enlarge):
They did this new test run of Atari VCS units to include various improvements discovered during their validation phase, some of which was mentioned in a blog post in January we missed which includes "streamlined and simplified electronics", "a beneficial reduction of physical parts" and a lot of testing on the cooling systems. According to the post, these new and improved units are "already in the hands of content developers" and more are shipping out this week.
We also now have a much better look at their official Dashboard UI:
Direct Link
Apart from the really dumb password system (that even a young child could easily copy…), it's actually looking pretty slick. I'm genuinely surprised that it all seems to be coming together after all the delays. Dare I say it? I'm getting a little hopeful about the Atari VCS now.
You can see their full post here.
Just as a reminder, they did previously confirm that pretty standard Linux games will work on it. As well as it having the ability to load any other operating system (like a standard install of Linux), which could make it a rather versatile and handy little box.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Perkeleen_Vittupää Feb 5, 2020
Preinstalled Chromium Browser! -> Stadia support out of the box!
Could be an ideal box for the living room. :)
I mean, not stunned - it just looks like another console. But it does look like a proper console, not a hacked-together, underpowered, pile of random parts that don't quite work together. Maybe they might just pull this off...
Quoting: Perkeleen_VittupääI suppose they could market it as a retro gamers delight or something similar.It would need to cost less than pi though to do that
And yeah, the "password" screen is murder. Hopefully they come up with a proper button/trigger-based password system instead. And hopefully it's optional anyway, or does something similar to PS4 where the password is only necessary for purchases.
Showing potential though. Great stuff!
Quoting: scaineIt's beginning to look like a real product - that's pretty exciting! Can anyone remember what this is supposed to cost?
And yeah, the "password" screen is murder. Hopefully they come up with a proper button/trigger-based password system instead. And hopefully it's optional anyway, or does something similar to PS4 where the password is only necessary for purchases.
Showing potential though. Great stuff!
I was curious, too. $400!
Kind of hard to decide if I would pay that or not. I really like that it is running an X86 APU, so all existing Linux and Proton games should theoretically run on it. It's just a PC you use in the living room.
Add a Steam controller (Doh!) for games that require mouse input, and you can couch-play all day! That's my favorite place to play.
slaapliedje Feb 5, 2020
TheRiddick Feb 5, 2020
Quoting: sketchtoo many dumb and slow animations imho...
Yeah they should only show them once and maybe prompt to speed them up a bit. A 50-70% speedup would probably make them tolerable while still being able to see them. (The dash is running in a maximized windowed. )
I doubt these sell well here in Australia, we have import tax and poor exchange rate atm. People rather use their money on next gen console.
If these were $200AUD, I'd get one, but by the time they get here it will certainly be $400aud or more. Next gen consoles will maybe be $600aud (market price capped by Sony and MS) since they NEED people to get the consoles more then they need to make a large profit on the hardware.
Last edited by TheRiddick on 5 February 2020 at 11:57 pm UTC
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