Despite Atari CEO Fred Chesnais saying that the company wouldn’t create another console, a teaser trailer surfaced in June during the E3 2017 gaming expo revealing the Ataribox. At first, it looked to be a revamp of 1980’s classic Atari 2600 console akin to what Nintendo is doing with its miniature Classic Edition consoles. But then Chesnais said that Atari was back in the hardware business, and that the Ataribox would be based on PC technology. Naturally, that opened the doors to lots of speculation.
Weeks later, Atari supposedly sent an email blast to gamers who signed up for notifications via the Ataribox website. That email was immediately verified by the Ataribox page on Facebook, which posted the same images found in the email. That debunked any notion that the email was fake, given its pictures look nothing like the unit showcased in the teaser trailer outside the wood grain texture and black ribbed surface.
What will it look like?
What the email failed to mention was that Ataribox will be crowd-funded. The information actually surfaced in a French note to investors last month, which didn’t bubble to the surface despite all the brewing hype around the mysterious device. “To limit risk taking, this product will initially be launched within the framework of a crowdfunding campaign,” the note said. Clearly, this indicates the project is pretty early in development, so its final look may change.
That said, images currently showcase two external designs: one with a solid black shell save for a red illuminated panel on the back, and another resembling the classic Atari 2600 with a black chassis and a wood grain front. Note that the black/red design sports a front-facing red illuminated Atari logo, while the black/brown design has a front-facing white illuminated logo.
Based on those two prototypes, the overall form factor is similar to the Atari 2600, although it sheds the blocky body of 1980 for the more rounded, futuristic look of 2017. It features a raised, somewhat triangular back complemented by a black ribbed surface that wraps around the device’s body. The front panel can actually be wood or glass, the company says, with four indicator lights glowing through the material.
What hardware will it have?
According to the email blast, the Ataribox will sport four USB ports, one HDMI port, and an SD card slot on the back. Given the Ataribox is a crowd-funded project, that lineup could change before the product goes retail, especially the four USB ports located on the back. Consoles typically have ports for controllers on the front for better reach, and for added protection against reactive console spinning due to cord pulling.
Right now, we have no idea what’s inside the Ataribox outside the “PC technology” description provided by Chesnais. The email says it has “modern internal specs,” which should be a given based on the ports installed on the back. Atari likely won’t be competing with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but rather targeting a wider audience looking for a lower price point.
That said, the processor inside will depend on the direction Atari will take with its software.
What games will it play?
That’s the missing piece of the Ataribox puzzle. The company says that the console will play current and classic gaming content. However, the console’s library will depend on the underlying operating system. We don’t know what that operating system is, yet.
Atari states that it will play “modern” content. Right now, the only Linux-based game published by Atari on Steam is Atari Vault. If the Ataribox is based on Windows, then it will support games such as Alone in the Dark (2008), RollerCoaster Tycoon World, Haunted House, and more.
Honestly, we can’t do more than guess at this point. Atari’s “current and classic” comment suggests the publisher’s old-school titles will make an appearance, as you’d expect, but it’s hard to say if “current” means recent Atari games only, or games from other publishers as well.
When will it be available?
Given the Ataribox is based on crowd funding, there’s no telling when the console will appear. ”There are a lot of milestones, challenges, and decision points in front of us in the months ahead,” Atari says. Consoles usually take at least a couple years, even when they’re simple (like the Ouya), so we likely won’t see the Ataribox in 2017.