https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-04-18-atari-on-re-entering-the-hardware-space-with-the-vcs
"People want a lot of answers"
We interview Atari as it re-reveals its console / computer hybrid.
Not content with making a hat with a speaker in it, Atari is back with a new home console.
We've known about this for a little while now, when it was first revealed as the Ataribox, before being recently re-revealed as the VCS. It's designed as a throwback to the company's origins of making 'Video Computer Systems' such as the Atari 2600, all the way to the design of the system itself - from ribbed lines to the option of a wooden finish.
It was an unusual time to sit down with COO of Atari Connected Devices Michael Arzt at this year's Game Developer Conference, with its crowdfunding campaign on hold after pausing in December and many other specifics still undecided.
Rich from Digital Foundry called the device a "hard sell" when evaluating the system last year, and though Arzt had plenty to say, our conversation admittedly did little to change my mind.
There was, however, some clarification of what the VCS will be. Is it a retro box like the NES mini? No - though it will play classic games.
Nor is it a closed system like a PlayStation or Xbox, thanks to a Linux sandbox mode. It lets you to stream music, browse the internet and check email like you would with a PC, except you can hook it up to your TV. But it will have a console-style frontend and a store, with plans to resurrect its huge roster of classic properties.
I wanted to find out Atari's ambitions for the VCS, where it sits alongside PCs, mobiles and consoles, and why, in Arzt's words, "it's so important to us that we get this right" after such a long time from the hardware space.
Who's the target audience for the VCS?
Michael Arzt: It's interesting. The target audience is two mind sets and two groups. If you think about the broad Atari audience - we're obviously targeting the Atari audience, right? - but the Atari audience you can really draw a pretty solid line down right around age 35, so everyone over age 35 remembers us one way - they grew up with us, played the old consoles like the 2600 or played in the arcades and all that, and they have a certain nostalgic recollection and feeling for the brand. That's one group, and there's things on this for them.
But all the modern stuff, which will also appeal to them as well - they watch Netflix, listen to music, all that stuff - but then the other idea is all these things we're doing now, everyone under the age of 35, they think of Atari a different way. They will buy the faded T-shirt - the hipster dude down in Soho or whatever, right? - they think about Atari as this cool, old brand like so many other cool old brands, but they're the ones buying [retro-styled things like] Mini Coopers. So we're going to create something that's got things for them.
What do they care about from an entertainment standpoint? They care about games, of course, they care about Hulu and Netflix, and Spotify and Pandora, they care about social media, they care about communication and chat, so all that stuff will be there for them as well, so this will be a product that will appeal to that audience. [This will be] giving them a device that will let them do all that stuff they care about on their TV, is hopefully something that will be appealing to them.
There's other things we're not in a position to talk about yet that this will do, that will I think enhance some of what I'm telling you even greater.
What makes it competitive? There's PCs, there's phones, which have all these features as well.
Michael Arzt: It's less expensive than a PC, and it doesn't require you to have your laptop plugged into the TV. It'll control many aspects of the TV, and it'll also let you do things on the TV that - because it'll have voice control, because it'll have a really easy navigation system, things like that - it'll make computing on the television easier.
You'll be able to hook a wireless or USB mouse and keyboard to it, if you want it to - it'll do all that stuff. It's an open platform like any PC. The controllers are Bluetooth, and will work with any PC. This [VCS] controller is essentially a modern Xbox-style controller. Somebody who doesn't have the box could still buy one of these and use it with their Android or their PC.
So they could wirelessly connect their Xbox or PlayStation controller to this? Any Bluebooth controller?
Michael Arzt: Yeah, any Bluebooth or USB controller will work. We just got this thing [the VCS controller] in - but they're using Xbox 360 controllers to test it and play games in the engineering lab. It's very much a PC from that standpoint, and interchangeability with other products and other peripherals will be easy.
What is the price point you're looking at?
Michael Arzt: We've been talking about a price point of $249 to $299 [ÂŁ173 to ÂŁ208] - we're always hoping we can do better. I'd rather under promise and over deliver, but right now, we're pretty confident we can hit that price. Configurations and bundles can change things a little bit - what we put on in terms of games that come with it, if we did a deluxe bundle, that would add price. Because [the controller] alone is $39, $49 [ÂŁ34] right?
Yeah, controllers aren't cheap.
Michael Arzt: Yeah - well, a good one isn't, and we want it to be a good one, that's important for us. So we're working with a peripheral partner that makes good stuff, and we're really excited about that, and we'll announce them when we're a little bit further down the line.
And that's really what it is - a lot of what we're facing right now is - people want a lot of answers. We feel strongly - and I certainly feel strongly as the guy who has to manage this - I feel it's very important that we speak when we actually have something to say. It's really easy to get sucked into that vortex of responding to things on social media, or responding to tough questions from guys like you, but it's so important to us that we get this right, because we have such a heritage and a responsibility to our fans to get this right.
To promise something and not be able to deliver is way worse than holding back on sharing, and hopefully we'll be pleasantly surprising people in the end. To me, I always like to operate from a position of integrity. We care about this about this thing as much as you do.
We know how important it is for this thing to be right. It's important to us, because we work with Atari, but also because we grew up with the brand too - we care that this new Atari is doing things the right way, and avoiding mistakes as often as possible.
It's still a company run by men and women, right - so there will be mistakes, humans make mistakes - but ultimately it's about delivering something we can all feel good about, and most importantly, something the fans will be excited about. So that's where we're at.
On the other hand, why show this hardware now, without having those details?
Michael Arzt: Because this is an important milestone, especially after we hit the pause button in December. The first few people said, 'Vapourware' and so on. We felt it was really important [to show we were] continuing to work on it now we've got many more pieces in place since then. The pause was a really valuable thing for us, because we were able to fix the one thing that was the show stopper, which was quite frankly was, the controller.
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We did not like the controller we had before, we did not like the partner we were working with, we did not like the business plan, we did not like the design. It did not fit with the other stuff. That was the thing that ultimately paused it there, but it was a great opportunity to [say] hey, we're paused now, we'll take a breath, let's do a top-to-bottom audit of everything else, right? There were things that were good, but we felt like if we do this to it, it'll be even better. Timing wise, we realised we're going forward with this, but it's not baked yet, so let's bake it so more.
The point we made with coming to GDC was - we felt this was an important event for the industry, this is an event where we're going to be talking about games and things, we're going to be talking to development partners and people we want to help us put great products and great games on the box. It's a good time to re-enter the conversation with people and put it out there for people to see, give them the official name, and let them see - look, they are engineering models [here], but there are real ones working.
They're coming, they're real, people can touch them, and we felt it was really important to give them that opportunity - through the eyes of the press, obviously. We're not out on the [show] floor. We're going to continue to put information out as it's ready, and we'll speak when we have something to say. Hopefully a couple of months from now when we're at E3, we will have a lot more to talk about - when a lot more deals have been done, and a lot more things have been locked down.
And hopefully, we're able to put some playable stuff out there. But there's a lot of work to do! It's just how it is. None of what I'm talking about is promises, it's hopefully this, hopefully that - but best intentions are there. As I said, we care about how fans perceive us, and look, it's the internet right - people are going to hate, people are going to spew nonsense, and it's fine. I'm glad there's debate. I'd rather have people talk about us, good or bad, because it shows they care! That's a good sign for us.
"People want a lot of answers"
We interview Atari as it re-reveals its console / computer hybrid.
Not content with making a hat with a speaker in it, Atari is back with a new home console.
We've known about this for a little while now, when it was first revealed as the Ataribox, before being recently re-revealed as the VCS. It's designed as a throwback to the company's origins of making 'Video Computer Systems' such as the Atari 2600, all the way to the design of the system itself - from ribbed lines to the option of a wooden finish.
It was an unusual time to sit down with COO of Atari Connected Devices Michael Arzt at this year's Game Developer Conference, with its crowdfunding campaign on hold after pausing in December and many other specifics still undecided.
Rich from Digital Foundry called the device a "hard sell" when evaluating the system last year, and though Arzt had plenty to say, our conversation admittedly did little to change my mind.
There was, however, some clarification of what the VCS will be. Is it a retro box like the NES mini? No - though it will play classic games.
Nor is it a closed system like a PlayStation or Xbox, thanks to a Linux sandbox mode. It lets you to stream music, browse the internet and check email like you would with a PC, except you can hook it up to your TV. But it will have a console-style frontend and a store, with plans to resurrect its huge roster of classic properties.
I wanted to find out Atari's ambitions for the VCS, where it sits alongside PCs, mobiles and consoles, and why, in Arzt's words, "it's so important to us that we get this right" after such a long time from the hardware space.
Who's the target audience for the VCS?
Michael Arzt: It's interesting. The target audience is two mind sets and two groups. If you think about the broad Atari audience - we're obviously targeting the Atari audience, right? - but the Atari audience you can really draw a pretty solid line down right around age 35, so everyone over age 35 remembers us one way - they grew up with us, played the old consoles like the 2600 or played in the arcades and all that, and they have a certain nostalgic recollection and feeling for the brand. That's one group, and there's things on this for them.
But all the modern stuff, which will also appeal to them as well - they watch Netflix, listen to music, all that stuff - but then the other idea is all these things we're doing now, everyone under the age of 35, they think of Atari a different way. They will buy the faded T-shirt - the hipster dude down in Soho or whatever, right? - they think about Atari as this cool, old brand like so many other cool old brands, but they're the ones buying [retro-styled things like] Mini Coopers. So we're going to create something that's got things for them.
What do they care about from an entertainment standpoint? They care about games, of course, they care about Hulu and Netflix, and Spotify and Pandora, they care about social media, they care about communication and chat, so all that stuff will be there for them as well, so this will be a product that will appeal to that audience. [This will be] giving them a device that will let them do all that stuff they care about on their TV, is hopefully something that will be appealing to them.
There's other things we're not in a position to talk about yet that this will do, that will I think enhance some of what I'm telling you even greater.
What makes it competitive? There's PCs, there's phones, which have all these features as well.
Michael Arzt: It's less expensive than a PC, and it doesn't require you to have your laptop plugged into the TV. It'll control many aspects of the TV, and it'll also let you do things on the TV that - because it'll have voice control, because it'll have a really easy navigation system, things like that - it'll make computing on the television easier.
You'll be able to hook a wireless or USB mouse and keyboard to it, if you want it to - it'll do all that stuff. It's an open platform like any PC. The controllers are Bluetooth, and will work with any PC. This [VCS] controller is essentially a modern Xbox-style controller. Somebody who doesn't have the box could still buy one of these and use it with their Android or their PC.
So they could wirelessly connect their Xbox or PlayStation controller to this? Any Bluebooth controller?
Michael Arzt: Yeah, any Bluebooth or USB controller will work. We just got this thing [the VCS controller] in - but they're using Xbox 360 controllers to test it and play games in the engineering lab. It's very much a PC from that standpoint, and interchangeability with other products and other peripherals will be easy.
What is the price point you're looking at?
Michael Arzt: We've been talking about a price point of $249 to $299 [ÂŁ173 to ÂŁ208] - we're always hoping we can do better. I'd rather under promise and over deliver, but right now, we're pretty confident we can hit that price. Configurations and bundles can change things a little bit - what we put on in terms of games that come with it, if we did a deluxe bundle, that would add price. Because [the controller] alone is $39, $49 [ÂŁ34] right?
Yeah, controllers aren't cheap.
Michael Arzt: Yeah - well, a good one isn't, and we want it to be a good one, that's important for us. So we're working with a peripheral partner that makes good stuff, and we're really excited about that, and we'll announce them when we're a little bit further down the line.
And that's really what it is - a lot of what we're facing right now is - people want a lot of answers. We feel strongly - and I certainly feel strongly as the guy who has to manage this - I feel it's very important that we speak when we actually have something to say. It's really easy to get sucked into that vortex of responding to things on social media, or responding to tough questions from guys like you, but it's so important to us that we get this right, because we have such a heritage and a responsibility to our fans to get this right.
To promise something and not be able to deliver is way worse than holding back on sharing, and hopefully we'll be pleasantly surprising people in the end. To me, I always like to operate from a position of integrity. We care about this about this thing as much as you do.
We know how important it is for this thing to be right. It's important to us, because we work with Atari, but also because we grew up with the brand too - we care that this new Atari is doing things the right way, and avoiding mistakes as often as possible.
It's still a company run by men and women, right - so there will be mistakes, humans make mistakes - but ultimately it's about delivering something we can all feel good about, and most importantly, something the fans will be excited about. So that's where we're at.
On the other hand, why show this hardware now, without having those details?
Michael Arzt: Because this is an important milestone, especially after we hit the pause button in December. The first few people said, 'Vapourware' and so on. We felt it was really important [to show we were] continuing to work on it now we've got many more pieces in place since then. The pause was a really valuable thing for us, because we were able to fix the one thing that was the show stopper, which was quite frankly was, the controller.
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We did not like the controller we had before, we did not like the partner we were working with, we did not like the business plan, we did not like the design. It did not fit with the other stuff. That was the thing that ultimately paused it there, but it was a great opportunity to [say] hey, we're paused now, we'll take a breath, let's do a top-to-bottom audit of everything else, right? There were things that were good, but we felt like if we do this to it, it'll be even better. Timing wise, we realised we're going forward with this, but it's not baked yet, so let's bake it so more.
The point we made with coming to GDC was - we felt this was an important event for the industry, this is an event where we're going to be talking about games and things, we're going to be talking to development partners and people we want to help us put great products and great games on the box. It's a good time to re-enter the conversation with people and put it out there for people to see, give them the official name, and let them see - look, they are engineering models [here], but there are real ones working.
They're coming, they're real, people can touch them, and we felt it was really important to give them that opportunity - through the eyes of the press, obviously. We're not out on the [show] floor. We're going to continue to put information out as it's ready, and we'll speak when we have something to say. Hopefully a couple of months from now when we're at E3, we will have a lot more to talk about - when a lot more deals have been done, and a lot more things have been locked down.
And hopefully, we're able to put some playable stuff out there. But there's a lot of work to do! It's just how it is. None of what I'm talking about is promises, it's hopefully this, hopefully that - but best intentions are there. As I said, we care about how fans perceive us, and look, it's the internet right - people are going to hate, people are going to spew nonsense, and it's fine. I'm glad there's debate. I'd rather have people talk about us, good or bad, because it shows they care! That's a good sign for us.