Atari VCS in Jeopardy After Atari Pull Manufacturing Contracts (Updated)
Is this the end for Atari's unloved VCS retro gaming console?
Update 12/20/2022 2:02 pm PT
Atari provided us with the following statement regarding VCS production and the future of its hardware.
"As we noted in our Half-Year 2022/2023 Results, we have reorganized our hardware business and laid the groundwork for a new commercial strategy. As part of this reorganization we suspended our relationship with the original manufacturing partner of the Atari VCS, but we continue to maintain inventory and fulfill new orders.
Atari remains committed to the VCS platform. We have been adding more support for game developers and continue to add new games to the store. Hardware is an important part of Atari’s legacy and will continue to be a part of our long-term strategy.
We have several hardware and software projects in development, under licensed contracts, that will expand the VCS ecosystem and create additional utility for users."
Original Article
There might be rough seas ahead for the Atari VCS retro gaming console — not that the seas behind it were all that great either. While we were initially intrigued when the VCS was first announced, its challenging and controversial development took some of the shine off the device. And after years of delays that meant the hardware was dated by the time it hit store shelves, any excitement regarding the console had definitely diminished when we reviewed the VCS last year. And it seems like we weren't the only ones underwhelmed.
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According to Atari’s half-year earnings report for fiscal 2022/2023, the future for the VCS looks bleak. Overall, the company reported revenue of $4.65 million, which was a 27 percent decrease from the same period last year. More importantly, hardware revenue plummeted 92 percent year-over-year, from $2.44 million to just $212,466. Atari attributed the decline to “[reduced] cartridge activity and underperformance by the VCS.” In other words, consumers appear to have turned their backs on the console.
Atari is reorganizing its hardware business and critically says this “includes the suspension of direct hardware manufacturing relationships” relating to the VCS. However, Atari did not mention any plans to secure new contracts to manufacture the VCS, so this appears to be the end of the line for the troubled console.
Going forward, Atari is implementing a new commercial strategy that involves the development of “new hardware complementary to the Atari VCS with partners under licensing contracts.” This doesn’t sound like a revised or next-generation VCS console, but perhaps new accessories for the system. The company already offers a Classic Joystick and Modern Controller for the VCS. However, it’s somewhat confounding that the company would shift resources to creating new accessories for a console that customers seemingly have not embraced in any large capacity.
With its hardware strategy in flux, Atari is looking ahead to other ventures to increase revenue in the coming year. The company envisions licensing its brand with “well-respected and recognized international brands” and will continue to build upon its Atari X NFT sales and create a new token. However, blockchain ventures have a lot of uncertainty and volatility in blockchain ventures, which could be risky for a company currently operating in the negative.
The Atari VCS 800 All-in bundle is still available at retailers like Best Buy, priced at $399. However, the cheapest place to find an Atari VCS is directly from the company ; You can grab the All-in bundle for just $239, direct from Atari's storefront. Previous retail partners like GameStop and Amazon no longer appear to have the console in stock. Those looking for their retro Atari fix on a console that's had a bit more success might want to consider Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration on the Switch. Now if only Nintendo would offer up a version of its console with a woodgrain finish and some orange buttons.
Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.
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PiranhaTech I like the idea, but it's too expensive. Its competition is the $400 laptop, and I saw one with a Core-i3 11000 series with 8 GB of RAM, and Core i3s are very capable CPUsReply
It's got a good look. It looks nice especially compared to a small desktop PC. If it were only cheaper
Atari should sell the look to have a VCS-shaped router. Also, the VCS is about as bad of a name as the Xbox Series S|X. -
Derpeee I’d be interested to hear directly from Wade Rosen (CEO) on this for confirmation or from any other rep. Time to check the discord.Reply
EDIT
Yep as I checked they are just trying to find new partners. They are not ending production of the VCS. -
oknazevad
Makes me wonder if they think they can get it buoy cheaper so they can cut the price, because at $400 it's too expensive for what it is, but for $250 they might get some bites as a bargain system.Derpeee said:I’d be interested to hear directly from Wade Rosen (CEO) on this for confirmation or from any other rep. Time to check the discord.
EDIT
Yep as I checked they are just trying to find new partners. They are not ending production of the VCS. -
I’m not interested in going backwards in time. Nostalgia sucks. I wouldn’t even pay 50 bucks for that whole set of JUNKReply
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g-unit1111 It's a nice idea but $399 is insanity. At this point Atari should probably cut its' losses and put its' games on Switch or PS5.Reply -
Bazzy 505 Product without a customer by company that has nothing to do Atari, other than name. Keep in mind the company we're talking here is Inforgrames ( with no historical link to Atari) , that went through a very convoluted of series of rebrands and bouts with chapter 11 from 2005 onwards ; calling itself Atari now.Reply
That brand followed similarly sad faith as Commodore brand, which at one point sank as low as being owned by a former truck driver who knew very little about computing in general.
Curse of these two former heated rivals seems to very alive to this day
back to the "new" VCS , there's no market for it rly, it's as expensive as estabilished consoles, and weak as budget laptop and has no software to support it other than what we've already purchased million times before on just about any platform on those "atari classics bundles" .
literally another ouya with fancier name attached to it -
AlbertAZ I still have my fully loaded (lol) Atari 800, cassette drive, 2 Indus GT drives, the connection box, plotter, Panasonic printer, controllers and lots of cartridges (roms)Reply -
Exactly anyone who even cares already has the old hardware and they still dont play it. Because it basically sucks and nobody wants to go backwards in time. the old days of video gaming sucked.Reply
The same reason nobody wants an old Nokia phone anymore. Hell not even the new ones. Nostalgia needs to die forever, and never be remembered except that it sucked to be old like that. -
PiranhaTech
This is what I'm thinking. If it were cheap enough, it might be nice for a utility system. It's something that would look nice out in the openoknazevad said:Makes me wonder if they think they can get it buoy cheaper so they can cut the price, because at $400 it's too expensive for what it is, but for $250 they might get some bites as a bargain system.