After a series of delays and transfers, Atari announced that it was in the final stages of preparation for the production of its Atari VCS800. Atari originally planned to launch VCS sales in late spring / early summer 2019. In March of this year, they announced that they were postponing the release date until March 2020. This is due to the fact that they decided to make some changes to the equipment in order to increase system performance and life by upgrading the microprocessor to AMD Ryzen™, the latest generation of AMD chips.
Atari VCS COO Michael Arzt reports that the Atari VCS development and engineering team has just returned from long trips to China, where they worked with manufacturing partners on the final parts in preparation for the mass production of systems and peripherals.
All VCS equipment, including controllers, is currently tested for functionality and reliability, receiving final settings if necessary. Atari is in the final stages of software development and is attracting additional game and application developers.
From a software point of view, the Atari VCS GUI and storefront are being developed at Unity and are almost complete. Atari VCS is fully compatible with the Unity game engine, which provides nearly 50 percent of the world's games, and Atari works closely with Unity to provide their large and talented developer community with the resources and support needed to create the best games and applications for the Atari VCS platform.
Atari VCS Indiegogo devices will ship with Atari and an integrated store. VCS has an intuitive graphical user interface, easy to navigate, designed for a joystick or controller, and integrated storage for games and applications running on the proprietary Atari OS based on the Linux kernel.
In addition, the Atari VCS sandbox mode, a unique feature not available in more traditional closed console ecosystems, will also allow users to install and download a second compatible operating system, such as Linux, Windows, and others. This open, flexible, multi-platform approach has aroused great interest among users and is part of what makes this system unique. VCS allows you to play games, access all your streaming services, such as Steam and other gaming libraries, from one device.
Technical characteristics of the ATARI VCS 800 system:
Dimensions: 11.6 "x 5.9" x 1.9 "(approx.)
Weight: 3 lbs (Approx.)
Materials: Plastic, metal, wood
Operating System: Atari Custom Linux OS (Linux kernel)
APU: AMD Raven Ridge 2
GPU: Ryzen
Storage location: Internal eMMC 32 GB, unlimited external USB HD/flash drive, cloud (subscription required)
RAM: 8 GB DDR4 RAM (upgradeable)
Compatible Systems: Linux, Windows, Steam OS, Chrome OS
Low TDP architecture - less heat and noise
Wireless Connections: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 2.4/5GHz, Bluetooth 4.0
Wired: HDMI 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, 4x USB 3.1
USB Ports: 2x Front, 2x Rear
External inputs: Classic joystick, modern controller, microphone, other TBD
Mouse and keyboard support: Yes, USB or Bluetooth
4K video with HDCP 2.2: yes
Internet connection required: Not for classic games, but necessary for access to all functions.
You can pre-order at this link: https://atarivcs.com/