Might be a Steam Box, who knows?
Nobody would fault you for thinking the Ataribox was going to be for Atari what the NES/SNES Classic was for Nintendo. And to a degree, it will be. It is coming loaded with a bunch of classic Atari games.
It’s also coming with a lot of uncertainty. In an interview with VentureBeat (BTW, hi Dean, I can’t wait until my poor ass can afford to buy and run Cuphead and upload 26 minutes of me not sucking ass) Ataribox creator and general manager Feargal Mac laid out some of the details. Including the fact that it needs a successful IndieGoGo campaign to even enter production. He also revealed some tidbits about the machine:
- It’ll run on a custom AMD chip
- Its OS will be Linux, which will free it up to work with linux-friendly storefronts (coughSteamcough)
- It will be capable of running mid-range PC games; think indie titles and stuff like Minecraft
- It will offer a range of titles from Atari’s backlog as well
- Its capable of streaming and the usual media suite in such devices
- Its UI is designed for TV’s
- Its projected MSRP is between $250-300
- It’s slated to launch next Spring
That price point is a little higher than we all thought. That said, if it can deliver on being a decent Steam box, It’ll already have one over on the Ouya. Doubly so if Atari really turns things around and starts making games for the box; exclusives aren’t of Ur importance, but they’re a weighty deciding factor for the End User. At the same time, it’s more than a little worrying, considering Atari’s position over the past few decades. Still, everyone likes an underdog, so here’s hoping the Ataribox can come out swinging.
About Author
