For months, we’ve been talking about the Ataribox, Atari’s new foray into the video game console market in 24 years – and its first one since the old-school Atari Jaguar. But today, the company revealed the actual name of the system, as well as a few new details. (No, it’s not actually called the Ataribox.)
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The company has revealed today that the system will now be referred to as the Atari VCS, or Video Computer System. And if that name sounds familiar, it’s because that was a name that was also passed around in the late 70’s when the Atari 2600 initially came out. You can see the logo below, and, yes, it’s definitely going for nostalgia.
As previously noted, press that are in attendance at the Game Developers Conference this week will be able to check out the Atari VCS, as well as its controller prototypes, including the Classic Joystick (which resembles a classic Atari 2600 controller), as well as a Modern Controller. You can see those in the picture below.
“Inspired by the iconic silhouette of the original Atari 2600 Video Computer System, the new Atari VCS has already generated considerable excitement within the gaming community. Its skillful blend of modern lines and reverential details, combined with contemporary content technology and new innovation, has evoked positive reactions from Atari fans both new and old. The Atari VCS will of course serve up lots of classic content, but it is so much more than a ‘retro-box.’ It is a completely new Atari connected device designed for today’s living room,” the company noted in its press release.
“The new Atari VCS logo, like the new hardware itself, combines past and present, and is inspired by Atari’s rich history of progressive graphic design. Countless highly-memorable game logos, illustrations, ads and packages were generated by Atari’s legendary in-house Industrial Design and Graphics department during the 1970’s and 80’s.”
“Industrial design and graphics are essential parts of the brand’s DNA and part of what makes every Atari game an adventure for the player. Today’s Atari design, engineering, software and marketing teams all endeavor to bring similar levels of care and attention to the new VCS. Atari intends its new video computer system to change the way you interact with your TV, just as the original Atari 2600 Video Computer System first did more than 40 years ago.”
“Every person at Atari and every partner involved with the new platform is just as fanatical about the brand and its heritage as our biggest fans are,” explained Michael Arzt, Atari COO of Connected Devices. “With the Atari VCS name, we know how important it is to get everything completely right and that’s why we briefly paused an imminent launch late last year. It was a difficult decision with the countdown underway, but we weren’t willing to go forward with even one thing out of alignment. We hope that Atari’s fans appreciate our extreme attention to detail and are as excited about the Atari VCS as we are.”
All of the company’s branding and communications will also be shifted over to reflect the Atari VCS name and mantra. It sounds like the company is ultra serious about getting back to its roots.
The Atari VCS doesn’t have a release date at the moment, but more details about it can be found on the official web page. We’ll keep you informed as more details become available.
