It's common for video game companies to give freebies to people who crowdfund pre-order their products as a thank you. I think Atari SA should give something to anyone willing to give them money for the still-just-an-empty-shell VCS. Here's my suggestion:
In just three weeks, you'll be able to crowdfund pre-order the new VCS. It's not my place to tell you what to do with your money, but spending $200 on a console that doesn't exist seems like a bad idea when we live in a world where tacos do exist.
What kinds games do you suppose will be available for the new Atari VCS? I mean besides the usual repackaged 2600 classics and Steam games no one buys until they're part of a Humble Bundle.
With crowdfunding pre-ordering for the new Atari VCS set to begin at the end of the month, let's take a look at who will gladly pay now for a console next year.
Atari SA (not to be confused with Atari Inc., Atari Corp. or Atari Games) announced today that pre-sales of its new VCS console (formerly the Ataribox) will begin May 30th with packages starting at $199. Other, presumably more expensive packages, will include your choice of the not-finished-yet modern controller or the still-in-development classic joystick.
In addition to possibly including a working controller, each VCS comes pre-loaded with a selection of over 100 classic Atari games. For a complete list of included games, look at the back of the box your Atari Flashback came in.
Consoles are expected to ship beginning in the spring of 2019. The pre-sale, which is definitely not a crowdfunding campaign, will be handled exclusively by popular crowdfunding site Indiegogo.
In just one day, Atari SA's self-imposed deadline to announce their next announcement will pass with no announcement announced. Unless they announce that they officially have nothing to announce, which I guess technically would count as an announcement.
Since the new Atari VCS (formerly the Ataribox) was announced in June of 2017, we have learned exactly two things about it. First, pre-ordering did not begin in December. Second, pre-ordering will not begin in April. While this may be a disappointment to any of you who had planned to reserve your console, it does free up some cash to spend on tacos. Crunchy or soft. I won't judge.
