First look at Atari’s new console “Ataribox”

One of the stranger announcements to come out of E3 was Atari announcing their return to the console game with the Ataribox. In a newsletter Atari have revealed the exterior of their new console and discussed its design. Interestingly, it will be available in two different versions, black with red detail and a classic wood finish.

Atari have said that the console will feature an HDMI port, 4 x USB and an SD card. They also mentioned that although they will provide classic gaming content, they intend to deliver current content also.

There is still no news on the consoles architecture and specs. Given the trend of retro gaming as of late, it is still highly likely that they will go down the classic console route, à la NES Classic. However given that Atari’s heyday was in the late 1970’s, one could legitimately wonder if there is the same appetite for classic Atari as there is for Nintendo.  It is also difficult to fathom that Atari have the capability or capital to fund a machine that could compete with the likes of Playstation 4, Xbox One or Switch, especially given their track record over the last few decades. But never say never.

At this point it appears there are still a few details to be ironed out by Atari and a lot of questions to be answered. Through gaming history there have been more than a few consoles that have been teased along their development and not seen the light of day (M2 for example).

One thing for sure is that Atari have always been great for a story. And it will be extremely interesting to see how the latest saga in Atari’s history turns out.

What do you think will be the future of the Ataribox?