Bluemouth Interactive has revealed to us here at STG that 10 June 2021 as the Australia and New Zealand retail on sale date for the Atari VCS, Atari’s modern video computer system that blends the best of PCs and consoles.

The Atari VCS is the company’s first new hardware product in 25 years.

“We’re so excited to bring this reimagined ‘80s icon back in a completely modern way to everyone’s living rooms with the Atari VCS,” said Bluemouth Co-Founder and Managing Director David Provan. “The system brings a hit of nostalgia to fans with its classic arcade titles, but also complete versatility to play newer games and stream all in the same place.”

“June 10th is a day that eager Atari fans have been waiting for. The Atari VCS has been well-received by our early-adopter community and we are thrilled that more people will have an opportunity to enjoy Atari’s Video Computer System in their homes.” said Michael Arzt, COO of Atari VCS and Connected Devices.

The Atari VCS offers something for every gamer, starting with over a dozen titles from popular independent game developers — including Boulder Dash Deluxe, Danger Scavenger, Guntech, Jetboard Joust, Sir Lovelot, Something Ate My Alien, Tailgunner, Atari’s Missile Command: Recharged, and more — with new titles to launch on the Atari VCS store through the year.

The Atari VCS also comes preinstalled with the Atari VCS Vault, an exclusive collection of over 100 arcade and Atari 2600 classics, fully optimised for use with the Wireless Classic Joystick, with its rumble and LED light effects that give retro favourites new life.

To coincide with the launch of Atari in Australia and New Zealand, Antstream Arcade is launching for Australian gamers, giving players access to a massive library of classic arcade games. Dubbed as the Netflix of retro games, Antstream opens up a catalogue of over a thousand carefully curated games to choose from, providing Atari users in Australia an expansive gaming experience. Antstream is currently live in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

The Atari VCS includes Chrome as its built-in browser, allowing full access to Google’s Workspace apps for productivity use such as checking emails and social media, catching up on work, or streaming content.

The Atari VCS’s unique PC Mode is compatible with Linux, Windows and Chrome OS operating systems, among others, making the system a versatile two-in-one device. The Atari VCS is compatible with most PC peripherals including keyboards, mice and game controllers to create a flexible home game system.

The Atari VCS PC / console hybrid is designed as a multimedia PC and home game system to delight a whole new generation of gamers and creators.

The Atari VCS is powered by an AMD Raven Ridge 2 APU and Ryzen GPU and comes equipped with 8GB DDR4 RAM and a 32GB hard drive with the option to customise and upgrade both RAM and storage.

Atari VCS All-In system bundles also include a Wireless Classic Joystick and the all-new Wireless Modern Controller designed for both retro gameplay and the latest PC game titles.

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Today, technology company AMD announced to us here at STG the expansion of their embedded product family of computer processors with the AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 SoC — the new high-performance Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) that’s powering the Atari VCS entertainment platform.

AMD’s all-new Ryzen embedded chip will be faster, cooler, and more efficient, allowing the Atari VCS to sport a simpler and more effective power architecture and thermal solution. The new processor includes built-in Ethernet, Native 4K video support with modern HDCP, and a secure frame buffer that fully-supports DRM video (Netflix, HBO, etc.).

“With the AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 powering the Atari VCS, we can support the 4K 60fps HDR content that users expect from a modern, secure gaming and entertainment system,” said Michael Arzt, COO of Atari Connected Devices. “AMD’s new Ryzen Embedded SoC will also help protect the VCS’ environment and content as we support an unprecedented open-access model that allows Atari’s highly-creative community to install any other operating system side by side with the Atari OS.”

The Atari VCS is a completely modern connected gaming and media device (not a “retro-box” or emulator) that features a unique Linux-based operating system capable of playing popular new video game releases and streaming entertainment. As an homage to its roots, the Atari Vault — a collection of more than 100 all-time classic arcade and home favorites like Asteroids, Centipede, Breakout, Missile Command, and Yars’ Revenge —  is included with every new Atari VCS. Fans will be able to access and download additional games and content through a connected Atari VCS storefront.

The Atari VCS has a projected Q4 2019 launch, beginning with Indiegogo backer pre-orders.

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One of the world’s most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers, today proudly announces that Atari VCS is the official name of its new retro-inspired gaming and entertainment platform, previously known by its working title “Ataribox.”

The company also marks this important milestone by sharing the Atari VCS, Classic Joystick and Modern Controller prototypes with press at this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, with the objective to reveal the exclusive pre-order date for the Atari VCS during the month of April 2018.

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 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.”

In addition to unveiling the official name and logo, Atari will be shifting all branding and communications channels to reflect the Atari VCS name including their social media channels.

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