Atari is considered the console that started it all. On the 28th of June 1972, the Atari console was launched, and it shaped the future of gaming as we know it. Most gamers weren’t around during that time, but there are some who get nostalgic when they think about those days. The question is, can you still buy the Atari console and/or Games?
You can buy spin-off Atari consoles that are licensed by the company. You can still buy the original games but they are rare and some can cost you over $3000. Other than that, you can download Atari games through the App Store and Play store. Finally, Atari is launching a new console that was delayed due to the events of 2020.
If you are curious as to what it was like when the Atari console was still regarded as the king of gaming, you are in the right place. In this article, I am going to go in-depth regarding the Atari. We will discuss how you can still play the Atari games, and we will also talk about the history and downfall of the console.
Can You Still Buy Atari Consoles?
Sometimes nostalgia can drive us to such lengths that people are willing to pay a lot of money just to recapture the feelings that they got throughout their childhood. This is true when it comes to video game consoles, but can you still buy an Atari console today?
If you are looking to buy the original Atari console, your best bet would be to find a private seller. Some Atari consoles like the Atari 2600 can be found for as little as $25. If you want an original unopened Atari console, it can cost you between $300 and $400. To find one that has not been opened yet will be a challenge though.
So yes, you can buy Atari consoles in 2020, but one thing to look forward to is the launch of Atari’s new console, which was due to come out in 2020. Unfortunately, the new Atari has been delayed. We will discuss in further detail the new Atari console further down in this article.
Where Can You Buy Atari Consoles
Depending on where you live, finding an Atari console can be difficult because the original consoles had stopped being manufactured a pretty long time ago. That being said, there are some great alternatives.
If you look at Amazon or some electronic stores, you can find some Atari spin-off consoles. Most of them are licensed by Atari. While most of them do not come with cartridges, they have all the good Atari games pre-installed.
So, if you are desperate to recapture some of those childhood memories of yours, this could be a great option. It is especially a good option for people who have never played Atari and want to experience it for the first time.
Can You Still Buy Atari Games?
If you do manage to find yourself an original Atari console, it wouldn’t be much help if you didn’t have any games for it. So, the question is, can you find and buy Atari games, specifically originals?
You can find original Atari games to buy even dating back to the Atari 2600. Most of them are not expensive at all, but some are and can cost you a pretty penny. Some Atari games sell for up to $16,000.
While we were researching this article we found somebody who was charging upwards of $25,000 for one game but due to the market, he will probably only get $16,000 which is still a lot of money for an old video game.
Where Can You Buy Atari Games?
There are a few stores where you can walk into and buy old Atari video games, and there are also a few online stores that sell these video games. One, in particular, is called “DKoldies.” The website does not sponsor us in any way, but I just want to give you a good idea.
When you are looking for old Atari games, some will cost you $3, and others will cost you $25. That said, as we mentioned above, there are very few games that can cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
You can also use places like the Play Store for Android and the app store for Apple. There are a lot of Atari licensed games that you can actually download for free, and some of them cost you a few dollars. They play as the old Atari games did.
This is a great option for pretty much everybody. It gives us the opportunity to play old games without putting any money into it. I should add that you won’t get the same feeling that people got back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s when they played the Atari games in the lounge and on the TV.
Ataris Latest Console
In 2017, Atari announced that they are developing a new console. In 2018 they revealed the console, and it was supposed to launch in 2020, but it has been delayed for a good reason, of course.
They had to delay the new console due to the events of 2020. This is a shame because a lot of people were really looking forward to the new console. Yes, people are excited, but what can it do, and what kind of games will it play? Well, let’s take a look at the new Atari VCS console.
Atari VCS Price
So this is probably one of the most interesting points when it comes to the new Atari VCS. People are obviously excited about the new console, but that doesn’t mean that Atari can charge too much for it. Not with the massive amount of competition they have in the gaming market.
The Atari VCS will start at $199, and for a more premium version of the console, it will cost you $399, but this includes two controllers and the original Atari joystick.
Now, considering that you can get a next-gen console for the same price or less, the price of the VCS might be a little bit too steep for some people to buy into the Atari console. The Xbox series s starts at $299 and is the weaker version of the Xbox next-generation consoles.
The Sony PS5 diskless version starts at $399. So who exactly is the target audience for the Atari console? I am sure that a lot of the younger generation will be looking towards the new Sony PS5 or the Xbox next-gen consoles instead of buying the new Atari VCS.
With all of that being said, I assume that anyone who can, for some reason just afford to buy all of the consoles might be looking at it. I think that the biggest target audience will be older people who have fond memories of playing on the old Atari consoles.
Atari VCS Specs
Now that we know the price of the new Atari VCS, we need to know what the specs are, and we need to consider whether or not the specs of the console justify the price.
The cheaper version of the Atari VCS has 4GB of RAM, an AMD Ridge 2 CPU, and an AMD Ryzen GPU. The more expensive of the two consoles has 8GB of RAM instead of 4.
This means that both consoles don’t even come close to the next-gen consoles that Sony and Microsoft are offering. So how well the console will do, well, only time will tell.
What Type Of Games Will The Atari VCS Play?
You now know the specs, and we know the price. Now we just need to talk about what kind of games you will be able to play on the upcoming Atari VCS console.
The Atari VCS will ship with what is called “Atari Game Vault,” and it consists of over 100 classic Atari games. You will also be able to play PC games on the console. How this is going to work, not many people know, and it is another thing that only time will tell.
We do know that the VCS is running an Ubuntu-based operating system, and Atari has said that you will be able to install other operating systems. This leads us to believe that the Atari VCS will act like a cheaper PC.
Using Atari Emulators On Your PC
One of the best things about running emulators for Atari on your PC is that they don’t take much in terms of system requirements. This means that almost all modern computers can run Atari emulators. The only thing that I would recommend is having a controller, but this is not necessary as a keyboard and mouse can work just fine.
I won’t be going into too much detail regarding the emulators, which is not what this article is about.
Best Atari Emulators For PC
Here is a list of the best Atari Emulators for PC:
- Steem: Free
- Hatari: Open Source and Free.
- Altirra: Free
Using Atari Emulators On Your Android
We live in a time where we basically carry around computers in our pockets. The mobile phone is one of the greatest inventions of all time, and it has allowed us to do so much in the palm of our hands.
For gaming, it has revolutionized the industry, and in fact, more gamers play on mobile then they are on PC and console gamers put together. Obviously, this means that people found a way to play old Atari games on their phones, using emulators.
Best Atari Emulators On Android
Here is a list of Atari emulators for Android:
- XEmu65: Free and in Beta.
- Colleen: Free
- Emu2600 XL: Free
Why Did Atari Stop Making Consoles And Games
This is pretty sad, but Atari stopped making consoles and games for home use. But why would such a successful and beloved company stop producing consoles? Let’s jump into it.
It all boils down to competition. Once Atari had shown what can be done when it comes to home computers and gaming systems, they started to face ever-growing competition. This competition came from companies with a lot more money and a lot more backing then they had.
They were basically pushed out of a market that they had helped to pioneer. I really don’t like talking about sad topics in my articles, but I had to mention this.
The Last Atari Console
The last Atari console ever made was a home console that was designed to play Arcade games. It was the Atari klax, and it was released in 1990.
The beloved Atari 2600 series of consoles was discontinued in 1992, and that was pretty much the last there we saw of Atari. It was at this time when Sega and Nintendo started really booming in the home console space.
A small note on this is, Sega kind of also got pushed out of the home console market. Nintendo also started dwindling until they launched their Switch console, which was kind of the comeback they needed. Today, the market is dominated by Sony and Microsoft.
Best Atari Game Ever
No console would be successful if they did not have a good lineup of games, and Atari had, for the time, one of the best lineups when it comes to games. What was the most successful game, though?
Pitfall was a massively successful and one of the most popular Atari games ever made. It was one of the first “side-scrolling” games and could maybe be considered the pioneer of 2D side-scrollers.
Worst Atari Game Ever
Now, this is where it gets interesting because we know that Atari was pushed out of the market by companies with bigger financial backing. Some people say that their downfall happened because of one game.
ET is said to be the worst game ever made. The game was a disaster, and it cost Atari a lot of money. But the worst thing that the game did was it hurt Atari’s reputation. It hurt Atari’s reputation so badly that it was hard to come back from.
I guess because the game was based on the then hugely popular movie by Steven Spielberg, expectations were running high. If you sell something with lower expectations, it doesn’t hurt as much as selling something bad than if it had high expectations.
There is no concrete evidence that the game hurt Atari so badly that it is part of their downfall, but a lot of professionals in the industry believe that it played a huge role.
Why Was Atari ET so Bad?
The game had no direction. It often left players feeling confused and at a loss for what was going on in the game. There was no direction, and it felt like there was no goal to the game. You simply cannot have this happening in a game.
Conclusion
The reality that we live in leaves no room for mistakes. We also live in a time where bigger companies can easily push smaller ones aside with their financial power. In my experience, this is what happened to Atari. While some people blame a single game, I do not think that is true.
You can still buy old Atari consoles and games, but your favorite game might cost you a lot of money for the original. As of writing this article, I recommend downloading the games via mobile app stores.
If you are looking forward to the new Atari VCS, I hope that you will not have to wait much longer. Be sure to bookmark us to stay up to date with everything you need to know about the gaming industry.