The Atari VCS Is Officially Atari's New Console; Prototype on Display at GDC on March 21-22
After some delays with the previously announced Ataribox console, Atari the company has now officially announced that they are naming their console the Atari VCS, instead. The name is a tribute to the Atari 2600's other designation, and the console has been in display, in prototype form, at the Game Developers Conference since Monday, March 19.
The GDC is already well underway since it started this Monday, with the event going on until Friday, March 23, at its Moscone Center venue in San Francisco, California. That leaves little time for Atari to come up with a presentation, and after a bit of waiting, the company did put an official announcement about their console.
It's another set of promises for later, though, as Engadget noted. Atari has re-branded the Ataribox to the Atari VCS while still using the same ataribox.com website, and there's not much new information on order other than an upcoming pre-order for April this year, plus a form to join a waitlist.
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Meanwhile, there's a longer coverage from the company itself via a press statement that it posted on its website.
"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," Michael Arzt, COO of Connected Devices for Atari, explained in a statement.
"The Atari VCS, Classic Joystick and Modern Controller prototypes will be shown in-person at pre-scheduled press appointments during GDC 2018 on March 21 and 22, 2018," the press release added.
With a prototype being presented in GDC this year, the new Atari VCS does not have a release date as of this time. More details are likely coming this April as pre-orders become available.
