A little over a week ago, Atari's CEO Fredric Chesnais announced that Atari is "back in the hardware business", confirming to be real what many of us --myself included-- thought might have been some fake.
The Ataribox is said to be retro-styled, and based on PC technology, suggesting this console might not be a throwback that plays Atari cartridges or old ROMs like many believed. This could in fact be a current-gen console, with new games.
There is evidence that this console may have been in the works for a while. In an interview with VentureBeat, Chesnais Said the hardware was "years in the making". PC Gamer's Joe Donnelly believes this could mean the console could have been in the works since 2013, but that was the year the company filed for bankruptcy.
Back in 2014, The Atari CEO once spoke to GamesBeat, hinting at a potential future console.
It's more than a software brand... it's a hardware brand... I don't want to say it's a hardware brand first and foremost, but it is also a hardware brand. So we are carefully looking at... you know... we have a replica of the initial Atari 2600, but that is also something that we want to carefully announce in the course of the next few years, which is that with new licensing with the right partners we build the brand not only in the software space but also in the hardware space.
Probably fearing that he revealed too much, Chesnais then destroys the momentum of the entire interview by saying this:
"I'm not talking about a new console... but, like, a watch. A gamified watch. It's not what we are going to do, but think about [something like] that," he said. This isn't to say Atari is necessarily planning to release a watch with its name on it, as Chesnais added, "Like a new type of watch is something we 'could do.' A watch, branded, where you don't have an 'ordinary watch.As some of you may already know, this 'Atari Watch' would eventually become a reality, with the world's most awkward control scheme, and the world's tiniest screen, attracting more glare and fingerprints than the surface of an original Playstation 3.
In the interview, Chesnais goes on to explain more of his hair-brained schemes, like putting a USB charger in a solar-powered jacket to charge mobile devices, (Because people put on jackets when it's hot and sunny outside, right?) only to follow up the with the following:
I didn't buy the company to make T-shirts and stuff like that, We are way, way, way beyond that.
... So shoes then?
One idea that stuck from the CEO's interview was to re-enter the console business, which Chesnais is finally doing with the Ataribox. In a tweet from Atari's official Twitter account, the company finally put all the rumors to rest, showing a screenshot of the original teaser for the Ataribox that had everyone skeptical.
Rich of ReviewTechUSA weighed in: (No pun intended.)It’s been a long time coming, and yes it is official, and it is very real. Go to https://t.co/jakv7LwjzL today & sign up to know more #atari pic.twitter.com/lF1Cgzzk1g— atari (@atari) June 14, 2017
So @Atari really wants back into the console business. This is the weirdest console generation since the 4th gen. Jesus Christ... #ATARIBOX— Richard Masucci (@THEREALRTU) June 17, 2017
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