You’ve read it right. The Atari VCS has faced yet another delay. According to a new blog post by Atari, the company announced the upcoming console’s delay is due to “added power,” which includes the 14nm AMD processor featuring high-performance Radeon Vega graphics architecture and two “Zen” CPU cores.
In case you don’t know, back on December 14th, 2017, pre-orders for the forthcoming console were expected to go live, but Atari announced a temporary delay that day, stating the following:
“It is taking more time to create the platform and ecosystem the Atari community deserves.”
Later on Atari announced during the 2018 Game Developers Conference (GDC) that the system would be dubbed the “Atari VCS.” Q2 of that year saw pre-orders for the console and controllers roll out on May 30th exclusively via Indiegogo, with shipping expected in Q2 of 2019 (or this year).
Within the first day of pre-orders, the Atari VCS saw more than “$2.25 million” in pre-orders, far exceeding the projection of “$100 thousand” they were seeking to start production.
Later in 2018, it would be known that the Atari VCS would be powered by AMD’s Radeon technology, along with support for 4K, HDR, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB 3.0 ports.
As of today (March 19th, 2019), Atari took to a blog post on medium.com to tell fans that “More Power is Coming to the Atari VCS,” thus acting as a delay to the console.
As for the Atari VCS processor, you can read everything about it and more right here:
“The Atari VCS will now be powered by a 14nm AMD processor featuring high-performance Radeon Vega graphics architecture and two “Zen” CPU cores. This new processor replaces the model from the “Bristol Ridge” family that had been in the plan since originally selected for the Atari VCS back in 2017. AMD’s all-new Ryzen embedded chip will be faster, cooler, and more efficient, allowing the VCS to benefit from a simpler and more effective power architecture and thermal solution. The new processor includes built-in Ethernet, Native 4K video with modern HDCP, and a secure frame buffer that fully-supports DRM video (Netflix, HBO, etc.).
This upgrade will translate to better overall performance in a cooler and quieter box — all with minimal impact to our manufacturing processes. While additional specifications about the new AMD processor will be announced closer to launch, be assured that the new AMD Ryzen processor is a much better fit for this project in multiple ways and will further enable the Atari VCS to deliver on its promise to be a unique and highly flexible platform for creators.”
With said decision made, the Atari team now projects a new delivery window that is slated at the end of 2019 (Q4) for U.S Indiegogo backers.
The update post ends with Atari saying they will continue to keep backers and fans up to date on major developments and will publish an updated project schedule as soon as the factory and all stakeholders are finalized.
In the next few months look for Atari to share a variety of other Atari VCS updates such as news about console design, distribution partnerships, game and media partnerships, user experience, on-screen dashboard and storefront, service offerings, and more details on the new AMD APU.
With all of that said, you can learn more about Atari and the VCS by hitting up medium.com.
