What’s in store from Atari over the coming months?
Atari isn’t a brand that has always had the best custodians, and that has left some players with a lingering scepticism when it comes to the company. However, recent years have seen Atari rebuilding its reputation in the retro space, thanks to the likes of the Atari 2600+, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration and the exciting Recharged games that put new spins on old favourites. With that in mind, we recently met with the company to see what it has in store for the near future, as well as to get some clarity on some aspects of what Atari is doing today.
“Our goal is not trying to be Nintendo or Sony, or some of the other publishing brands – it’s to focus where we can really excel, and it’s in retro,” says David Lowey of Atari, and the company has recently marked two 25th anniversaries. The Atari-owned online game database MobyGames hit the quarter century mark at the beginning of March, and Rollercoaster Tycoon reached its anniversary at the end of the month. To celebrate, the publisher has just released a new line of Rollercoaster Tycoon merchandise, as well as interviews with series creator Chris Sawyer.
The most exciting forthcoming product was The 400 Mini, which we were able to play for the first time. This new mini console has been developed by Retro Games Ltd, the company behind the mini versions of the Amiga 500 and Commodore 64. If you’re familiar with those, you’ll know what to expect – this unit is a half-sized version of the Atari 400 from 1979, and can play games from across the Atari 8-bit computer range, as well as the closely related Atari 5200. It has 25 built-in games and the ability to add your own games via USB, and offers solid emulation, a clean user interface and HDMI output. The USB version of the CX40 joystick is quite clever, with function buttons hidden in the ring around the base of the joystick – something that tripped us up initially.
Why has Atari gone for the more traditional mini console route this time around, rather than opting for a full relaunch as with the Atari 2600+? David says the company has taken note of how other retro computers have been brought back to the market. “The mini form factor that Retro Games and Plaion have done historically very well, the market seemed to like that as a solution,” he explains. “Also, talking about launching or relaunching a computer system – in theory it’s certainly doable, but it’s a much more complex product if you actually have a working keyboard and all these things. Does that mean that there might not be some sort of Atari
