Atari Really Is Making The Ataribox

It looks like rumors of Atari making a gaming console called the Ataribox are true after all.

Rumors of Atari’s new console first surfaced last week when the company posted a video on YouTube, calling the product “a brand new Atari product” that is “years in the making.” Though the idea of Atari making a brand new console was certainly intriguing, it was difficult to take Atari seriously: not only is the company currently focused in mobile gaming, but the last time it made a console was in 1993. Most important of all, though, the Ataribox looked completely dated with a wood veneer.

However, Atari CEO Fred Chesnais soon put all doubt to rest at E3 2017 when he revealed in an interview with GamesBeat that the company is indeed working on a brand new console, saying Atari is indeed “back in the hardware business.”

This is a huge development for retro gaming fans, as Atari is synonymous with the term thanks to Pong. As mentioned earlier, Atari hasn’t been entirely in the public eye for quite some time. The last console it made was the Jaguar, which debuted in 1993 and discontinued in 1996. The latest major development came in 2013 when the company filed for bankruptcy protection and was subsequently purchased by Chesnais who vowed to bring the company back to its former greatness.

Unfortunately, how the Ataribox will actually accomplish this is unknown as Chesnais declined to reveal any details about the console. For now, all that’s known is that it’s based on PC technology. That said, its hard to imagine Atari coming out with a console which would go to head-to-head with the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One, so its likely the console will operate in a similar vein as the NES Classic.

The design itself has yet to be finalized, but Chesnais promised it will be revealed at a later date.

Check out the teaser trailer for the Ataribox below: