<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
produced	O
by	O
Atari	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
its	O
physical	O
design	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
pay	O
homage	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
new	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
plays	O
modern	O
games	O
and	O
streaming	O
entertainment	O
via	O
a	O
Linux-based	O
operating	O
system	O
called	O
AtariOS	O
that	O
will	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
download	O
and	O
install	O
other	O
compatible	O
games	O
,	O
including	O
those	O
compatible	O
with	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
shares	O
a	O
name	O
with	O
Atari	O
,	O
Inc.	O
'	O
s	O
1977	O
Video	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
System	I-General_Concept
,	O
usually	O
shortened	O
to	O
VCS	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
renamed	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
in	O
late	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
October	O
2021	O
,	O
shipping	O
has	O
been	O
expanded	O
to	O
include	O
Canada	O
,	O
when	O
ordering	O
directly	O
from	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
Store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
Corporation	O
left	O
the	O
hardware	O
business	O
around	O
1996	O
,	O
after	O
it	O
released	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
Jaguar	I-Device
video	B-Application
game	I-Application
console	I-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
liquidated	O
in	O
1998	O
,	O
with	O
Hasbro	O
Interactive	O
purchasing	O
the	O
intellectual	O
property	O
of	O
the	O
brand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
Interactive	O
provided	O
licensing	O
for	O
the	O
various	O
Atari	O
Flashback	O
dedicated	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
produced	O
since	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
came	O
from	O
Feargal	O
Mac	O
Conuladh	O
,	O
who	O
joined	O
Atari	O
and	O
became	O
general	O
manager	O
to	O
oversee	O
the	O
Ataribox	B-Application
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
console	O
in	O
its	O
current	O
rendition	O
functions	O
as	O
a	O
sort	O
of	O
hybrid	O
between	O
a	O
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
and	O
a	O
gaming	O
PC	O
,	O
two	O
branches	O
of	O
electronics	O
Atari	O
has	O
operated	O
in	O
previously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conuladh	O
took	O
lessons	O
learned	O
from	O
the	O
commercial	O
failure	O
of	O
the	O
Ouya	B-Application
,	O
a	O
similar	O
crowd-funded	O
microconsole	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
was	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
directly	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
through	O
the	O
limited	O
version	O
offered	O
through	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
as	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
provide	O
more	O
capabilities	O
and	O
a	O
more	O
open	O
system	O
to	O
developers	O
and	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
decided	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
higher-performance	O
laptop/desktop	O
APU	O
than	O
the	O
smartphone/tablet	O
APU	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Ouya	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conuladh	O
also	O
wanted	O
to	O
steer	O
away	O
from	O
problems	O
encountered	O
by	O
Valve	O
's	O
Steam	B-Device
Machines	I-Device
,	O
which	O
provided	O
a	O
minimum	O
set	O
of	O
specifications	O
for	O
hardware	O
that	O
Valve	O
expected	O
other	O
vendors	O
to	O
build	O
towards	O
,	O
but	O
ultimately	O
never	O
took	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
hardware	O
configuration	O
will	O
remain	O
fixed	O
and	O
controlled	O
by	O
Atari	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
Atari	O
will	O
contract	O
for	O
the	O
manufacture	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
consoles	O
themselves	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
relying	O
on	O
third	O
parties	O
to	O
manufacture	O
their	O
own	O
systems	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Ataribox	B-Application
specifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2017	O
,	O
just	O
prior	O
to	O
opening	O
for	O
pre-orders	O
for	O
the	O
VCS	O
(	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
known	O
as	O
Ataribox	B-Application
)	O
,	O
Atari	O
recognized	O
there	O
were	O
still	O
several	O
issues	O
they	O
needed	O
to	O
address	O
with	O
the	O
hardware	O
,	O
and	O
decided	O
to	O
postpone	O
the	O
pre-orders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Atari	O
CEO	O
Fred	O
Chesnais	O
,	O
this	O
period	O
gave	O
them	O
time	O
to	O
review	O
what	O
they	O
wanted	O
the	O
Ataribox	B-Application
to	O
do	O
,	O
and	O
revise	O
the	O
unit	O
's	O
specifications	O
and	O
hardware	O
without	O
sacrificing	O
the	O
core	O
elements	O
of	O
being	O
a	O
Linux-based	O
system	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
run	O
classic	O
Atari	O
games	O
along	O
with	O
newer	O
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
first	O
teased	O
Project	O
Ataribox	B-Application
in	O
June	O
2017	O
during	O
E3	O
,	O
releasing	O
images	O
of	O
the	O
box	O
but	O
did	O
not	O
call	O
out	O
any	O
technical	O
specifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
this	O
followed	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
November	O
2016	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
NES	B-Application
Classic	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
,	O
a	O
dedicated	B-Device
console	I-Device
that	O
supported	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
pre-loaded	O
Nintendo	O
Entertainment	O
System	O
games	O
,	O
journalists	O
believed	O
that	O
the	O
new	O
Atari	O
system	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
kind	O
,	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
play	O
classic	O
Atari	O
games	O
on	O
a	O
dedicated	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
information	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
2017	O
provided	O
more	O
technical	O
specifications	O
,	O
details	O
on	O
the	O
software	O
approach	O
including	O
the	O
plans	O
to	O
use	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
provide	O
an	O
open	O
platform	O
for	O
other	O
compatible	O
software	O
to	O
be	O
installed	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
planned	O
release	O
in	O
the	O
second	O
quarter	O
of	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
2018	O
Game	O
Developers	O
Conference	O
,	O
Atari	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
unit	O
would	O
be	O
called	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
the	O
first	O
day	O
,	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
saw	O
more	O
than	O
in	O
pre-orders	O
,	O
far	O
exceeding	O
the	O
anticipated	O
they	O
were	O
seeking	O
to	O
start	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
27	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
Rob	O
Wyatt	O
,	O
system	O
architect	O
for	O
the	B-Application
original	I-Application
Xbox	I-Application
and	O
designer	O
of	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
's	O
graphic	O
systems	O
,	O
was	O
announced	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
VCS	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2019	O
,	O
Atari	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
delaying	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
VCS	O
to	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2019	O
and	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
system	O
has	O
upgraded	O
to	O
an	O
unannounced	O
embedded	O
14nm	O
AMD	O
Ryzen	O
processor	O
with	O
Radeon	B-Device
Vega-based	O
graphics	O
and	O
two	O
Zen	O
CPU	O
cores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
AMD	O
processor	O
supports	O
native	O
4K	B-Architecture
video	I-Architecture
playback	I-Architecture
with	O
modern	O
HDCP	B-Protocol
,	O
has	O
built-in	O
Ethernet	O
and	O
a	O
secure	B-Algorithm
framebuffer	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
's	O
COO	O
Michael	O
Arzt	O
stated	O
in	O
December	O
2019	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
in	O
the	O
final	O
stages	O
of	O
pre-production	O
of	O
the	O
unit	O
,	O
with	O
plans	O
to	O
ship	O
the	O
console	O
to	O
those	O
that	O
pre-ordered	O
by	O
March	O
2020	O
before	O
the	O
units	O
were	O
then	O
sent	O
to	O
retail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
showed	O
off	O
a	O
new	O
production	O
update	O
on	O
March	O
20	O
,	O
when	O
they	O
said	O
that	O
they	O
have	O
received	O
enough	O
parts	O
to	O
build	O
the	O
first	O
500	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
production	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
about	O
a	O
month	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X	I-Device
and	I-Device
Series	I-Device
S	I-Device
consoles	O
,	O
with	O
early	O
backer	O
reviews	O
finding	O
the	O
performances	O
to	O
be	O
inferior	O
to	O
those	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
22	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Atari	O
announced	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
a	O
fund	O
raising	O
effort	O
to	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
run-rate	O
production	O
rhythm	O
,	O
then	O
planned	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
quarter	O
of	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
All-In	O
bundle	O
includes	O
the	O
console	O
and	O
two	O
controllers	O
:	O
a	O
Classic	O
Joystick	O
modelled	O
after	O
the	O
CX40	B-Device
joystick	I-Device
,	O
and	O
a	O
Modern	O
Controller	O
that	O
resembles	O
more	O
current	O
controllers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
was	O
announced	O
in	O
2017	O
and	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
customized	O
AMD	O
central	O
processor	O
using	O
Radeon	B-Device
graphic	O
processing	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictures	O
of	O
the	O
unit	O
released	O
in	O
July	O
2017	O
showed	O
HDMI	B-Protocol
and	O
USB	B-Protocol
ports	O
,	O
an	O
Ethernet	O
port	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
SD	B-Device
card	I-Device
slot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
unit	O
's	O
photos	O
echo	O
the	O
look-and-feel	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
,	O
with	O
a	O
black	O
veneer	O
and	O
faux	O
wood-grain	O
front	O
plate	O
,	O
though	O
sized	O
about	O
half	O
as	O
large	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Classic	O
Joystick	O
"	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
single-button	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
CX40	I-Device
joystick	I-Device
,	O
adding	O
only	O
additional	O
inset	O
buttons	O
for	O
accessing	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
menus	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
LED	O
lighting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
controllers	O
are	O
designed	O
in	O
partnership	O
with	O
PowerA	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
features	O
a	O
Ryzen-based	O
AMD	O
R1606G	O
APU	O
with	O
two	O
cores	O
and	O
four	O
threads	O
(	O
SMT	O
)	O
that	O
clocks	O
at	O
2.6GHz	O
up	O
to	O
3.5GHz	O
and	O
a	O
Vega	O
3	O
graphic	O
solution	O
(	O
GCN	O
5	O
)	O
supporting	O
OpenGL	O
4.6	O
,	O
Vulkan	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
HDMI	B-Protocol
2.0	O
connection	O
supporting	O
4K	B-Architecture
screens	O
at	O
60Hz	O
with	O
HDCP	B-Protocol
2.2	O
protection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VCS	O
800	O
features	O
8GB	O
of	O
DDR4	O
2400	O
(	O
4GB	O
for	O
the	O
VCS	O
400	O
model	O
)	O
upgradeable	O
to	O
32GB	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
internal	O
eMMC	O
storage	O
of	O
32GB	O
with	O
an	O
available	O
M.2	B-Protocol
SSD	I-Protocol
SATA	O
slot	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
internal	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Four	O
USB	B-Protocol
3.1	O
ports	O
are	O
provided	O
,	O
enabling	O
external	O
storage	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
accessories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
features	O
one	O
Gigabit	O
Ethernet	O
connection	O
,	O
WiFi	O
and	O
BlueTooth	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
PC/Console	O
Hybrid	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
performance	O
can	O
be	O
compared	O
to	O
a	O
"	O
Linux	B-Application
gaming	O
PC	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
is	O
driven	O
by	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
quoting	O
a	O
mail	O
from	O
the	O
company	O
it	O
was	O
said	O
the	O
software	O
is	O
specifically	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
open	O
to	O
allow	O
to	O
install	O
other	O
Linux-compatible	O
applications	O
on	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
alongside	O
pre-installed	O
games	O
,	O
using	O
Atari	O
Vault	O
(	O
now	O
called	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
Vault	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
was	O
a	O
cartridge-driven	O
game	O
system	O
,	O
the	O
VCS	O
does	O
not	O
use	O
cartridges	O
or	O
optical	O
discs	O
for	O
games	O
,	O
but	O
instead	O
allows	O
players	O
to	O
download	O
games	O
from	O
a	O
built-in	O
store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
will	O
have	O
a	O
custom	O
storefront	O
that	O
Atari	O
developed	O
with	O
an	O
undisclosed	O
"	O
leading	O
industry	O
partner	O
"	O
,	O
where	O
users	O
can	O
download	O
additional	O
video	O
games	O
and	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
console	O
will	O
ship	O
with	O
Antstream	O
Arcade	O
,	O
a	O
game	O
streaming	O
service	O
that	O
supports	O
titles	O
from	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
arcade	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
web	O
browser	O
will	O
be	O
pre-installed	O
and	O
will	O
power	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
online	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
most	O
PC	O
peripherals	O
via	O
both	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
and	O
USB	B-Protocol
3.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2022	O
Atari	O
released	O
the	O
PC	O
Mode	O
USB	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
provides	O
a	O
simple	O
"	O
plug-and-play	O
"	O
way	O
to	O
the	O
operate	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
as	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
an	O
Atari	O
branded	O
128GB	O
USB	B-Protocol
3.2	O
drive	O
that	O
comes	O
preloaded	O
with	O
a	O
custom	O
Debian	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
additional	O
storage	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
LibreOffice	O
Suite	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
physical	O
games	O
from	O
legacy	O
Atari	O
consoles	O
because	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
cartridge	O
readers	O
on	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
announced	O
on	O
October	O
15	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
under	O
their	O
new	O
series	O
called	O
'	O
Flashback	O
Fridays	O
 '	O
that	O
emulated	O
versions	O
of	O
selected	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
7800	I-General_Concept
games	O
will	O
become	O
available	O
for	O
purchase	O
via	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
Store	O
for	O
$3	O
each	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
two	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
7800	I-General_Concept
titles	O
to	O
be	O
announced	O
were	O
Basketbrawl	O
7800	O
and	O
Desert	O
Falcon	O
7800	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
January	O
24	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
14	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
7800	I-General_Concept
games	O
are	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
with	O
this	O
criticism	O
,	O
Tom	O
's	O
Guide	O
stated	O
that	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
"	O
may	O
be	O
not	O
as	O
good	O
as	O
a	O
next-gen	O
console	O
,	O
but	O
buying	O
one	O
is	O
lot	O
easier	O
than	O
working	O
out	O
where	O
to	O
buy	O
a	O
PS5.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
awarded	O
the	O
system	O
a	O
5/10	O
saying	O
"	O
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
tries	O
to	O
do	O
some	O
interesting	O
things	O
but	O
ultimately	O
fails	O
as	O
a	O
console	O
and	O
a	O
PC	O
alternative.	O
"	O
</s>
