The recent announcements of the Atari VCS, a surprise entry into the modern console marketplace, is now up for pre-sale on IndieGoGo. Ever since early word came in about the retro console launch, gamers have been curious about what’s to come for the slickly-designed box of 80s gaming nostalgia, which also includes modern accessible conveniences like Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, and Pandora. Furthermore, the Atari VCS is allowing its users some increased agency, with the ability to modify what’s first installed on the premium multimedia system.

Atari formerly led the charge for home gaming, establishing itself as the gatekeepers for classic video games like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Pong. When first reports came in that they were planning an entirely new console option in 2018, many modern gamers who remembered the classic family of gaming systems were hungry for more details, wondering where this retro-throwback fit in line with other modern console revamps, like the NES Mini and the Super NES Classic Edition.

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Today, Atari reveals their Atari VCS console for full pre-orders on their relaunched and live IndieGoGo page. After initial delays forced them to take the campaign down for the then-named Ataribox, pre-purchase options are now fully prepared for purchase. With a variety of perks that offer the console alone, individual controller bundles, and special setups like the Collector's edition, IndieGoGo backers can select whichever perk package they're looking for.

The software under the Atari VCS' hood is actually built on Linux architecture, and buyers will be able to customize the onboard options with their own installed games, granting them the ability to interact with its touted “open platform” philosophy. This is a rather remarkable development, considering that Nintendo sought to hamper these types of modifications with its own throwback consoles, although that has not gotten in the way of savvy programmers, who figured out methods to use the new NES and SNES editions to play games that weren’t part of their original install-list, sharing those methods with the world (although they may sacrifice the warranty).

This defines the Atari VCS as an open and multi-faceted gaming option, which sees Atari partnering with technology companies like AMD, leveraging Radeon Graphics Technology to provide the system with something a little more modern than your old-fashioned wood-paneled console. That being said, it’s physically designed as a callback to those halcyon gaming years, with the Atari VCS Day One Collector’s Edition to feature a “special retro-inspired real wood-front,” just like those old consoles of yore.

Gamers interested in being first in line to purchase one of these systems can check out the Atari VCS IndieGoGo page now. Considering the recent announcement of the new Intellivision system, gamers might find themselves able to recreate a recognizable basement straight out of Stranger Things and their favorite '80s memories.

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Source: Atari