The Atari VCS is one of those things that I honestly can’t believe even exists. It's the kind of thing that when you tell people about it, they look at you like you’re crazy. But it is real. I own one. And believe it or not, I genuinely love it. 

However, it’s also not the kind of thing that’s easy to recommend to everyone. Or really anyone who isn’t a lunatic like me. This system is FLAWED, and that’s putting it kindly. That said, for me and my very specific gaming nuttiness, it works brilliantly (when it works at all. Like I said, this thing is FLAWED). 

In case you aren’t familiar, the Atari VCS is a “current-gen” official Atari platform. It’s an actual game system with its own unique controllers, operating system, and digital storefront, that can also be used as a low-end PC. It started life as a crowdfunded project that a whole lot of folks figured was for sure going to wind up as vaporware. And yet, where the Intellivision Amico and Coleco Chameleon failed, the Atari VCS succeeded. The thing actually made it into existence and is a real, functioning console. 

Fast forward to today, and it’s looking like Atari’s support of the platform is winding down after just shy of 5 years on the market. It hasn’t actually been in regular production for a couple of years, and it was clearanced out on their website over the holidays. The console and its accessories are now completely sold out, with little chance of ever being restocked. Atari’s current CEO has stated that he never would have launched the thing had he been in charge when it was in development, and while its paltry user base is pretty passionate about the thing, it is a VERY small group, especially comparatively speaking. So, it looks like that chapter is about to be closed. The system has its fans, but it was ultimately an unfortunate failure. Damage done, let’s move on. 

BUT SHOULD WE, REALLY?!?

Yes. The logical answer is, yes. But as anyone who knows me and my love for Atari can tell you, I can be quite illogical. So come on this ride with me for a minute. 

See, also over the holiday season, I had a really interesting Atari-related experience. I had the opportunity to play the Atari Gamestation Go. This is a very weird device made by My Arcade. When it was announced, I can’t say I thought much of it. It’s a neat looking handheld that plays pre-installed Atari games, and can output to a TV. It’s nifty, but nothing I needed. Then I played it, and my imagination started working on overdrive, and not just because it’s neat to have these games portably. That already exists on Switch. No, this was something different. 

Atari has been on a pretty cool hardware kick over the past few years. They’ve been re-releasing games on actual Atari 2600 cartridges, and their Atari 2600+ console was successful enough to warrant a followup 7800+. The Gamestation Go seems to have performed reasonably well too, and it really got me thinking, what if we took what’s been working about Atari’s physical media strategy of late and combined it with what worked about the Atari VCS? You know what? I think you’d have something pretty darn cool on your hands. Which is why I am convinced that an Atari VCS 2 could work, and here’s how I’d do it. 

The design

First, let’s talk about how this thing should look. The answer? Almost identical to the original. The Atari VCS, for all its flaws, is one of the best looking console designs I’ve ever seen. The size should be enough to house what relative little power it would need (more on that in a bit) and it simply looks amazing on a shelf. The only change needed is…

The games

A cartridge slot. This is where we take inspiration from the success of their 2600+ systems. There is a desire, not necessarily a huge one, but still a desire nonetheless to be able to take classic Atari cartridges and play them on a modern console with no fuss. Atari hasn’t exactly had a hard time selling new cartridges, either. So there’s absolutely a market for this sort of thing. 

Now, combine those classic games with the same system that’s able to play “new” ones, and you’ve got something reasonably unique to present to the world. 

But this cartridge slot needs to be taken a step further than just playing retro games. 

Physical media is making its own sort of comeback. It’s never going to properly overtake digital, I’m not delusional, but there’s a real collector market for this kind of stuff. Just look at how successful EverCade has been. Now apply that formula to an Atari VCS 2! 

New cartridges that are the same size and shape as Atari 2600 games, but with collections of old games licensed the same way EverCade does, or even brand new games on them, that work exclusively in the VCS 2? Sign me up. 

Physical copies of the Recharged series? Qomp2? Breakout Beyond? On beautifully collectible cartridges? There’s absolutely money to be made here, and it’s not the sort of thing that really exists the same way on other platforms. 

The library

While we’re on the topic of games, I feel the need to talk about the actual library that exists on the VCS. Over the holidays, they had this huge sale and I bought basically every game I’ll ever want to own on the thing. It’s a tightly curated list, and while it’s easy to see that as a drawback, I actually view it as a strength. 

When I turn on my VCS, there’s I think maybe 30 games total for me to choose from. Many of which are simple, pick up and play games. Compare that to my Switch 2 that’s stuffed with hundreds of games, and it’s not hard to see where the VCS has a slight advantage. When I’m looking for something to play, unless I know what I’m after, I’m often paralyzed by choice. There are so many games to flip through, it’s hard to land on something I actually want to play. The VCS has such a small, simple arcade focused library that I’m locked in, enjoying the likes of Roasty Buds, Yars Recharged, Looney Landers, or the expanded list of games in Atari 50 in a matter of moments. 

Keeping the library focused and small was more likely a matter of nobody wanting to put their games on VCS than a concerted effort to curate a high quality content library, but whatever the intent, it worked. 

The theoretical and completely nonexistent VCS 2 should maintain that exact strategy. Keep it simple, and don’t let the market get flooded by shovelware. Curate the experience to a manageable amount of games, and just play to the base. Simple, arcade-style titles, and nothing overly huge like Call of Duty or GTA. Stay focused. It may not move millions of units, but I sincerely believe it would move enough to make a decent profit, and their customer base very happy. 

7800 GameDrive

$174.99

LABEL NOTE: The chromatic color on the product image is simulated. This product's label is printed on a holographic/chromatic material and those areas will change...… read more

The controllers

And this is where my time with the Gamestation comes in. When I actually got my hands on this thing, I couldn’t believe how well it worked. Looking at pictures, I figured that a single device with a spinner, track ball, d-pad, face buttons, and number keypad would never feel functional. And yet, I found myself enjoying the heck out of everything I played. Handheld Missile Command with a tiny trackball? Handheld Breakout with a tiny spinner? Legitimately fantastic. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played modern retro style games and wished I had a proper trackball or spinner option, but none exist. The Atari VCS 2 could be the exclusive home to controls like this, and those games that benefit from those styles of controls would probably play best there. 

I say, the system’s primary controller should be a jack of all trades like the Gamestation. But there also has to be options, one of which absolutely needs to be an updated take on the VCS’s Classic Joystick. This thing has to be one of the coolest looking controllers ever made, and the theory behind it is beyond sound. It’s a joystick that can also serve as a paddle by rotating the stick. It’s genius. Except that it doesn’t freaking work. The design is great, but the execution is just not quite right. The dead zone for using the stick is too big, and the spinner doesn’t move smoothly. It can also be accidentally triggered while playing with the stick normally. There needs to be a spinner locking mechanism, and more resistance all around. 

Anyway, the short version is, tweak the thing and you’ve got a true winner. 

Then they just have to do a nice update to their Modern Controller, and dual analog gaming is available as well. Is it a perfect solution? No way. Having 3 kinds of controllers is a wacky plan. That’s why I think they should just lean into it and make even more. The one controller that works like the Game Station is great, but there’s no reason they couldn’t also market full size paddles, trackballs, and keypads for the collector market, right? Since the market would be so small initially, I’d imagine the risk would be relatively small. Why the heck not? 

The power

That really just leaves the console’s power, and I say it doesn’t have to be much. If you’re limiting your library to just the kinds of games that feel like modern takes on classic Atari formulas, there really doesn’t need to be a whole lot of power under the hood. I’d say if it’s on par with the original Switch, or preferably just a little bit stronger, you’re good to go. Make the system strong enough to run things like Food Fight, and Adventure of Samsara, and those limitations will force the library to stay in a place that’s manageable and focused. 

But it’s also got to be strong enough to run the VCS operating system. The VCS OS is actually super cool, aside from the fact that it often barely runs on the system at all. It looks great, it animates beautifully, it’s just wonderful. But a good 20% of the time when I’m using it, the whole thing will just freeze or crash. It’s simply not powerful enough to properly run it. But if Atari can give us a system with a little more juice, those problems would be solved. 

That’s it. The Atari VCS 2. It combines the best of the VCS, 2600+, and GameStation Go into a single cool-looking machine. It will never sell Switch numbers. Heck, it might not even sell Jaguar numbers. But it could sell enough to justify its existence, and become a haven for classic style games to thrive in an environment specifically tailored to them. 

I’d buy one. 

Ranger Gamepad for Atari 2600 - Hyperkin

$24.99

Control your favorite Atari games in a way you've never done before. The Ranger for Atari 2600™ and RetroN 77 is a gamepad-style controller meant...… read more

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