Atari VCS Pre-Orders Set To Launch This Month

Atari VCS Set To Launch Pre-Orders This Month

The AtariBox, or Atari VCS as it is now known, has had a troubled few months. A fact not helped by the issue that the console hasn’t even launched yet. When it was originally announced, it was expected that pre-orders would be taken in December 2017, with a release anticipated in Spring this year. Well, Spring is very much here and you can neither own one nor even pre-order it. At least, not yet.

In a report via TrustedReviews, the latest update to the console contains both good and bad news.

The good news is that pre-orders will officially be launched this month. The bad news is that the console itself is now not expected until at least early 2019. Atari may, again, be fumbling the ball here.

Why the delays?

Atari has revealed that the Atari VCS has had a lot more development problems than initially anticipated. This has led to dreaded unconfirmed or unspecific delays. As above, it certainly doesn’t help that they were initially planning to release this any time now. Instead, they’re only just taking pre-orders and even then you will have to wait possibly a year before you can get yours.

I want this to be a success for Atari. As a brand, I am a massive fan. I literally have an Atari ST sat no more than 3′ away from me as I write this. That being said though, the warning signs are all there.

Personally, although people will be pre-ordering this system, I think at this stage you would either have to be a die-hard Atari fan or an idiot to do so.

Pre-orders are expected to launch on May 30th with an anticipated price of around £150. This could be a great console, but personally, this release pattern has done nothing to assuage any fears I had.

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!