New Ataribox coming Spring of 2018, pricing info, and more

Back in July Atari announced that they would be jumping back into the gaming console arena with a modernized take on its popular Atari 2600, the Ataribox. In an email to their fans Tuesday the company released a few more tidbits regarding the highly anticipated console. Having owned a 2600 back in my youth the news definitely sparked my interest and nostalgia.

What we already knew

There will be two editions of the Ataribox, black and red and wood. The front panel of the console will be either glass or (real) wood and it’ll have one HDMI port, four USB ports, and one SD port.

What’s new

Atari plans on releasing the console via an Indiegogo campaign in the next month or two and it will begin shipping sometime in the Spring of 2018. Fans who get involved with the campaign will have access to special editions and exclusive pricing. Prices will run $249-$299 depending on specific editions and memory configurations.

The console will be driven by custom AMD Radeon graphics technology and it will run Linux. With Linux, you will be able to customize and run the console like you would a Linux PC. According to Atari “Ataribox is also a full PC experience for the TV, bringing you streaming, applications, social, browsing, music, and more.”

You can also expect the unit to come preloaded with “tons of classic Atari retro games”, as well as “current titles from a range of studios.”

Details about the Ataribox have been slow in coming and we still don’t have any details regarding which classic games will be included with the console at launch although the company says it’ll “start talking titles soon.” Another big question is whether or not the console will come with Atari’s classic joystick controllers.

Atari says it will have “lots more in the weeks ahead.” In the meantime, you can head over to the official Ataribox website and sign up to be the first to know when more info is available.