22:00, 20 Dec 2022, author: Быстрова А.

Return from the grave failed

Name: Return from the grave failed
Uploaded: 2022-12-20T22:00:00+03:00
Channel: Быстрова А.
Description: Officially announced in 2017 and released three years later, the Atari VCS console is coming to the end of its life. Atari\'s latest financial report says the company is halting production of devices related to the Atari VCS project.

Officially announced in 2017 and released three years later, the Atari VCS console is coming to the end of its life. Atari's latest financial report says the company is halting production of devices related to the Atari VCS project.

It is indicated that this does not mean the end of the VCS brand and another commercial solution is being prepared.

According to the financial report for the 2022/23 half year (March 31 to September 30), the company recorded a 92% decrease in Atari VCS-related revenue compared to the same period last year, from 2.3 million euros to just 0.2 million euros. . Recall that the Atari VCS console entered the North American and Australian markets in June 2021, and according to plans it was supposed to reach Europe in 2022 (which is unlikely to happen).

Atari, according to the report, wants to change its commercial strategy. The new plan includes the suspension of VCS hardware production for 2023, as well as additional partnerships and licensing agreements. The second point can be understood in two ways: hardware production will be outsourced to other companies (to reduce costs), or the company will license the Atari name for use in other gaming systems.

It should be noted that the company fixes a satisfactory profit in other sectors of the gaming market. For example, sales of video games this year grew by 10% (from 2.6 million euros to 2.8 million euros). For this reason, the company will continue to stick to its current game production strategy: premium (for PC and VCS by default), mobile, and shareware.

The Atari VCS project was supposed to be a response to the well-received re-release of the Nintendo NES Mini, but the first reviews of the updated Atari were not as laudatory as those of Nintendo. Too high a price, poor build quality, and a meager library of starter games were criticized. Perhaps the change in strategy is to release an improved version of the Atari VCS in the future.