Atari VCS in Jeopardy After Atari Pull Manufacturing Contracts

There is likely to be tough seas forward for the Atari VCS retro gaming console — not that the seas behind it had been all that nice both. Whereas we had been initially intrigued when the VCS was first introduced, its difficult and controversial growth took a number of the shine off the gadget. And after years of delays that meant the {hardware} was dated by the point it hit retailer cabinets, any pleasure relating to the console had undoubtedly diminished after we reviewed the VCS final yr. And it looks as if we weren’t the one ones underwhelmed.

Based on Atari’s half-year earnings report for fiscal 2022/2023, the longer term for the VCS appears bleak. Total, the corporate reported income of $4.65 million, which was a 27 p.c lower from the identical interval final yr. Extra importantly, {hardware} income plummeted 92 p.c year-over-year, from $2.44 million to simply $212,466. Atari attributed the decline to “[reduced] cartridge exercise and underperformance by the VCS.” In different phrases, shoppers seem to have turned their backs on the console.

Atari is reorganizing its {hardware} enterprise and critically says this “contains the suspension of direct {hardware} manufacturing relationships” regarding the VCS. Nonetheless, Atari didn’t point out any plans to safe new contracts to fabricate the VCS, so this seems to be the tip of the road for the troubled console.

Going ahead, Atari is implementing a brand new business technique that entails the event of “new {hardware} complementary to the Atari VCS with companions beneath licensing contracts.” This doesn’t sound like a revised or next-generation VCS console, however maybe new equipment for the system. The corporate already affords a Traditional Joystick and Trendy Controller for the VCS. Nonetheless, it’s considerably confounding that the corporate would shift sources to creating new equipment for a console that clients seemingly haven’t embraced in any massive capability.