Atari VCS Pre-Orders Underway

Last December we talked about what was then called the Ataribox, the retro gaming console from Atari. The console was set to go up for preorder in mid-December, but that never happened. Somewhere along the way, Atari decided to change the name to Atari VCS and if you want one, pre-orders are finally open.

There are plenty of retro consoles vying for your money today with the SNES Classic and NES Classic among them. The big difference here is that while the VCS does come with about 100 games installed on it, the VCS allows customization to do other things thanks to Linux being the OS.

Atari says that there are classic arcade games to play on the console, but the VCS will also be able to play modern indie PC titles. Atari raised money for the launch of the device via Indiegogo and was looking for $100,000, so far it has raised over $2 million.

The console is up for preorder on Indiegogo with shipping estimated for July 2019. You can pre-order the Atari VCS Collector’s Edition for $299 that includes the console and the classic joystick. If you want to add a modern controller, that will cost you another $49. The VCS Onyx alone will set you back $199 and as of writing, Atari says there are over 24,700 consoles left.