Atari VCS in Jeopardy After Atari Pull Manufacturing Contracts

Rough waves may lie ahead of the Atari VCS retro gaming console, but the ocean behind it wasn’t all that great either. When the VCS was first announced, it initially sparked interest, but its challenging and controversial development took the shine out of the device. And after years of delays that meant the hardware was obsolete by the time it hit store shelves, the excitement about the console definitely diminished when we reviewed the VCS last year. It seems that he was not alone.

according to Atari half-year financial results The future looks bleak for VCS in fiscal year 2022/2023. Overall, the company’s revenue was $4.65 million, down 27% from the same period last year. More importantly, hardware revenue plummeted 92% year-over-year from $2.44 million to $212,466. Atari attributed the decline to “[reduced] Performance degradation due to cartridge activity and VCS. ” So it looks like consumers are turning their backs on the console.

Atari is restructuring its hardware business, which it criticized as “including the termination of its direct hardware manufacturing relationship” related to the VCS. However, Atari hasn’t mentioned that he plans to secure a new contract to manufacture the VCS, so it looks like that’s the end of the line for problematic consoles.

Going forward, Atari is implementing a new commercial strategy involving the development of “new hardware to complement the Atari VCS with partners under license agreements.” This doesn’t sound like a revised or next-gen of his VCS console, but it’s likely a new accessory for the system. The company already offers Classic Joystick and Modern Controller for VCS. However, it’s somewhat confusing for the company to shift resources towards creating new accessories for consoles that customers don’t seem to embrace on a large scale.