Why Atari Could Win The Next Console War

I remember long drives in the car moving back and forth between Colorodo and New Mexico with two exhausted Gen-Xers in the front seat, who were either running from family drama or toward moderately better work prospects in the hope to better support their two young kids in the backseat. During these long drives I found comfort in the backlit LCD screen of the odd folding block of a Gameboy SP I "bought" for myself with a combination of cash procured through birthday cards and hard work cleaning base boards and wiping counters to 80s music blasting out of our CRT television tuned to one of the many radio TV channels of the era. Of the limited number of cartridges my parents were able to afford for me to jam into it, I find that one four game compilation (a wise strategic purchase by my parents of limited income) had a profound impact on my later appreciation of an era of gaming I had no temporal tie to. As well as, planting an unescapable preclusion for me to locate and earn the highest score of any available Galaga cabinet in every arcade I step into.

Namco Museum, a title only later I would recognize as subconciously enamoring me with the legacy of gaming, was released in 2001 for the Gameboy Advanced as a stripped down port of its five previous Playstation counterparts released between 1996 and 1997 in North America. The primary discrepency between the two ports is the lack of the 3D interactive museum environment in the Gamboy edition, which on Playstation offered access to a wealth of marketing materials and concept art for players to explore between playing the classic titles.

Skipping forward two decades later and I found myself through a series of life circumstances once again sitting in a car with one of those same Gen-Xers now on my way to work to support my own young kid. Now in my hands, however, I hold a Steam Deck bought with a tax refund as the steady stream of birthday cards has run dry these days. Yet, like my younger self before me, I find myself playing through another museum of arcade hits before my time in the form of the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. Its 150+ compiled titles would have staggered my younger self who was more than content with his measly four (while also making my parents' economical Gamestop used game purchase look like highway robbery.) The collection, like the Namco Museum series before it, also features beautifully curated concept art, flyers, manuals, and in an advancement on preceding compilations also contains oral histories from a number of key personalities in Atari's history from Atari cofounder Nolan Bushnell to Howard Scott Warshaw (Yars Revenge). Inside these interviews these creators come off as candid and passionate gamers and game designers drawn in to the burgeoning industry of gaming for its limitless potential, and then having their visions of grandeur crushed by the corporate maneuverings and misunderstandings behind the scenes which even Bushnell makes a pointed comment about in the final interview of the timeline. Listening to these designers and then playing their games began to get me thinking of what a world without the game crash of '83 would have looked like? Then my mind drifted to loftier visions of what an Atari comeback today could look like, if the same limitless design potential and passion of the late 70s could be revitalized with a little nostalgia thrown in to thrive off the Atari name. What follows is a thought exercise, if you will, of how Atari could revitalize its iconic titles and gameplay innovations while transforming them into modern day gaming hits. As well as, what kind of revolutionary hardware these games could run on in order for Atari to be in place to win the next console war.

I bought the Atari 50 compilation as part of a Humble Bundle which also contained a number of Atari's recent Recharged series of titles that take their iconic IPs like Asteroids and Berzerk and gives them a graphics upgrade, some powerups, and tighter controls while retaining their core gameplay. The majority of these games are fantastic improvements on their 70s and 80s counterparts that enhance the intensity and action of each title. However, a part of me feels like they feel like sequals that could and should have come out either in the arcades or on systems like the 7800 with their enhanced technology. With that said, among these titles Yars Recharged rises above the rest by truly innovating on its predecessors by transforming the classic 2600 title into a addictingly hectic twin stick survival shooter that I couldn't put down for hours. The reasoning for this discrepency in my opinion is that Yars Recharged took the essential gameplay of an insectile space warrior interchangably shooting or chewing through an enemy shield while simultaneously avoiding enemy fire and preparing to launch a final destructive blast straight into the now defenseless enemy core, and expanded on each of these concepts in exciting and innovative ways. For example, the destroyer missile in the 2600 title was a slow moving homing projectile that put pressure on the player to constantly be moving or face destruction. In the Recharged title, the destroyer missile has been replaced by a number of procedurally generated turret configurations that launch either aimed projectiles or patterned projectiles intermittently that fill the screen with tiny dots of red doom for your Yar pilot. I also would be remiss to not mention that these turrets when destroyed also drop powerups for your Yar cooresponding to the turrets primary form of attack. This simple alteration makes the gameplay experience of Yars Recharged feel leaps ahead of its 2600 counterpart as it adds a new level of strategy to your assault against the Qotile as you dodge through return fire and use their own powerful weapons against them to clear your way to their base and blast it to oblivion.

So if Yars Recharged can innovate on the gameplay on its 2600 roots and create something that feels modern and exciting, then what other titles from Atari's long history as the top name in gaming can be revived with a modern game design ethic? This appears to be a question Atari itself is asking as well with the upcoming release of Fatal Run 2089, which looks to revisit Atari's Fatal Run series of post apocalyptic vehicular combat racing games. With modern graphics, a comic book estetic to its cutscenes, and tight controls this new entry seems poised well to jumpstart a new era of game design within Atari that could be the engine for reintroducing a number of their legendary brands to a new generation of gamers. Even as a bystander to this new direction for the company my imagination runs wild with the opportunties to redesign and bring some Atari classics into the 21st century. Outlaw releasing as a western themed battle royale introducing a new look and setting to a market glutted with similar bland copycats of Fortnite, who itself copied an Arma 2 mod and Monopoloy's licensing model. Combat as a tactical birds eye to third person view strategy title with an emphasis on dynamic tank piloting and action. Adventure as a rival to the Legend of Zelda's open world puzzle dungeon dominance. Haunted House as a truly chilling survival horror title to rival greats like Resident Evil. Star Raiders starring arcade hero Major Havoc as the protagonist for an epic space opera of cunning starfighter pilots against an advancing enemy species large enough in scope to become Atari's Halo.

The ammount of IPs Atari developed during its long history is its greatest boon today as it can innovate upon decades worth of game design while releasing titles that showcase its position as the first major video game developer with iconic and evocative titles like Combat and Adventure. However, if they continue to release their games to the wider game market by putting them on every platform they will limit the strength of their brand identity. A fantastic Atari game lineup needs an equally strong console for their games to run on, which in today's gaming culture means a powerful handheld that is dockable for couch play as consoles like the Switch and Steam Deck dominate the market. This portability is a major seeling point for modern gamers, and is one that Atari's current entry to console gaming the new VCS lacks. With that said another handheld, even one from an iconic name in gaming, runs the risk of falling in the category of third party copycats that have proliferated since the Steam Deck's success. Therefore, Atari doesnt just need a fresh redesign on similar hardware but instead should capitalize on the brands greatest strengths, nostalgia and innovation.

Since when this article was first theroized Atari has announced their new Gamestation GO. While this handheld capitalizes strongly on Atari's existing library of titles it doesn't have the specs or hardware to make it more than just a brand name emulator. It is my belief that the ideal Atari handheld is one thats design harkens to its roots with the VCS's black control interface and red buttons at its heart, and couples it with competitive future proof hardware to outlast its contemporaries. The latter of which also making this handheld a simple and reliable design platform for developers to support with third party titles and more importantly exclusives as discussed above. Atari also has a history in the handheld gaming market with the Lynx giving the Atari brand a go to name for its new console. These three factors will work to appeal to the nostalgia of Atari's existing consumer base, while drawing the attention of prospective consumers anticipating the launch of a second generation of handhelds to come.

Atari has every asset it needs to become the name gamers will associate with games into the next decade. With an array of iconic IPs to innovate upon, brand identity as strong as Nintendo, and the history of being innovators in gaming at its very dawn, Atari is more than poised to win the next console war and reclaim its place among the greats.