Since I am a Crystal Castles fan, I will go with Bentley. You could never knock the "Bentster!" Did you know he was originally going to be named Braveheart Bear? Atari decided on Bentley because they didn't want to racially offend the indigenous people in North America. I think it was a smart idea to name him Bentley. It fits.
Thanks for letting me share. :)
Somehow I'm not surprised by this. When Al removed homebrews that were related to IP, a lot of talk went around this possibility. I think this will be good for Al. Hopefully it is also good for the community.
Somehow I'm not surprised by this. When Al removed homebrews that were related to IP, a lot of talk went around this possibility. I think this will be good for Al. Hopefully it is also good for the community.
Change is the only constant, right?
The 20+ year run of AA as it has been has come to an end, and I am sad to see it end. My wallet and I have been a strong supporters of the homebrew community. I have been a big fan of Al’s vision to raise the bar on the quality of cartridges and game packaging to make the games as good or better than the games released back in the day. AA and its homebrews played a critical role in getting me back into Atari after so many years. Just as the original run of the Atari consoles came and ended, so an era of the homebrew community powered by AA has come to an end. I have the hardware and the games that will let me still enjoy and celebrate those times.
But a new chapter is starting. I will hope for the best and see where it goes. I do applaud Atari for the efforts that it has been making to grow the business, and I hope Atari will reach that point of sustainability. I may not like or agree with what Atari is doing, but I trust the passion and sincerity of those at the helm of Atari.
Now we will wait and see what Atari’s ownership of AA means for users and developers alike.
Somehow I'm not surprised by this. When Al removed homebrews that were related to IP, a lot of talk went around this possibility. I think this will be good for Al. Hopefully it is also good for the community.
My understanding is that the TB hacks play exactly the same. It's just changes on the border (with arcade style or dark) and, of course, true TB input. I think to include the hacks, the scores would have to be separated as the TB control is different and will affect scoring.
17599
Played this time on a real 7800 with a Tac-2 joystick. I think I prefer the PS1 pad, as holding down these old joystick buttons really hurts my hand!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ATTENTION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A reminder whatever anyone's personal take on this, KEEP IT CIVIL and no trash-talking Atariage (OR ANY OTHER SITE) NOT SAYING THIS HAS HAPPENED YET
but past experience on several occasions has taught us how discussions like this can quickly decline. WE are not a source of, nor do we encourage or foster any type of cross forums "DRAMA" our site is friends with and respectful of ALBERT and ATARIAGE. Everyone has an opinion but keep it civil, respectful etc.
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Posting a copy of these posts from Atariage for informational purposes as a courtesy for clarity and convenience, this will be the only one 😉 for anyone who cannot or prefers to not access over on ATARIAGE:
Pinned Post - AtariAge + Atari
Greetings!
I have an important announcement to make to the AtariAge community, and I'll cut right to the chase: AtariAge has agreed to be acquired by Atari, and I have come on as a full-time employee at Atari. This won't be a surprise to some of you, given the speculation I've seen over the past month.
The first thing I'd like to say is that this is not a decision I made lightly! If you asked me 20 years ago if I would have considered working for Atari (much less selling AtariAge to Atari), I would have said no. But fast forward to the present, and this is the first version of Atari I've seen since the 1980s that is taking many positive steps to restore the magic that we all associated with the original company, the Atari that left so many of us with enduring memories of experiencing the Atari 2600 for the first time, learning how to program on an Atari 800, or pumping quarters into the amazing arcade games produced by Atari in the heyday of arcades.
Atari is now taking its retro-related IP seriously and is creating a wide array of hardware and software based on that IP, while also creating new, original content. It is very exciting to see Atari release the 2600+, a new 2600 you can feed actual cartridges, and without giving anything specific away, this is just the beginning of what we're going to see from Atari going forward. Atari, for the first time in years, is targeting and embracing enthusiasts like ourselves, while also making products that appeal to those who grew up with Atari and have a fond nostalgia of the brand, but aren't steeped in retro gaming as we are.
I am very excited to be working for Atari, and with Atari's resources I will be able to make significant improvements to AtariAge over time. This also opens up many new opportunities for homebrew developers, where original games created by the amazingly talented community at AtariAge will have a much broader audience.
My role at Atari will be multifaceted, but my primary tasks, especially early on, will be to operate AtariAge as I have been doing for the past two decades. This includes managing the forums and the AtariAge Store. Longer term, I will have more time to significantly update the games database, something I've wanted to do for some time, but simply have not had the bandwidth for. And I will be moving the store early in the new year to a new ecommerce platform, something I’ve wanted to accomplish for a while now.
Since AtariAge’s modest beginnings in April, 2001, AtariAge has grown significantly. The early version of the site only contained the games database and forum, with the store coming later with a handful of titles. Fast forward to 2023, and I've published hundreds of games for a variety of consoles, and that shows no signs of slowing down.
There is an incredible community of talented developers, consisting of programmers, pixel artists, musicians, sound engineers, artists and designers all weaving their magic to create amazing games with stunning packaging. It is remarkable the talent that is involved in creating these new games, as well as new hardware, and I am honored that so many have allowed me to publish their games in physical form in the AtariAge Store over the years. And the store has allowed AtariAge to exist without placing advertising on the site, and we intend to maintain that ad-free policy going forward.
While I have greatly enjoyed running AtariAge and the amazing community that has evolved throughout this journey over the past two decades, it's taken an increasingly large amount of my time to manage. I had come to a point where I needed to make some sort of change, and I began scheming on ideas that would help reduce the amount of time it takes me to build and ship games. And I really have not been happy that the games database has languished over the years, as that was always an enjoyable area of the site for me to work on.
Early last year, Atari approached me about the possibility of working more closely together. Talks were slow at first, but they accelerated at the beginning of this year, and after months of going back and forth, we finally worked out a deal that benefits both parties.
What does this mean? Short-term, nothing is going to change. I will continue running the entire AtariAge website, including the forums and the store. Nothing is going to be neutered in the forums, and Atari will not have access to personal conversations, private forums and clubs, and so forth. No content is going to be removed from the forum, and those posting content will be liable for anything they post (which was already the case).
I will also be running the store, building games, shipping games, and publishing new games for the store. In fact, I am currently working on releasing over 20 new games on a variety of platforms for the upcoming Portland Retro Gaming Expo. Over time, and with Atari’s help, I will be able to more efficiently produce and ship these games, without sacrificing quality (which is very important to me). This will free up more of my time to make improvements to other areas of AtariAge, as well as embark on new and exciting projects.
Working with Atari was one of several possible solutions to bring some sanity back to my life. Other possibilities included shutting the site down and walking away, taking the store down and leaving the forum and games database, or some combination of the above. Or I could have just sold the site to some entity, whether it be Atari or another company or individual, without further involvement from me. However, it was very important to me to find a solution that allowed me to keep the forums and store running with my involvement. Working with Atari was the best way to do so while working towards the goal of reducing the hours I am working every week, while opening up new and interesting ways for Atari and AtariAge to work together that weren’t available previously.
AtariAge will still have a large, 45' x 30' booth at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo this year, which is 50% larger than any booth we've had in the past. And I expect this to continue each year going forward, with the possibility of attending additional events during the year rather than just PRGE each year. One fun thing we're going to do this year with this extra space is have several Atari 2600+ consoles on display, complete with a large assortment of games to play on them, including homebrew games.
As I mentioned above, this does open up some new avenues for homebrew authors. For instance, Atari is interested in bringing more content to their VCS platform, and a few homebrew authors have already been working with Atari to sell their games on the VCS (such as with Amoeba Jump and Tower of Rubble). And such arrangements don’t affect the AtariAge Store. I still plan on offering digital downloads in the store once I get the store moved to new software, which will be a primary focus of mine once I get through several other major tasks (such as surviving this year's PRGE).
There's also the possibility of original homebrew games being released in physical form under the Atari label if they do well in the AtariAge Store. With the new 2600+ console, Atari is certainly interested in compelling, original content to augment that platform, and of course the XP line will continue along as well. And I anticipate many other interesting possibilities over time as well. I feel this will greatly benefit the homebrew community, homebrew authors, and everyone who loves seeing new games for the Atari 2600 and other classic systems.
I want to thank all the homebrew developers who have allowed me to publish their games in the AtariAge Store over the years. You are a very important reason why AtariAge still exists and has thrived, and why AtariAge remains a free and ad-free website. It’s very rewarding to help authors realize their games in physical form with beautiful packaging, and your creations have helped keep the Atari 2600 and many other classic consoles and computers fresh in our minds. I look forward to working with all of you to further expand the library of amazing games for our favorite classic consoles and computers.
I also want to express my extreme gratitude to the moderators who have helped maintain some semblance of sanity over the forums all this time, especially the global moderators who have purview over the entire forum. I greatly appreciate the time you have put into the forum, as it's impossible for me to see everything that is posted. Without you, the AtariAge forums would likely not still exist! Here’s to another 20 years of discussing a wide variety of retrogaming topics on AtariAge!
Thank you for reading and take care,
..Al
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Pinned post - AtariAge + Atari Q&A
Here are a few questions and answers to get things going. As more are asked and answered in this thread, I will also add them to this post.
Will Albert Yarusso continue to be involved in AtariAge?
Albert Yarusso will continue to oversee AtariAge on a day-to-day basis and manage the forums, supported by volunteer global and individual forum moderators. In addition, Al will become Atari’s new internal historian, and will continue to work with homebrew developers seeking to bring new titles to market.
Is Atari planning any significant changes to the AtariAge site, forums or mission?
Atari has no plans to change the AtariAge site or its mission. The only near-term change that users will experience is the roll-out of a new ecommerce infrastructure, an effort initiated by Albert Yarusso that precedes Atari’s involvement.
How does Atari view the AtariAge forums and the community it supports?
Atari views AtariAge as an invaluable resource to the community of fans and developers who have supported the brand for 50 years, and to Atari as a brand and a company. The AtariAge community has contributed to the long-term resilience of Atari, the documentation of the company’s games, and sustained interest in Atari’s legacy hardware and software platforms.
Will Atari censor speech within the forums, including criticism of Atari?
The content of the forums is ruled by the posted rules of conduct, and enforced by the site’s moderators. Atari has no intention of censoring speech or restricting topics of conversation.
Somehow I'm not surprised by this. When Al removed homebrews that were related to IP, a lot of talk went around this possibility. I think this will be good for Al. Hopefully it is also good for the community.
My understanding is that the TB hacks play exactly the same. It's just changes on the border (with arcade style or dark) and, of course, true TB input. I think to include the hacks, the scores would have to be separated as the TB control is different and will affect scoring.
Somehow I'm not surprised by this. When Al removed homebrews that were related to IP, a lot of talk went around this possibility. I think this will be good for Al. Hopefully it is also good for the community.
I figured it would eventually happen since Al removed all the unlicensed arcade ports for "legal" reasons, and the AA store has better expereince at selling physical carts than Atari XP right now so it makes sense.
The homebrewing community on that site though, especially the ones that hate NuAtari, are gonna be PO'ed!
Somehow I'm not surprised by this. When Al removed homebrews that were related to IP, a lot of talk went around this possibility. I think this will be good for Al. Hopefully it is also good for the community.
I found this very compelling and thought I'd share it here. The reason for the different Worf attitude in Picard season 3 is shown in a deleted scene available on the DVD compilation. I'm kind of shocked they didn't show this in the show. It adds so much!
https://tvline.com/news/star-trek-picard-season-3-deleted-scene-worf-pacifism-watch-video-1235039249/
This week's Thursday featured video is about the Atari 7800, 2600, and XEGS Nintendo Power style magazine, The Atarian! I give as much information about its history as I could find and then we dig into the premier issue! Check it out here:
I hope you guys enjoy it as it's something I was really excited to cover. Any feedback is much appreciated! Stay tuned for more as we have archives of the podcast interviews going up Saturday and Sunday (with revontuli and Tailchao), and we have Knight Guy Castle Days in the next episode of Man vs 7800!
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TrekMD reacted to RickR in Atari acquired AtariAge
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TrekMD got a reaction from 7800 Pro Gamer in Atari 7800 Forever Podcast at 7:30 Tonight. One tomorrow!
TrekMD got a reaction from Smell Dawg in Atari acquired AtariAge
TrekMD got a reaction from MrZarniwoop in Atari acquired AtariAge
TrekMD got a reaction from Justin in The Atari Network feat. 7800 Pro Gamer YouTube Channel
TrekMD got a reaction from socrates63 in Atari acquired AtariAge
TrekMD got a reaction from MaximumRD in Atari acquired AtariAge
TrekMD got a reaction from RickR in Atari acquired AtariAge
TrekMD got a reaction from Sabertooth in Atari acquired AtariAge
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