Atari VCS Pre-Orders Are Live, Crashing Indiegogo's Website Due To Demand

After being renamed earlier this year, the Ataribox--now known as the Atari VCS--is available for pre-order. This is happening not through traditional orders, however, but instead an Indiegogo campaign that has very quickly blown past its target goal.

There are a variety of purchase options available; the basic system with no controller is $249, although there are discounted early bird options (as low as $200) for those who pledge now. There are joystick and gamepad bundles also available, while both of those controllers are available on their own for $29 and $49, respectively. Additionally, you can opt for a collector's edition of the system itself that features a front panel made of real wood for a classic Atari look.

The campaign's $100,000 goal was "flexible," meaning it didn't have to be met for the company to receive the money. But that looks as if that won't be a problem, as the campaign blew past the goal within minutes, even crashing the Indiegogo website. It remains difficult to access as of this writing but has topped $500,000 in about 30 minutes. [Update: After a day, it stands at just over $2 million.]

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The campaign page--provided you can reach it--outlines what to expect from the VCS, although many questions remain. We know it comes pre-loaded with over 100 classic Atari games (either based on the arcade or 2600 versions), such as Centipede, Asteroids, and Breakout. But it will also play newer games, though just what modern titles will be available and how they'll work is something we don't know a lot about at this point. Thanks to Linux support, Atari says you'll be able to load the system with custom software and easily use a variety of PC controllers and peripherals.

This Indiegogo campaign finally launches after a previous delay and will see the first VCS units ship in mid-2019.