Ataribox runs Linux on AMD chip and will cost at least $250

Ataribox runs Linux on AMD chip and will cost at least $250

DEAN TAKAHASHI SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 11:00 PM

Atari released more details about its Ataribox game console today, disclosing for the first time that the machine will run Linux on an Advanced Micro Devices processor and cost $250 to $300.

In an exclusive interview last week with GamesBeat, Ataribox creator and general manager Feargal Mac (short for Mac Conuladh) said Atari will begin a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo this fall and launch the Ataribox in the spring of 2018. The Ataribox will launch with a large back catalog of the publisher’s classic games. The idea is to create a box that makes people feel nostalgic about the past, but it’s also capable of running the independent games they want to play today, like Minecraft or Terraria.

The new box will have an AMD custom processor with Radeon graphics. It will run the Linux operating system, with a user interface it’s customizing for TVs. Mac said that the machine will run PC games, but it will also be capable of doing streaming, running apps, browsing the web, and playing music. As far as games go, the machine will run the kind of games that a mid-range PC can do today, but it won’t run Triple-A games that require high-end PC performance.

Atari will factor in feedback from fans, particularly on things like content, colors, special editions, early access, and design options. But it has made some key decisions on the design, which pays homage to older consoles such as the Atari 2600, which debuted in 1977. Mac joined Atari for this project, and it wouldn’t be happening without his involvement. As an aside, he’ll be a speaker at our upcoming GamesBeat Summit 2018 event on April 9-10 in Berkeley, California.

Mac thought of the idea for the box when he saw kids and their friends connecting laptops to TVs so they could play Minecraft and other software that they didn’t have readily available on consoles. Mac has been involved in technology companies for years. His past companies include FMTwo Game, Now Computing, and MediaLab Barcelona. As Atari started talking about the project, Mac was astounded to see how much love people had for Atari.

“I was blown away when a 12-year-old knew every single game Atari had published. That’s brand magic. We’re coming in like a startup with a legacy,” Mac said. “We’ve attracted a lot of interest, and AMD showed a lot of interest in supporting us and working with us. With Indiegogo, we also have a strong partnership.”

Mac said Indiegogo will be able to offer stronger international support for crowdfunding as well as hardware support. As a Linux-based open system, the Ataribox will also promote freedom for users to run what they want. Users will have free access to the underlying OS to customize as they wish.

“People are used to the flexibility of a PC, but most connected TV devices have closed systems and content stores,” he said. “We wanted to create a killer TV product where people can game, stream and browse with as much freedom as possible, including accessing pre-owned games from other content providers.”

In an interview with GamesBeat in June, Atari CEO Fred Chesnais confirmed the company was working on a new console as part of both a retro revival and a new era for Atari. The New York company is cashing in on the popularity of retro games and Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition, which turned out to be surprisingly popular for providing a method to easily play old games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda in HD on a TV. Atari’s classics include Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, and Pong.

“People are used to the flexibility of a PC, but most connected TV devices have closed systems and content stores,” Mac said. “Ataribox is an open system, and while our user interface will be easy to use, people will also be free to access and customize the underlying OS. We’ve chosen to launch Ataribox with Indiegogo given their focus on delivering technology products, and their strong international presence in over 200 countries, allowing us to reach and involve as many Atari fans around the world as possible.”

“It’s a very flexible product, and you won’t need to spend more money if you don’t want to,” he said. “In some ways, you are buying some freedom.”

Atari will discuss details on the content and partnerships later.

“With Ataribox, we wanted to create an open system, a killer product where people can game, stream and browse with as much freedom as possible. Atari games and content will be available as well as games and content from other providers,” said Chesnais, in a statement. “We also wanted to launch Ataribox with our community, and reward our fans with exclusive early access, special editions, and include them as active participants in the product rollout.”

https://venturebeat.com/2017/09/25/ataribox-runs-linux-on-amd-chip-and-will-cost-at-least-249/

Sounds like it's an upgradable PC.

p.s. the Atari Jaguar also launched at $250 in late 1993.

Steam Machine revival :D? You all laughed at me but it was I who got the last laugh!!!

On a serious note I wonder what is considered mid range performance by them, they said it won't run AAA games that require high end performance but there are non since they're all playable on mid range PCs. I wonder how they got the price to range from $250 - $300 and have it be a mid range PC performance wise, especially with the significant increase in PC parts lately, some sort of special large company deal or something? Is it at least better than the PS4 and Xbox One in performance, since that is all it needs to last this gen without needing an upgrade. Considering how thin it is TC it seems impossible for it be an upgradable PC in anyway outside of HDD and RAM.

I wonder what kind of controller the system would come with, it would be best for it to come with a Steam controller since people are likely to want to play things that aren't just Atari classics especially if they want this system to sell and Xbox and Dualshock don't work natively on Linux like Steam controllers unless they go out of their way to implement it themselves like Valve did for SteamOS. I wonder if Atari has talk with Valve on possible partnership or anything, but then again its probably for the best they do this with their own Linux distro since Valve is moving at a snail's pace and waiting for the super long term goal.

Mid-range PC and $250 to $300 box.... RX-560 level perhaps... RX-470/RX-570 would be hard to reach $300 price target.

PS4 Pro's $399 price tag and without optical drive would be difficult to reach $300 price target.

Box size... RX-460/560 level....

Custom AMD APU.... it's not PC APU with either 8 CUs (Carrizo with Tonga type IGP) to 11 CUs (Raven Ridge with Vega type IGP).

RX-560 has 16 CUs with up to 2.6 TFLOPS.

X1X's fastest Jaguar CPU variant being used again?

Possible to use AMD's mobile Excavator CPU with RX-560 GPU in a multi-chip module.

so another half baked ubuntu box like steam os yay

There's a lack of competition in $250 to $300 price segment with AMD dominating this price/performance segment.

AMD has two near throw away X86-64 CPU families i.e. Jaguar and Excavator... Jaguar is available on up-to date FinFET process

so it will just play "independant games"

so this will be nothing but indies with an atari virtual console..... for 250 or 300 is a bit too pricey imo.

I hope they use Raven Ridge generation APUs since they'll be Vega and Ryzen based

@NoodleFighter: I'm still laughing at you regardless, Mr. SteamOS will kill off Windows 10

@NoodleFightersaid:

I wonder what kind of controller the system would come with,

My sources tell me that it will come with:

...I'd buy it.

I mean, it's gonna flop big time, but hey, at least it looks cool. If it can play indie games and lower spec AAA games, like maybe PS3/360 games, I would gladly get this.

Always happy to see more gaming hardware. (Though, I'll admit, it's a tad bit unneeded)

Be like Sony, games, games and games.

I could bite then.

@FireEmblem_Man: You're never gonna let me live it down are yah?

I don't recall ever saying that SteamOS/Linux would kill Windows, I mainly believed that at the rate support for Linux gaming was going that in the next 5-10 years Linux could be almost as viable as Windows as an option for gaming on PC.

I was pretty certain that's what it would be - although I didn't expect quite that price point. I hope it's powerful and feature rich enough to justify that

it looks nice. more consoles should use wood in their construction. i'm more inclined to build my own PC and stick a linux distro on it though soooo......i dunno. i need to know more. certainly more info on the APU.

also whats ataris plans with games support? is this a one shot deal like the nes mini or are atari going to treat it like sony, MS and nitnendo treat their consoles (developing games, working with devs to improve development, working with 3rd parties to get games on their system, working on upstream tech to improve gaming performance on linux etc.).

and what is the controller like?

The good side of it, is Linux gonna certainly have loads of ports from it....

And for this reason only, i'm gonna support it...Even with my b***** backlog :/

sounds like they are trying to make something similar to a Steam Machine, and we know how that turned out. Also, LOL at the people that said that the Steam Machine will kill off consoles.

But enough of that, what they have to show us is the games it will be able to play.

AMD aimed Raven Ridge's Ryzen 5 Mobile Pro against Kabylake Core i5 mobile hence it may not be cheap. http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/amd-vega-20-and-ryzen-5-pro-mobile-say-hello.html

https://ark.intel.com/products/95443/Intel-Core-i5-7200U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz

Intel® Core™ i5-7200U is priced at $281.00 (Prices are for direct Intel customers, typically represent 1,000-unit purchase quantities).

Using PC's Raven Ridge APU wouldn't be "custom AMD processor.".

$299 price range... that's PS4 Slim APU with 20 CU GPU price range, hence why I selected RX-560 based GPU range.

AMD's Vulkan linux drivers is already working on PS4's Liverpool APU. $399 price range PS4 Pro uses 36 CU with Vega NCU updates.

It seems AMD has two new semi-custom design wins i.e. Tesla Motor and Atari.

AMD's Bristol Ridge APU has Polaris based GPU IP with 8 CU and Excavator v2 CPU with 4 threads. https://www.anandtech.com/show/11669/amd-releases-bristol-ridge-to-retail-am4-gets-apus

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcochiappetta/2017/09/26/amd-scores-another-custom-chip-design-win-with-the-upcoming-ataribox-game-console/#45da26e918a4

Year 2016 era AMD FX-8800p "Carrizo" APU can run XBO era games with 8 CUs, let alone newer APU variants from year 2017 era Bristol Ridge APU with Polaris GPU IP or Raven Ridge APU with Vega GPU IP.

You're aiming too low.

Semi-custom indicates AMD's existing PC APUs are not enough. Raven Ridge's Vega based 11 CUs would be PC's first APU to rival XBO's semi-custom APU with 12 CUs.

But you also bought an Alienware X51, didn't you?

Edit: Also, not even in your dreams that Atari is fitting a Raven Ridge APU in the AtariBox. If anything, they need something that will make them a profit if they're aiming a base $250 price tag.

Am I the only one who finds it hilarious that the AMD semi-custom win people were fighting about for year, assuming it would power the NX, ended up in an Atari console of all things?

The thing that I'm most curious about is if it will have some paddle controllers. My favorite thing about the Atari 2600 is the paddle controller games like Kaboom. I will definitely buy this new system if it has paddle controllers since that will open up the door for it to have a type of games that has been missing from the gaming industry for too long and something that you wouldn't be able to experience on any of the other consoles.

Bring back the paddle controllers!

AMD's Raven Ridge SoC is being placed as "Rzyen 5 Pro Mobile". "Ryzen 5" is not a budget priced SKU.

Rzyen 5 Mobile Pro has 4C/8T Ryzen (single CCX module) with Vega 11 CU. Rzyen 5 Pro Mobile doesn't have latency penalty from desktop Ryzen 5's two CCX split modules.

Being "custom" indicates non-PC APU SKU.

Okay.... So, what the fuq are you talking about? I know that Ryzen 5 Pro Mobile wouldn't be budget. Atari will use something that will allow them to reach at least a $250 base price. They also plan on making a $300 price model. Which is why I doubt they will go use a Ryzen base APU w/Vega.

My guess would be 16 nm FinFET SoCs from either XBO Silim or PS4 Slim based and both existing consoles has $240 to $299 price range.

I don't think AMD is restricted from reselling PS4 Slim SoC to other customers. Minus optical drive reduces the BOM cost.

Since AtariBox runs with PC Linux OS and graphics API (e.g. OpenGL and Vulkan), turbo clock speed modes could be re-enabled for the CPU and GPU.

PS4 Liverpool APU already runs Linux with AMD's official Vulkan drivers. It just needs CPU clock speed increase e.g. 2.5 Ghz. The fastest quad core Jaguar has been overclocked to 3.1 Ghz.

Okay, that's all I'm saying. It won't be a Ryzen APU, but an affordable SoC for Atari. Yeah, possibly Jagur in 16nm FinFet.

I didn't buy an X51 either.

I realized Raven Ridge ain't happening unless they got AMD to make a low spec version for them which I doubt they have the money to get them to do. I wonder what kind of customize chip they're getting that separates itself from the usual OEM PC parts, if they're really going for mid range PC performance I get the feeling they're gonna go down the PS4 and Xbox One route where they use a very weak CPU so they can focus more money on a more powerful GPU. This thing will probably have a very small HDD storage capacity too and likely under 7200rpm.

AtariBox's risk for end users is less than other solutions since this box is X86-64 based PC with open access.

For the size comparison...

@airraidjet:

Using HDMI port as reference for size comparison

The following picture shows PS4 Slim's back ports

The following picture shows AtariBox's back ports

I remember when I used to back hand my Atari 2600. Good ol' days man, before you was even in your daddy's sack I was smack'n dat 26. Then Galaxian thought it was gonna take my quarter and hand me a low score. Say..I say low score me? Aw hell naw! I came with fly'n colors man, came to be the best!. I check paper with those game manuals, ya know what I mean? I used to pick up those Atari carts in the morn'n, pick em up, get suited and booted, start slam'n my true joysticks ya know what I'm say'n? If you from dem days, dis outta give you a thrill, just let you know what you miss from back in dose days.

FYI, I was with Commodore camp and played with MS-Basic for a long time.

It seems AtariBox is thinner than PS4 Slim.

AMD's Stoney Ridge SoC is AMD's low end PC APU, but AtariBox was quoted to be like a "mid-range PC"...

From http://linuxgizmos.com/amd-r-series-system-on-chips-dip-to-12-watts-support-ddr4/

AMD pushing "open source Linux" and "Merlin Falcon" SoC.

AtariBox is also pushing Linux and AMD based APU.

http://linuxgizmos.com/amd-r-series-hits-the-jackpot-on-casino-gaming-sbc/

AMD's involvement with casino gaming hardware which Atari is currently involved in.

AMD's Merlin Falcon SoC supports H.265 video decoding and HDMI 2.0 just like Polaris GCN generation.