Paul Morris on July 18, 2017, 1:33 am

First Look Of Ataribox Revealed By Atari

It’s extremely difficult these days for large corporations to keep new products and offerings under wraps and away from the public domain prior to an official release.

Atari seems to have managed to do exactly that after initially teasing its “brand new Atari product” at this year’s E3. Aside from a small 20-second teaser video, we haven’t really seen much about the new hardware. That is, until now.

The aforementioned initial 20-second teaser video didn’t provide us with a great deal of information about the hardware but did give us an insight into the potential stylings of the product, with a strong suggestion that it would come with an exterior inspired by the classic Atari 2600. Those visuals were also in line with an email sent out by the company to registered Atari fans, suggesting that the business wanted to “create something new, that stays true to our heritage while appealing to both old and new fans of Atari.”

And now, with visuals of Ataribox finally making out to the public, it seems that the hardware will definitely appeal to old-school Atari fans thanks to its aesthetics inspired by the classic 2600. That classic design is morphed with modern visuals with indicator lights designed to glow through the material and keep the user informed.

The new Atari will feature integrated SD card slot, four individual USB ports for accessory input, and a HDMI port to connect the hardware to a high-definition TV. The company will also be releasing two different versions of the new Atari; one in stunning wood finish, and one finished in black and red.

From a gaming perspective, it seems as though Atari isn’t going to do anything miraculous or particularly groundbreaking. The plan here is to bring classic games and content into a modern environment, which sounds very similar to what Nintendo has already achieved with its modern versions of the NES and SNES Classic editions. The idea of classic and iconic titles being available on new hardware themed to look retro is clearly one that resonates with consumers, and clearly one that Atari wants to benefit from with the release of Ataribox.

There’s no current information available about pricing, the games which will be offered or even release dates at moment, with Atari suggesting that it wants “to get this right” before making any further announcements.