I have teamed up with Kevin Horton, creator of the Puma (a portable Atari 2600 that fits inside a Sega Nomad case, here’s his site) to get some custom PCB’s going for the next revision Atari portable, code named ‘Phoenix’.  Hopefully this unit can be produced in great enough numbers to supply the demand.

That said, I am once again taking pre-orders! Please click here for details!

In the meantime, I am still building Rev 5’s and working on the VCSp Gold.

I was at Best Buy last week, buying all of their pocket TV’s as usual, when I saw something. The latest Casio portable, the EV-4500! This sucker has a 4 INCH screen! So, I asked the guy if he could pull it out of the box. I examined the unit and did my usual ‘guess the internal layout without taking it apart’. I deduced that it could be adapted fairly easily for a VCSp, and the thing came with free batteries so I was sold!

I then decided that this awesome TV would be used to make VCSp GOLD – the absolute best Atari portable ever made.

New Features will include:

4 inch screen, MUCH larger than the 2.5 inch screen on a Rev 5. In fact, the largest full-color screen on any portable system ever (to the best of my knowledge)

Joy pad and paddle control on the right-hand side of unit (like the old days)

Cartridges slide in the back, like a Gameboy.

TV / GAME switch. Just like the old systems had, but in this case it allows you to watch TV on the unit. The antenna pops out the top of the unit.

Classic black, aluminum & wood grain coloring.

Headphone jack.

More features & a bigger screen, but still the same size as a Rev 5.

Full-size RCA video out jacks for play on your television, no need for a special cable.

Totally new look with Real Gold Leaf all over the thing.

Pending Features (yet to be completed):

Runs off normal AA batteries with increased efficiency.

I have paused my pre-sale list as most of you know, but I am taking offers to sell the VCSp Gold. It will be completed near the end of July, and it will be a one-of-a-kind special edition. Pictures will be posted on this site  immediately upon completion. Anyone interested in buying what will no doubt be the ultimate classic gaming machine in history should contact me. When the time comes I shall take the highest offer.

Here is the review you’ve been waiting for! Can’t decide between a new, high-tech Gameboy Advance and the retro-cool VCSp? Well, then, read my review! I’ll rate them both (completely without bias!) to give YOU, Joe Consumer, all the facts you need to make the best decision!

So prepare yourself for the biggest, most epic battle of 2001! VCSp vs. GBA!!!!!!!

ADDED! Super-cool new VCSp IN A CAVE wallpaper! Better than any allegory! Download yours now before they’re gone!

Hello again! Well, with just a sidebar advertising prices I have snagged 50+ pre-orders for Ataris. Not bad, but I must ‘pause’ taking pre-orders for a while. I can’t build them terribly fast and I don’t want to disappoint people.

Production could be sped up quite a bit if I could get some custom PCB’s made. I have no experience making them nor the software to design them. If any Atari fans out there with the know-how to do such a thing would like to contact me about designing such a board, please do. There would be per-unit royalties involved, and I can fill you in on the specifics of what I need.

Also I have been toying with the idea of have other people build VCSp’s for me. Basically what I’d do is supply the person with a ‘how-to’ manual and some custom case parts, and they would be responsible to assemble the unit. People would order the units through me, and I would then ‘farm out’ the work to others. This would speed things up for the buyers, though it would involve the touchy issue of me giving out my construction details.

So, if anyone would like to help, and especially if anyone can help with PCB’s, please contact me using the EMAIL button above. Infrogrames will probably never make an actual new ‘Atari’ system, so it’s up to us!

I was in Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine’s July issue I have heard. Yes, just when you all thought the Game boy Advance was the coolest thing ever, along came my VCSp.  Anyway, I can remember reading that magazine WAY back when the Turbo-Graphx 16 was first released (CD QUALITY SOUND AND MIND-BLOWING GRAPHICS!)  but I never would have thought I’d be in it one day. Still waiting for my email from Nolan Bushnell!

A note on production. Even though I am doing my best to build these things for people, the reality of it is that I’m swamped with more requests than I can handle with any sort of speed. SO! If there are any entrepreneurs out there that would like to discuss any business ideas please drop me a line! Why? Because PEOPLE WANT IT!

I think the problem that recent owner(s) of Atari have had is that they think Atari is just “Asteroids”, “Missile Command” or “Pong”. They think of it like Hollywood does movies. Get the rights, then remake the old stuff over and over, or get people to buy something they already (ahem,  DVD!)

Atari isn’t a just a list of titles that did well in the arcade…
Atari is an IDEA.

Atari isn’t a bunch of re-programmed games slapped on a CD for play on a computer monitor using your keyboard…
Atari is sitting up all night eating chips and soda, peering at the interference-filled screen trying to beat your friend’s top score while holding a crappy uncomfortable pizza-sauce stained joystick.

Atari wasn’t just a company…
It was a way of life!

And I think that’s what people want. They want a way to relive those old memories. And that’s what I’m trying to help with, as best I can. Why am I doing all this? Because there are those of us who have loved videogames ever since their inception. And to us, Atari is king.

Long live the king.

As some of you may have noticed, I have very subtly begun taking pre-order names. (See the right-hand column). So far 7 Atari VCSp Rev 5’s have been built and sold. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but Mike and I are getting pretty proficient at these things, cranking out 3 a week…

(These pictures, which were NOT staged, show us hard at work on the VCSp’s of the future…)

     

The largest problem I find now is getting enough screens. The VCSp Rev 5 uses an RCA pocket television model L2501:

I can only find these at Best Buy and they RARELY have more than 2 a week in stock (which I always plunder). So my question is this. Could potential VCSp buyers purchase this TV themselves? That way, the supply of these screens would not rely on ONE Best Buy store, but stores all across the WORLD! A VCSp buyer could get the screens, then ship it to me (along with an Atari for trade) and I’d have all the parts to build a VCSp, without all the running around and searching on my part. And of course, the price of the VCSp would be $130 less… OR if anyone knows where I could get these in bulk, that would also help.

Email and let me know what you think! An arrangement such as this could certainly speed production.

 

After nearly a year, another VCSp has finally been built in glorious black coloring! Surprisingly, I’ve gotten very few emails saying “why are they blue, they’re supposed to be BLACK!” so I guess people are OK with a blue VCSp, but deep down in my heart I knew I had to get them Back In Black.

The material I’ve been using to make VCSp’s is actually a graffiti-proof sign material called Densetec. Therefore, it’s hard to stick ANYTHING to it, let alone paint. This black coloring was accomplished using an epoxy resin mixed with black enamel. For a look that shines!

I am working on getting some custom molds designed for these things (which can be painted easily) but until then I can use epoxy enamel and vinyl to color the units I currently have. This will probably add about $20 to the cost of the unit. Is it worth it, I wonder?