Hey guys! Ballistik Coffee Boy from YouTube (Brian) here. Just wanted to blog about this topic for a moment. “Turning the Atari Hate Trend Around.” It sucks to even have to post something with that title in my blog, but, its happening. Here goes…
So, as Atari fans, we are no doubt used to the constant undermining & backhanded comments about Atari as a company, past, present and future, and as we know, there are many different ideologies about this within the gaming community (most of it complete garbage based on the past.) Most of this comes from repeating what others have said, or involve click-bait headlines or “gotcha” titles for videos about how much the 2600+ sucks (without understanding its purpose), how much the VCS blows (without knowing its also a mini-PC and indie gaming system for under $300) or whatever new game is out by Atari that people can pick on and endlessly belittle it for “not being the next Starfield” or what have you.
First of all, some talking points.
When people approach me saying that “Atari isn’t one of the big 3,” well, obviously. I can’t stand it when people state the obvious!! Atari will probably NEVER be one of the big 3 or 4 video game companies anytime soon; this is mainly due to the huge stigma against the company, the small company that modern Atari is, the reverberations of blaming Atari for the video game crash of 1983, and what they are able to do and who they are able to partner with within the gaming community of 2023. When folks say that Atari doesn’t have a “5 star” game like Starfield or any other major titles, yep, not going to argue with folks there. (However, I would argue, that Atari 50 and BPM Boy come close!) They simply don’t, however, that does not mean that the games Atari releases or partners with others to create are ANY less significant, fun or engaging. Some folks simply like to slam the lid shut on Atari & not even give their games or products a try, because of a preconceived hatred or dismissal of the once great titan Atari. I find this shameful & ignorant, and I don’t even click on click-baity anti-Atari videos. You probably shouldn’t either. You like what you like. End of story. You’re a grown ass adult and you can make up your own mind. (I also know as a licensed mental health therapist that you WON’T change anyone’s mind about something if they are over the age of 18, or earlier, about most things. So these are essentially videos that feast upon those who like anti-anything coverage, which is sad. Your viewers’ minds are probably already made up, its a waste of time, really, and just adding to the negative toxicity on the internet and YouTube.) Choose what you watch wisely.
Second, when people approach me saying Atari is a sell out, this may be due to the fact that prior to the VCS, Atari was willing to slap their name or branding on pretty much anything, from headphones to t-shirts to koozi’s or whatever. They still do this to a degree, and I think it’s perfectly fine. Merchandising & branding is a huge part of business, like it or not. I see just as much XBOX, Nintendo & Playstation branding everywhere (and even MORE SO), so I don’t get why Atari is picked on so heavily for this. Again, it’s easy to bully a smaller company around and “look good” for doing so, but, in fact, it shows to me that people are too scared to pick on one of the major 3 or 4 video game companies. Bullying smaller companies is akin to bullying a smaller kid at school; it’s just sick & pathetic. It shows they have a bully pulpit mentality, and most of their YouTube video titles or articles contain click-bait headlines. “Is the VCS on the way out?” or “Who cares about the 2600+?!” or how sucky the Arcade1Up Atari 50 cab looks. It’s an easy way for SOME folks to get clicks, to pile on the anti-Atari hate, and it makes me sick. If you ask me what I think of the Atari 50 cab… I think it looks great. It’s all about perspective. Are there too many 50’s on it? Sure. What other cab by Arcade1up contains over 60 games? Just this one. (Alternatively, the new Atari VCS has over 100 games available, much more than any previous Atari consoles save for the original 2600.)
Third, when those within the greater Atari (new and old, for ex. VCS vs Atari 2600) communities begin turning away folks because of an extremely tyrannical moderator on a group or forum, it shuts people down and turns them away. This is a further example of WHAT WE HAVE WITHIN OUR POWER TO CONTROL within our own greater Atari community. (A changing of mods may be in order for some sites.) For example, the issues I have faced with AtariAge for the past 15 years or so, definitely turned me away from Atari for many, many years. (A former mod apologized last week, I accepted and moved on, so this is not going to be me piling on the AtariAge hate.) This isn’t necessary and it’s really counterproductive. All of these (excuse my French) ‘old geysers’ on AtariAge who are “Atari Purists” don’t realize that yes, we know this isn’t the same Atari that made the 2600, that much is obvious. They also aren’t going to live forever, so there needs to be a ‘handing off of the torch’ or a ‘working together’ moment. “Atari isn’t the company it USED to be.” However, was that even a better company? What about the fact that when Warner bought Atari back in the day (wayyy back in 1976), it was also no longer the ‘same’ company, yet, many people still love post Warner Bros Atari. It doesn’t make sense. It’s a bullies’ way of trying to justify their hatred. It doesn’t exist, and they are making it up for brownie points, to just be ignorant, for followers or the like. In fact, Atari was bought by Infogrames way back in April 2008, which is FIFTEEN YEARS AGO. Its called Atari SA now, but it’s still Inforgrames. What gaming companies have been around 15 years, let alone 51? Get a grip people. Companies change & grow a million times, with mergers & acquisitions & what not. What video game company that’s been around over 50 years hasn’t made huge mistakes? Atari didn’t have a blueprint like Nintendo or XBOX or PlayStation did. Atari made the sacrifies & learned the hard way as the first. We owe them much. That argument is dead in the water.
Atari MADE the blueprint.
Fourth, and finally, as a ‘greater’ Atari community, both new and old, both 2600 and VCS, both Jag & Lynx, both Flashback and Atari 5200 or 7800, we need to COME TOGETHER to embrace ALL Atari fans & enthusiasts. This much to be is OBVIOUS. When AtariAge announced they were being bought by Atari (Albert posted this last week on the AtariAge forums and it was widely reported by me and others) he stated that ‘new’ Atari was now coming into it’s own, paying ‘proper’ homage to its roots and releasing some great new hardware. This is a good start. However, I noticed when I put out my piece about my “Atari(R)Age” issue that not a peep was said by Albert, to this story or others that have appeared in this YouTube or greater gaming communities about how terrible the forums are managed or how communist some of this ‘moderation’ can seem. AtariAge agreeing to be bought by Atari is a good start; however, the PROOF is in the PUDDING. If AtariAge (or Albert) truly want to embrace new VCS fans (or old/new fans such as myself and Tony Barnes/RetroNinja) they NEED to ackowledge that mistakes have been made and changes are coming. I understand that moderation is a sucky job but ‘somebody’s gotta do it,’ but not acknowledging past mistakes is an issue I see not going way and, in fact, continuing, but in order for both new & old Atari fans/gamers to come together, AtariAge and Atari need to actually come together and validate past mistakes with AtariAge and wrong their rights, by properly moderating, not banning people for loving on the VCS, and by giving content creators like myself the space to promote our videos and Atari (old & new) love. By not doing so, they are essentially shutting the door on collaboration, potentially making new Atari (new/old) fans by them seeing or being made aware of this new content, and everyone collaborating and making space for one another, I feel, as Atari.IO and Club VCS does, is the best path forward.
After all is said and done, it’s up to US as Atari fans to help bridge the gap, between new and old Atari, between AtariAge and Atari.com and sites and creators like my own who are often shunned for posting video links to our own sites. The gatekeepers and elitist attitudes need to GO. Surely… this should just be in the same category as everything else, and by halting the promoting of such sites as my own, they are essentially shutting Atari out of free publicity, free positive sentiment and pro Atari love all the way around. I encountered this recently when I randomly joined an Atari VCS Facebook group for the 2600+ and Atari VCS. The moderator literally limited my posting ability, I left the group & at the same time found out I had been banned, all for just erroneously posting a link to my site like I had done on my status update on AtariAge. (I then reposted both posts without any link or mention of my page, just saying hello, and THOSE were also removed.) I DON’T GET the Atari fan on Atari fan hate. It doesn’t help. Anyhow, after following their weird rules, I found both sites had little to offer anymore and am glad I moved on from those toxic forums, where what is posted is dictated by one biased person with their own ‘view’ of what ‘Atari’ coverage SHOULD BE. We should celebrate one another & hold one another up… Atari has an EXTREMELY SMALL fanbase, looking at what is out there today, but nonetheless a VALUABLE & IMPORTANT one. We’re literally fans of the company that started it all, let’s celebrate the old & new together. Atari has been 11 companies or what have you. ALL of them have contributed to the success we see today, as well as fans new & old alike… to the 2600 to the new VCS, the 2600+ and much, much more.
As Atari releases the Atari 2600+, shows its dedication to promoting & selling homebrew Atari games from AtariAge, publishes new & old exciting games with Nightdive Studios & gobbles up more game IP’s, I hope that the trend also starts to turn around. Atari has some very cool things up it’s sleeve, and if my sources are correct, this is only the tip of the iceberg.
To this day, whether i play “Pitfall” on my Atari 2600 or play “Atari 50” on my Switch or VCS, I know that Atari has left behind a huge legacy that will propel it forward with new exciting opportunites & games, consoles, partnerships & more. We can either celebrate that as fans together or seperately in our own little boxes we’ve put ourselves in. The choice is up to US.
As always, opinions and takes vary, so let me know your thoughts below.
Thanks for listening. (Oh, and Happy National Video Game Day!) Go play some freaking Atari! 🙂
BCB
Ballistik Coffee Boy. 
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