Atari VCS Retro Console Preorders Open May 30th Priced At $199

Atari offered up some clarification on the retro-inspired woodgrain finish for the VCS, which has been shown prominently in press photos. According to the company, this version will be known as the Atari VCS Collector's Edition and will be offered on a time-limited basis during the preorder period. If the woodgrain trim is not to your liking, there's an Onyx version that offers a more modern black finish.

Both Atari VCS consoles will come with a Classic Joystick and a Modern Controller in the box and will be priced at $199 for a limited time. It stands to reason that after the initial quantities are sold, the price will increase to the $249 to $299 range.

AMD is providing the APU that will power the Atari VCS, and it is capable of supporting 4K video resolutions, and will support HDR content at up to 60 fps. The consoles come with onboard storage, and there will be support for external storage. 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 are supported, and USB 3.0 support is included for connecting peripherals.

"We continue moving forward on the Atari VCS project and are excited to see this pre-sale kickoff and to share more updates with our fans as we look toward the first shipments," said Michael Arzt, Atari COO of Connected Devices. "We are building outstanding teams and forging alliances that will make this product great and truly worthy of the Atari VCS name. Expert hardware partners are helping make this project possible and we couldn't be more pleased with their contributions."

Atari says that over 100 classic games will be available at launch including fan favorites like Asteroids, Centipede, Breakout, and Missile Command. As for when the consoles will actually ship to customers, Atari is simply saying "Spring 2019," which is probably disappointing for those that have been eagerly awaiting the retro console.