Talk about a real blast from the past! In what could have some wondering if they’re hallucinating due to a case of Pac-Man fever, we now hear rumblings from Atari that they might start churning out hardware again!
Atari CEO Frederic Chesnais said in a recent interview that it’s time for the company to spread their wings a bit more and venture beyond just software. Keep calm however, as the move will not involve a traditional return to the console market. Instead, they would take a more outside the box style approach. “I’m not talking about a new console… but, like, a watch. A gamified watch. It’s not what we are going to do, but think about something like that. This isn’t to say Atari is necessarily planning to release a watch with its name on it. Like a new type of watch is something we ‘could do.’ A watch, branded, where you don’t have an ‘ordinary watch.” Chesnais said.
Yeah, you heard it right. Atari just said they want to make a Dick Tracey-esque watch that plays games. While that sounds a bit weird, the brainstorming sessions didn’t stop there. Chesnais also talked about other ideas which could involve integrating tech into your everyday wardrobe. “… you have a jacket.” Chesnais states. “We have a plug-in so you can power your iPhone or Android. You had a solar chip on your shoulder so that you power… so that you never run out of batteries. Things like this. Would you buy an Atari watch? Would you buy an Atari Jacket…I think you would.”
While these ideas are certainly…um…”interesting”, I also have a few ideas for the hardware wing of Atari. Check back tomorrow as I reveal a sweet new piece of Atari tech that all classic gaming fans would love to own!