Atari to release the Ataribox, its first console since the Jaguar

Nostalgia never goes out of fashion

Atari is planning to release its first new games console since the ill-fated Atari Jaguar of the early 1990s.

The iconic company, founded by industry legend Nolan Bushnell in the 1970s, hasn't revealed much more about its plans, leading to speculation that it is planning a 'retro console' based on the VCS, later rebranded Atari 2600, arguably the first popular home games console.

The Ataribox, as the new device has already been named, would follow the brief success of the NES Classic, released by Nintendo last year, just months before it launched the more modern Switch console.

"We're back in the hardware business." said CEO Fred Chesnais to VentureBeat during a chat at the recent E3 gaming conference.

It's described as being "years in the making" and based on "PC technology", suggesting its more than a simple retro device.

After going bust (again) in 2013, Chesnais has refocused the company on licensing and mobile, and claims that Atari is returning to profit again, so much so that it appears to have the working capital to start building stuff again.

The hardware is not set in stone as yet and will be revealed at a later date, and so all we really know is that it should be in the tradition of old Atari design, possibly with an illuminated logo picked out of the wood, but that could just be artistic licence.

The Ataribox website is live, but offers only the same video you see below, plus options for jobs and developers, and a sign-up box for the mailing list.

Clearly, we're not going to know too much, too soon about the Ataribox, but there's already a huge wave of excitement over the return of the brand that, essentially, started it all.

We're still waiting to hear what its plans for the Internet of Things are, of course. That was a year ago.