Atari Pushes Back VCS Launch to Get an AMD APU Upgrade
The retro-inspired Atari VCS has been delayed yet again, this time to the end of 2019, in order to receive more powerful AMD graphics.
"We have now made the decision, in partnership with the team at AMD, to further enhance our VCS system architecture, " Atari said.
The Atari VCS will now be powered by a 14nm AMD processor featuring Radeon Vega graphics architecture and two “Zen” CPU cores. This new processor replaces the model from the “Bristol Ridge” family that had been in the plan since originally selected for the Atari VCS back in 2017. AMD’s all- Ryzen embedded chip will be faster, cooler, and more efficient, allowing the VCS to benefit from a simpler and more effective power architecture and thermal solution. The new processor includes built-in Ethernet, Native 4K video with modern HDCP, and a secure frame buffer that fully-supports DRM video (Netflix, HBO, etc.).
The North American release schedule for the device is now the end of 2019.
The VCS was originally expected by late 2017, and then by late 2018. This third delay adds yet another year to the schedule and puts the VCS on track to ship just before the new Intellivision console.