Firstly, Atari is to acquire AtariAge, which you could call a retro forum though that would vastly undersell what it is: over time this has grown into the best repository for everything Atari (as well as some other companies), both hardware and software, as well as being a major publisher for homebrew software.
“Atari is now taking its retro-related IP seriously and is creating a wide array of hardware and software based on that IP, while also creating new, original content,” said the site’s founder Albert Yarusso. "[…] Atari, for the first time in years, is targeting and embracing enthusiasts like ourselves, while also making products that appeal to those who grew up with Atari and have a fond nostalgia of the brand, but aren’t steeped in retro gaming as we are.
Sadly, this may mean the days of homebrew programming for the 2600 are at an end. AtariAge is where all those programmers sold their wares, along with homebrews for other platforms like Intellivision and ColecoVision. I’ll have to head back over there for the first time in a while to see what they say about it.
Atari
acquires massive Atari archive (AtariAge) after revealing a ‘new’ 2600 that takes cartridgesrecaptures their intellectual property rights over former abandonwareCurrent Atari is only Atari in name, they’re a completely different company.
From a hardware perspective, that’s been true since just after the 1983 crash, when it was sold to Jack Tramiel’s company – even before the Lynx and Jaguar. The software side was split into Atari games which has an even longer history of being passed around.
