'Ataribox' news: Atari to make a hopeful comeback after 20 years of absence in gaming industry

The Atari 7800 video game console. This photo features the redesigned joypad controller, that was included with European versions of the console.Wikimedia Commons/Evan-Amos

After Atari was unable to make noise 20 years ago with the failure of the "Atari Jaguar," the upcoming "Ataribox" stands as a hopeful ticket for the gaming company to get back into the video game business.

Regardless of not having a lot of information released from Atari, one thing that the public is certain about the upcoming gaming device it the console's appearance. Available in either black/red or wooden panel finish, both designs will sport a more modern look with sleek black plastic casing. Many have suggested that Nintendo's NES Classic inspired its creation. The console also features an SD card slot and six ports, one for HDMI, four for USB, and one Ethernet cable port.

According to VentureBeat, Atari CEO Fred Chesnais admitted at the Electronic Entertainment Expo admitted that the console will be built and function on "PC technology." Naturally, an Atari game console will focus on classic game favorites, but the "Ataribox" is said to "also be delivering current gaming content" as taken from their newsletter to fans, hinting that it could offer gaming similar to that of PlayStation and Xbox. The company, however, has not released a list of game titles that can be played on the "Ataribox."

Although there is a high desire from customers on what the new Atari product can provide and why it should be considered as a new competitor in the modern day gaming world, the classic gaming company is not giving any more details on their latest project. In a newsletter fans from the company shared by Kotaku, Atari tell customers, "We're not teasing you intentionally; we want to get this right, so we've opted to share things step by step as we bring this to life, and to listen closely to the Atari community feedback as we do so."

Despite having no official release dates for the Atari console, speculations suggest that it will arrive toward the end of the year.