Atari CEO confirms a new console, says it's based on PC technology

Atari is a legendary name in gaming, but the classic arcade-era company has been out of the home console market for quite some time — until now, that is.

Shortly after a tease for a mysterious "Ataribox" was uploaded online, Atari CEO Fred Chesnais confirms that the long-running game company is working on a new console, according to VentureBeat.

During an interview, Chesnais said that Atari is "back in the hardware business," but gave little else in details other than that its upcoming device will be based on PC technology, and will be formally revealed later down the road.

Given the old-school wood grain finish on the Ataribox's concept design, it's most likely that Atari's new machine will be similar to Nintendo's NES Classic Edition, offering a way to play retro games with some added modern conveniences.

Adding to this hunch is the mention of "PC technology" that Chesnais says will power the Ataribox. Retro consoles like the NES Classic Edition (and homemade variants) are, in a very broad sense, just boxes with a dedicated emulator inside that could run on a computer OS.

Granted, that's just us speculating (pretty much all game consoles are based on PC tech in some way or another) but a nostalgia-inducing dedicated console also wouldn't be a stretch for Atari — after all, the company's Atari Flashback machines predate Nintendo's plug-and-play NES Classic Edition by several years.

Though it's still too early to tell where Atari is going with its newest console, we hope it learns a lesson from the Nintendo's latest retro machine and ensures customers might actually get a chance to buy one before discontinuing it.