We're all well aware that today's Atari is a very different beast from the one that blazed such a trail in the '70s and '80s with its arcade and console hardware.
The Atari name has changed hands multiple times since the company's halcyon days, and, to be fair, the modern-day iteration is doing a pretty good job of leveraging the incredible legacy of the firm after some rocky years.
However, the past decade hasn't been entirely plain sailing for Atari. Its much-hyped VCS revival ended up being commercially disappointing, and its ventures into non-video game worlds (like hotels) haven't exactly gone according to plan.
There's another non-product which really sticks in the minds of some Atari fans, however: the Gameband. Launched on FMTwo Game Inc. in 2017, this "smartwatch for gamers" raised over $325,000 on a $75,000 goal, enlisting the help of Atari to give the project more gravitas and weight. Ultimately, the Gameband raised over half a million dollars in funding.
"Atari, who brought gaming into the living room, are working with us to bring it to your wrist," said the crowdfunding page back in 2017. "Rewriting classic titles like Pong, Centipede and more for our 1:1 1.63" display, with flush glass format for easy swiping, Gameband Atari Edition comes in Atari Red, with a variety of straps that let you show your love for this timeless gaming legend. We'll be adding mini-games as stretch goals and looking for your help & input to decide which titles to choose."
It's worth noting, then, that this wasn't an Atari product as such; Atari was simply involved as a licensing partner (another variant of the watch would have featured Terraria). However, there's no denying that by getting the industry veteran on board, FMTwo Game Inc. legitimised the Gameband and attracted more buyers.
Sadly, the project fizzled out and was ultimately canned in 2018 – by which point, Atari had already pulled its backing from the project.
Explaining what went wrong, Feargal Mac Conuladh, the CEO of FMTwo Game Inc., said:
Ultimately the time, cost, and complexity have turned out to be far more challenging than we expected, and as a startup we simply do not have the finances or resources to continue to forge ahead. We have looked at it from many angles, met with new potential partners, and tried to find additional funding to keep going, however we have not been able to make progress.
Even more frustrating was that those who had crowdfunded the Gameband (prices started at $99 and went up to $259) never got a refund. Back in 2018, Conuladh said his team would do their "utmost" to refund buyers, but "for now, that is not the case. Our costs have far exceeded the $500k to date as we have dealt with the delays and technical challenges."
As was noted at the time, the interesting wrinkle in this story is that Conuladh himself was involved in the production and development of the aforementioned Atari VCS whilst also working on Gameband. He would later file a suit against the company.
Were you one of the people who backed this product? Let us know with a comment below.