Demand for the Atari VCS PC/Console Hybrid has far Outstripped the Availability of Components
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We are pleased by recent surges in preorders and excited that the Atari VCS will come to market in 2020, albeit in fewer quantities than our team had planned. Component shortages across the supply chain, which have caused delays throughout the year, have severely constrained our production capacity. Atari expects to fulfill 100% of our backer orders and a small number of pre-orders before the end of the year, but we do not expect to significantly ramp up for our full retail production until January 2021.
Indiegogo Backer Fulfillment in Mid-November
Our Indiegogo backers will receive their Atari VCS orders this year. All of the Atari VCS Collectors Edition units, Atari VCS Onyx units, and Modern Controllers are either in our U.S. warehouse, or in transit and scheduled to arrive before the end of October. Production of the Classic Joystick, which has been held-up due to a critical, and very scarce component, is now underway and they are scheduled to start departing the factory on November 5.
Atari to Expedite Joystick with Air Shipment
Atari is now importing the first batch of Classic Joysticks from the factory in China via air freight, rather than using traditional ocean shipping, in order to limit the impact of the production delay. Air freight will reduce the travel time from around six weeks to approximately 10 days and help ensure deliveries to backers before the holidays.
Limited Number of Pre-Orders Delivered Before the Holidays
A small quantity of Atari VCS 800 Black Walnut All-In bundles will be produced and shipped before the end of the year, with pre-orders being fulfilled in the order they were made until we run out of supply.
The biggest constraint to VCS production has been a specific part related to the AMD Ryzen CPU. While our team continues trying to source the part, the earliest delivery we have been promised to-date is not until mid-January. Assuming the part does arrive at that time, in the full quantity we have ordered, we will be able to fulfill all our remaining pre-orders in early 2021, and also begin to release units to the tens of thousands of people on our waiting list as well as our retail partners.
Looking Ahead to 2021
As the supply chain recovers further in 2021, and components and materials become more readily available, we expect the manufacturing situation to improve accordingly.
— The Atari VCS Team
