You can pre-order the Atari VCS now, but it won't ship till 2019

Information has been trickling out about the Atari VCS, formerly the Ataribox, since we first heard about it last summer. Pre-orders and a launch date have constantly been in flux.

That changes today, as the Atari VCS is now available for pre-sale on Indiegogo, with an expected ship date somewhere in the middle of 2019. Two variants of the console are being offered, and they don't come cheap.

The Day One Collector's Edition is $339, but the "early bird pricing" is $299. It has a retro design with a wooden front packaged with a joystick and modern controller that's more along the lines of what you'd get with an Xbox.

Then there's the Atari VCS Onyx, which at the $199 Indiegogo price, is more affordable, but it drops the wooden facade for a glossy black one. However, it also doesn't include any controllers, which is a bummer. The Onyx's "regular" price is $249, and console plus a joystick sets you back $279. A bundle with a joystick and modern controller is $319.

Atari is also offering additional modern controllers for $49, the joystick for $29, and both for $59. All of these will ship in mid-2019 with the collectors editions going out first.

Atari reminds us that the VCS is not a classic edition console, but rather a modern device. It runs on Linux, features classic games in the Atari Vault, and new games should arrive after launch. However, it will not run more modern AAA games from bigger companies.

Chances are more will be confirmed and clarified as we get closer to the ship date. And since it's a year away, you have some time to decide if you will back it or not. The barrier of entry is not cheap, but as of this writing, the Indiegogo campaign is backed 773%.