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Gamers of a certain age all have fond memories of Atari. Way back in the late 1970s, when consoles were in their infancy, they were the business that made arcade classics like Pacman, Pong and Asteroids accessible at home using a standard family TV set. Following the advent of newer consoles and the growth of PC sales, most people had written Atari off, but behind the scenes they’re still coming up with some fascinating new ideas – including a virtual casino.
Play and Win with a Choice of Digital Currencies
You don’t need to know anything about the history of this iconic name to get on board with their latest venture. The online virtual casino of Vegas City will be situated in Decentraland, a virtual space that uses blockchain technology to allow participants to gamble using digital coinage – in this case MANA, DAI and the recently-launched Atari Token – all of which can be used to win $DG, Decentraland’s own currency.
This opens up some interesting options: Not only will you be able to use any winnings to buy goods and services online, but any spare $DG balances you have can be used to vote on decisions made about the future development of Decentraland Games, so if a particular slot or table game you love to play isn’t available you could be offered a say in whether it’s added. What’s more, by using a digital currency, Atari will be able to sidestep much of the regulatory burden that can make running and playing at standard online fiat money-based casinos difficult.
Where Have Atari Been All These Years?
If you’re wondering exactly what Atari have been up to since their 1980s video game heyday, you’re not alone. They were bought up by family games giant Hasbro in 1998, but various consoles have been regularly launched to satisfy demand for their iconic brand of two-dimensional skill games.
In 2020 they even announced that they were venturing into the hotel business with sites planned in eight key US locations, though the COVID-19 outbreak has understandably kept this plan on hold. The accommodation was in no way a betrayal of Atari’s technological history either, with all the hotels designed to offer in-room digitally immersive experiences not found among their competitors.
They haven’t given up on their consoles either, with the Linux-based VCS launched in 2020, intended to offer both new and classic video games – though their new casino is the only product due to be released imminently that’s likely to offer anything particularly ground-breaking.
What Will the Virtual Casino Be Like?
Upon entering you’ll be given an avatar enabling you to cruise the casino floor, interacting with other guests’ avatars. Don’t, however, expect to see the usual run-of-the-mill games you’d find at a regular online casino. For starters, the slot and table games will be given specific Atari branding, which we think could work brilliantly. The classic Mount Fuji-style company logo is still seen on retro-style t-shirts today and occupies a special place in many players’ hearts.
Cash in on Your Video Game Skills
True to the company’s founders’ spirit the casino games Atari will be offering won’t be entirely different from the arcade classics that millions fondly associate with them. Play at this virtual casino and you can expect to find an element of skill mixed into some if not all the casino games, meaning you won’t just be relying on luck to make big wins. Instead, you’ll be able to put your hand/eye co-ordination to good use and actually win some cash in return for deploying some skill and nerve.
Many online gambling pundits have speculated over the last few years about the possibility of something like this and there have been some low-key entrants into the market, but no-one has ever tapped into the classic video game market like Atari. So, if anyone’s likely to produce a crypto casino with real games that let you win cash for shooting down aliens and escaping wobbly ghosts then this much-loved company has to be the outfit to bet on.