The gaming industry has been focused on the PS5 and Xbox Series X for the past few months, but they are not the only new gaming consoles. There is also the Atari VCS, which hopes to offer gamers "something different."

Michael Arzt, COO of Atari VCS, said as much when interviewed by T3. He believes the new console will offer "something different to gamers who are fed up with the repetitive nature of the console wars."

The Atari VCS was first announced in 2017 and has been in development for some time. The console was originally slated for a spring 2018 release, but the crowdfunded system did not reach gamers until late 2020.

The VCS system itself is also a custom mini-PC inside a retro gaming-inspired enclosure, which Arzt says is key to its prominence. The Atari VCS is intended for the living room, but to "combine the benefits of a console, a streaming box, and a multimedia PC."

In other words, the Atari VCS can not only play a variety of retro and modern games, including streaming titles, but can also be used like a traditional PC. It can browse the Internet, work, and even play PC games. In addition, Atari's website advertises the device as having a "unique PC mode" with Google Chrome and upgradeable RAM and storage. Apparently it is compatible with Linux, Windows, Steam OS, and Chrome OS. [One YouTuber has installed Windows on an Atari VCS and is playing Cyberpunk 2077.

"There has been a lot of interest in the VCS as a PC.

Indiegogo backers have already started receiving their consoles, but those who want one for themselves still have a chance to pre-order an Atari VCS. Currently priced at $390, the console comes bundled with a retro Atari-inspired joystick and a modern controller that takes many cues from the Xbox wireless controller. Shipping is free, and the console should arrive this spring.

Specs include 8GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (expandable via USB and SSD), AMD Raven Ridge 2 APU (a combination of an AMD Ryzen CPU and Radeon Vega GPU), four USB ports, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HDMI output, and 4K support are expected.

It may not be as good as the next-gen consoles, but it's a lot easier than trying to figure out where to buy a PS5.