Not to be outdone by the sudden return of Pebble to the world of wearables, another brand of old has announced its own “smartwatch”.
The Atari 2600 My Play Watch comes with four classic games that can be played on its 2.02-inch TFT touchscreen: Centipede, Missile Command, Pong and Super Breakout. These are controlled by a rotating crown that works like the paddle controller, and a button designed to feel like “classic controller buttons”.
It’s durable, too, with the metal bezel and IP68 rating protecting it from the elements “in everyday environments”.
Costing $79.99, the watch ships on June 10 with three bands inspired by different elements of the Atari 2600. The built-in fitness tracker also monitors heart rate, steps and calories burned throughout the day, just like some of the best fitness trackers on the market.
But there’s one way where Atari has taken a different approach from other wearables on the market — by deliberately sacrificing a core feature.
Smart or dumb?
The word “smartwatch” is in quotation marks in the first paragraph because although the company refers to the wearable as such, it lacks what some people would call the defining feature of the product: it doesn’t connect to your phone.
Yes, there’s no Bluetooth and no Wi-Fi. And that seems to be a calculated decision, rather than a cost-saving exercise.
“Designed with Selective Tech, the My Play Watch has all your favorite smartwatch features without the data tracking and distractions,” the company explains in the listing. “No Bluetooth and no Wi-Fi means freedom from nonstop notifications.”
What’s more, in a nod to the pre-internet days when Atari ruled the gaming roost, the watch is opting out of the culture of software and firmware updates. The software on the watch — MyPlayWatch OS — is sold as is, and will never be updated.
“Your My Play Watch will never update and therefore never become obsolete,” the company writes. You are invited to keep using it until it stops working, without worrying about the inevitable slowdown that comes with added features and fixes.
The software on the watch — MyPlayWatch OS — is sold as is, and will never be updated.
It’s a very different approach to other wearables. Indeed, one of the key benefits of the earliest smartwatches was as a ‘screen away from screen’, ensuring you could pocket your phone and not miss anything.
Nowadays, the main selling point is often for health tracking, but notifications remain whether we want them or not.
It’s hard to say whether this is genius or a gimmick. After all, it’s not hard to disable smartwatch notifications if that’s your preference.
On the other hand, in a world where notifications rudely interrupt every part of the day with seemingly no understanding of what constitutes ‘urgent’, it’s hard not to be a little bit smitten with Atari’s take, whether it catches on or not.
