I would love for Atari to be something more than a company sitting on a pile of copyrights licensing out the name and residual IP rights of a long dead, once great, company. The thought of a legitimate Atari console competing in the modern market, while a nice pipe-dream, just doesn't seem realistic.
Between AT Games making many Atari 2600 games playable on the TV or as a handheld, The Retron 77 coming soon with the ability to play the original cartridges over HDMI and the innumerable collections that already exist on all of the modern consoles I don't see where they would fit.
Sure they could introduce new IPs, but the brand means next to nothing for most modern gamers and for older gamers the brand means nostalgia not cutting edge, but establishing a strong foothold without first building a new following and proving themselves on their competitors consoles would be a virtually insurmountable road block. They don't have the virtually limitless funds that Microsoft or Sony did when they joined the party, it would be Jaguar all over again; no funds, no third-party developers and no chance of success.
It's not the same company but they need to look back at what happened to Atari with the 5200, 7800, Lynx, Panther, Jaguar and see what has happened every-time this brand has made a poorly thought through attempt to recapture the magic of the 2600. I include the Panther because, while it may never have seen a release, it was a drain on what remained of Atari's limited resources. Even if this new project never sees the light of day, they could cost themselves what progress has recently been made at reviving the brand, and potentially the brand itself leading to yet another owner for the name Atari.
The VCS/2600 turns 40 in October. I have a feeling this is trying to somehow cash in on that anniversary. That would be an incredibly stupid reason to head down this path. I would much rather see them create something like a cartridge compatible HDMI system like the Retron 77 but with the fully compatible hardware of the Flashback 2 and the outer shell of an original six switch VCS. Include the "built in" games on a multi-cart to complete the appearance. That would be a proper anniversary edition. At least this flight of fancy is more realistic than becoming a top-tier console manufacturer again.
I wouldn't mind being wrong, I just don't see how.