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Atari: celebrating 40 years of gaming history
Forty years. That's a long time in the tech industry and Atari knows it. Today it celebrates four decades in the game, and quite the tale it is. Highs, lows and everything in between, Atari has been there. As one of the most influential brands both in gaming and technology, it only seems right to take a look over the company's history and chart some of the more significant twists in its less than straightforward journey. After the break we speak to the man that started it all and the one currently at the helm, as well as some of the many people whose lives were irreversibly changed by its influence. Happy birthday to you, Atari!
Test Drive dev Eden Games goes on 'symbolic' one day strike
In response to previously unknown plans at Atari to lay off approximately 51 of Eden Games' 80 total employees, the Test Drive Unlimited developer is staging a "Symbolic Day Strike" today. A statement sent to Gamasutra from an unnamed Eden Games employee explains the act as a response to what the studio believes is "mismanagement" on the part of its parent company and publisher, Atari, and an effort to engage Atari president Jim Wilson directly. The Eden Games message claims that Wilson has "never introduced himself to his employees." The proposed cuts at Eden, said to be taking place this coming June, are supposedly the result of a change in Atari's focus, as it moves away from packaged retail goods and towards MMOs and games with online-based business models. Eden Games' latest projects -- the Test Drive Unlimited series and Alone in the Dark -- have all been retail-centric, potentially spurring the decision by Atari to cut staff at the studio. An Eden employee clarified that the strike was in direct response to stalled negotiations with Atari, and said that Eden "didn't receive at this time any information or feedback from Atari management." The representative also noted that internal projections put the studio's latest effort, Test Drive Unlimited 2, at around 900K units sold to date.
Atari revenue down, but MMO business blooming
Without an equivalent of the Ghostbusters game, Atari's revenue for the nine-month period from April 1 through December 31, 2010 was, well, a bit busted. Through the first three quarters of its current fiscal year, the publisher has reported €41.0 million ($55.3 million) in revenue, down 55.7 percent from the same period in 2009. However, Atari doesn't seem too bugged by the decline. In its latest earnings release, CEO Jim Wilson said that current-year revenues are "in line with our outlook and show a continued shift toward fewer but more profitable retail releases and the growing online games market." And, in fact, Atari's online revenue has increased by €15.3 million year-over-year to €18.4 million ($24.8 million) through nine months, thanks to Champions Online and Star Trek Online. Revenue from online games represented a whopping 44.9 percent of Atari's total net revenue for the period, compared to just 3.4 percent in the first nine months of its previous fiscal year.
Atari loses Jeff Lapin as CEO, taps Jim Wilson to replace him
Atari is still shaking things up at the ol' corporate HQ, it seems. Current CEO, Jeff Lapin, has resigned from the position he took almost a year ago to this day. Lapin, who spent time at both Take-Two and THQ prior to his Atari gig, will be succeeded by Jim Wilson, Atari's now-former president and deputy CEO, Gamasutra reports. Lapin leaves the company on good terms, it seems, stating that he believes Wilson's "leadership and management skills" will help drive the company forward and that he wishes "Atari and its employees great success." Wilson's been at Atari a bit longer than Lapin, having first signed on to work with the company back in 2008. Since then, Atari has lost a lot of money (though it's trying its hardest to get back into the black) and re-focused its efforts into producing "fewer but more profitable games." Atari board chairman Frank Dangeard isn't sweating the future, though -- Wilson "has the board's full support as he continues to drive new goals of growth and success" for Atari, he says.
New digital strategy director appointed at Atari
Former business development and marketing consultant Alex Chung has become the senior director of digital strategy and distribution for Atari, according to a press release issued by the publisher this week. "Alex joins Atari as we continue to drive our business into the online market," said Atari president Jim Wilson of the new hire, referencing his company's online push over the last few years. In his past, Cheung worked with Ubisoft, NHN America and Yahoo in "various business development and advisory roles." He'll be reporting directly to Atari's Jim Wilson, who, as we all know, reports to the Almighty Pong himself. Oh, is that not how game corporations work?
Atari picks up former EA Online exec to lead European arm
In Atari's march towards an online-oriented business model, the company issued a press release yesterday announcing the acquisition of John Burns, former senior director of European online publishing at EA. Burns wil be in charge of European operations for Atari, reporting directly to president and CEO Jim Wilson. "John joins Atari at time when we are transitioning our business toward online while maintaining a focused retail business," Wilson says of the new hire, referencing both of the company's Cryptic-developed MMOs and the handful of upcoming console titles on the release calendar. Meanwhile, Burns has some unsurprisingly kind words for his new corporate overlords. "Atari has the key ingredients of a focused strategy, compelling intellectual property and consumer brand recognition to meet its global growth objectives." And between both of the aforementioned MMOs -- not to mention Atari's publishing deal with Turbine -- Burns has a full plate of properties to push in the EU. And of course there's always the issue of returning to financial solvency sometime this year -- something the company promised in its last revenue statement. Good luck with all that, John!
No more confusion: Atari drops Infogrames name
Despite Infogrames standing for entertainment that rocks our world, the armadillo branding is gone and now only Atari remains. CEO Jim Wilson tells 1UP that the company is now officially doing away with the Infogrames branding to put focus on the more "popular target brand" of Atari.Well, hopefully the name change helps. Currently the company "moved" its president, shut down European operations, shifted publishing rights for a major title and couldn't afford won't make it to E3. We're sure there's more, but let's try to stay optimistic with the name change. For what's in a name?
Atari's CEO wants you to know how it will stay back in black
We've already witnessed the news that made us go, "Wha?" -- Atari actually turned a profit this past financial quarter, even though it was just a measly $3.5 million smackers. GameDaily went a little more in-depth in their interview with brand-spanking new Atari CEO Jim Wilson to find out what the company's plan is for staying profitable and earning bigger margins, and we'll sum it up for you here: "We really, really, really hope Alone In The Dark continues to do well," and "Location, location, location!" Yup, it's trying like mad to establish a strong footing in the North American market.The trouble with that scenario is that the most exciting Atari title we were shown at E3 was What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver for the DS. Atari is relying heavily on N+ and Backyard Sports to make a splash... but will it be enough to keep its head out of the water? The publisher needs a huge smash that can potentially turn into a franchise to keep things rolling, or else release dozens of marginally successful titles for the DS and the Wii to make things stick. Either way, the interview is an interesting read. While we don't want to see Atari fade into obscurity and bankruptcy again, the company has a hard row to hoe. Photo credit: Evil Angela's Flickr feed
