Atari sales down in Q1, online is the glimmer of hope
Atari announced that revenues were down 65 percent to €19.3 million ($25M) in the first quarter of its fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. The company didn't reveal any profit or loss data, but given its loss during the previous fiscal year, it's pretty safe to guess that Atari isn't doing so hot. Last year's Q1 included Ghostbusters and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, while this year had, according to the company, "only one major game" ... Sandlot Sluggers.
A small piece of "good news" during the quarter, which also included another major executive shuffle at the publisher, was that online revenues were up 320 percent to €8.4 million ($10.9M). The much-needed money injection was thanks to digital distribution sales and subscriptions for Star Trek Online and Champions Online.
Some of the hopes Atari has for the rest of the year include the reboot of Haunted House in September, The Witcher 2 next spring and "numerous casual and social online game releases based upon Atari's classic video game brands."
