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Atari Is Down For the Count.....


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The article claims every company that has owned the Atari name has gone down in failure. Pardon my potential ignorance, but is Hasbro really that bad off? It seemed more like they just grew disinterested with the video game industry when it wasn't quite the cash cow it used to be. They certainly weren't on the verge of bankruptcy at the time, or at least that's the impression I had.

 

Am I wrong?

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The article claims every company that has owned the Atari name has gone down in failure. Pardon my potential ignorance, but is Hasbro really that bad off? It seemed more like they just grew disinterested with the video game industry when it wasn't quite the cash cow it used to be. They certainly weren't on the verge of bankruptcy at the time, or at least that's the impression I had.

 

Am I wrong?

 

 

No, it stated every company that has tried to use the Atari name and properties since has failed, i.e. "financial defeat". Some more spectacularly than others of course, but failed none the less. As you state:

 

when it wasn't quite the cash cow it used to be

 

That is failing, no matter how you want to try and reword it. If its turning a profit, you don't sell it off. Hasbro sold off their entire video game division because it was failing, this included the Atari Interactive sub-division. Their Atari line of titles were failures, both critically and financially. However, unlike the others, Hasbro Interactive was hardly the entire company nor did it account for much of the overall product sales for the company. I.E. Hasbro was (and still is) primarily a toy company that dabbled in video games. So when their project failed, they simply simply sold off the properties. Ironically, they've since bought most of Hasbro Interactive back from Atari Inc. and Infogrames (excluding the Atari properties which are still under the original Atari Interactive corporation bought in the purchase).

Edited by wgungfu
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I guess I'm not really all that surprised - it seems like the current Atari has been going downhill for some time now (sadly). The other sad thing is that the article is totally right about people not realizing that Atari still exists - the Atari name just wasn't pushed hard enough to make it noticeable. A little strip on the side of the box the says 'Atari' just isn't enough, although I admit that I think that putting Atari stickers in the boxes with their games was a nice touch.

 

If only they could have made a section for Atari titles, perhaps they would have gotten the name recognition that was needed.

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I’ll probably get shot for saying this but I don’t really feel the same connection to the Atari that exists today versus the Time Warner version I grew up with. Reminds me of Coleco and how another company has made and effort to resurrect that name brand. Not really the same company I bought my Colecovision from so many years ago. I guess if I can’t walk into a department store and purchase games for either of those systems (2600/Colecovision) then it’s really hard for me to get all nostalgic about a company that hasn’t existed (at least to me) since the late 80s. :(

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As you state:

 

when it wasn't quite the cash cow it used to be

 

That is failing, no matter how you want to try and reword it. If its turning a profit, you don't sell it off. Hasbro sold off their entire video game division because it was failing, this included the Atari Interactive sub-division.

 

I can accept that, though on another day I might argue that there is a difference between cutting your losses and going down with the ship, which pretty much every company to hold the Atari name except Hasbro has done.

 

Actually, while I know it's not quite the same company, what about Atari Games?

Edited by skunkworx
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You know, part of me just wishes that the Atari name and IP would just vanish into history, never to be "revived" again. A couple of reasons for that:

 

1) I hate shilling for corporations. I don't wear shirts with brand names or logos plastered prominently on them for just this reason. I'm not paying $20 to advertise for some company. My gameroom, however, makes me look like a bit of a hypocrite, with Atari products and posters all over the place. I figured that since the original Atari went out of business in the early nineties, it was ok. Especially since most people don't know that the brand name has been revived. But I know that someday, someone will say "Hey, Atari! Aren't they the ones who make those shitty Backyard Sports and Dragonball Z games?"

 

2) If the Atari name and IP became public domain, fans, homebrewers and other people who actually care about it could use it.

 

3) Every time someone tries to revive "Atari" and fails, it just becomes more and more embarassing. Let it go while people still have SOME fond memories left.

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So..why not let the Atari name be MARKETED properly, and by that I mean this....ATARI is RETRO. That's where your market is!

 

Correct me in my logic, but the only reason I buy anything with an Atari tag on it is because of the retro games. I think there's enough of a market for a profit....simply look to FB 1 and 2.

 

The plugnplay games still turn a profit. Why not Atari?

 

Why NOT find some way to produce an inexpensive console just like the FB2, but with this key difference...GAMES!!!

 

And look at the quality of the homebrews...these games are GOOD. Imagine if they hired on a team of guys who are DEDICATED to the retromarket? THAT to me sounds like a good business plan.

 

It won't provide profits enough to sate the hunger of say, a Hasbro, but to make a profitable company? I'd say YES. The technology is already there! The retro scene hasn't died out, although it has stabilized.

 

I really wonder what could happen if some smart people with some REAL vision got their heads together on this.

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Atari needs to be purchased by a company leader that was brought up with Atari. When the French, were starting to have interest with it, I sold my stock and went back with GM, Nintendo (Tokyo Exchange), and a lot of the Penny Stocks (Look what happen to Xerox this way). I have a hunch that Ubi Soft, will buy it next, or most likely, Take Two Interactive.

 

Anthony...

Edited by fdurso224
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Hmm... I guess that means no Flashback 3, huh? :sad:

 

Hey, maybe Albert or Curt or one of us can buy the Atari name for a song? Should we start up a collection?

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

 

I got some Atari Redemption Certificates(ARCS) to invest!

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Ok well If i know anything about this, now listen here, Atari the name is going down because of sales, basically they fail because they suck at knowing what the kids want, im being Honest here

THE THING ATARI NEEDS!@@@@@@ <<< EMPHASISE ON EXISTANCE OF THE ENTIRE COMPANY

it needs to smarten up and get a good developer or brand a big name game.

It will send it back.

The games they've made lately to be honest

suck

Driv3r ???

Like wow its a lame copy of GTA

 

if Atari Went in with the MMo field im sure as heck they'd succeed

THOUSANDS pay for monthly membership to these MMO's

Something im shooting at here,

they need help they need a big title,

or they are as good as gone

sure theres a MILLION other things they needa worry about too,

But i mean this big one in my eyes from what i know

=[

what you guys think>?

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if Atari Went in with the MMo field im sure as heck they'd succeed

THOUSANDS pay for monthly membership to these MMO's

This is my thinking as well. I did some research on the MMO market a couple of weeks ago before deciding to start up with mobile games.

 

The problem is that it's not clear how much money Atari has, or how much it can genuinely expect to be able to raise to fund such a project. Remember that WoW reportedly cost Blizzard $60million to make. EVE Online appears to have cost between $2million and $3million.

 

But you're right. MMOs are the future of gaming and there are plenty of people out there willing to pay for even half decent games.

 

 

Or we can hold a collection to buy Atari and the IPs from Infogrames ... if only to keep the Atari name from being embarassed further by incompetent developers.

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It's still a 27 million dollar company (though if I were Infogrames I'd probably take 20M or even lower). Kinda wish I had that kind of cash!

 

Hmm... I guess that means no Flashback 3, huh? :sad:

 

Hey, maybe Albert or Curt or one of us can buy the Atari name for a song? Should we start up a collection?

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

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if Atari Went in with the MMo field im sure as heck they'd succeed

 

Aren't they doing this already with Neverwinter Nights?

 

 

Sort of i guess, well they need better marketing because i watch tv every day,

i see repeated world of warcraft ads, and such, <<< TAKE SOME TIPS FROM BLIZZARD

like jeez.

ive honestly never heard of it,

i betcha if they got the word out they'd do even better,

and to be honest im going to give this MMO a shot,

atm im playing Gaia MMO ( in 9 days when released) :)

Ive played guild wars since release,

ive played WoW,

Runescape,

Ff11

EverQuest

 

i love MMO's and i know howmuch a month i spend on them,

so by common sense i'd say this is the field to focus into now adays for gamers,

but thanks for that link, im gona check it out,

but ok serioulsy

i do alot of this stuff and i've heard the name of that

ONCE in my life o.o'

obvioulsly not advertised enough,

Make a new expansion they should.

:) prolly do them well if they advertised aswell.

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ok what does that mean for the people who got C&D letters for using Atari?

if infrograms drop Atari, they can free up the name and logo for others to use.

I kind figued Atari was starting to go down.

 

Not currently using using the Atari name vs. still owning the name and IP are two different things. It would not invalidate the C&D statements. Just as Midway can still issue C&D's for using "Atari Games" or "Williams" if they wish.

Edited by wgungfu
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I’ll probably get shot for saying this but I don’t really feel the same connection to the Atari that exists today versus the Time Warner version I grew up with.

 

That would be the Warner Communications version you grew up with, Time Warner didn't exist yet. ;)

 

 

Can't say I completely disagree, though Curt, myself and others have tried to bridge the gap for them whenever possible.

Edited by wgungfu
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