Atari Historical Type Quesiton

[megamanical]

Okay, I haven't really spent much time looking for the answer, but I'd like to read up on how Atari went from Nolan to Infogrames. It sounds interesting. Does anyone have any links? Or a quick and dirty summary? Just curious!

[AtariDude]

Here is an interesting link for you:

 

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~morrikar/Chapter-1.htm

 

This is the Atari Time Machine. It does not include the sale to Infogrames of Hasbro Interactive that had owned the rights to the Atari library but otherwise it seems complete.

 

I also recommend visiting:

 

http://www.atari-history.com

 

This is Curt Vandel's excellent site on Atari and some of its products, both released, unreleased, and prototypes. Definitely worth visiting.

[AtariDude]

This one is a bit more short and sweet. Again, it is missing Infogrames purchase of Hasbro Interactive but otherwise it looks pretty complete.

 

Here is the link:

 

http://www.movieprop.com/videogames/atari/atari.htm

 

Enjoy

[megamanical]

Thanks for all of the information! I never thought I'd be interested in all of this other stuff after getting my 2600 (I got it only to play the games I had in childhood). But as I read this board, I found that there is alot of stuff about ATARI that is interesting. As kids, we were blissfully unaware of all the "business-y" things going on behind the scenes.

 

I found it interesting that people think that Pac-man helped start the decline for 2600. Back then, even though I knew the graphics and sounds sucked, I played for hours on end.

 

Ahhh, to be young and innocent again....

[DanBoris]

At lot of very interesting things went on on behind the scenes in the videogame industry back in the day. I would recommend the book Phoenuix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames if you want to read more about it.

 

One of the interesting things about Atari that I didn't know until recently was that Nintendo originally want Atari to sell the NES outside of of Japan, but (obviously) the deal eventually fell through.

 

Dan

[AtariDude]

For the book that he mentioned in the previous post, you can obtain at Rolenta Press's website. It is located at:

 

http://www.rolentapress.com

 

I would also recommend the book written by Steven L. Kent. The title of the specific book that I am thinking of is:

 

"The Ultimate History of Video Games". These two books compliment each other. Phoenix is more factual while Ultimate History is more based on interviews with those that there were in the industry that had a direct bearing on the success or failure of various companies and systems.

 

The book can be obtained through either Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com (bn.com).

[DanBoris]

Yes, Steven Kent's book is also a very good one. Some people may have read it under the title "The First Quarter".

 

.. and since we are recommending books, I've been reading High Score, The Illustrated History of Electronic Games by Rusel Demaria and Johnny Wilson. This is another great book that focuses heavily on computer games which is an area that doesn't get a lot of coverage in other video game books I have read.

 

Dan

[atarifan49]

and since we are recommending books...

 

 

Check your local library and see if they have a copy of Zap! The Rise and Fall of Atari by Scott Cohen. Very good book for a view into the Bushnell and Warner Atari. The book is also available in re-print. But if you find it in a library, you can check it out and see what you think first.

 

Hackers by Steven Levy. Doesn't talk about Atari directly, but talks about an individual who's very interesting to read about in the Atari community...John Harris. The book covers the 4 decades of computer hackers (and I'm referring to the original good definition of the term and not the modern day destructive form). Details the original Space War programmers at MIT to the computer game programmers of the '80s like John Harris. There's discussion in there when Sierra On-line Systems (Sierra Software today) ran into problems with Atari and their Jawbreaker game. If you ever go to CGE, you can usually meet John Harris in person. Very cool guy and loves to talk about how great it is to program the Atari 800.

 

Phoenix: Fall and Rise of Video Games by Leonard Herman continues on from where Zap leaves off.

 

Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World bt David Sheff (ISBN 0-679-73622-0) , but this has a chapter or two about Nintendo's dealings with Atari in the early to mid '80s. Opens up the door on the "what if Atari had...". Plus it gives you some insight into why Nintendo became as big as they did at one time that really hurt Atari in the retail chain.

 

Home Computer Wars by Michael S. Tomczyk (ISBN 0-942386-78-7). This book is mainly about Jack Tramiel and Commodore. But the last chapter goes into the time he bought Atari from Warner Communications. Also a book to give you a background on Jack Tramiel. Is slanted by the authors personal devotion to working with him, but I also heard that it wasn't officially approved by Jack Tramiel either.

 

Happy reading!!

[King Atari]

I found it interesting that people think that Pac-man helped start the decline for 2600. Back then, even though I knew the graphics and sounds sucked, I played for hours on end.

 

Same here, I realized it didn't look, sound like Pac-Man, but it was Pac-Man for the 2600, and that was all I needed to know.