Atari Buys Rights to Berserk & Frenzy

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:

Wasn´t it only recently that Marble Madness 2 became available?

Yes, but in that specific case, 'available' didn't mean 'not preserved'.  I want to say that it was around 2003 (if not earlier) that a working MAME driver for MM2 was submitted, which followed on from the ROMs being dumped.  However, you're right in that it didn't see an official release until last year.

 

My understanding with Atomic Castle was that it was basically lost, but I'm holding out hope that it crops up - even a recreation as opposed to emulation would be fantastic to see.  If the ROMs are lost but the laserdisc can be found (and it hasn't rotted), this would be far better than nothing.

[Atariboy]

9 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

Wasn´t it only recently that Marble Madness 2 became available? If it took so long for a sequel to a popular title to come out, I don´t think it is strange that an obscure title like Atomic Castle isn´t available.

And Marble Madness 2 coming to light at long last had absolutely nothing to do with the IP holder, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and thus doesn't support your line of thinking here.

 

That this and Akka Arrh have become available to both us and the current rights holders is solely because of the classic gaming community and not because of either IP holder. And since there's no known Atomic Castle prototype held by a collector, it seems highly unlikely that Atari SA now holds one. These companies and their corporate successors as a rule didn't keep archives or anything for all these decades.

 

What Atari SA bought was almost certainly just a collection of trademarks and copyrights. To take it past that, they'll turn to the classic gaming community for rom dumps, buy advertisement flyers off eBay from other collectors for scans for bonus material, maybe Digital Eclipse will add a few restored Stern cabinets to their studio arcade, etc. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Atariboy

[+jeremiahjt]

@TrogdarRobusto Do you know if Atari got anything Atomic Castle related from this acquisition other than the rights? Most people think the game is completely lost.

 

Also, any chance we see any of these games show up on Antstream Arcade or somewhere else? Heck, sell them on the VCS 800 or something. I would like to have an easy way to play these.