AtariAge + Atari Q&A

[+chriswhit]

1 minute ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

You put the blame on the wrong people. When Atari fails (again), it is solely Atari's fault (again). Personally, I won't feel responsible for a second.

This is less about pride but much more about logic. A listed company is obliged to act in the interests of its shareholders. Period. Everything else is just warm words. So why should I support the interests and profit of greedy shareholders with my labor of love? If Atari is interested into our work, they should hire and pay adequately.

has anyone sent a evaluation copy to see what they pay? not blaming us just saying if no one supports atariage is gone. Id think that be logical also. there basing everything off success of flasback in walmart. That's kinda old now. I do see your point to as i know nothing about share holders and figured thats a stocks and bonds thing.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

13 minutes ago, jgkspsx said:

Didn’t they try to do that and you told them no? Just asking.

Plaion asked, not Atari. I told them no, because I don't need that extra money and have no free time. Completely unrelated to Atari.

13 minutes ago, jgkspsx said:

Also, I don’t know if it seems like a good idea for a company to hire somebody who has an overt smoldering hatred of them.

I don't hate Atari. I just see them realistically. IMO.

[+x=usr(1536)]

2 hours ago, chriswhit said:

has anyone sent a evaluation copy to see what they pay?

It doesn't quite work that way.

 

What you're suggesting is sending in unsolicited material.  In general, that can't be accepted for a number of reasons.  To keep it simple, though, without a preexisting contract between Atari and a third party, neither side has any significant legal protection in the event of a dispute over the IP, including ownership and use of concepts.

 

The usual course of action in cases like these is to return the IP to the sender along with a note explaining the above.  It won't even be looked at as soon as what the submission is becomes apparent.

[+chriswhit]

1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

It doesn't quite work that way.

 

What you're suggesting is sending in unsolicited material.  In general, that can't be accepted for a number of reasons.  To keep it simple, though, without a preexisting contract between Atari and a third party, neither side has any significant legal protection in the event of a dispute over the IP, including ownership and use of concepts.

 

The usual course of action in cases like these is to return the IP to the sender along with a note explaining the above.  It won't even be looked at as it's realised what it is.

thats funky cause how do they know its woth a deal if they dont atleast see a game play video. a game like mr run and jump obviously is not a big $ maker so paying big would mean a loss a game the grade of some Chris Sprys obviously not those exact games as some would have copy right issues in question but I mean a game of that caliber is worth 10's of thousands more for rights or royalties maybe even more. a system like your talking about you cant get anywhere cause I could claim to be the best and be the worst and its not possible to negociate fair value for potential as every aspect is unknown. it would be rather easy to protect both sides with a website designed to share gameplay videos and be able to send and receive negotiation messages

[+x=usr(1536)]

33 minutes ago, chriswhit said:

thats funky cause how do they know its woth a deal if they dont atleast see a game play video.

Since Atari generally acts as the publisher, something along these lines likely happens: a meeting is called between Atari and the third party in which NDAs are signed by both parties.  The game is pitched by the third party, possibly with storyboards or early gameplay being shown.  Atari then decides if it wants to publish the game or not, and things proceed from there.

 

Note that this is all notional; I have no idea as to how Atari actually conducts these sorts of things.  However, based on my experience, this seems like a reasonable set of assumptions.

33 minutes ago, chriswhit said:

a system like your talking about you cant get anywhere cause I could claim to be the best and be the worst and its not possible to negociate fair value for potential as every aspect is unknown.

This is why there's typically a lump sum paid up front, a second lump sum on completion, and royalties after that point.  These payments tend to be tied to meeting milestones agreed to by both parties.  The ramifications of turning in an unsaleable product and/or one that doesn't resemble the product agreed to by both parties will be specified by contractually-defined penalties.

 

All of this is common practice in not only the game industry, but also the vast majority of the entertainment industry (of which game development is a part) as a whole.  The idea that people just send in games and get a cheque is totally off-base.

  

32 minutes ago, chriswhit said:

it would be rather easy to protect both sides with a website designed to share gameplay videos and be able to send and receive negotiation messages

No.  It absolutely wouldn't.  Being completely straightforward: this is a terrible idea, and there are many good reasons why the industry as a whole doesn't follow this model.

[+chriswhit]

3 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

 

All of this is common practice in not only the game industry, but also the vast majority of the entertainment industry (of which game development is a part) as a whole.  The idea that people just send in games and get a cheque is totally off-base.

yes was more thinking a demo but i know nintendo often made games before trying to work deals so they had something to show to pitch an idea. thats where the prototype of sunman came to exist. sunman was gonna be superman but was changed cause a deal was never made cause wb thought was cool but didnt want super man to be able to die. probably things have changed but if theres nothing to see first all of us could just make deals and waste there time

[+x=usr(1536)]

@chriswhit: this is all way off-topic for this thread.  If you want to discuss it, great, but please start a new thread for that discussion.  Thanks.

[john_q_atari]

If anyone was worried that things might be changing on the forums in the immediate future at AtariAge with the recent acquisition by Atari, reading through the large number of off-topic posts in this thread should be ample proof that this is not the case!

[+chriswhit]

55 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

@chriswhit: this is all way off-topic for this thread.  If you want to discuss it, great, but please start a new thread for that discussion.  Thanks.

yes my original question lead off topic. I'm assuming the answer is if atari fails Atariage is no more.

[+chriswhit]

2 hours ago, john_q_atari said:

If anyone was worried that things might be changing on the forums in the immediate future at AtariAge with the recent acquisition by Atari, reading through the large number of off-topic posts in this thread should be ample proof that this is not the case!

it would change if atari went bankrupt then it will cease to exist most likely which would be a big change. Many are disappointed in the products so far before there even before there produced so I cant see Atariage being around very much longer.

[TrogdarRobusto]

On 9/16/2023 at 5:21 PM, KainXavier said:

@TrogdarRobusto

I thought of another question for you.  Now that Atari is making hardware again, is there any chance we'll see some kind of official Paddle Controller Adapter for consoles?  I'd totally be cool with some kind of DB9-to-USB solution too since you're already making paddles for the 2600+.

Interesting question. 

[TrogdarRobusto]

On 9/16/2023 at 6:29 PM, M-S said:

You repeatedly said this should be discussed in another thread but you keep posting it here, I don't think Atari should have any problems with names now, they have just started doing 2600 stuff, it's going to be a long way until they do something with computers beyond 8-bit, and even more until they bother about the ones they don't completely own.

But to my question, @TrogdarRobusto , there's a company known as Tectoy which has been releasing the Flashback consoles in Brazil, they also have been releasing Sega products ever since the Master System, are they a partner of Atari directly or just a partner of AtGames?

It doesn't sound like it's related to the topic, but I just need to know that first.

I'll ask

[TrogdarRobusto]

On 9/17/2023 at 12:51 PM, sl0re said:

@TrogdarRobusto

 

Thanks for your suggestions

[Jake67]

@TrogdarRobusto

 

OK... as a 2600 child, I went all in on the 2600+... the unit, extra controller, paddle bundle and two games. 

 

My question is whether Atari is also going to produce a two-button controller for the 7800 games, or do I need to search out my own solution?

 

(And if I’m on my own, what do others here recommend?)

 

And before I go down an eBay rabbit hole, would it be safe to assume other 10-in-1 carts are coming?

 

Oh... to keep this on topic... uh... if Atari fails what happens with AtariAge, blah, blah, blah...

[+jgkspsx]

1 hour ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

I'll ask

While we’re on the subject of Brazilian game companies, how about a modern day Mega Boy with an actual screen?

 

 

That would be my #1 post-2600+ hardware request.

[+cvga]

edited because I agree with Splendidnut below. I misinterpreted the response.

 

[+splendidnut]

10 minutes ago, cvga said:

Isn't "completely unrelated" a bit disingenuous?

He stated his reasons 'no time' and 'no need for extra money' and that it wasn't related to it being Atari.  What's disingenuous about that?  I read it as he was trying to make the point clear about what his reasons were.

[+cvga]

2 minutes ago, splendidnut said:

He stated his reasons 'no time' and 'no need for extra money' and that it wasn't related to it being Atari.  What's disingenuous about that?  I read it as he was trying to make the point clear about what his reasons were.

I reread it and totally agree with you. I misinterpreted his answer. Seriously, thanks!

[desiv]

10 minutes ago, splendidnut said:

He stated his reasons 'no time' and 'no need for extra money' and that it wasn't related to it being Atari.  What's disingenuous about that?

I believe what he was saying that it might be a bit disingenuous to say Plaion isn't related to Atari, as Atari is using Plaion if that is what he was saying...  (Tho I think what he was saying was that his reasons for not wanting to weren't related, not that Atari isn't related to Plaion.)

Just the way the phrase "it wasn't related to Atari" is interpreted.

I could see it either way...

(On a side related note, we have a phrase at work that is especially important now that so many people are working remotely that is, assume good intent...  If something sounds off, better to assume the phrasing just sounded that way and double check (politely) if/as needed.  That said, I am also sending my entire team thru e-mail/Teams communications training...  )

Edited September 18, 2023 by desiv

[carlsson]

Based on the recruitment postings a few pages back, it seems that Atari is turning into a company that will make all your dreams come true. The modern equivalent to how Google was as a workplace 10 years ago. How about a new slogan? "Atari - You can become anything with us"

[guppy]

36 minutes ago, carlsson said:

Based on the recruitment postings a few pages back, it seems that Atari is turning into a company that will make all your dreams come true. The modern equivalent to how Google was as a workplace 10 years ago. How about a new slogan? "Atari - You can become anything with us"

Welcome to ZOMBO.COM!

[+jgkspsx]

1 hour ago, guppy said:

Welcome to ZOMBO.COM!

Hail Zombo!

 

[Wildstar]

If you want Atari or anyone to publish your game. Make the game. Make a deal with the publishing entity, if they are interested and enter into a contract (sometimes called a software distribution agreement but may be titled differently) regarding licensing and addressing royalties in private and usually confidential communication about but don't be a jerk about it. 

 

Don't expect the publisher (be it Atari or whoever) to finance your project. You still own your game unless you sell the ownership rights. 

[Crazy Climber]

[GraffitiTavern]

@Albert Something nice that could be done with the database is releasing more info for newer collectors. I can get classic cartridges around me, but very few have manuals. Working with the manual database on a series of free PDF print-at-home booklet format manuals for common titles would be great, particularly for the 2600+. They could even put in little ads for the updates of the classics(like say a Asteroids Recharged ad in Asteroids or a discount code to get a copy of the game on VCS). It could even have a page giving a brief history on the game.

It could be call XP@Home or something