Atari acquires Intellivision brand and large game portofilio

[DavidD]

19 hours ago, duzkiss said:

  My question is...how is there over 200 games?  Do they count a game per platform as a separate game?

Did the last iteration of Intellivision also own the rights to the multiple Intellivision compilations of the past 20 years?  Intellivision Lives, etc..

 

If so, that could increase the count by a few more titles...

[roots.genoa]

I was also wondering if they were counting the variants, like a game that offers 40 modes or something, but that would be really lame.

[Lord Mushroom]

12 hours ago, Giles N said:

A revenue of €6.4M contra €4.3M (for same period) is at least an increase.

Revenue is just their income. Much more important is income after expenditures (net income), and that was a loss of $6.6 million, up $1.2 million. And that doesn´t include money spent on buying IP and companies. It is probably not going to be that bad in the future, especially in the next half year report, but they have a steep hill to climb to get to consistent profit.

Edited May 26 by Lord Mushroom

[Lord Mushroom]

12 hours ago, Giles N said:

It’s like: what would be a really, solid plan-C for Atari (the Brand) to save it all…?

I would say keep rereleasing old games on new platforms, do more licensing (but with quality control) and if they have any ideas they expect to be profitable; do that too.

 

12 hours ago, Giles N said:

Isn’t it then much better to get the backing of someone who even seems personally motivated to go for trying to stitch it all together…?

I was supportive of Wade, but when the financial figures under his reign consistently have been horrible, it is not working. The next half year report is basically the last chance. If they can´t turn a profit in that period with launches of popular stuff, they will have to change course, unless they want to keep losing money. 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

35 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

Revenue is just their income. Much more important is income after expenditures (net income), and that was a loss of $6.6 million, up $1.2 million. And that doesn´t include money spent on buying IP and companies.

Probably AtariAge was really expensive. 🤔

[Lord Mushroom]

11 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Probably AtariAge was really expensive. 🤔

They bought more than that. Digital Eclipse for example. I just didn´t want people to think those losses came from purchases, as that would be misleading.

[+pboland]

On 5/25/2024 at 8:01 AM, duzkiss said:

My question is...how is there over 200 games?  Do they count a game per platform as a separate game?

This might be a dumb question, but did Atari also acquire the rights to the Aquarius Computer in this deal and does that add to the game count?

[+pboland]

On 5/24/2024 at 10:17 PM, jeremiahjt said:

If I was going to guess the Colecovision percentage, I would guess over 90%. For Intellivision, I was thinking half. Of course all those Intellivision sports games got rereleased by INTV Corp. without the license. I would guess the sports titles in the acquisition would be license free games, but I guess I could see both being in there.

Yep, Colecovision does have a lot of licensed titles. However, I know this seems like a total no go but... When I think of Colecovision I tend to think about games like Tac/Scan and Space Fury. Yes I know these are SEGA titles but these are titles that SEGA hasn't done anything with in a long time and I wonder if it would be possible for ATARI to get the rights to some of these older unused SEGA titles like:

 

- Astro Blaster
- Eliminator
- Pulsar
- Space Fury
- Tac/Scan
- SubRoc
- Zektor

 

🤔

[Albert]

3 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

I was also wondering if they were counting the variants, like a game that offers 40 modes or something, but that would be really lame.

No, that is not being done. 
 

  ..Al

[mr_me]

5 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

I was also wondering if they were counting the variants, like a game that offers 40 modes or something, but that would be really lame.

Snafu does have sixteen game variations but I can't think of others like that. And as an IP you can't really separate the works.

 

The Triple Action cartridge can be counted as three separate IP titles/works, for example.

 

2 hours ago, pboland said:

This might be a dumb question, but did Atari also acquire the rights to the Aquarius Computer in this deal and does that add to the game count?

If it wasn't already mentioned in this thread, Mattel Electronics got rid of the Aquarius IP back in 1983.

 

They do have game copyrights for other home computer platforms.

 

------------

In an IE disclosure a couple of years ago, they described their retro game library as having over 120 Intellivision games.

 

They've also mentioned IP licenses of retro games from other companies. For example, Burgertime from G-mode, Moon Patrol and R-Type from Irem, the Imagic catalog. Someone from Atari SA would have to comment if those licenses transfer.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 26 by mr_me

[+swlovinist]

My picks for the games that Atari needs to offer a recharged version of.  What games should Atari offer a modern version of first?

 

In the video I mention the following

Snafu

Vectron

B-17 Bomber

Cloudy Mountain

Tower of Doom

Utopia

Night Stalker

Thin Ice

Buzz Bombers

Thunder Castle

Hover Force

 

 

[Nall3k]

3 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I would say keep rereleasing old games on new platforms, do more licensing (but with quality control) and if they have any ideas they expect to be profitable; do that too.

 

I was supportive of Wade, but when the financial figures under his reign consistently have been horrible, it is not working. The next half year report is basically the last chance. If they can´t turn a profit in that period with launches of popular stuff, they will have to change course, unless they want to keep losing money. 

Wade is probably the last (how many times have we said this) chance for the Atari brand to make a modern comeback, but he could also pull a Sumner Redstone if things don't work out.

[Lord Mushroom]

21 minutes ago, Nall3k said:

Wade is probably the last (how many times have we said this) chance for the Atari brand to make a modern comeback,

I don´t think he is, but it gets harder and harder for Atari to make a comeback the more time passes, as brand recognition keeps dropping.

[Nall3k]

21 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I don´t think he is, but it gets harder and harder for Atari to make a comeback the more time passes, as brand recognition keeps dropping.

That's why I thought David Gardner and Phil Harrison had the right idea. Make Atari a modern publisher with titles like The Witcher, Riddick, Ghostbusters, Test Drive Unlimited, Alone in the Dark, etc... Atari at that time simply had too much debt from all of the acquisitions Infogrames had made during the late 90s' and early 2000s'.

[Giles N]

5 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I would say keep rereleasing old games on new platforms

Which plarforms are left…?

 

5 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

do more licensing (but with quality control)

Ok, any ideas where the big money would be (over time or as single project)?

 

5 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

if they have any ideas they expect to be profitable; do that too.

…sounds a bit generic or self-evident, but any personal ideas or preferences what such profitable ideas might be…?

I would think the entire Intellivision-acquisition comes directly out of that; they believe that will make money for them. 

[Noelio]

With the new Tron movie "Ares" coming in 2025, I wonder about the Tron IP. A full blown modern 3d or Playstation VR recharge of Deadly Discs in time for the release?

That's what I'd be doing right now. Divert every ounce of talent on tap to do it.

 

Tron Anthology in 3d VR would be unbelievably cool and I'd imagine it would sell very well even to those with no previous exposure. Alongside the Ares release? Good times for Atari if they also have that IP.

 

[roots.genoa]

7 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Probably AtariAge was really expensive. 🤔

[DavidD]

7 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I would say keep rereleasing old games on new platforms, do more licensing (but with quality control) and if they have any ideas they expect to be profitable; do that too.

 

I was supportive of Wade, but when the financial figures under his reign consistently have been horrible, it is not working. The next half year report is basically the last chance. If they can´t turn a profit in that period with launches of popular stuff, they will have to change course, unless they want to keep losing money. 

I wasn't paying attention, but how badly has "Atari" been doing as of late?  I know the recent releases from Digital Eclipse have been getting decent critical acclaim, but I wasn't sure how it was doing overall.

 

I need to go over the corporate structure again -- is there a single Atari entity now, or is it still weirdly spread between the French side and the American side?

[Lord Mushroom]

3 hours ago, Giles N said:

Which plarforms are left…?

I don´t know if there are anyone at the moment, but they pop up from time to time.

 

3 hours ago, Giles N said:

Ok, any ideas where the big money would be (over time or as single project)?

It would have to be something with a big potential. For example a video game theme park, an animated movie or an OS.

 

3 hours ago, Giles N said:

…sounds a bit generic or self-evident,

It is, but I had to include it.

 

3 hours ago, Giles N said:

but any personal ideas or preferences what such profitable ideas might be…?

Yes, but I am keeping those to myself.

 

3 hours ago, Giles N said:

I would think the entire Intellivision-acquisition comes directly out of that; they believe that will make money for them. 

If I had to guess, I would say they got it at a sufficiently low price to make it a good purchase. But I would also guess that they will overplay their hand, and develop too much hardware and software based on it, so they end up losing money anyway.

[Giles N]

1 minute ago, Lord Mushroom said:

Yes, but I am keeping those to myself.

Why, man; I can occasionally be tolerant and understanding 😉

 

2 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

 

If I had to guess, I would say they got it at a sufficiently low price to make it a good purchase. But I would also guess that they will overplay their hand, and develop too much hardware and software based on it, so they end up losing money anyway.

My guess is they’ll release the 2600/7800 counterparts to boost the 2600+.

 

They really should.

[Lord Mushroom]

1 hour ago, DavidD said:

I wasn't paying attention, but how badly has "Atari" been doing as of late?  I know the recent releases from Digital Eclipse have been getting decent critical acclaim, but I wasn't sure how it was doing overall.

I don´t know what you mean by "recent", but the newest information is from the half year that ended of September 30th 2023. The figures Giles and I have posted are from that.

 

But I can add that 2021 saw a loss of $11.9 million, 2022 saw a loss of $23.8 million and 2023 (so far?) has seen a loss of $9.5 million. Their losses have been about the same as their revenue, which is horrible.

 

1 hour ago, DavidD said:

I need to go over the corporate structure again -- is there a single Atari entity now, or is it still weirdly spread between the French side and the American side?

There is a French parent company called Atari SA, and it owns a bunch of companies:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Atari_SA_subsidiaries

[Giles N]

In my humble opinion, I believe that what would be a very safe place for Atari now to make money, would be to create paid DLC for the Atari 50th.

 

How they’d slice and dice the content would be up for grabs.

 

It should be free update containing more save-states and more ways to adjust how you see the gameplay window and perhaps extra cheat-modes that can be accessed.

 

There should be at least 2 new DLCs for the Atari 50th, which must be bought for money.

 

They should contain quality titles spread out over many systems, and perhaps have original mode and modern mode (particulary for very old games) and they should include or give some high-five to the homebrew community, as that is now an important historical part of the destiny oc Atari-legacy consoles and what they mean to users.

 

Since Atari 50th already is bought by so many, on multiple platforms, its very likely they could sell quite alot of DLC downloads for it, while perhaps even create a tiny bit of additional interest for the few who’ve waited.

 

They should be broad-minded and be more focused on quality and whats meaningful Atari history, rather than mere fame-of-IP (most which are usef anyway) and that it was oredered into production top-down by Atari-this or -that. 
But focus on quality, width in range of content, getting people to discover Atari-history beyond early Arcades and the 2600 (in addition to fill out more here).

 

Prices could range from $10 to $20.

 

Thing is: the Atari 50th would then serve as micro ‘e-shop’, - everyone having bought it (quite alot of folks I believe) would be notified something new is available everytime a new DLC is available.

 

—-

 

your thoughts @Lord Mushroom?

 

Edited May 26 by Giles N

[+CharlieChaplin]

22 hours ago, CPUWIZ said:

 

Rats, no AtariVisionAge.com either then?

Shsshhh, they will create the Atari-Intelli(gence)-Age(ncy).

And they do not want anyone to know...

 

 

[phoenixdownita]

Sad thing is that if Atari goes belly up so does AtariAge (I mean it will be sold out to pay the debt or transferred) unless @Albert in the sale contract has a clause to somehow be given some form of a chance to buy it back.

[Giles N]

One more thought:

 

If Atari really needs income/net-revenue, I don’t think they can wait with selling some Intellivision stuff until 2029… Even if a Intellivision 50th could be made into some big thing, I feel they need to begin release some of these games through other means much sooner, either individually or in smaller collections.