Atari's CEO Wade Rosen on the Past, Present and Future of Gaming's Oldest Company

[Lord Mushroom]

7 minutes ago, Sauron said:

People who are interested in the financials of the company would be far more interested in a shareholders meeting than in just a random interview.

I am not so sure. Those were some very interesting questions for shareholders. But it doesn´t matter, as that wasn´t the question. The question was which interviews would be more interesting.

[Lord Mushroom]

24 minutes ago, Tickled_Pink said:

I do kind of understand softball interviews. I certainly don't think politicians and business leaders should get away with them, but for companies like Atari? It depends on what you're trying to get out of the interview. Not all interviewers need to know "where did you hide the million dollar golden squid statue that the Koch Foundation gave you but didn't declare?" Sometimes, interviews can just be a bit of PR.

Wade is a business leader, albeit a small one. And he is related to a big business leader.

 

I understand there is a time and a place for critical questions. My complaint is that there apparently is no time and place for critical questions for Atari. It was the same thing with Frederic Chesnais, so it is not just Wade.

 

I understand perfectly that Wade/Atari want to avoid critical questions. I am not criticising them, I am criticising the "journalists". Wade squirms every time he is asked the simple question of how he became CEO/owner of Atari. He should either proudly proclaim that he invested money he had made, or be open about "inheriting" money. It is not a big deal. If a neutral question like that throws him off, he would struggle with actual tough questions.

Edited August 28 by Lord Mushroom

[PowerDubs]

15 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

My complaint is that there apparently is no time and place for critical questions for Atari. It was the same thing with Frederic Chesnais, so it is not just Wade.

 

Funny you say that...back in probably 2018-19 sometime Fred hosted an event in NYC so I took the day off work, drove in...and sat in the crowd.

 

He spoke about stuff...and at the end he said he was wrapping up so id anyone have any questions.

 

I raised my hand...he pointed at me- and I proceeded to ask him 3 hardball questions one after another...  he answered them with brevity...  then quickly walked off the podium, through the people...towards the door where a woman handed him his coat and they left.  I don't think he expected someone to be there who know the things I asked.

 

So- if you are a shareholder- you are allowed to go to the Shareholder meeting in a few weeks...  you could ask questions there...and the answers go on record.  Of course, it's in Paris.

 

If Atari ever comes back to the U.S. and the meeting is in NYC- I'll be there....

[Jess Ragan]

Dude's young to be in charge of such an old company. He probably still gets carded at bars.

[Lord Mushroom]

1 hour ago, PowerDubs said:

I raised my hand...he pointed at me- and I proceeded to ask him 3 hardball questions one after another...  he answered them with brevity... 

What did you ask, and what did he say?

[roots.genoa]

6 hours ago, Neon Wraith said:

He lives in Norway.  Everyone likes everybody there.

6 hours ago, CPUWIZ said:

I totally forgot and you are probably right.  

(I guess the picture with a 'salute' would not have been accepted here, so here's a big loving smile 😉)

[JPF997]

This was a incredible interview, really liked what Wade said at the end " wait till you see next year" , this year was already pretty great  for  Atari fans , I can't even imagine how  Goated next year is going to be for us .

 

 

[Nall3k]

17 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I mean in the sense that the interviewer is afraid of asking tough questions.

 

Where is the money you are investing in Atari coming from? Did you make it yourself?

When do you think Atari will be profitable?

Is Nightdive Studios profitable?

Is Digital Eclipse profitable?

The share price is way down, and losses have been huge, since you took over. Are you the right man for the job?

Isn´t it better to focus on one brand instead of splitting it into Atari and Infogrames?

Are the Recharged games profitable?

Why aren´t the Recharged games on mobile?

Atari is losing money and investing in struggling companies you are a fan of. Are you using other people´s money for your own amusement?

Are you considering buying the Atari Games catalogue?

How much are you willing to invest in Atari?

Did you overpay for Atari? Did Frederic Chesnais inflate the numbers?

Why are you paid so much, and the directors so little?

Do you have any plans for a new game with a wide appeal?

Why do you buy so much IP when you use so little of it?

Can you guarantee that Atari will not go bankrupt on your watch? 

Do you want to buy more of Atari?

 

That is just at the top of my head.

Someone (rightfully) pointed out that those types of questions should be asked during a shareholder meeting. So far, I think the new strategy is starting to pay off, especially with Nightdive and Digital Eclipse. Not to mention, the new hardware seems to be selling well.

[Lord Mushroom]

59 minutes ago, Nall3k said:

Someone (rightfully) pointed out that those types of questions should be asked during a shareholder meeting. 

What about FoxBusiness?

https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6355452994112

 

What about Gamesindustry?

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ataris-re-focus-on-retro

 

What about Wharton Business?

 

They are supposed to be about business, and yet they ask the same questions as a game blogger would ask. What is the point of financial journalists if they don´t ask tough questions about the business aspect of their subjects?

 

All three interviews come after horrible results under Wade Rosen´s management. Also free falling stock price and a dramatically reduced revenue. That should have been the main thing to dig into. Instead the viewer/reader is left with the impression that Atari is doing well. Horrible journalism.

Edited August 28 by Lord Mushroom

[Nall3k]

1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:

All three interviews come after horrible results under Wade Rosen´s management. Also free falling stock price and a dramatically reduced revenue. That should have been the main thing to dig into. Instead the viewer/reader is left with the impression that Atari is doing well. Horrible journalism.

I think you have an axe to grind (or at least your posts seem that way), why? I don't know. Atari's revenue has doubled and is now back to where it was before Wade took over. Keep in mind, the revenue before was with crypto and other unsavory or non-game related revenue. Now, the revenue is back to where it was based on actual game revenue. I feel pretty optimistic (as of this post) to see what happens next year.

[famicommander]

Gaming's oldest company?

SEGA can trace its roots to 1940. Nintendo can trace its roots to 1889.

[Lord Mushroom]

10 minutes ago, Nall3k said:

I think you have an axe to grind (or at least your posts seem that way), why?

I don´t have an axe to grind, I just don´t like when people mislead other people.

[roots.genoa]

19 minutes ago, famicommander said:

Gaming's oldest company?

SEGA can trace its roots to 1940. Nintendo can trace its roots to 1889.

Well, if you understand "gaming" as "video gaming", they have a point. Even though both SEGA and Nintendo made electromechanical games that kinda are the ancestors to video games of course.

[JPF997]

17 minutes ago, famicommander said:

Gaming's oldest company?

SEGA can trace its roots to 1940. Nintendo can trace its roots to 1889.

Nintendo and Sega didn't start off as gaming companies, Atari was the first company ( besides Magnavox ) to be founded with the goal of making video games.

[mr_me]

8 hours ago, famicommander said:

Gaming's oldest company?

SEGA can trace its roots to 1940. Nintendo can trace its roots to 1889.

The other issue is that these companies that Rosen controls only go back to 1983, Atari trademark and IP acquired in 1998. And even then it's not really the same company coming out of the 2013 bankruptcy. 

 

7 hours ago, JPF997 said:

Nintendo and Sega didn't start off as gaming companies, Atari was the first company ( besides Magnavox ) to be founded with the goal of making video games.

Magnavox was formed more than a hundred years ago, they made radios and televisions.

[CPUWIZ]

12 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

Horrible "journalism".

 

Fixed that for you.

[zzip]

17 hours ago, famicommander said:

Gaming's oldest company?

SEGA can trace its roots to 1940. Nintendo can trace its roots to 1889.

Yeah it's all in the wording.   Atari's the oldest pure videogame company,   but there's a bunch of older companies that got in after the market was established.

[SIO2]

I have to say, I am feeling very positive about ATARI these day.  Regardless of the broken lineage or whatever, they make consoles and cartridges and games now.  That makes them legit as far as I am concerned.  The great thing about ATARI of old was it was a business but it was also fun.  I feel the fun coming back.  I appreciate how they are working with the community too.  Good work ATARI!

 

 

[Lostdragon]

On 8/28/2024 at 1:09 AM, Lord Mushroom said:

And that is the problem. People only get interviews if they don´t ask tough questions. There was even an interview by some financial magazine or TV-channel, and there were no critical questions, even though Atari has performed horribly financially, and they were interviewing the CEO/owner.

 

If you won´t accept tough questions, you have something to hide. The interviewers don´t have to be all in your face about it, but they should ask critical questions in a decent manner.

I remember back in the day, trying to ask Mark Cale of System/Studio 3, some misc questions about various lost games. 

 

I was met by his agent who said Mark would not be answering Q's about any unreleased game, the interview had to appear in a magazine like Retrogamer and had to get used to promote new products. 

 

 

Feck that, i got the answers through other sources and now here's Mark pushing a Kickstarter, promoting bonus material such as early footage on the unreleased IK++, Last Ninja 4 etc. 

 

So, yes, there are instances where those due to be interviewed, won't allow for  a 'tougher' line of questioning and want to use the interview as a promotional platform.