shep Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 (edited) They just need to stop shelling out trash DragonBall games. From what I understand DragonBall isn't even as popular as it was three years ago or so, so they can't be making that much off the license. ...and Glover is a decent N64 title. But awful for the PSX. Edited January 3, 2006 by shep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Who will buy Atari this time when they go under?993320[/snapback] Too bad the true Atari fans couldn't have ponied up the $5 million when it was sold to Hasbro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I have infinitely more respect for Infogrames than I do Has-Does-And-Always-Will-Blow, because they tried to bring the Atari name into the future, rather than trying to rewrite the past with horrible remakes like Frogger, Galaga, and Q*Bert. Before you start blaming Infogrames for destroying a brand name that's been synonymous with antiquity for the past fifteen years, maybe you should stop and consider that maybe, just maybe, there's no way anyone can make Atari relevant in this day and age. Sorry, this is blind revisionist history! Hasbro's remakes were generally well received. Frogger was a HUGE hit. It had amazing shelf-life compared to most new titles. Centipede was also very big. Galaga definitely sucked. They definitely had trouble figuring out what to do after mining all the remakes so there is a limit to how far you can go with that strategy. They had to find out how to extend that into new titles that felt like extensions of the classics but were 100% original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Who will buy Atari this time when they go under?993320[/snapback] Too bad the true Atari fans couldn't have ponied up the $5 million when it was sold to Hasbro. 993391[/snapback] I've thought this myself ... but what exactly would we the fans done with it? Released all the ROMs into the wild? Atari gave us Atari Anthology, which essentially did that already. Even the most loyal fanbase in the world doesn't have the manufacturing capability to make something like the Atari Flashback 2. I for one welcome our unprofitable Gallic overlords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I'm really serious about this question because I truly don't understand: Why do people care that the current edition of a corporation which calls itsself Atari is failing? This has happened too many times to even be noticed. Unless you hold stock, what does it matter? "Atari" is just a collection of copyrights. Every company who's owned it used those copyrights in their own (often misguided) way. The copyrights will probably be passed on again when Infogrames gets bored with them and then we'll see what the next owner does. And remember, just because Atari Corp goes out of business, that doesn't mean that Infogrames couldn't continue to do the same or better things with those copyrights. If you want to "support" today's Atari, that means you bought the Dragonball Z games, Matrix and ALL of their other crap brand new. If so, then happy fun to you. If you want to support what's best for the Atari copyrights, then maybe you should buy a Flashback and those crappy LCD retro handhelds that they've licensed out and skip their other products. Let them know that you will pay for Atari as a retro brand but that you won't buy a turd just because they slapped a Fuji logo on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmydelaKopin Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 All right, now I'm getting confused here. Which Atari copyrights are owned by Infogrames... ...and which are owned by Midway? ...damn DoJ "antitrust" forced breakup... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 If you want to support what's best for the Atari copyrights, then maybe you should buy a Flashback and those crappy LCD retro handhelds that they've licensed out and skip their other products. Let them know that you will pay for Atari as a retro brand but that you won't buy a turd just because they slapped a Fuji logo on it. 993414[/snapback] To clarify, I would probably pick up the Matrix titles if I had a system that played them. Ok, honestly, I don't care for much newer gaming. But I did buy Pong & Missile Command. Those were fairly cool. Tempest 3K I believe was an Atari title, or at least marketed for the Nuon. Picked up a lot of those pack in controllers, and both Flashbacks. And Ikaruga for the GameCube. Yeh, Atari, traditionally, has found great products and stapped them with their fuji of approval (Lynx, Portfolio, etc...) and some were developed BY Atari. Out of the list above though, I have REALLY liked the paddle pack in controller , pong, and the Flashback2. The others were notable as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 I got Indigo Prophecy for x-mas. It's an Atari release and pretty good so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8th lutz Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Many video game developers have falled to the way side along with publishers. What should concerned with is if is atari going merge with another company like EA. It Atari Merges with another company like ea, this community may not be allowed to make more hombrew games for atari systems depending on the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 No one can stop homebrews, the only question is what would be done with the Atari copyrighted games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Many video game developers have falled to the way side along with publishers. What should concerned with is if is atari going merge with another company like EA. It Atari Merges with another company like ea, this community may not be allowed to make more hombrew games for atari systems depending on the company. 994135[/snapback] That couldn't happen even if they wanted to. I hope Infogrames and all other non-Sony companies die so Sony could r0xrz teh w0rldz!!!111oneone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 I really liked Battle Engine Aquila, and the Unreal games are well liked by many. But when you actually look at the games there are a lot of poor quality titles in the Infogrames/Atari portfolio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 I've thought this myself ... but what exactly would we the fans done with it? Released all the ROMs into the wild? Atari gave us Atari Anthology, which essentially did that already. Even the most loyal fanbase in the world doesn't have the manufacturing capability to make something like the Atari Flashback 2. 993402[/snapback] First and foremost, you need to realize that a holding company would be setup to actually "own" the mark. The fans who ponied up the cash would merely be investors. Since a company is directly responsible to its investors, the holding company would need to do whatever the fans say. (Might make sense to run it as a Co-op.) Secondly, I think that such a company would do well to expand on its hardware console business. The flashbacks are a great start, and the old ST-style lines can be continued with new computers for kids. A new game console should be released, targetting the "casual gamer" and "young children" markets. That would keep it from going head to head with the Big 3 consoles. Yet through a fairly traditional licensing scheme, the fantari company could make much of its money off of third party title royalties, many of which would be created by fans. Basically, fantari could cream LeapFrog and VTech in one fell swoop, and use the name recognition to convince parents to purchase their hardware and software for both their kids and themselves. Thirdly, since fantari would be a "real" company, it could make the necessary deals with manufacturers to get its hardware produced at industrial rates. The only barrier would be the capital, which would be provided by investors and early sales. If necessary, fantari could run very small batches at higher prices to begin with, then use that capital to produce larger batches at lower costs. Sound like a plan? Cool. Now who's going to be in charge of raising the capital? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 So you were one of those guys who gave money so that fans could make new Star trek episodes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 So you were one of those guys who gave money so that fans could make new Star trek episodes?995369[/snapback] Not a chance. That show (Enterprise) was a hideous abomination that never should have been. Bad acting, bad plots, bad continuity, and the producers absolutely despised the fans. I can't beliece that there were those trying to keep it on the air. They should have spent their energies on FireFly, a show people actually wanted to see. Oh well, no accounting for bad taste. No, I just happen to know a few things about business, that's all. I'm not necessarily saying that fans should buy out Infotari, I'm just pointing out how it could work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 (edited) Companies are nothing but the creation of the people behind them. When turnover happens, companies can and do change. Their corporate focus changes. Their level of competence changes. Everything changes. A great example of this: look at Apple with and without Steve Jobs. It's really an organic thing. What we associate with the golden age of Atari represented a small sliver of time when the output of Atari had to do with the leadership and technical skills of people who had all but left the company by 1984. Everything thereafter has been this waning after-effect of earlier accomplishments. Talent-drain, brain-drain. If you take into account coinop, then you can follow the lineage from there all the way to the closing of Atari Games/Midway Games West a few years back. But you're really talking about individuals, the guys who are invited to the CG Expo every year. The inner circle of Atari has no continuity whatsoever with the classic era and do not know what to do to recreate the spirit of the company. Even if they knew what to do, I don't think they would have the balls to try. So if their approach is to just be an also-ran publisher, then there is no reason to have any more interest in them vs. any other. Edited January 7, 2006 by mos6507 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin242 Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 So if their approach is to just be an also-ran publisher, then there is no reason to have any more interest in them vs. any other. 995675[/snapback] To me, the Flashback 2.0 is an indication they would like to be more. Im sure they would love to be like Activision and publish great titles but they just dont seemto be doing that at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Even when Atari makes a good title, they don't know how to market it. The Godzilla Melee games are hella fun, they're like a modern day "Rampage" with more cojones, but how many people here didn't even buy it when it got slashed all the way down to $20? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Even when Atari makes a good title, they don't know how to market it. The Godzilla Melee games are hella fun, they're like a modern day "Rampage" with more cojones, but how many people here didn't even buy it when it got slashed all the way down to $20? 995905[/snapback] I bought the first one at full price (it was the reason I bought a GameCube). But I haven't felt the need to buy the sequel, even at $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalton4life Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 (edited) Who will buy Atari this time when they go under? 993320[/snapback] Maybe Nolan Bushnell will finally get a shot to own Atari again. Edited January 9, 2006 by dalton4life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 (edited) Maybe Nolan Bushnell will finally get a shot to own Atari again. 996574[/snapback] Heh ... maybe he'd merge it with uWink and try to make Atari the game development arm of the uWink Media Bistro like he wanted to make Sente the game development arm of Pizza Time Theater. Seriously, though, I agree with mos6507. The original, pre-Warner Atari was a very unique mix of personalities and technologies that came along at just the right time, and created a lot of the momentum that the company later lived on. The 2600 was Atari's one true success in the console market, and the combination of coin-op (where new ideas were developed) and consumer (where they were mass-marketed) made for an incredibly successful game-making machine that was effectively destroyed once the two departments were broken up after the Tramiel acquisition. I've heard some of the Atari alumni talk about how they tried to get back together again and recreate the magic among themselves, at Sente and at other places. Even they didn't succeed, so I don't know if it's even possible to reassemble ALL of the ingredients that made the early Atari successful in today's world. Even if Infogrames wanted to, how would they do it? Having said that, though, I think Infogrames' Atari is doing the right thing by recognizing the value of their library of properties and creating a place for them in today's market with the game compilations and the Flashbacks. The fact that they are about the only product that is making the company any money speaks volumes about how unique and valuable those properties really are. Edited January 9, 2006 by jaybird3rd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdie3 Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Does anyone have an accurate figure on the approximate annual total of sales revenue generated by used and second hand legacy Atari products (ie: 2600, 7800, XE etc..) from places like ebay and specialty web sites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 I think Infogrames' Atari is doing the right thing by recognizing the value of their library of properties and creating a place for them in today's market with the game compilations and the Flashbacks. The fact that they are about the only product that is making the company any money speaks volumes about how unique and valuable those properties really are. 997016[/snapback] Where have you read that the Flashbacks are the "only thing making them money"? I can't imagine they are getting enough of a return on them to sustain the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Who will buy Atari this time when they go under? 993320[/snapback] Maybe Nolan Bushnell will finally get a shot to own Atari again. 996574[/snapback] I think he's too busy trying to keep uWink solvent. Compare Atari's stock price with uWink, for instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Where have you read that the Flashbacks are the "only thing making them money"? I can't imagine they are getting enough of a return on them to sustain the company. 997137[/snapback] You're right, that's an overstatement. I've heard that the Flashback line accounted for a significant portion of their income, while sales of many of their games for modern consoles were underwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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