Infogrames Taking Credit For Atari Arcade Classics!!

[Gregory DG]

Went to Disney-MGM tonight (mainly to ride the Aerosmith rollercoaster... Fun, but too short.)

 

Anyway, I went into the arcade (Pizza Planet) and saw a way cool 3-in-1 arcade unit that had Centipede, Millipede, and Missile Command in it. Nowhere on the cabinet did I see the Atari logo or even the WORD Atari on it. You know what I saw instead?

 

© 1982 Infogrames Interactive

 

Now, WTF is all this about?????

 

--Greg

[Lemmi]

They are trying to change history

 

thats total Bull

[Atari-Jess]

that angers me.

and i bet you greg or anyone if you went to it and told some little kid that atari made all them games, he would look around on the cabinet and "correct" you and show you where it says that. but what neat is that there are actually new atari cabinets!

[mshaver76]

*sigh*

 

I agree with Lemmi. It is changing history. I know they own the Atari properties, but what's so wrong with saying copyright 1982 Atari and adding a line that says Atari is a registered trademark of Infogrames. Seeing those games without an Atari logo would be sickening. I felt the same way with San Francisco Rush 2049. It was the last arcade game to have an Atari Games logo. But guess what I see whenever I play the game on my Dreamcast, copyright 1999 Midway Games West.

 

Oh well, I guess I go play my Infogrames Jaguar.

[Atari-Jess]

and ill go use my infogrames 1040ST computer :S

[liquid_sky]

Thats ****in bullshit.. thats like renaming winston churchhill to hitler.

[Atari-Jess]

how do you get that???

i mean i know that they are both equally radical but churchill and hitler?

[AtariDude]

This is really dumb. Why would they want to change the name? Atari is still a well known trademark. I thought the whole point of telling obtaining the rights to the Atari properties was to obtain use of the name. If they are only going to include just their own name, there was no point in getting the rights to the properties.

[liquid_sky]

quote

i mean i know that they are both equally radical but churchill and hitler?  

 

Exactly. Churchhill unified a nation through all the rough times, and was a "good guy" in WW2. On the other hand, Hitler may have unified a nation, but for all the wrong reasons.

 

Atari developed these games, they created all of the fun. Yet Infrogrames is trying to claim credit for them. Sure its the same game but they are changing the names for all the wrong reasons

 

Did that help?

[Atari-Jess]

yeah i suppose "for all the right" reasons fits well enough. (have you seen my flash cartoon?)

[liquid_sky]

yup I have. Flash isnt the easiest thing in the world, and learning it takes time. Frame by frame by frame takes alot of time too. What im trying to say is the time it took you to draw and write it may not have been as long as the actual cartoon, but lemme tell you what, EVERY TIME i play berzerk I think of ass grabbing robots. Im no flash master myself, but if i knew how to add sounds to stuff I would help you out, because I have a pretty wicked voice synth that sounds pretty much like the arcade machine... could slow the tempo a lil bit and it would be great

[Atari-Jess]

actually, if i had a mic for this computer this would have been released with sound.

a few days in the future i might add, but it would have had sound. i use this program called sayit for the robots voice and i would use my voice (duh) for Atari-Jess

 

i somewhat know how to use sound, but by a couple of days meaning, 1 day to get in that sound, and 1 more day to figure out fully how to get in sound. and 1 more day to make enough layers to put it all on cause flash wants one layer per sound (or so ive gathered so far :S but like i said, im gonna figure this out, and a couple more cartoons down the road you may finally hear the ass grabbing robots, of course if your voice synth sounds better than mine, ill have you get me a few phrases and actually it did take me way more time to make it than it did to go and watch the cartoon, it took me 2 days to get this blasted thing done. hey, i JUST learned how to do this stuff. (and the black background with all of the dudes will go soon enough when i get enough time to actually draw the sprites in flash.

[Ze_ro]

quote:

---

Originally posted by liquid_sky:

Exactly. Churchhill unified a nation through all the rough times, and was a "good guy" in WW2. On the other hand, Hitler may have unified a nation, but for all the wrong reasons.

---

 

This made me imagine competing video games in concentration camps... but I'd imagine that holocaust jokes don't go over too well, so I'll just keep quiet

 

--Zero

[Eckhard Stolberg]

Doesn't Midway still own the Atari name and games for Arcade usage? Maybe Infogrames found a loophole in the contract with Midway that allowed them to release the old Atari games to the Arcade, but couldn't use the Atari name on them.

 

 

Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg

[Gunstar]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eckhard Stolberg:

Doesn't Midway still own the Atari name and games for Arcade usage? Maybe Infogrames found a loophole in the contract with Midway that allowed them to release the old Atari games to the Arcade, but couldn't use the Atari name on them.

 

 

Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg

---

 

Even if that were the case, then it would say ©2001 Infogrames, not ©1982. They are wacked out...I've decided from this to never buy another thing from Infogrames in any shape or form and let my memory of the once great Atari rest in peace. They can slap all the Atari logos and name anywhere they want, but it's not Atari and I'm not buying it. Not since they have the nerve to claim a copyright from '82. That's just wrong. Hitler wrong.

 

[ 12-16-2001: Message edited by: Gunstar ]

[liveinabin]

Thats SO off isn't it?!!

God, I hate it when big companies do this.

Its like a couple of weeks ago, I opened up a new copy of a Harry Potter book and saw ' all characters copyright Warner Bros'. They'll burn in hell for that!!!

[Retro Rogue]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gunstar:

Even if that were the case, then it would say ©2001 Infogrames, not ©1982.

---

 

Midway owns the copyrights to the pre-'84 coinops. Infogrames owns the copyrights to the console and computer versions ('75-present). The actuall rights to the trademark properties appear to be shared by both, as is the logo, though Midway stopped using the logo after the series of court proceedings with Hasbro in the late 90's.

 

My guess is that this is a homebrew/custom setup if there were no visible markings as was stated. Most likely the person/s who put it together were not familiar with the situation and simply trying to cover their butts.

[AtariKee]

In NO way was Hasbro able to, nor Infogrammes able to, capture the true magic that was Atari. In my mind, Atari died in 1984 when the Tramiels bought out, bastardized, then ruined the company. Atari Games lived on with the legends of game design, but somehow it wasn't the same.

 

So these lame-os can plaster as many logos on their crappy me-too console garbage and call it Atari all they want, but it never WILL be the true Atari.

 

Atari is dead. Long live Atari!

[liveinabin]

i totally agree with you, Atarikee.

Atari was the people that worked for it. You can't just use that Atari brand and expect people to think its the same Atari as it ever was. I think 1984 is a good cut-off point. Good systems though they are, the ST, Lynx and Jag aren't Original atari (well - they're Commodore (kind-of), Epyx and Flare systems respectively) though I don't want to detract from their greatness. These re-badged coin-ops are a travesty.

 

I wish someone would just let the Atari name die a respectful death. Any further usage of it would just be a shadow of its former glory. The Tramiels should have changed the company name when they took over, in the same way that Rare changed from Ultimate when they transformed. Didn't do them any harm

 

Someone should rename EA aswell. I remember in the very early 90s, that they made good games!! surely some mistake.

[atari70s]

you knwo what pisses me off. for the last 2 years ive been collecting atari now i have to collect INfogame instead F*** THAT if infogames wants to take credit go ahead we cant stop them (unless we sue them) . but Im not buying anything INFOGAMES untill they correct it if they make atari 2600 carts and call it INFOGAMES VCS gonna open a can of whoop ass.well there im vented out im going to inventory my new INFOgames collection and do away with my atari collection list talk to you all later

[Gregory DG]

quote

My guess is that this is a homebrew/custom setup if there were no visible markings as was stated. Most likely the person/s who put it together were not familiar with the situation and simply trying to cover their butts.

 

The unit was very finished and looked brand new. Definitely not a hack job. The "© 1982 Infogrames" was just as much a part of the marquee as the Millipede/Centipede/Missile Command was. (ie, it wasn't a sticker or anything.)

 

What truly galls me is that Infogrames doesn't use the Atari name when it should (arcade games that are OBVIOUSLY Atari's) and does use the name when it shouldn't (stamping Atari's name on their existing games.)

 

Just seems like Atari can't get a break.

[Nintendo Penguin]

Hi all. I totally realize I am the new guy around here, and I am not going to express my feelings using harsh words. (But believe me they did cross my mind.) Anyone seen any of those new "Atari" commercials? They all say Infogrames at the end.

 

This is... for lack of a better word.... upsetting! Okay, okay... it really ****IN PISSES ME OFF! I HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF MY ATARI 7800 and Info****s had nothing to do with them. You guys are right, they are trying to change history!

 

I propose we start some kind of letter writting campain or something! If anyone has any ideas I would be happy to help organize it.

 

Also, if anyone is good at making animated gifs, I am sure we would all be more than willing to place a BURN IN HELL INFOGRAMES gif on out personal websites.

 

Please let me know what you think.

[liquid_sky]

if you make the gif ill TRY to get bumper stickers made or something and distribute to the atari masses.. need a good slogan.. good cheap sticker printing place and it can be done

[Nintendo Penguin]

I totally understand that nothing illegal has taken place, but in my opinion that doesn't make it right. -^Cro§Bow^- is correct, whatever their marketing stategy is it doesn't make any sence, it all seems pretty stupid to me.

 

However, just because nothing illegal has taken place doesn't make it right. You are supposed to give credit where credit is due... at least thats the way I feel about it.

 

[ 01-21-2002: Message edited by: VintageGamer ]

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Despite how this looks and the fact that they are doing what they are...doesn't change one simple fact. We are confusing Law with opinion. Fact is that if Infograme bought the rights for the these games from Hasbro, then they actuall do have the right to change all the copyright information. Regardless of the fact that it was truly Atari who invented and distributed these games originally, Infograme does have the right legally to change all of these information since they now own the property rights.

 

What I can't figure out is, why they are doing this? Infograme bought the Atari name and logo to better get them recognized on the market. And they are using the Fuji, and Atari logo on their new games and in the comercials. But if they feel that removing this information from the classic arcades is helping them, then they are wrong. Because I feel that they would get much better press if they left the Fuji and Atari name to the classics and simply added to the copyright with their name and or logo of Infograme below that.

 

After all, why use one symbol that is so easy to identify with games on one end and then on another remove it when it clearly should belong?

 

Either way, they aren't doing anything wrong legally guys and we will just have to get used to such changes like it or not.