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Atari C&Ds Emulators, Site About Asteroids
An anonymous reader writes "Atari Inc. has launched another round of cease-and-desist letters targeted at what remains of its fan community. Having threatened homebrewers for the Atari 2600 and 8-bit systems, as well as emulator authors for mobile platforms like Android, they're now upping the ante by menacing Atari emulator authors on the Dreamcast and sites with Asteroids in the name (though in fairness, that site apparently once hosted a version of the Asteroids game). The working theory is that the company is planning a big push into the mobile market, and is trying to eliminate everything it believes could threaten its latest attempts at reviving the brand name. However, the emulators in question appear to have no copyrighted content from Atari, so it's unclear what exactly Atari believes the infringing material to be."
However, the emulators in question appear to have no copyrighted content from Atari, so it's unclear what exactly Atari believes the infringing material to be
Their trademark.
Sure it's a technicality, as the ROMs aren't art of the emulator, but it's obvious they don't want people playing Atari games, because they probably intend to release thm on the App store.
But hey, don't let common sense get in the way.
Lots of people would. For a laugh or nostalgia. Would they pay for the privilege? I doubt it.
I'm postig this frommy 2600 with a homebuil tcp stack. It is fast but does drop some pakcets now and again.
8-bit Atari is to Atari is like Duke Nukem is to Duke Nukem Forever.
Sorry Atari, you're not even the same entity you think you used to be. This is like me taking on the name of some deceased man, and trying to claim his property and namesake in retrospect.
Going after 2600 emulators for Dreamcast?
Going after emulators for Android is like the RIAA going after bit torrents. Going after emulators for Dreamcast is like the RIAA going after bootleg Edison cylinders.
(Not that I don't have emulators for the 2600 and NES for my Dreamcast--I do--but still. The phrase "bigger fish to fry" comes to mind.)
Who knew?
*goes back to sleep*
It read "Delete yourself! (You got no chance to win!)"
Do you see what I did there?
They may go after him.
Altirra, an 8-bit Atari computer emulator
Maybe this recent push has to do with the upcoming Asteroids movie that was announced a while back.
When someone says, "Any fool can see
"The working theory is that the company is planning a big push into the mobile market, and is trying to eliminate everything it believes could threaten its latest attempts at reviving the brand name."
I hate to tell Atari this because they were so cool in their heyday and all... but their brand name is dead as a doornail now. And running around suing everybody they see won't resuscitate them.
wait a second here, wasn't the fact that Atari never claimed copyrights on there games, the fact that when a company made third party games and they lost a lawsuit on that made them go bankrupt in the firstplace?
I grew up on Atari games, maybe they are planning a push into the mobile market. That'd be cool. But suing everyone who still remembers your name is not a good way to generate good will.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
If you would like to stay relevant in the modern age, instead of becoming a line item in the analogues of gaming tech. history, you will desist with stupid shit like this. Please wrangle in your legal department or dismiss whichever ass-hat board member thought this was a good idea to begin with. You're doing nothing but pissing off people that would otherwise support you if you actually produced a modern relevant product.
Sincerely,
The INTERNET
Do these retards understand that in a couple of years, your iphone is going to have the 3D capability of a PS2? Who's going to play "asteroids" as an iPhone app when Sega will be releasing Shenmu as an app?
They are assuming nostalgia value, but seriously, the larger market for the smartphones is 20-somethings who have NO memory of 8-bit Atari games. To them nostalgia is Pokemon and Power Rangers, and the games they played were SNES Starfox or better.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
Your embarrassing rotting zombie corpse was a nuisance 20 years ago, its time someone just shot you in the head. Besides this is not bushnell and crew doing this. its whatever douchbag who got stuck with the atari properties this year as a gag gift.
Most of those games are much more fun than most modern chest high wall dirt simulators. Dont get me wrong, I LOVED first person shooters and 3D games ... in 1990 when it was still new and interesting.
Good point. I haven't played asteroids in a while. Time to fire up the ol emulator.
I know this one!!
There's this Triangular Lawyer, flying around, suing at anyone and anything that uses the Atari name! The small targets are single businesses - the larger ones are small companies and clubs, which, when sued, split up and take the emulators and pass them around!
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Nolan Bushnell (co-founder) of Atari back-in-the-day is back and in charge. Given the success of their 3 million downloads on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ataris-greatest-hits/id422966028?mt=8) they see $$$ potential.
I hope the 2600 hardware and home-brew community survives.
Given the spanking that Nintendo is taking due to mobile gaming, watch out SNES and NES emulators.
I read that as Atari had made an emulator for the cease and desist process.
That could be a new break out genre.
Atari User have an article on this at http://atariuser.blogspot.com . Seems the C&D frenzy continues.
Its some holding company who bought the rights. What most of us would consider Atari has been gone for a long time now.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Sounds like the letter was produced by moronic marketdroids rather than a buncha bozo barristers.
There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
It's because some jerk-ass lawyer is working through Atari's trademark catalog alphabetically. Next...Breakout?
Let's all go infringe against Yar's Revenge. We'll be safe for years!
Slashdot: come for the pedantry, stay for the condescension.
After reading the C&D letter posted by asteroids.co.uk, I found it amusing that they are claiming trademark on the Cryptic Studios games, considering Atari just sold them off.
I have an Atari 400, an 800XL, and a 520ST. They all still work!
Not much you can do with them. Star Raiders is still fun every once in a while, though.
You'd think they'd at least GOOGLE SONY VS. CONNECTIX. Even Nintendo has an entire page on their site dedicated to emulation FAQs. I suppose they could sue on the grounds of patent infringement...if they hadn't expired 20 years ago. Wait there's the Atari 8-bit BIOS & OS ROMs...that have been reverse engineered, reprogrammed & improved upon. Y U NO THINKING ATARI!? Still, I've been using atari2600a as my standard alias for a decade, can't go back on that now...
If I was the owner of the Atari brand, I'll do exactly the opposite by encouraging and supporting the fan base thus providing a cheap advertising campaign.
I would provide free ROMs from old consoles and in the meantime sell new games or applications. In contrast they are struggling against their fan base, which could have a very negative impact.
Yeah yeah, these corporate lawyer nimrods keep sticking their finger in the dams of the internet, hoping to stem the flow of information, only to find for every leak they stop 50 more leaks appear in it's place.
Atari, give it up. These emulators have been around far too long to stop them now. There WILL no doubt be many many mirror sites offering the same thing in countries that won't be beholden to the copyright law of the US, if there isn't already.
Sue all you want, Atari, you will never stop the internet.
that's just a company made up of layers right? I mean they don't actually produce anything or contribute to mankind in any way do they?
I do not think Atari can sue over the arcade names, because all that IP belonged to Atari Games when Atari was essentially split in to Atari Inc. (which eventually found its way to the bastards we know today). Atari Games however eventually found its way to Midway which was bought out my Warner Bros. Entertainment.
So i heard you liked dead consoles, so we put a dead console in your dead console!