Atari Files For Bankruptcy

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Posted by samzenpus on Monday January 21, 2013 @02:56AM from the no-more-combat dept.

First time accepted submitter halls-of-valhalla writes "Atari was one of the very first video game companies, starting way back in 1972. However, this long-running name that brought us titles like Pong and Asteroids is having major financial issues. Atari's United States branches have filed for bankruptcy on Sunday. This bankruptcy is an attempt to separate themselves from their French parent which has quite a bit of debt. The plan is to split from the French parent and find a buyer to form a private company."

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game over... by CohibaVancouver · 2013-01-21 03:01 · Score: 4, Insightful

GAME OVER PLAYER 1
1. Re:game over... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:13 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE!
2. Re:game over... by zwei2stein · 2013-01-21 03:19 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Insert coin to continue in 3.. 2.. 1..
  
  --
  -- Technology for the sake of technology is as pathetic as eschewing technology because it's technology.
3. Re:game over... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  Are they even worth that much?
4. Re:game over... by Flipao · 2013-01-21 04:10 · Score: 2
  
  The brand alone?, yes.
5. Re:game over... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 06:44 · Score: 0
  
  You have no continues.
6. Re:game over... by UltraZelda64 · 2013-01-21 07:35 · Score: 1
  
  Depends. A quarter? No.
  A Coin from Super Mario Bros.? Maybe...
7. Re:game over... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 08:31 · Score: 0
  
  Where is the coin slot?
  I just have this thing that says SD.
  Does that mean short dollar or something?
  I'll just put it in anyway. It likely is the coin slot.
This is not Atari by Nimey · 2013-01-21 03:02 · Score: 5, Informative

This is formerly Infogrames, who bought rights to the Atari name after the original went bankrupt.
A little basic fact-checking would have fixed this entry, "editors".

--
Hail Eris, full of mischief...

E pluribus sanguinem
1. Re:This is not Atari by radiumsoup · 2013-01-21 03:04 · Score: 1
  
  yeah, my first thought was, "Again?"
2. Re:This is not Atari by bfandreas · 2013-01-21 03:16 · Score: 1
  
  The French arm certainly is an undead version of Infogrames.
  
  But what about Atari Inc? IIRC Infogrames only bought the name. So Atari Inc must be even further removed from Atari(proper).
  Last I heard Atari cooperated with Zynga to create Pong. If that is true then both companies are truly frkd. Imagine: Your last ditch effort is to recreate a "game" of yesteryear that nowadays is farted out by first semester students armed with Notepad and and dodgy nutrition.
  
  Atari in name only and not even that since Atari née Inforgrames is the French bit. Pity. I have fond memories of both.
  
  --
  20 minutes into the future
3. Re:This is not Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:19 · Score: 0
  
  I'm guessing Infogrames would be the "French parent" mentioned in the summary, while the "US branch" is the "real" Atari. Those appear to be valid factual descriptions. Knee-jerk much?
4. Re:This is not Atari by Macrat · 2013-01-21 08:10 · Score: 1
  
  This is formerly Infogrames, who bought rights to the Atari name after the original went bankrupt.
  A little basic fact-checking would have fixed this entry, "editors".
  You mean like reading Wikipedia?
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari
Copyright by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:04 · Score: 1

I'm sure their patents are expired by now, but does anyone know if the entity currently named "Atari" still holds copyright to the old games?
1. Re:Copyright by Miamicanes · 2013-01-21 03:42 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Intellectual property for American 1980s videogames is a clusterfuck mess. Companies entered into short-term and limited-scope licensing for music, trademarks, images, and the rights to port games from other platforms. And just about every non-Japanese company in business circa 1983 was bankrupt by the mid-90s.
  Some platforms, like Colecovision, are such a mess (legally), it would be basically impossible to EVER commercially re-release most of its old games in their original binary form. Coleco in particular signed licensing agreements that literally specified rom cartridges (one of the Adam's fatal flaws, since it meant they couldn't make tape-based versions with more conrent), expired in 10 years, etc. You'd have to spend millions researching ownership, then spin the roulette wheel and try negotiating new licensing agreements with owners who -- almost without exception -- would act like they hit the jackpot and demand outrageous amounts of money that would kill the product dead, anyway.
  I believe this was a major motive behind the development of MAME -- the realization that some games were doomed to legally rot in limbo for eternity due to licensing problems.
2. Re:Copyright by CastrTroy · 2013-01-21 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  This is why we should go back to the original copyright term of 14 years. After that long of a time most works that will make money for the creators will have done so. Any longer than that, and you risk losing the works forever because they become destroyed/forgotten. Also, creators would have to actually create more than 1 good work in their entire lifetime if they wished to continue earning income. As it stands, there's so incentive for artists to create new works as long as their old one keeps selling.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
3. Re:Copyright by funky_vibes · 2013-01-22 06:53 · Score: 1
  
  I think it's entirely unreasonable for copyright to last more than 2 years.
  Even 14yrs wouldn't release the stranglehold that the current system is putting on the development of society.
The French... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:07 · Score: 0, Troll

... should stick to fries. What do they know about 8-bit gaming? Did Napoleon play pong? NO!
1. Re:The French... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:09 · Score: 0
  
  Napoleon WAS the pong ball, you dummie!
2. Re:The French... by Hognoxious · 2013-01-21 06:18 · Score: 2
  
  I bet he caused a pong. He was French[1], after all.
  [1] But only just. If he'd been born a few months earlier he'd have been an Eyetie.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:08 · Score: 0

There's no continuity except name and certain property rights. Atari has been through bankruptcy before, and will likely go through it again.
Why? Because somebody will buy the name, which still resonates for some reason.
It's also why people go to Chuck E. Cheese's.
1. Re:Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by Sponge+Bath · 2013-01-21 03:15 · Score: 2
  
  It's also why people go to Chuck E. Cheese's.
  I thought is was for the quality food and comforting screams of agitated children. Pew pew pew.
2. Re:Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by vlm · 2013-01-21 03:30 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  It's also why people go to Chuck E. Cheese's.
  Gonna have to explain that one further. Locally when the weather is bad, its by far the cheapest place to take the whole family for "fun" which also has a liquor license, so the local cops are continually breaking up fights between dirtbags, which is not exactly great PR so its driving everyone except the dirtbags away. "Oh you went to CeC last night, were the cops there?" Basically if mom and/or dad are prime dive bar customers, but they have the kids that weekend, they can go to CeC and get drunk while the kids play. On the other hand its actually a pretty nice place to visit early enough in the day before the parents get drunk. If they would just close around sundown or so it would result in much higher class/lower crime clientele. Also the local news rag is offended that they aren't paying for enough advertising, so they highlight every minor problem to "motivate" them to purchase more advertising...
  I'm guessing the analogy is something like Atari is more fun when you're drunk/baked or ?
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
3. Re:Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by TheRealMindChild · 2013-01-21 03:58 · Score: 2
  
  Perhaps something to do with Nolan Bushnell starting both companies?
  
  --
  
  "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
4. Re:Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by Runaway1956 · 2013-01-21 04:14 · Score: 1
  
  Personally, I've been in a Chuckie's exactly two times. The first time was due to ignorance. I didn't like the food, and I damned sure didn't like the kids squealing all around me. It was just to juvenile, and unsupervised. The second time, I was pretty much dragged in, and the experience was even worse.
  I guess it's been 25 years since I've been in one, and there is no nostalgia or any similar emotion that might make me venture in again. Some kind of serious money offer might induce me to walk through their doors again. Serious, I said. I'm not going in for a hundred bucks, thank you very much.
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
5. Re:Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:24 · Score: 0
  
  Gonna have to explain that one further.
  
  Your local Chuck E. Cheese's experience is in no way comparable to mine.
  Here they just have the name and people thinking of it nostalgically so now they're bringing their children, then feeling a bit disappointed as the animatronic robots just aren't as cool.
6. Re:Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by Hatta · 2013-01-21 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  Atari has been through bankruptcy before, and will likely go through it again.
  Why? Because somebody will buy the name, which still resonates for some reason.
  It's also why people go to Chuck E. Cheese's.
  Coincidently or not, both of those companies were founded by the same guy, Nolan Bushnell.
  
  --
  Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
7. Re:Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by vlm · 2013-01-21 06:01 · Score: 1
  
  any similar emotion that might make me venture in again
  Well, aside from clientele issues previously mentioned which boil down to, train your bartenders to not serve liquor to dirtbags, its basically an arcade/carnival/state fair/amusement park experience, indoors... I can see how you'd be very unhappy if someone tricked you into thinking its a gourmet suit and tie fine dining establishment, but its not much different or worse than the state/county fair carnival area experience.
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
8. Re:Please, this Atari isn't the original one. by Nerd4News · 2013-01-23 12:19 · Score: 1
  
  My Chuck E. Cheese stories:
  Wife brought daughter there for Saturday lunch. Some dirtbag employee started stalking her. Every time she turned around he was 10 feet away staring at her. She couldn't wait to get out of there.
  I took daughter there for lunch one day while wife was working. We were the only ones at the counter. It took 10 minutes for someone to wait on us while 3 employees stood around counting tokens and others wandered around like zombies. I ordered a beer and the drone asked for my ID. I was about 50 and didn't look close to being under age but he had to check with his manager. He disappeared for another 10 minutes with my license and finally came back with his manager. I grabbed my license, told him what i thought of their service and walked out.
  I guess you can't work at CeC unless you're a pervert, idiot or slacker. I wouldn't go back if everything was free.
It sort-of is Atari by crow · 2013-01-21 03:09 · Score: 5, Informative

Infogrames bought not just the name, but the company. Yes, it's been through a number of acquisitions and mergers. So yes, the current Atari does, in fact, own the copyrights on the 70s and 80s games that everyone associates with it, and it is still the same company. It's not just a brand that someone is licensing around (like RCA).
But you're right, it hasn't really been Atari in the emotional sense since at least 1998 when Hasbro bought them.
1. Re:It sort-of is Atari by ultrasawblade · 2013-01-21 03:23 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Atari died when the Jaguar flopped and JTS quiety bought them in a "reverse merger."
  I would venture to say though that after the crash of '83, and the NES started becoming cool two years later, was really when it started to fall.
2. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:32 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  The company died from poor management and MBA style decisions. Like many other companies
  Atari ST was a good product and then when they followed up with the lousy STE, which had nothing compared to the Amiga's blitter, Atari was on the way do die. Management was MBA greedy and didn't realize the market would choose the better technology, or just plain didn't care as long as their wallets were full.
3. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:20 · Score: 1
  
  Atari ST was a good product and then when they followed up with the lousy STE, which had nothing compared to the Amiga's blitter, Atari was on the way do die.
  Yeah, it was sad. I owned both a Falcon 030 and an Amiga 1200. Despite the 16 MHZ 68030 in the Falcon stomping all over the 14 MHZ 68EC020 in the Amiga, the custom chips in the Atari weren't even close to the Amiga. Throw in one of the cheap 100-150 dollar accelerators of the day, and it gave you a 40 or 50 MHZ 68030 in the 1200 that decidedly put the Atari into the ground performance wise.
  And don't get me wrong, I loved them both. I was just sad that the game was over; Atari had fired it's last shot in the home computing fight. I've always been a Moto 68k enthusiast, and Apple was already PowerPC. We know what happened to Amiga a few years thereafter. :(
  In addition, the Falcon 040 never making it out the door didn't help. Some folks back in the day speculated that it might have had the Jaguar's video hardware.
4. Re:It sort-of is Atari by kelemvor4 · 2013-01-21 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  Tramiel's sons were idiots.
  Of course, they are still rich, so i guess things worked out for them. Just not Atari employees and fans.
  That's the American way. Assholes, maybe - but I don't think they were idiots.
5. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:29 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Tramiel's sons were idiots.
  That's not fair and too easy to say without some facts.
  In the ST's heyday, they were visiting user groups to (as best they could)
  to see what the users wanted to see in current/future products. Marketing, yes.
  But there was a genuine concern, too.
  Apple was in the same boat back then; probably worse. Guess what "saved" Apple?
  Not S. Jobs, but PageMaker. If PageMaker had been developed for the ST, things
  would be very different today.
  Atari choose a very vertical market - hobby consumer oriented. Sadly, this was too risky
  and Jack scared off all of the metal talent (they sure could've been NES and then some).
  Apple went more horizontal and built appeal both for consumers and business and their
  only genius was giving a mac to colleges.
  CAPTCHA = refuel (alas, I fear it's too late even for that)
6. Re:It sort-of is Atari by camperdave · 2013-01-21 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  From what I understand, after the 8-bit computers had rolled out, but before the 16 bit machines were designed, there was a trade of expertise between Commodore and Atari. The chip designers behind ANTIC, POKEY, and GTIA/CTIA (the graphic and sound chips in the 8-bit Atari computers) went to work for Commodore, and the Commodore people went to work for Atari. So the Amiga wound up with the better chips, and the Atari-ST fell short.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
7. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Zeromous · 2013-01-21 05:09 · Score: 1
  
  Mod +5 insightful.
  
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  ---Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A START
8. Re:It sort-of is Atari by squiggleslash · 2013-01-21 05:59 · Score: 1
  
  That's not the same Atari, although both Ataris have their origins in Nolan Bushnell's original Atari.
  The company was broken up in the early eighties. Part went to Jack Tramiel, but not the games bit. The Atari you see around these days is related to the games bit.
  
  --
  You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
9. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Dogtanian · 2013-01-21 06:02 · Score: 2
  
  Actually, the Amiga was originally developed by an independent company (Amiga Inc.) who *did* have some former Atari people working for them. The old Atari Inc. provided some support with caveats attached, and when Jack Tramiel bought out Atari's computer division, he hoped (using his typical legally-dubious techniques) to use legal clauses and agreements to gain control of the Amiga. Commodore rushed in and bought them, there was a lot of fuss and legal bickering, but C= ended up with the rights and Tramiel's Atari rushed out the ST instead.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Amiga#Amiga_Corporation
  
  FWIW, the ST *did* do better early on in Europe, because the Amiga was so damn expensive, so don't knock it too much- it did provide "Power without the Price", even if it was eclipsed later on as the Amiga fell in price and took over as Europe's favourite 16-bit. Of course, both flopped in the US...
  
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  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
10. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 06:07 · Score: 0
  
  No, the current Atari (Infogrames US) was an already-existing New York company called GT Interactive (who made a niche as the distributor of nearly all Doom-engine and Unreal games). Infogrames bought GTI to jumpstart their US presence. They later also bought Hasbro Interactive (who owned the Atari IP). GTI and Hasbro were then restructured under the Atari name.
  Not only are they not Atari, they only acquired the Atari IP second-hand from a previous owner, who themselves purchased the IP in a fire sale. And anyway, what they did acquire was only half of what Atari was, since the home/arcade split all the way back in the 80s. It's that home division whose assets were liquidated and picked up by Hasbro. The arcade half was itself purchased by Midway, and Midway was then purchased by Warner. Thus, all that might be left of the "real" Atari is now in the hands of Warner, not Infogrames. Though I'm not sure to what degree Warner's purchase was for the company or whether, like the Hasbro/Infogrames deal, it was merely a purchase of IP.
11. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 06:10 · Score: 0
  
  JTS quiety bought them in a "reverse merger."
  
  How can something that has no direction be reversed? Reverse takeover, now that makes sense.
12. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 06:15 · Score: 0
  
  The DSP in the Falcon was cool and some demos make very good use of it. Unfortunately Atari crippled the computer with a 16bit bus so most of the advantages were nullified.
13. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 06:17 · Score: 0
  
  I think one of the factors that didn't help either was the lack of availability of TV modulators for the Amiga when they were first launched in the UK (I don't know what the situation was in the rest of Europe). I worked Saturdays in a computer shop at the time of the Amiga and the ST, and one factor that pushed a lot of people in to getting the ST was that they could easily connect it to a domestic television set. Although I had my eyes on the Amiga, I too was on the cusp of getting an ST for this very reason, fortunately TV modulators became available just before I made my purchase.
14. Re:It sort-of is Atari by PRMan · 2013-01-21 06:19 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Apples were expandable. IBM PCs were expandable. Ataris and Amigas were not. See a pattern?
  Apple got their stuff into schools. IBM got their stuff into small businesses. Atari and Amiga got them into Toys'r'us. It's really that simple.
  
  --
  Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
15. Re:It sort-of is Atari by camperdave · 2013-01-21 06:58 · Score: 2
  
  At the time, the Atari ST was the only machine with built in MIDI. That and it's relatively cheap price compared to MIDI upgraded computers made it very popular in the music industry.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
16. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Dogtanian · 2013-01-21 07:49 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The Atari you see around these days is related to the games bit.
  That's incorrect; Hasbro (and through them, Infogrames) got the "Atari" name and IP through the legal remnants of Atari Corp. who *did* deal in games.
  
  Atari Inc. was split along *arcade* (Atari Games) and *home/consumer* (Atari Corp.) lines. The latter (Jack Tramiel's) certainly included a lot of games-related business over the years, even if Tramiel initially thought it was a dead end. They continued the VCS/2600, relaunched the 7800 (after canning it for 18 months or so), released the XE Games System (an updated Atari 800 without a keyboard), then the Lynx (a fantastic handheld console developed by Epyx that was years ahead of its time, and partly killed by their crappy marketing) and finally the ill-fated Jaguar.
  
  Also, the deal was that Atari Games could only use the "Atari" name in the arcade; they used the "Tengen" brand for home releases. Atari Games became part of Midway and was later renamed Midway Games West around the time Hasbro got the home name (to avoid confusion, apparently). I don't know what the status is of Atari Games' rights to the name and IP, but I suspect their legal successor's use of the name will still be restricted to arcade use. (Given that even in Japan- apparently- actual arcade-based games are no longer popular, that's nowhere near as big a deal as it would have been in the mid-80s).
  
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  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
17. Re:It sort-of is Atari by nogginthenog · 2013-01-21 07:50 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Huh? Amigas were easily expandable, at least as much as 680x0 Apples. Big box Amigas (A2000, A3000 & A4000) had a Zorro bus which took graphics cards, serial cards, video editing (Video Toaster), etc. Small box Amigas (A500, A600, A1200) has similar expansion capabilities. A500&A1000 had a zorro 1 connector on the side, A1200 & A600 had the clockport. There were also the standard external parallel & serial ports available. There are even new expansion cards being manufactured & designed today (albeit in small quantities)
  My A500 had a huge 80Mb SCSI hard drive.
  My A4000 had a 24bit graphics card, serial card, 68060 processor with fast SCSI and lots of RAM (60Mb :-)
18. Re:It sort-of is Atari by nogginthenog · 2013-01-21 07:51 · Score: 1
  
  TV modulators came as standard with the Amiga, at least in '87 when I got my first one... Shame it stuck out the back!
19. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Dogtanian · 2013-01-21 08:00 · Score: 1
  
  Should have clarified that. When I said "that's incorrect", I meant that it was incorrect that it wasn't related through Tramiel's Atari Corp. (it was) and that it was a successor to Atari Games (which I assume was the entity you meant). Of course, as I mentioned, Atari Corp also did games-related business.
  
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  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
20. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Darinbob · 2013-01-21 08:05 · Score: 1
  
  Tramiel and Atari lost a lot of credibility though when they went on a smear campaign against Amiga.
21. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Dogtanian · 2013-01-21 08:07 · Score: 1
  
  Apparently Midway Games West (the renamed Atari Games) shut down completely in 2003 and only existed as a holding company after that. So even if they bought the "company", it would mean little more than IP and a name in practice.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Games
  
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  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
22. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Dogtanian · 2013-01-21 08:23 · Score: 1
  
  The Amiga 500 (i.e. the first "affordable" Amiga and the one that people remember as the "classic" Amiga) came out in 1987, and I assume that's what you had.
  
  I suspect that the original 1985 Amiga 1000 might not have come with a modulator. Then again, the list price for that was apparently $1300, and if you had the money (and inclination) for that, the $300 cost of the monitor probably wouldn't be an issue, especially as it was probably being bought by professionals and hobbyists who wouldn't spend $1300 on state-of-the-art media computer and compromise it by shoving the display through some crappy RF. :-)
  
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  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
23. Re:It sort-of is Atari by ArcadeNut · 2013-01-21 09:12 · Score: 2
  
  If PageMaker had been developed for the ST, things
  would be very different today.
  Seriously doubt that. The Atari ST has Calamus Desktop Publishing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamus_(DTP)). It was a fantastic DTP software way ahead of it's time.
  What killed Atari is a lot of different things.
  The ones that stick in my mind are
  1) Not listening to it's customers
  2) Slow to come out with new products, and when they did, they were minor upgrades to older products.
  3) Lack of Marketing
  
  --
  Visit the Arcade Restoration Workshop @ http://www.arcaderestoration.com
24. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 09:24 · Score: 1
  
  Amiga got into television in the US. Babylon 5's graphics were done on them and many broadcasters had them because the output could go straight to screen unlike with other machines.
25. Re:It sort-of is Atari by MysteriousPreacher · 2013-01-21 11:25 · Score: 1
  
  TV modulators came as standard with the Amiga, at least in '87 when I got my first one... Shame it stuck out the back!
  Yeah, that modulator was a pain. It was about as long as half of the Amiga itself, so I ended up having to cut a hole in the back of my computer desk so I didn't have the Amiga hanging over the front. At the time the Commodore supplied monitors were way to expensive to consider on top of a computer that way more expensive than anything else my parents had ever bought me. Best bloody thing they ever bought me though. I contribute a lot of what my current career to nights spent hacking around on that thing. Hooray for AmigaDOS, AMOS and DICE C.
  
  --
  -- Using the preview button since 2005
26. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Scarletdown · 2013-01-21 12:02 · Score: 1
  
  Atari died when the Jaguar flopped and JTS quiety bought them in a "reverse merger."
  I would venture to say though that after the crash of '83, and the NES started becoming cool two years later, was really when it started to fall.
  I always figured the big mortal blow to Atari was when Tramiel turned down Nintendo's offer to market the Famicom in the U.S. for them. Instead, they brought the 7800 with its somewhat outdated specs out of mothballs and tried to take on Nintendo directly instead of working with them.
  
  --
  This space unintentionally left blank.
27. Re:It sort-of is Atari by mattack2 · 2013-01-21 12:20 · Score: 1
  
  OK, you mean the arcade games 'half', right?
  This (company's/companies') story is really confusing, and I used to know the various machinations.
28. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Waccoon · 2013-01-21 17:45 · Score: 2
  
  You should see what people can hack into an A600 or A1200 these days. Those were the "keyboards with a computer attached", and they still had full, 32-bit internal expansion slots built in as standard.
  Apples were expandable? Since when? I thought Jobs insisted that the original Macs shouldn't even have upgradable memory. PowerMacs were the machines that charged a $500 premium just for the weird folding cases and the privilege of having expansion slots.
29. Re:It sort-of is Atari by jedwidz · 2013-01-21 18:04 · Score: 1
  
  released the XE Games System (an updated Atari 800 without a keyboard)
  Actually did have a detachable keyboard, and closer to the 130XE (actually 65XE) than the 800.
  It was pretty lousy compared to the NES. Ironically my favourite game on it was Mario Bros. Yep, a Nintendo game on non-Nintendo hardware ;-)
30. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 18:39 · Score: 0
  
  Amiga got into television in the US. Babylon 5's graphics were done on them and many broadcasters had them because the output could go straight to screen unlike with other machines.
  Only the pilot!!!!
  http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/making/effects.html
  "The B5 effects teams, both at Foundation and at NDI, use Lightwave 3D by NewTek and specialized software to design and render the visual effects. For the pilot, the effects were rendered on a network of Amiga computers; later, Foundation used 12 Pentium PCs and 5 DEC Alpha workstations for 3D rendering and design, and 3 Macintoshes for piecing together on-set computer displays. The NDI team uses a similar array of equipment; see George Johnsen's comments below. "
31. Re:It sort-of is Atari by clickclickdrone · 2013-01-21 19:55 · Score: 2
  
  I think the disastrous purchase of the Federated store chain in the US was what finally did them . Prior to that, Tramiel had paid off the debt, sold a shit ton of STs etc in Europe and made Atari cash rich. They couldn't get into US shops though so bought Federated at an inflated price only to discover the books had been cooked. It took 2 years of management to sort out and at the end they'd lost most of the money and slipped back in Europe having taken their eye off the R&D ball and never recovered in the computer arena. They went to the Jaguar as a last ditch attempt at returning to their roots but it was too late..
  
  --
  I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
32. Re:It sort-of is Atari by clickclickdrone · 2013-01-21 21:09 · Score: 2
  
  Atari choose a very vertical market - hobby consumer oriented
  Not so much in Europe. The ST/TT (more TT) was marketed quite aggressively to business - look at the DTP bundle of Mega ST, laser printer and software that was done. A lot of very high end software came out of Germany and elsewhere to support this. I can't find the numbers now but at one point Atari was the number 3 seller of 'business computers' in Europe, around 1988-89.
  
  --
  I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
33. Re:It sort-of is Atari by clickclickdrone · 2013-01-21 21:28 · Score: 1
  
  Kind of... Atari signed up Amiga to design a chipset for them - the Amiga chipset is basically the 800 with bells and whistles, architecturally it's very similar - not surprising since both were Jay Miner designs. CBM started to court Amiga and Amiga returned the cash Atari had paid them before being bought up. Atari then had to rush out the ST from scratch in 6 months to fill the gap.
  
  --
  I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
34. Re:It sort-of is Atari by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-22 00:24 · Score: 0
  
  [The XE Games System] did have a detachable keyboard, and closer to the 130XE (actually 65XE) than the 800.
  True, but the 65XE itself was still essentially just an updated Atari 800. I intentionally mentioned the latter, as a general audience is more likely to have heard of it, and it makes the lineage clearer.
  And I know about the XEGS's keyboard too, but that was optional (*), even if they did bundle it with the XEGS in some cases. (**)
  (*) I assume all games in the XEGS packaging would have worked without the keyboard and/or explicitly stated that requirement, but of course, many older games for the 400/800/XL/XE- with which the XEGS was otherwise almost entirely compatible- may have required keyboard input.
  (**) Though logically, it would have made more sense just to buy an 65XE then, especially as the XEGS apparently omitted the enhanced cartridge port. That said, I've heard that Atari's motives in releasing the XEGS were to get it into outlets that sold consoles but not computers.
35. Re:It sort-of is Atari by jedwidz · 2013-01-22 10:01 · Score: 1
  
  True, but the 65XE itself was still essentially just an updated Atari 800. I intentionally mentioned the latter, as a general audience is more likely to have heard of it, and it makes the lineage clearer.
  Atari certainly did a lot of repacking the same old hardware. I used several XL cartridges on the XE Games System without issue. And to upgrade to a 'real' XE computer, all you needed was a disk drive.
  Flight Simulator 2 was bundled and that was awesome - fly under the Golden Gate Bridge and round the Statue of Liberty, then engage in a WWI dogfight, all in 2MHz 8-bit chunkiness.
  The light gun was also good for a laugh. Light guns are about the only thing I miss about CRT TVs.
  Missile Command came built-in, but unfortunately didn't use the light gun.
  Done reminiscing.
36. Re:It sort-of is Atari by SteveyP66 · 2013-01-24 03:57 · Score: 1
  
  What everyone seems to forget is that Atari was dominant in the MIDI market - just about everyone was programming their hit records using them in the late 80's (Alison Moyet, Erasure, Bronski Beat, etc), and the music software available for it was second to none!
How is it that no one has mentioned this yet? by Creedo · 2013-01-21 03:24 · Score: 2

Brent is exactly correct here: http://pvponline.com/comic/2008/12/08/they-love-the-80s/

--
All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
Apple should buy them by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:25 · Score: 0

Let them produce exclusive iOS games.
1. Re:Apple should buy them by vlm · 2013-01-21 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  "ET, now only on the Apple iPad"
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
2. Re:Apple should buy them by WilyCoder · 2013-01-21 03:51 · Score: 1
  
  With a music video done by Neil Diamond!
  "More juice..."
3. Re:Apple should buy them by narcc · 2013-01-21 03:57 · Score: 1
  
  That would be cool, especially if they used the fixed version.
  Well, cool except for the platform exclusivity... That's never cool.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
4. Re:Apple should buy them by guttentag · 2013-01-21 04:07 · Score: 1
  
  "ET, now only on the Apple iPad"
  ET would hate the iPad. Anyone can magically make it do stuff whether their finger glows or not.
5. Re:Apple should buy them by bfandreas · 2013-01-21 04:30 · Score: 1
  
  What a cool thing! And a very, very good analysis.
  I really feel for Warshaw. A couple more weeks. A little playtesting.
  
  I also love how now code archaeology has become a thing. This is a highly interesting read. Grab a pot of coffee and waste an hour.
  
  --
  20 minutes into the future
6. Re:Apple should buy them by narcc · 2013-01-21 05:33 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, I wish the "hacks" forum on AtariAge had more of this kind of break-down. You sometimes find good discussions about problems and solutions though.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
7. Re:Apple should buy them by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 05:54 · Score: 0
  
  I can already play them all on android. Rooting not required.
8. Re:Apple should buy them by petsounds · 2013-01-21 07:30 · Score: 1
  
  I remember playing E.T. on the 2600 when I was a kid. I never thought it was "horrible" -- though constantly falling in wells was annoying -- but it just felt really boring. The first game where I forced myself to finish it. Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark were both games that also featured the same concepts of exploration as E.T., but without sucking. Okay, Superman wasn't fantastic, but flying around picking up bad guys and helicopters was a lot more fun than a useless little alien falling into wells constantly.
  Raiders of the Lost Ark on the other hand was an amazingly complicated game. Quite brutal actually, and somewhat nonsensical, but it was the first game I played where I felt like the developer was daring me to keep playing. Interestingly, ALSO created by the same guy who did E.T., Howard Scott Warshaw. How one guy can make one of the better 2600 games, and then make one of the worst, I'm not sure.
9. Re:Apple should buy them by mattack2 · 2013-01-21 12:38 · Score: 1
  
  It was made between July 27 and September 1 of the same year.. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial_(video_game)#Development
I thought it was already dead by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:27 · Score: 0

As per the Blade Runner curse.
1. Re:I thought it was already dead by ichthus · 2013-01-21 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  What'chu talkin 'bout, Willis?
  
  --
  sig: sauer
How to go bankrupt? by nedlohs · 2013-01-21 03:30 · Score: 1

Name your company Atari.
1. Re:How to go bankrupt? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:47 · Score: 0
  
  Name your company Atari.
  Or "Amiga".
2. Re:How to go bankrupt? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:59 · Score: 0
  
  You missed the joke. It's related to Go and since you are here you should know the game...
3. Re:How to go bankrupt? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:44 · Score: 0
  
  You missed the joke. It's related to Go and since you are here you should know the game...
  Oh, right, sorry, I forgot that geekdom is a strictly-defined monoculture where all involved are required by law to consume the same cultural products, ALL of the same cultural products, and nothing BUT those cultural products. My mistake, I'll just head out to the reprocessing facility for a cleansing lobotomy that should take care of all those incorrect ideas I've got kicking around, including that darn lack of smug superiority regarding the appreciation of anything that originates from the Pacific Rim. Hail creativity and individuality, fellow citizen!
First twinkies by netwarerip · 2013-01-21 03:30 · Score: 2

Now Atari. My formative years have just received a major nutshot.
Atari == my childhood by itachi0x0 · 2013-01-21 03:32 · Score: 0

Your childhood should not declare bankruptcy!
1. Re:Atari == my childhood by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:52 · Score: 0
  
  Your childhood should not declare bankruptcy!
  Mmm hmm, really? So why should your childhood be any different from that of your parents' generation? Or are you suggesting we, a modern generation on the move who grew up with certain specific video games, should desperately cling to the pop culture of our past and constantly reminisce about it, much like your parents' generation does with the pop culture of THEIR time while the next generation derisively sneers at us for doing exactly that?
  Welcome to the time loop. Everything we said about our parents when they took us to boring-as-hell museums full of dead shit they grew up with? We're about to become them. This attitude of ours is only accelerating it. We got OLD, pal. We got old REALLY fast.
Atari IS a French company by goruka · 2013-01-21 03:36 · Score: 2

And it used to be called Infogrames, known for the 90s PC "Alone in the Dark" saga. Then they became a publisher and aquired the Atari brand to get their products more visibility.
1. Re:Atari IS a French company by jones_supa · 2013-01-21 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  Back in the day I liked the Infogrames logo very much, it remains one of my favorite game company logos.
2. Re:Atari IS a French company by Hatta · 2013-01-21 04:30 · Score: 1
  
  Infogrames used to make some nice stuff. But that pretty much stopped with the Amiga.
  
  --
  Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
3. Re:Atari IS a French company by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 08:26 · Score: 0
  
  The logo kept reminding me of an amadillo. That's probably why i liked it, too.
4. Re:Atari IS a French company by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 08:59 · Score: 0
  
  Back in the day I liked the Infogrames logo very much, it remains one of my favorite game company logos.
  Isn't that also the signature of the new US treasury secretary?
Bad editor! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:39 · Score: 0

Submitter links both to the original article in their summary, as well as a link to their own website, which in turn links to the original article. Yikes.
Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 03:46 · Score: 0

Atari has been struggling to answer the devastating ad campaign launched by one of its competitors.
Atari has Reached a State of Atari by guttentag · 2013-01-21 04:01 · Score: 5, Funny

Atari was named for a term in the game "go" in which a stone or group of stones are in danger of being taken by one's opponent and the player has only one option available to avoid this outcome . Kind of like bankruptcy. So it seems that Atari has finally reached a state of Atari.
1. Re:Atari has Reached a State of Atari by Hatta · 2013-01-21 04:40 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  The writing was on the wall when they started hitting their biggest fans with cease and decist orders. An Atari that valued its history for more what they could sell the rights might not be in this situation today.
  
  --
  Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
It goes from bad to worse now. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:03 · Score: 0

Atari has been a shit company for decades now re-re-re-re-selling old games here and there and occasionally crapping out a new shit game but they basically have just been festering for awhile. Their demise is just fine, but the problem now is someone else will buy their library cheap and start re-re-re-re-releasing stuff again and taking old dead games and turning them in shovelware remakes to clog up store shelves.
1. Re:It goes from bad to worse now. by Runaway1956 · 2013-01-21 04:45 · Score: 1
  
  I'd pay ten bucks for a DVD with all of Atari's old games on it. It could lie around on a shelf, and when I got bored, I'd browse through the library, and play something. But, I can't imagine actually BUYING a game in the store for twenty bucks. They weren't worth that much back in 1980's!
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
2. Re:It goes from bad to worse now. by amiga3D · 2013-01-21 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  I find most of the old games to be more fun to play than the new ones out today. The new ones are nice to look at but mostly suck for play.
3. Re:It goes from bad to worse now. by Hognoxious · 2013-01-21 06:53 · Score: 1
  
  You used to be able to buy a joystick that had an emulator inside it that included all the old Atari console games.
  Or was it the Sega?
  In either case, all means "all except the one that was your total best most favouriterest evar".
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
4. Re:It goes from bad to worse now. by narcc · 2013-01-21 08:29 · Score: 1
  
  A company called Jakks Pacific made a few of those, including a few console-like ones in their Flashback series. I'll bet you could still find them as they're not all that old.
  IIRC, you could solder in a cartridge slot on the FlashBack 2 and play any of the old games. A real shame it didn't have that built-in from the start. Coupled with an AtariMax MyIDE-II Compact Flash Cartridge and you've have the ultimate modern 2600 setup.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
Kickstart by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:15 · Score: 0

Can we please launch a Kickstarter to buy all of the copyrights and IPs, and then make them Public Domain?
1. Re:Kickstart by carnivore302 · 2013-01-21 04:32 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  why should "we" do that? Can't "you" do it yourself?
  
  --
  Please login to access my lawn
2. Re:Kickstart by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-22 12:13 · Score: 0
  
  Head over to the Atari Age forums. There is serious talk about a Kickstarter by some people very much in the know and involvement with all things Atari.
  http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/207910-lets-pool-our-resources-and-buy-atari-how-much-will-you-contribute/
Are they worth a quarter? Probably by davidwr · 2013-01-21 04:23 · Score: 1

Barring uncovering something nasty during due diligence, I'd pay $0.25 for them if all unsecured debt and unwanted future obligations were canceled. Now if they demanded two quarters, that's another story.
Remember, a quarter isn't worth what it was in Atari's heyday.

--
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
True Chuck-E-Cheese story by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:32 · Score: 0

A friend of mine said a kid she knew wanted a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese's but Chucky was NOT invited.
What does that kid know that the rest of us don't?
1. Re:True Chuck-E-Cheese story by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:49 · Score: 1
  
  Ever seen the Child's Play movies? I wouldn't want Chucky at my birthday either.
2. Re:True Chuck-E-Cheese story by vlm · 2013-01-21 06:05 · Score: 1
  
  Old enough to really enjoy the video game arcade but too old to be impressed with some dude in a chuckie costume posing for pictures. I'd guess about 10 yrs old. Then again for a toddler to maybe 5 yr old, seeing the mascot walk around seems pretty cool to them.
  Kind of like how kids about that age don't believe in Santa anymore and are not going to do the "sit on his lap" thing, but they're still pretty cool with opening presents...
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Easy fix by Hoi+Polloi · 2013-01-21 04:34 · Score: 2

Eat the power pill!

--
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Glad I already got my flashback by h4rr4r · 2013-01-21 04:34 · Score: 1

I am pretty happy I got an Atari Flashback a few years ago. It even has marks on the board so you can use it with the old cartridges. I will have to do that one day when I get some time.
1. Re:Glad I already got my flashback by camperdave · 2013-01-21 05:34 · Score: 1
  
  I'd rather have the 1500XL Atari laptop.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Good luck with that by davidwr · 2013-01-21 04:37 · Score: 1

See comments above about the cluster&*(# about licensing issues.

--
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Yes.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-21 04:37 · Score: 1

There are many, many reasons why we should go back to the original copyright term of 14 years. None of those reasons benefit the current super-wealthy corporation conglomerates that continue to lobby the government for even more draconian copyright rules and enforcement practices...so don't expect it to happen anytime soon.
1. Re:Yes.... by CastrTroy · 2013-01-21 07:50 · Score: 2
  
  If they don't think it benefits them, they aren't being creative enough. What if the next XBox came with a hard drive that came with contained all the music from 1998 (14 years ago) and previously? That would be a pretty good thing to get with your XBox. Or they could sell tracks for 5-25 cents a piece, and it would be pure profit. Nobody to share royalties with. They could do the same with the back catalog of old games. There's a million ways to make money off old content. You can download 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for free but that doesn't stop retailers from selling paperback copies, or even a few people from selling versions of it on the Kindle store (or trying to, Amazon offers it for free).
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
This is not new by Vektuz · 2013-01-21 05:00 · Score: 1

Atari has filed for bankruptcy several times now. Each an every time, someone buys the name and some IP, then they go bankrupt soon after. It's a curse!
Details of Atari's near death experiences... by atarimuseum · 2013-01-21 05:17 · Score: 0

This is nothing new at all for Atari, the company nearly folded in 1974 because Nolan appointed his brother-in-law, a psychologist to run Atari and went over like a lead brick... of course, then the huge profit losses in Dec 82' that nearly dragged Warner Comm down, and then its sale and split in July 1984... So this is yet another chapter in the long sorted drama of Atari... If you really want to know all there is to know about Atari, told directly by the employees themselves, you really need to head over to Amazon and pick up this incredible new book on Atari - Atari Inc. Business is Fun Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Atari-Inc-Mr-Curt-Vendel/dp/0985597402
1. Re:Details of Atari's near death experiences... by clickclickdrone · 2013-01-21 21:23 · Score: 1
  
  head over to Amazon and pick up this incredible new book on Atari - Atari Inc. Business is Fun
  
  Hi Curt ;-)
  
  This is a good book though. Halfway through it myself. If you have a remote interest in Atari, it's a goldmine of info, background and nuggets that hadn't seen the light of day before. Just ignore the typos. Great pics too.
  
  --
  I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
Didn't buy "Atari", they bought Hasbro Interactive by Dogtanian · 2013-01-21 05:52 · Score: 5, Informative

Infogrames bought not just the name, but the company [..] it is still the same company.
Not really, the "company" Infogrames bought and "continued" was merely Hasbro Interactive- and they themselves were merely an unrelated company that had purchased the Atari name and IP.
Quick rehash... the original "true" Atari Inc. ran into trouble following the 1983 US video game crash. It was split into arcade and consumer divisions; the former was "Atari Games" (later sold to Midway, who renamed it and eventually shut it down in 2003).
The latter was bought by Jack Tramiel and became "Atari Corp.", a legally separate company that nonetheless could still be seen as a spiritual continuation of Atari Inc's computer and console division.
Fast forward to the mid-90s, and all Atari Corp's recent products have flopped. The company is cash rich, but with no future, so Tramiel "merges" Atari Corp. with JTS, a second-rate hard drive maker. Since this is- in effect- just a means for him to transfer his investment to JTS, Atari Corp. basically ceases any meaningful operations at this point, remaining only a legal entity within JTS.
A couple of years later, JTS goes bankrupt, and Hasbro buys the Atari IP. No real connection with the original business(es) in any real sense, as there's nothing meaningful to continue by this point.
So, Hasbro weren't really "Atari" except that they bought the name and IP, and Infogrames aren't really either. Both successors that had any meaningful continuation of Atari Inc. (i.e. Atari Corp. and Atari Games) are both now long defunct with nothing left to continue.

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"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
OhOk by triffid_98 · 2013-01-21 05:53 · Score: 1

Infogrames subsidiary needs cash badly. Infogrames subsidiary is about to die.
1. Re:OhOk by CronoCloud · 2013-01-21 06:28 · Score: 1
  
  "Time is running out!,,,,,, Better luck next time."
2. Re:OhOk by Ash-Fox · 2013-01-21 23:04 · Score: 1
  
  Time is running out!
  
  --
  Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Baillout for Atari by grodzix · 2013-01-21 10:53 · Score: 3, Interesting

Where is the bailout money for Atari? Car companies got it. Banks got it. Why not show some love? People gonna lose their jobs n' stuff...

--
My Windows is NOT slow, it's special!
1. Re:Baillout for Atari by narcc · 2013-01-21 16:40 · Score: 1
  
  It's a French company, you right-wing loon.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
Atari in name only by kriston · 2013-01-22 02:52 · Score: 1

This company is one of a long line of owners of the "Atari" name. Just like Activision, this has nothing to do with the original company aside from the name and some licensed titles from the original company.

--
Kriston
Again by DanielBMS · 2013-01-22 17:05 · Score: 1

Wow it isn't even the real Atari. It's Infogrames with the name Atari.
Confusion by atarimuseum · 2013-01-29 02:00 · Score: 0

If you really want to get some clarity on who and what Atari was, at least up until 1984... then you really need to check this out: http://www.amazon.com/Atari-Inc-Mr-Curt-Vendel/dp/0985597402