Atari Is Down For the Count.....

[Retro Rogue]

Actually, while I know it's not quite the same company, what about Atari Games?

 

 

Not exempt either. There's a reason the arcade division has gone through 5 different owners.

[rsiddall]

I’ll probably get shot for saying this but I don’t really feel the same connection to the Atari that exists today versus the Time Warner version I grew up with.

 

That would be the Warner Communications version you grew up with, Time Warner didn't exist yet.

 

Living in the present and thinking about the past will do that to a person...heh

[lhfreak]

When I read the story, my first thought was that, like others here seem to think, someone should buy the Atari name when it's for sale dirt cheap and just dedicate it to homebrew games.........how cool would it be to buy a brand new atari game for the 2600....5200...7800...with the atari logo all over the box again?

[Bryan]

Atari could exist as a small niche enterprise with low overhead, but will have a hard time establishing itself as a major player in today's environment. The days are gone when slapping an Atari logo on something was a guarantee of anything.

 

It would never happen, but I'd love to see the fans invest in buying Atari and electing a board to run it. I just don't want to see someone like Sony or M$ buy it and use it for evil (or see some Chinese company buy it and start selling cheap Atari toasters).

[PacManPlus]

It would never happen, but I'd love to see the fans invest in buying Atari and electing a board to run it. I just don't want to see someone like Sony or M$ buy it and use it for evil (or see some Chinese company buy it and start selling cheap Atari toasters).

 

I'd be in for that. Seriously.

[Buyatari]

It would never happen, but I'd love to see the fans invest in buying Atari and electing a board to run it. I just don't want to see someone like Sony or M$ buy it and use it for evil (or see some Chinese company buy it and start selling cheap Atari toasters).

 

I'd be in for that. Seriously.

 

I wouldn;t doubt that if it goes up for sale Nintendo,Sony or Microsoft will buy it just for the online arcade games.

[Crazy Climber]

When I read the story, my first thought was that, like others here seem to think, someone should buy the Atari name when it's for sale dirt cheap and just dedicate it to homebrew games.........how cool would it be to buy a brand new atari game for the 2600....5200...7800...with the atari logo all over the box again?

Isn't the company still worth 20-30 million? Seems like a lot of cash to plunk down to maybe make a few thousand on homebrews...there just isn't enough demand. It would have to be products like the flashback that non collectors and collectors both purchase.

 

I say a handheld system in the league of the PSP and DS with cool original games would be totally cool Give it a modern look but a retro feel

I know, I'm dreaming here....

[atarilovesyou]

Even as a niche product, a large established audience will make SOMEBODY money. If you're into wargames, look at a game like Advanced Squad Leader. TONS of niche support and MultimanPublishing is turning a profit. Why can't we have something like that for the 2600?

[aceha1]

To ME, Atari Age is Atari.. they're the only ones who give a what about it anyway!

[MrAtari2600]

Atari could exist as a small niche enterprise with low overhead, but will have a hard time establishing itself as a major player in today's environment. The days are gone when slapping an Atari logo on something was a guarantee of anything.

 

It would never happen, but I'd love to see the fans invest in buying Atari and electing a board to run it. I just don't want to see someone like Sony or M$ buy it and use it for evil (or see some Chinese company buy it and start selling cheap Atari toasters).

 

 

 

Ok well i think that prolly will happen (seirously)

IVE SEEN AN ATARI LOGO GUITAR ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

o.o' how many millions do you think it cost to buy the name?

maybe worldwide collectors and homebrewers And the (13 million) stockholders could raise

enough money to purchase it?

[Cybergoth]

Oh, let's hope that Electronic Arts buys it so they're dying next!

[carmel_andrews]

Looks like all atari's originality and creativity departed when the likes of miner/decuir and the peeps who set up firms like activision/imagic, left atari ...not because they wanted to, its because atari's management was retarded and didn't understand either the product or the technology atari were founded on

 

And of-course Atari's management failed to replace the likes of miner/decuir (and the peeps who set up firms like activision/imagic etc), with people of equal stature/creativity

 

the old atari (the peeps that did the hardware) failed because they didn't advance the product and the technology enough, also the administrations after warners were dire when it came to selling/marketing atari hardware, the warners/tramiels atari's also failed as they focused to much on a very narrow and niche market... they should have seen what IBM were doing with the PC (by allowing others to make compatible 3rd party versions) or to put it another way, they should have expanded on the deal that Bushnells Atari did with sears (by allowing sears to do their own version of atari pong)

 

The other problem was that after Tramiel RM'd Atari with JTS, first thing JTS did was scrap hardware...Atari essentially became a software only company...in other words, putting all your eggs in one basket/putting all your money on red..if the minions who owned atari after JTS knew what atari was like as a software company... would have been better off finding another avenue or business model for Atari other then software

 

The only market i see an 'Atari' like company succeeding in is retro and emulation hardware...that's where the real money is

 

The market for retro/emulation hardware market is in a similar situation that the videogame industry was in betw. '76-78 were the dedicated preprogrammed systems (pong/oddysey etc) were trying to compete with the VES/VCS etc etc

 

What Atari should do is sell of all the software licences (except the classic gaming licences like pacman/space invaders etc), sell off all the software development studios and use the money generated in setting up a very small team of experts in developing retro hardware and emulation hardqware (like what curt vendell is doing) and start turning out emulation hardware with built in multiple emulators, make them an open system (i.e for uploading/downloading software images/files, keyboard/storage device expansion etc) sign up all the old classic gaming/retroputing hardware rights (from those that owned the original rights, i.e commodore, sinclair, amiga, msx, sony, sega, nintendo, amstrad etc etc) and sell that to the marketplace...there is definately money in it...moreso then software

 

Not only that, because the product will be capable of offering multiple emulations and be an open system, it will extend the longeveity of the product in the marketplace, it will also incentivise people/companies to offer hardware or software developement for that product, which means even more money for atari

 

still...one can only dream

[Crazy Climber]

Oh, let's hope that Electronic Arts buys it so they're dying next!

You are now my new favorite Moderator

[+FujiSkunk]

Actually, while I know it's not quite the same company, what about Atari Games?

 

Not exempt either. There's a reason the arcade division has gone through 5 different owners.

 

Yes, but did they have any particular trouble that singles them out from the rest of the arcade bunch? After all, there was a lot of consolodation of arcade game companies from the late '80s onward. Case in point, Midway owns a whole lot more names than just Atari Games now.

[Paolo]

I think that the solution is in a small, very focused new Atari. They obviously can't be the huge megacorp right now, since they wouldn't succeed.

It should be a restart. like Nolan did the first time, and Steve did with Apple, and the guys at Activision did later, and the YaHOO! guys did recently...

I know, it's still a 20M value, but I think that the way Curt did with the FB should be the way to go.

HW and SW again.

Small steps, knowing what Atari really has been and who values it today, and then grow up from that.

[Cybergoth]

Small steps, knowing what Atari really has been and who values it today, and then grow up from that.

 

Considering that the current Atari also swallowed Accolade, Ocean, Spectrum Holobyte, Microprose, Firebird, Rainbird and Gremlin amongst others, I don't even think their main strength is in the bits they own from Atari. Reviving Accolades "Test Drive" series probably was their best move in a while.

[Lord Helmet]

Atari Age = the real Atari as far as I am concerned.

 

The old Atari has been dead for quite some time.

[Math You]

I seems ironic that Atari spend millions developing software but won't spend the relatively small sum needed to make Flashback consoles. The Flashback portable should have been this summers big thing and the 800/5200 could have been a hugh success this christmas.

 

Next year they could have done it all again with a 7800 portable for summer and kids 800 laptop for christmas 2008 followed by a Mini Lynx for summer 2009 and a 7800 console for christmas 2009. 6 products in 3 years = big profit. So why the delay? Things must be really bad.

Edited August 31, 2007 by MRB

[Pixelboy]

I seems ironic that Atari spend millions developing software but won't spend the relatively small sum needed to make Flashback consoles. The Flashback portable should have been this summers big thing and the 800/5200 could have been a hugh success this christmas.

 

Next year they could have done it all again with a 7800 portable for summer and kids 800 laptop for christmas 2008 followed by a Mini Lynx for summer 2009 and a 7800 console for christmas 2009. 6 products in 3 years = big profit. So why the delay? Things must be really bad.

The Flashback consoles and other similar retro electronics are mainly a niche market. Not enough to sustain a company in the long term, no matter how small and efficient the company may be.

 

Look at River West Brands (the current owners of the Coleco and ColecoVision brands): They just released a cool-looking handheld with Sonic games on it (Genesis games, if I'm not mistaken). Why aren't they making a new smaller and more modern ColecoVision console that would be compatible with all existing CV carts? It would be an interesting product, especially for owners of aging CVs which are plagued with technical problems. But it will probably never happen, because economically, it doesn't make that much sense to release such a product.

[Curt Vendel]

Actually Coleco didn't make those, they merely licensed and are selling the older version of the Sonic handheld that we did in concert with Asian Toy Source 2 years back, so River West just badged them as Coleco.

 

Actually the sales figures were very encouraging for the portable unit, all told after costs and expenses, there would've been a $11.2m profit from a 1m piece run of the Flashback Portables. Name the last modern Atari title that generated that much profit... better yet, name one that recouped its R&D costs and broke even.

 

 

 

 

Curt

 

I seems ironic that Atari spend millions developing software but won't spend the relatively small sum needed to make Flashback consoles. The Flashback portable should have been this summers big thing and the 800/5200 could have been a hugh success this christmas.

 

Next year they could have done it all again with a 7800 portable for summer and kids 800 laptop for christmas 2008 followed by a Mini Lynx for summer 2009 and a 7800 console for christmas 2009. 6 products in 3 years = big profit. So why the delay? Things must be really bad.

The Flashback consoles and other similar retro electronics are mainly a niche market. Not enough to sustain a company in the long term, no matter how small and efficient the company may be.

 

Look at River West Brands (the current owners of the Coleco and ColecoVision brands): They just released a cool-looking handheld with Sonic games on it (Genesis games, if I'm not mistaken). Why aren't they making a new smaller and more modern ColecoVision console that would be compatible with all existing CV carts? It would be an interesting product, especially for owners of aging CVs which are plagued with technical problems. But it will probably never happen, because economically, it doesn't make that much sense to release such a product.

[Retro Rogue]

Why aren't they making a new smaller and more modern ColecoVision console that would be compatible with all existing CV carts? It would be an interesting product, especially for owners of aging CVs which are plagued with technical problems. But it will probably never happen, because economically, it doesn't make that much sense to release such a product.

 

Because they have no rights to Colecovision. Just the Coleco brand name.

[atarilovesyou]

...Coleco also having a FAR smaller retrogaming marketing base than Atari....read it yourself in one of the Coleco online issues here, the Donkey Kong cart for the 2600 itself outsold the ENTIRE Colecovision catalogue when it was released!

 

Atari, namely, the 2600, is huge. Still is, and still should be! But I'm not convinced an 800, 5200 and it's ilk would be a smart business move. There's just not enough interest....for people wanting a better version of the 2600 games, there's already cheap and incredible ways to do it...namely the retro emulations on the PS2 and other systems.

 

But a portable Flashback woulda been cool. I don't see why re-releasing a cart based Flashback wouldn't have been a success...legalities surrounding old warranties?...nah. The key is to release a VERY inexpensive platform so that the new games coming out from homebrews can get the coverage they deserve...releasing collections every holiday season to bolster sales.

 

The boom can't last forever, but at least you can get out new equipment to ensure that the homebrews are getting to their customers...and get the brewers together, just like an Activision of sorts!

 

Anyway, ideas.

[Retro Rogue]

...Coleco also having a FAR smaller retrogaming marketing base than Atari....

 

Well, I think the big issue that most people don't realize with Colecovision is most of its titles were licensed ports. All the great arcade ports the Colecovision was known for - DK, Zaxxon, Front Line, DK Jr. Frogger, Ladybuy, Venture, Mr. Do, Carnival, Gorf, etc. etc. were all licensed games from other companies, besides all the licensed entertainment properties as well (Rocky, B.C., Dr. Seuss, Smurfs, etc.) So not only would they have to secure the rights to Colecovision itself, but they'd have to secure a buttload of rights to individual games as well. That would drive the cost up (and then POS price) pretty darn high (which is one of the reasons we only licensed 2 games on the Flashback 2). Because you're just not left with many titles to play for the system if you cut out all the licensed material.

Edited August 31, 2007 by wgungfu

[Shannon]

if Atari Went in with the MMo field im sure as heck they'd succeed

THOUSANDS pay for monthly membership to these MMO's

 

what you guys think>?

I believe Atari tried this a year ago with some AD&D MMO and it flopped big time.

[Pixelboy]

Well, I think the big issue that most people don't realize with Colecovision is most of its titles were licensed ports. All the great arcade ports the Colecovision was known for - DK, Zaxxon, Front Line, DK Jr. Frogger, Ladybuy, Venture, Mr. Do, Carnival, Gorf, etc. etc. were all licensed games from other companies, besides all the licensed entertainment properties as well (Rocky, B.C., Dr. Seuss, Smurfs, etc.) So not only would they have to secure the rights to Colecovision itself, but they'd have to secure a buttload of rights to individual games as well. That would drive the cost up (and then POS price) pretty darn high (which is one of the reasons we only licensed 2 games on the Flashback 2). Because you're just not left with many titles to play for the system if you cut out all the licensed material.

Exactly, so that's why they should just release a new CV console and make it fully compatible with the old CV carts. Most of those carts still work quite well, even after all these years, and you can easely collect a lot of the common ones on eBay and other online places. As for new games, they can just support the homebrew community, which is relatively easy to do with the CV.