It seems that the biggest mistake Imagic made was sticking with the 2600 too long. Activision was more diversified, and also succeeded in making an IPO before the crash, both of which helped to keep them afloat during the crash years.
Makes you wonder had Atari DID give credit to the designers by putting their names & pics on boxes...no bad games! Who'd want their pic on box with a bad game in it? That practice should be in use today! They should have payed more attention to business than listening to lawyers all the time!