svenski

I just want to say a big thank you to SantosP. Paid for my cart on the 22nd, and it was here from Greece on friday, the 25th! Haven't had time to try it yet as have been fitting laminate flooring all weekend but it looks awesome.

Sorry Marty, was doing my reply as you did yours.

I'm no expert (sorry Cebus) but the financial results are a picture of Atari as it is now, so to speak. You could go to the creditors and buy the debt for a fraction of its current value, giving you considerable control of the company so you could restructure and inject further cash as required, or force into liquidation so you could gain control of its assets. You could pick and choose the assets you buy from Atari as it is now, in severe distress. Atari Inc (and its creditors) get what they can and then it winds up. You walk away with your car boot purchases. You buy Atari as it is, warts and all, including debt, for a token amount. You then take on the debts but get the company for say a dollar. You wait for Atari to go under, then the administrators will sell what they can to get the best return for the IRS and then other creditors. You can get a bargain but there might be competition.

We would need to have a clear idea of Atari's monthly outgoings and revenue stream. We'd need to hit the ground running to get outgoings slashed and then probably fight a holding action to stop it becoming loss-making again. Example: If we took on Atari's online presence, social games etc they will have costs. We could probably ditch the office ! One option would be to become a holding company for want of a better description for the IP and brand. Make money through commercial licensing. Protect the interests of the retro community, and be responsible "guardians" of the IP and branding, licensing out use of the brand for the Flashback 9 etc. I very much doubt we would ever be in a position to launch a new console but we could certainly do wonders with the classic hardware.

Stocks are suspended. Plus if you bought now and Atari goes bust you will lose everything. If someone buys Atari as a going concern you would more than likely find your investment becomes almost worthless.

I wish , even if I had the cash my wife would kill me !

Put it this way, did you guys see the recent Elite on kickstarter. It raised over $2.5 MILLION USD - one game. Now Elite is fantastic but Atari is much bigger than that. This should be about the fans for the fans, so it doesn't matter how much you put in, it is all valued and appreciated. You back Atari, you become a stockholder in Atari. Atari or nothing, 1 stock per $1 backed and paid, and I will support this ten million percent.

In theory I'm in for this *but* I think the question needs to be asked: What will we do with it if we win it? , and I think it should be to buy Atari or nothing. Plus, to be fair, there needs to be something in return so the backers become stakeholders - i.e. one stock in "Atari" for each $1 backed and paid.

I didn't get an email saying it was ready either ? - Got a video saying how fantastic it was but no "Buy me now" I want one, will try and pre-order tonight when wife is not looking.

Payment sent! Thanks.

Good to see you back Bob!

Can't wait - was getting a bit fed up of the constant email updates though .

Sorry to hear that.

I thought you managed to smooth the waters and the plan was for you to become something along the lines of a community ambassador or liason?

Star Raiders was a case in point. A massive franchise that could have been a massive money spinner but they probably had it done on the cheap and then rushed to get it out. It has been a cycle of selling off assets and franchises and ending up with not a lot - the only option being to farm out games for mobile and social gaming. Use that as part of your strategy but not all of it. Make use of the historic back catalog but don't focus all your attention on it - I think Atari has focused too much on trying to squeeze out cash from ageing titles.

If Atari secured the $5.25 million debtor-in-possession funding they are seeking then I guess they would soldier on licensing back the use to the logo and properties they hope to sell off, a bit like large corporations selling off their real estate to raise cash and then leasing them back from the buyers. For many companies this has proved to be a very short term approach and just delayed the inevitable. Thinking about it, a kickstarter campaign isn't necessarily a good thing as it is for a publicly stated target amount. It would work if there was an agreement to sell if the target was reached, otherwise it probably just reveals any community position to other potential bidders. I'm guessing if Atari was allowed to go under then the brand and properties could potentially be bought for less than the $5.25 million, but then the administrators would be holding out for the best possible price. A community driven effort doesn't have to be a blanket purchase of all the IP and the brand, but the more I think about it the more I think it would be very complex and costly to put together.

I'm all for a kickstarter campaign but I'm guessing, despite the bankruptcy protection, it wouldn't be cheap. Those working at Atari have their jobs and their own plans - what is in their interests are not going to be the same as ours. I'm in though, let's start it.

If we all put together a few dollars we could form an Atari cooperative, and stop the brand being whored out even more.

Just snagged a boxed Atari 400 at a not bad price so hope it arrives OK..

It would be great if there could be some sort of community effort to save the brand at least. Wishful thinking maybe but would be nice.

The last item I had to pay VAT on was something from Best, at arounf $25 I think. I had to pay around £9 , £6 of which was the Royal Mail handling fee. So, that time I was stuffed. I've had stuff since, much higher value, come through without a problem. If it comes by courier you are guaranteed to get hit. If it comes by post, say USPS from the States then it depends on your luck on the day - and it doesn't go on the physical size of the package either. I tend to presume the worst and cost in the extra - just in case. There is a maximum value on the amount a gift can have too, so you can't get (example) $300 of Atari equipment declared as a gift and be safe it won't be hit for VAT and customs duty.

Glad your stuff turned up OK, and you had a great seller there who stumped up the extra postage. I found that anything that comes into the UK by post is a lottery as to whether or not you are going to get hit for VAT and possibly customs duty. If it comes in by courier then you are screwed. Obviously this only applies if your stuff is worth more than £15 for VAT, and I think £135 for customs duty. If memory serves me correctly I think you can get hammered on the total cost of the declared item(s) plus shipping - especially if you've used a courier or express shipping method.

Thats great news, thanks for the update. Will look menacingly at the Postie for the next couple of weeks.

Your music is always amazing. Many thanks !

Do you guys know when the original kickstarter backers will start getting their copies?