+Andrew Davie Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Such a letter almost killed Boulder Dash for the Atari 2600. And Andrew's website is down forever. Yes, it's no fun getting a legal-type letter. And yes, they killed atari2600.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svenski Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Yes, it's no fun getting a legal-type letter. And yes, they killed atari2600.org 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 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? More a stalemate. We made some "verbal" agreements about what I could and couldn't do. I consider atari2600.org mine, and legitimate. They didn't, and insisted on certain content. A for-example; I could not mention Boulder Dash on the site. In the end, we agreed to disagree... but I didn't want to deal with lawyers so I made things as inoffensive as possible. As to liason/ambassador; I offered but they never followed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svenski Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Sorry to hear that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 More a stalemate. We made some "verbal" agreements about what I could and couldn't do. I consider atari2600.org mine, and legitimate. They didn't, and insisted on certain content. A for-example; I could not mention Boulder Dash on the site. In the end, we agreed to disagree... but I didn't want to deal with lawyers so I made things as inoffensive as possible. As to liason/ambassador; I offered but they never followed up. Perhaps when the dust setlles and Atari US ends up re-organized or in new hands you'll be able to re-open the website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccorm Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Just about everyone here knows that Atari exists only as a name, and as a collection of legacy intellectual property. The magic in the company is gone. An "Atari" game is just as much part of Atari as a "Memorex" iPod docking station is a part of the Memorex of years gone by. Which is to say, it the only relation it has is in the name. Nothing more. At least if we're lucky, Atari will have the stain of Master of Orion 3 removed from its name. Wow, that was such an un-Atari screw-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Iacovelli Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I too had problems with the atari/infrograms company, they went after me for the use of atari logo and my clubs name (Atari Video Club) thats why we had to change our logo to AVCOnline on our shirts we sold at cafepress(we had an atari logo it before) the fact is way before atari went infrograms we had a connection with the original Atari even before hasbro brought them. Atari was even interested in fan base with the newsletters. hopefully who ever gets atari now will do it justice and bring back to the fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 The way they were treating loyal fans it almost seems like Karma........ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlepaddle Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I wonder if there's a way to profit whenever "Atari files for bankruptcy" shows up in the news? Could be like an annuity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccorm Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Here are the actual court filings in PDF format. Enjoy! http://www.scribd.com/document_downloads/121538654?extension=pdf&from=embed&source=embed BTW, if you're not familiar with the documents I released this month, you may want to check out AtariLeaks, which may provide some additional insight into the previous death of Atari Corporation. http://www.atarileaks.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I have changed the title of this thread to make it a bit shorter and clearer. ..Al 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 No, it's not. This is the real deal. Curt and I found out yesterday about it through our contacts and have the full inside scoop. Can't say much about it all, other than someone who Curt and I would consider "good hands" is very intersted in it, and we're hoping he gets it (there's going to be bidding by a lot of people). And no, it's not Jim or Nolan. Keep in mind, the craptastic remakes and mobile titles over the past few years were all under Jim and Nolan's direction. Jim as CEO of Atari SA and President of Atari Inc. and Nolan as an advisor to the Atari SA board whose job has been to review and sign off on these games, such as the horrible Star Raiders reboot all the way on up to the current "offerings" of this past year. What I find truly amazing is that the problems happened during a year that should have been one of the most profitable. They just wrapped up celebrating the 40th of the brand, how can you fuck up making money during that? All I can say, is that I hope you and Curt have a connection with whoever wins the bid (or the 'good hands' as you put it). I can't think of anyone else who deserve the IP, or at least have access to the IP, more that you two. (Except maybe Al) Bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1500 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 All the chants that "Atari will rise again!" remind me of people who say the South will rise again. It won't. Atari's nothing what it was before. We've seen them milk the nostalgic feel(and a few games to boot) numerous times. Atari seemed to do better selling posters/cups/t-shirts/bondage gear with the Atari logo on it, than actually do video games. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 All the chants that "Atari will rise again!" remind me of people who say the South will rise again. It won't. Atari's nothing what it was before. We've seen them milk the nostalgic feel(and a few games to boot) numerous times. Atari seemed to do better selling posters/cups/t-shirts/bondage gear with the Atari logo on it, than actually do video games. Well, some rich nerd or a group of rich nerds can't really buy the South, but they could buy the Atari name and keep it out of the hands of greedy companies that just want to suck any juice they can out of the Atari name like a bunch of starving vampires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I hope everyone is treating this as good news. Atari is separating from the former Infogrames, and will emerge out of this as an American company. Bushnell is on the board of directors of Atari SA, and it is a pretty good bet he will move to the new Atari. LOL, apparently you haven't read much of this thread or the previous available threads. Atari SA and Atar Inc. are one in the same; same CEO and President, and both based in the U.S. (with Atari SA out in Los Angeles). Jim moved operations to Los Angeles back in 2009 or so when he became CEO of Atari SA and they bought Cryptic, wanting Cryptic to run most of Atari SA's operations. At that point, anyone left at Atari Inc. was transfered to Los Angeles save for a few people, which is what Inc. still is today (a few people in a rented office space). Secondly, Nolan isn't on the board he's simply an advisor to it - and also shares the responsiblity for the mess Atari SA is in now. It's more of a safe bet that whoever buys the Atari brand name and IP when it's liquidated will want a clean break and will not be having him signing off on games as he has been for the past few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smagnotta Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) I expected this to happen about 7 months ago. They did not listen to people with cash in hand ready to purchase software - all they had to do was ask via the forums or even the FaceBook page. Actually, if they would have just scanned the comments in the FaceBook page for the past year, they would have noticed the repeated and never-ending requests. I didn't see anything ever being done. Business 101 - give the customers what they want and what they will buy - i.e. make them happy and you will make money in the process. I am rooting for the SYZYGY Company right now. That and AtariAge are where the spirit of the real Atari lives. Edited January 22, 2013 by smagnotta 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 It does make me wonder what is going to happen to Cryptic. They made some good games, and I just started playing Star Trek Online again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccorm Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Attached to this email is another PDF with the press release from Atari, SA (Paris, France) on December 27, 2012. Unrelated, if there is any existing company that could actually leverage the Atari name and make it work, my vote would be on Valve. They're just now getting into the hardware business, too. And they totally understand their userbase. ATA-PR-20121227-UK-DEF.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidcorp Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 That and AtariAge are where the spirit of the real Atari lives. Seconded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1500 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I'm starting to see why the bankruptcy is happening. Look at Atari's official Facebook page, and then look at the posts before the bad news came. It's people asking for another Roller Coaster Tycoon, and others having numerous problems with products like Baldur's Gate, etc. I've seen less bitching on The Pinball Arcade's Facebook(still getting flak from 360 users). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurge Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Who actually owns the I.P to the classic Atari arcades, ie: Gauntlet, Marble Madness, A.P.B etc. There's a a gold mine in those IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RARusk Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Who actually owns the I.P to the classic Atari arcades, ie: Gauntlet, Marble Madness, A.P.B etc. There's a a gold mine in those IMHO. Midway. And the three games you mentioned are on the recently released compilation disc "Midway Arcade Origins". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Unrelated, if there is any existing company that could actually leverage the Atari name and make it work, my vote would be on Valve. They're just now getting into the hardware business, too. And they totally understand their userbase. I really doubt Valve would do any better with the Atari brand name or its IP. When you keep putting development into the hands of kids who barely understand the IP because the didn't grow up with it, you have the type of game that have been released over the last several years. All done by outside studios similar to Valve. Midway. And the three games you mentioned are on the recently released compilation disc "Midway Arcade Origins". No. Time Warner Interactive Entertainment. Midway Games is no more. And Spurge, those were all later games by the company Atari Games. The earlier arcade game IP (released under Atari Inc.) is joint owned by the current Atari and TWIE (Atari SA/Atari Interactive owns the copyrights and IP, TWIE owns the arcade appearance). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 How much is it for sale? $5.25 million? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccorm Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I really doubt Valve would do any better with the Atari brand name or its IP. When you keep putting development into the hands of kids who barely understand the IP because the didn't grow up with it, you have the type of game that have been released over the last several years. All done by outside studios similar to Valve. That's one way the look at it. The angle I was approaching was something more similar to an Atari Corporation with a focus on gaming consoles. They'd sell their own in-house titles as well as third parties. (And Valve has third party sales down pat with Steam.) They'd have their own hardware (the Piston) and they look like they're getting into cool things like VR displays and biometric input for difficulty/pacing. Everyone knows they're going to enter the videogame console war. Valve is estimated to be worth $3 billion. They're very responsive, they understand their userbase, and they're adored by many. They've got one hell of a software distribution system. Valve has got to be the best bet that the Atari name could ever possibly see in the foreseeable future. Churning out game titles? Valve makes good games, but they're don't crank out the titles. Doesn't matter. Their software distribution system has that issue taken care of, and they're more than happy to grab a slice of third party sales. Hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes here in the forum. It just seems like a natural fit to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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