Woulfe Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Tommy has once again posted in this Taco Tuseday Thread... - Meanwhile - So, can we confirm that Infogrames is on it's last leg... OR it doesn't have a leg to stand on... OR it needs a leg up... OR I need to stop w/ the leg puns... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Thanks Tommy. They also posted a PDF on Atari.com, which I've attached here in the event they take it down, go out of business, get shut down for nonpayment of their hosting bill, or sell out to that rich guy in Sweden they're courting with their new stock listing. It's kinda funny that they're hosting it via Google Drive. Atari-IP-Catalog-January 2019.pdf As we saw with the Target suit, assertion of these rights is one thing, but defending them is another. In stupid clickbait news, here's a listicle that someone posted. 10 games the Atari VCS NEEDS to have Naturally, just about everything listed is already in Atari Vault, which of course has been available on PC for years, and exists as Flashback Classics on Xbox, Playstation, and Switch. Tempest 4000 has been announced and also already exists on PC, Xbox, and Playstation. I wish Tyler Treese all the best with his content-farm gig, but I doubt he's going to move the Atari* needle. Here's a delicious sample. As far as multiplayer titles go, Atari’s grandest achievement is Warlords. The four-player game was a blast when it released in 1980, and it received a great remake for Xbox Live Arcade in 2008. The formula has proven to stand the test of time and another updated version would be a great fit for the Atari VCS. After all, Atari needs exclusives that will appeal to all types of players and bringing back local multiplayer in a big way could lead to it being quite lucrative for the company. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBerel Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 A great fit for a system without paddles? Oh wait, the system also doesn't exist and most likely won't, so never mind. Still, how great was the XBox version of Warlords without paddle control? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColecoJoe Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 A great fit for a system without paddles? Oh wait, the system also doesn't exist and most likely won't, so never mind. Still, how great was the XBox version of Warlords without paddle control? As great as Breakout was On the PS4 you can use that weird pad in the center for paddle control but it just doesn't do the job. Kind of like Atari SA. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBerel Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 So on their professed "IP Catalog", what do all the ***** indicate on so many of the titles? They don't seem to have any footnote explaining that. Also, several of them are as clear as mud about their actual rights to arcade vs console. I suspect they don't actually know in many cases. There are ports of other properties in there, that I'm not sure how they have any licensing rights to beyond the initial license to the original platform it was ported to. Being defunct platforms, they couldn't re-issue/re-license those. This is the sad state of IP licensing. Some goober asks for money for a thing he may have no rights or connection to, and until another goober can successfully sue over it, the first goober gets paid for it. Happy Birthday to You. ® ™ ℠ 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 OMG, hover your mouse over the images in "the deck" for a fun surprise. What. A. Garbage. "Company." They'll sue anyone for using an ancient Pong or Breakout game as a joke, then turn around and put a PDF full of images from Wikipedia, ROM sites (ROM sites!), and fan pages on their corporate front page to say that they own it all. DIAF, "Atari." 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBerel Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Hehehehe....check out the origin for the third screen grab for Frisky Tom, the Nichibutsu game they made a copy of. https://atariage.com/5200/screenshots/s_FriskyTom_3.png 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) Apart from what Tommy mentions, BattleZone is one of those IPs that isn't theirs anymore - they sold it to Rebellion back in 2012 when they had the Atari brand name and a bunch of 70's games up for sale too. Unfortunately I don't know if any other major games have been sold outside of what Tommy revealed there; we can assume that Haunted House is still theirs, since they've remade that something like 3 or 4 times in the past 10 years. And of course, any arcade game that belonged to the Atari Games label, which is now under Warner Bros. On other arcade games, that's a tough question to answer and I am unsure. They probably have the rights to all of the lesser known/celebrated 70's arcade games, it's just that they can barely figure out how to milk the popular ones, much less the obscure ones. Maybe I haven't looked into it enough, but they don't seem to have touched Crystal Castles in a long time, so I dunno about that one. As a safe bet, if it was originally developed by Atari for any of the Atari game consoles, then they probably still have it, I would assume Star Raiders, Countermeasure, Dark Chambers, Power Factor, Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy, etc. (I'd be amazed if they had any clue as to holding IP rights for Lynx or Jag originals made at Atari though) In reviewing that company description and financial audit info further, I see some really shady activity there. They are reporting license fees and stock issued as part of their acquisition of Infinity Network shares as revenue, but their own auditors are taking issue with the valuation. There would appear to be some inflated numbers that the auditors could not justify, but were unable to acquire additional data for. That, and Atari SA's practice of issuing new stock shares on a whim seem to be the bulk of their professed improved financial performance. (Other than all their eggs in the Roller Coaster Tycoon Touch basket which they claim is going gangbusters) So does anyone have reliable documentation on what Arcade licences these French trademark trolls actually have rights to? I know their position is to defend their rights even where they have none, but I thought the arcade titles was all a separate division spun off long before their holding company schlubs had any involvement. Was Tempest, Asteroids and Centipede different from the others? Best I can tell is they "may" retain rights to those 3 plus Breakout, Pong (Stolen from Magnavox and later settled), Warlords, Night Driver, and possibly Lunar Lander, Fire Truck, Missile Command, Black Widow, and Space Duel. If you asked them, I'm sure they'd tell you all that and more, then let you pay them to license them. Edited April 12, 2019 by Shaggy the Atarian 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Tallarico Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Apart from what Tommy mentions, BattleZone is one of those IPs that isn't theirs anymore - they sold it to Rebellion back in 2012 when they had the Atari brand name and a bunch of 70's games up for sale too. Unfortunately I don't know if any other major games have been sold outside of what Tommy revealed there; we can assume that Haunted House is still theirs, since they've remade that something like 3 or 4 times in the past 10 years. And of course, any arcade game that belonged to the Atari Games label, which is now under Warner Bros. On other arcade games, that's a tough question to answer and I am unsure. They probably have the rights to all of the lesser known/celebrated 70's arcade games, it's just that they can barely figure out how to milk the popular ones, much less the obscure ones. Maybe I haven't looked into it enough, but they don't seem to have touched Crystal Castles in a long time, so I dunno about that one. As a safe bet, if it was originally developed by Atari for any of the Atari game consoles, then they probably still have it, I would assume Star Raiders, Countermeasure, Dark Chambers, Power Factor, Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy, etc. (I'd be amazed if they had any clue as to holding IP rights for Lynx or Jag originals made at Atari though) Yep! You're 100% correct! Now that you said it and the info is public knowledge (I wasn't sure if it was or not)... I can confirm that BattleZone was one of the games we asked for... but was told they didn't own it. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Yep! You're 100% correct! Now that you said it and the info is public knowledge (I wasn't sure if it was or not)... I can confirm that BattleZone was one of the games we asked for... but was told they didn't own it. I remember being both sad that Atari was potentially breaking up all of those pieces to whatever buyer back then, but also happy that a company like Rebellion got BZ, since they would treat it with respect. Wish I would have screencapped the page that showed everything they had up for auction at the time. The Atari brand name and a package of 70's arcade games (Pong, Tank, Breakout, some others I don't remember) was available at that time for something like $2m; they were selling off bigger IP like BattleZone and Asteroids for $250k. I only recall BZ getting bought, then they decided that they could stave off bankruptcy with the cash they'd made (selling BZ as well as some of their non-Atari related IP). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacman000 Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 I'm not 100% sure they own the Jag & Lynx games; I think most of those games were developed by outside contractors. Who owns them depends on the contract Atari Corp had with the developer. Also note that JTS may have sold some of Atari Corp's properties before selling what was left to Hasbro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 I'm not 100% sure they own the Jag & Lynx games; I think most of those games were developed by outside contractors. Who owns them depends on the contract Atari Corp had with the developer. Also note that JTS may have sold some of Atari Corp's properties before selling what was left to Hasbro. Yeah, that's why I only mentioned Trevor McFur and in-house Atari stuff...pretty small lists for both systems (Trevor McFur, Club Drive, Hover Strike for the Jag...maybe Fight For Life?; Basketbrawl, Dracula, Electrocop?, Scrapyard Dog, Power Factor, Robosquash for the Lynx?). Would be curious if any IP was sold in the JTS days though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 Apart from what Tommy mentions, BattleZone is one of those IPs that isn't theirs anymore - they sold it to Rebellion back in 2012 when they had the Atari brand name and a bunch of 70's games up for sale too. Unfortunately I don't know if any other major games have been sold outside of what Tommy revealed there Math Gran Prix. Somebody bought that one, too. For some reason. Admittedly, if I could've picked it up for a few bucks, it would've been cool to own it. I'm still upset about Battlezone, not that Atari would have a flying clue what to do with it anyway. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 OMG, hover your mouse over the images in "the deck" for a fun surprise. What. A. Garbage. "Company." They'll sue anyone for using an ancient Pong or Breakout game as a joke, then turn around and put a PDF full of images from Wikipedia, ROM sites (ROM sites!), and fan pages on their corporate front page to say that they own it all. How can they claim backgammon as an IP? Sure, they made a version of it, but it's hardly unique or copyrightable. If they called it "Video Backgammon", then sure. But I guess anything they can claim as an IP adds to their self-perceived value. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBeefy Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 How can they claim backgammon as an IP? Sure, they made a version of it, but it's hardly unique or copyrightable. If they called it "Video Backgammon", then sure. But I guess anything they can claim as an IP adds to their self-perceived value. Well they own that 2600 version of it. Not specifically backgammon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacman000 Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 How can they claim backgammon as an IP? Sure, they made a version of it, but it's hardly unique or copyrightable. If they called it "Video Backgammon", then sure. But I guess anything they can claim as an IP adds to their self-perceived value. The game's code is still their IP. Admittedly, it's almost useless IP, but it's IP. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 The painting on the box cover is more interesting than the software. Too bad their scrounging on google images suggests they don't have the original art. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 https://www.barchart.com/stocks/quotes/PONGF/opinion 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBerel Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TACODON Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 I like this guys thinking. A floppy drive would be so retro! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 I like this guys thinking. A floppy drive would be so retro! lol- they already deleted the comment. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TACODON Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 lol- they already deleted the comment. I noticed it didn't last long. Glad I got a screen shot. Their intern must have weekend hours now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 https://support.indiegogo.com/hc/en-us/articles/526996-What-does-Indiegogo-do-to-protect-us- What does Indiegogo do to protect us? Indiegogo's approach to Trust & Safety involves different safeguarding tools, our Trust & Safety team, and you! We count on our global community to work together to provide a safe, secure, and trusted platform. Our Trust & Safety team regularly runs automated and manual reviews. In addition to routine reviews, our team investigates feedback and concerns from our community and partners. We often get asked about the feasibility of projects and, while we may not review every project, we will work with the campaign owner directly if we receive questions or concerns. We encourage backers to learn more about the project by looking at the campaign story, team profiles, updates, and comments to get a good sense of what you’re backing. Please read tips for how to evaluate a campaign. Also, backers should ask questions to campaign owners through direct message or comment. If something looks wrong to you, let us know! Use the "Let us know" link, located on the bottom of every campaign, to report the campaign to our Trust & Safety Team. The Trust & Safety team monitors feedback in order to determine the correct course of action to protect our community. It's a shame they've chosen to whitewash criticism, even dumb jokes, like this. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Spriggy Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 https://www.barchart.com/stocks/quotes/PONGF/opinion Screenshot 2019-04-13 at 8.20.34 AM.png Screenshot 2019-04-13 at 8.21.25 AM.png Screenshot 2019-04-13 at 8.22.46 AM.png Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_B Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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