Atari's US Branch Files For Bankruptcy
PongHere's one that tugs at the heartstrings a little.
One of the pioneers of the industry has been struggling for a while and now, the US branch of Atari has filed for bankruptcy.
According to an LA Times report, the company that brought us trailblazing classics like Pong and Asteroids is floundering; its US arm has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization. Atari wants to break free from its French counterpart, Atari S.A., and "refocus the company to make digital and mobile titles." Atari's revenue dropped 34% in fiscal year 2012 and 43% in 2011; these days, the Atari logo (used with other products) makes up 17% of the company's overall revenue.
The other issue is that the US branch functions on "near total reliance" on London financial company BlueBay Asset Management, and that arrangement finished up on December 31. Hence, Atari doesn't have the requisite funds to release any of the games they currently have in the hopper. Well, all they're doing these days is trying to make little games for mobile devices (they teamed up with Zynga last year), so maybe it's just best to bow out gracefully.
It's kinda painful for veterans like me to see Atari relegated to such a low status. :( Hard to fathom, really.
Tags: atari, atari games, atari bankrupt, gaming industry
1/21/2013 10:45:01 AM Ben Dutka
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Comments (12 posts)
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 12:55:14 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 1:22:54 PM
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BikerSaint
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 9:10:30 PM
But the other problem that Atari-US is having is that the Atari company is actually listed in the French financial stock markets, so it's almost nil for Atari-US to get any financial backing by going it on their own, unless they can break free of their parent Atari SA.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 1/21/2013 9:17:50 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 1:25:22 PM
Reply
Jaguar 4 life.
1 up, 0 down
LegendaryWolfeh
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 2:31:44 PM
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erislocker
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 3:54:53 PM
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however, Atari is like the godfather of any video game anyway.
i remember as a kid playing pitfall and many others...
there should be a rule such as "too important to fail" for companies as such...
2 up, 0 down
Knightzane
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 4:50:07 PM
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Bonampak
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 8:00:42 PM
Because Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 3 did came out during this generation for the PS2/Wii. And they are regarded as some of the best DBZ games ever.
0 up, 0 down
___________
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 9:01:00 PM
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:(
so sad to see the father of console gaming dying!
1 up, 0 down
Hand_of_Sorrow
Reply
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 12:30:01 PM
anyone remember, infogrames entertainment?
heres a little bit of history,
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infogrames_Entertainment,_SA