Atari's future uncertain

[Zoma]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/833/833147p1.html

 

Will there even be a second NX2 for us?

[jaguars4ever]

Even before their current financial crisis, compared to their status as console giants of yesteryear, they're still a shadow of their former self.

 

As with Sega.

 

And IBM.

 

Doomed to digital mediocrity.

 

So sayeth the rumors on the Internets

[Tale]

Even before their current financial crisis, compared to their status as console giants of yesteryear, they're still a shadow of their former self.

The company currently named Atari was never a console giant. It's a different company. And that's not a figurative statement.

[Volourn]

Then again, the old Atari bombed itself. Heh.

 

This doesn't neccessarily mean the end of NWN2 expansions/support since those who own Atari/D&D license will still be in play.

[Rhomal]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/833/833147p1.html

 

Will there even be a second NX2 for us?

 

 

How many 'atari is d000000med' news reports have we seen thus far past 3 years? *shrugs*

GM just posed a 30+ BILLION dollar loss and they don't seem to be going under anytime soon. (However their stocks will prob be worth less then the paper its printed on but thats another story...) Just trying to keep everything in perspective.

 

As long as there a reasonable chance for atari to turn around and make $ someone will invest and bail them out. Its the way of the market. Just the name 'atari' is worth big $ due to its market penetration.

[Tale]

Where is Atari losing all their money?

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

By developping non-profitable games?

[Hurlshort]

I didn't even know Atari was developing games. I thought they were strictly publishing.

[Morgoth]

I didn't even know Atari was developing games. I thought they were strictly publishing.

AFAIK they're a publishing corporation only. I hope they'll at least survive until the second NWN2 expansion gets released. After that, I don't care.

[taks]

um, GM's income statement indicates a net profit of $900M on $40B in the Q ending Jun 07???

 

either way, GM has $200B in sales in a year... apples and oranges. atari (aka infogrames) has loss numbers that exceed their gross income - $12M loss on $10M income for the Q ending Jun 07.

 

doomed is an understatement.

 

taks

[Sand]

We need Deekin and the DOOM song!

 

Doomidy doom! We are all doomed! Doomidy doom doom!

[Zoma]

By the way, NWN2's patches are funded by Atari or out of Obsidian's own pockets? I recall being the latter but I can't be too sure.

[Tale]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/atari/atari-ceo-q...tion-322376.php

 

Atari's CEO quits, the company is ceasing production (but not publishing), and has sold Test Drive back to Infogrames for $5 million.

 

I didn't think Infogrames actually did anything other than own majority stock in Atari. Where'd they get $5 million?

 

This means that mostly their internal game development is gone. Beyond that I won't speculate.

Edited November 14, 2007 by Tale

[SteveThaiBinh]

I hope they stay in business long enough for Mysteries of Westgate to be released. Poor Ossian Studios, they don't get much luck, it seems.

[Pidesco]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/atari/atari-ceo-q...tion-322376.php

 

Atari's CEO quits, the company is ceasing production (but not publishing), and has sold Test Drive back to Infogrames for $5 million.

 

I didn't think Infogrames actually did anything other than own majority stock in Atari. Where'd they get $5 million?

 

This means that mostly their internal game development is gone. Beyond that I won't speculate.

 

I was under the impression that Atari was Infogrames.

[Tale]

According to wikipedia.org, the relationship is odd. And by "odd" I mean, "what the hell? this doesn't make sense!"

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari

 

Atari Interactive is a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames.

Atari, inc. has licensed the brand name and assets of Atari Interactive. Atari, inc. (a public company) is a 51% owned subsidiary of Infogrames. According to wikipedia.org, Atari, inc. was the company involved in publishing, production, and distribution.

 

Infogrames is a holding company.

[Nick_i_am]

ATARI IS A FRONT! CALL THE POLICE!

[Pidesco]

According to wikipedia.org, the relationship is odd. And by "odd" I mean, "what the hell? this doesn't make sense!"

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari

 

Atari Interactive is a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames.

Atari, inc. has licensed the brand name and assets of Atari Interactive. Atari, inc. (a public company) is a 51% owned subsidiary of Infogrames. According to wikipedia.org, Atari, inc. was the company involved in publishing, production, and distribution.

 

Infogrames is a holding company.

 

Doesn't this mean that the whole "Atari going down" thing is pointless? As long as Infogrames stays healthy, all the Atari properties will be safe. Or am I an idiot who's totally missing the point?

[SteveThaiBinh]

It depends what other properties and investments Infogrames has (if any at all), and how well they're doing, and how willing the parent company is to use funds from one (more successful) part of the business to fund another (and less successful) part.

[Tale]

Doesn't this mean that the whole "Atari going down" thing is pointless? As long as Infogrames stays healthy, all the Atari properties will be safe. Or am I an idiot who's totally missing the point?

 

Intellectual property rights don't make a company. Properties will often be safe because when a company goes bankrupt they can just sell them off to whoever, though that's not always the case. Atari, Inc. (the company going down) was responsible for actually publishing games, which means, in some cases, funding the development process and support. Infogrames might not want to take that up with the same developers (such as Obsidian). And I doubt they really have the obligation to.

 

This could mean a few things. What seems most apparent is that it may mean that support for Neverwinter Nights 2 ends up the responsibility of Infogrames as they have the rights to develop Hasbro (consequently Wizards of the Coast and D&D) properties up until 2015. If such a case, they may do things differently than Atari. As fans of Neverwinter Nights 2, this may or may not have noticeable effects on us. It may also result in any project Obsidian has currently with Atari, Inc. to be shut down. This probably wouldn't be immediately noticeable to us, but may be bad for Obsidian as it means one source of future revenue is gone. Again, this is only a possibility.

 

Not "pointless," and as a layman I can only speculate as to the ultimate consequences of it with little accuracy, but there seem to be possibilities both bad and neutral.

Edited November 14, 2007 by Tale

[Rhomal]

From blues news:

 

ATARI Ceases Game Development

 

Atari CEO Resigns as Company Withdraws from Production has word that David Pierce has stepped down from his position as CEO of the troubled gaming company, which has also announced its exit from the production end of the business. Here's a bit:

 

Amidst concerns about the company's lack of funds and ability to continue its business, Atari officials announced today that the publisher will "re-focus its operations on publishing and distribution in North America, completing its withdrawal from the production business."

 

According to the release, Atari's operations going forward "will involve title acquisition, sales and marketing, and physical distribution of products from [infogrames] IESA, its 51% shareholder, and other selected partners."

 

Atari has agreed in principle to terminate its Production Services Agreement with IESA in the near future. The company is planning to transfer certain employees and contract other staff on a project basis for a limited period of time. Unfortunately for Atari's employees, this restructuring initiative will also reduce the company's current workforce "in order to re-align the Company's cost structure with its on-going business base."

 

Along with the withdrawal from production, Atari CEO David Pierce has also announced his resignation. Curtis G. Solsvig III, Chief Restructuring Officer, has been appointed interim CEO and will assume Pierce's responsibilities for now. Atari said that an executive search for a new CEO has already been started.

[Tale]

Yeah, maybe they won't cease funding developers.

[Gorgon]

Is Atari the ones making unreal 3, or whatever theyre calling it. If not, I don\t particularly care.

[Tale]

Is Atari the ones making unreal 3, or whatever theyre calling it. If not, I don\t particularly care.

No.