Atari, Inc. is an American video gaming company based in New York City, and a subsidiary of the Atari SA holding company. It is the main entity serving the commercial Atari brand globally since 2003. The company currently publishes games based on retro Atari franchises as well as some new content,[1] and also produces the new Atari 2600+ dedicated console.[2] In the past it produced titles including Driver 3, Fahrenheit, Test Drive Unlimited.
Its origins date to GT Interactive Software in 1993, known for publishing games such as Doom II, Quake, Driver, the first Unreal. The company was acquired by Infogrames in 1999, and later renamed to Infogrames, Inc. Two years after Infogrames's purchase of the Atari brand and assets from Hasbro Interactive, the company was rebranded to Atari, Inc., initially serving as Infogrames's US operations.[3][4] In 2008 it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infogrames, now known as Atari SA,[5] and activities were largely consolidated into Atari Inc.[6]
History
GT Interactive logo
1993: Founding of GT Interactive
The GT Interactive Software Corp. was founded in February 1993 as a division and the video game publishing arm of GoodTimes Home Video, a video-tape distributor owned by the Cayre family, with Ron Chaimowitz as co-founder and president. In its first year, revenue reached $10.3 million.[7] GT was unique among many publishers as they allowed developers they contracted to retain their Intellectual Property.[citation needed]
1994: 880% revenue growth
GT Interactive revenue soared 880% and reached $101 million in its second year of existence, with profits reaching $18 million.[8] GT Interactive's partnership with id Software scored another hit with Doom II: Hell on Earth, which was released in October and sold over 2 million copies.
1995 – Initial public offering
In February GT Interactive obtained the publishing rights to games based on Mercer Mayer property, which included Little Critter and Little Monster.[9] GT Interactive began to set up displays at Kmart and Walmart for low cost software.[10]
GT Interactive signed an exclusive software supplier agreement with Walmart,[citation needed] that meant according to UBS Securities analyst Michael Wallace: "All software developers have to deal with GT if they want to sell in a Walmart."[7]
In December GT Interactive debuted on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the stock symbol GTIS.[11] Raising $140 million with its initial public offering, it was one of the biggest IPOs of the year, second only to Netscape's.[citation needed][12]
GT Interactive offered 10 million shares to the public at $14 each.[12] During GT Interactive's IPO, Joseph Cayre sold more than 1.4 million shares, 9.2% of his shares, for a $20 million return.[12]
GT Interactive reported a strong revenue growth of 134% in the year to $234.4 million but, in the first sign of trouble ahead, profits increased a meager 23% to $22.6 million.[13]
1996: Humongous Entertainment acquisition
In January GT Interactive obtained the publishing rights for the highly anticipated Quake from id Software.[14] In February GT Interactive and Target signed an agreement in which GT Interactive became the primary consumer software supplier to all Target's 675 stores.[15]
In June 1996 GT Interactive acquired WizardWorks, publisher of the Deer Hunter series, for 2.4 million shares and FormGen, which had the publishing rights to Duke Nukem, for 1 million shares,[11] or $17 million.[16]
Quake was also released in June by GT Interactive for PC.[citation needed] It sold 1.8 million copies,[17] becoming a PC classic.
In July, the game developer Humongous Entertainment was bought by GT Interactive for 3.5 million shares, or $76 million.[18] In 1995, Humongous Entertainment's revenue had risen to $10 million, an increase of 233% over 1994's revenue of $3 million.[18] The deal gave GT Interactive rights to successful children's software titles such as the Putt-Putt franchise as well as the Freddi Fish and Spy Fox series.
In November GT Interactive acquired Warner Interactive Europe (including Renegade Software) from Time Warner for $6.3 million in cash, with this acquisition GT Interactive gained bigger access to software markets in Western Europe.[11]
In a sign of uncertainty for its future, GT Interactive, for the year, reported a net income increase of only 11% over the previous year to $25.1 million. Revenue growth also decelerated to 56%, revenue for the year was $365 million. Making matters worse, net income in the fourth quarter reduced 16.8% to $8.5 million when compared to 1995's fourth quarter.[13]
1997
In January GT Interactive bought One Stop, a European value software publisher, for $800,000 in cash.[11]
In June GT Interactive signed a deal with MTV, the deal gave GT Interactive the rights to publish games based on Beavis and Butt-head and Æon Flux.[19]
On October 5, 1997, GT Interactive announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire MicroProse for $250 million in stock; the deal had even been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and was expected to be completed by the end of that year.[23] The merger would have made GT Interactive the second largest U.S. gaming software company, exceeded only by Electronic Arts.[24]
But on December 5 the acquisition was cancelled, according to both CEOs "the time is simply not right" for the deal. MicroProse's stock plummeted after the announcement of the deal's cancellation.[25]
GT Interactive's result was negatively affected because, in March, they stopped being the exclusive computer software distributor to Walmart, who decided to buy its software directly from the publishers.[26]
In 1997 GT Interactive's share of the entertainment software market reached a historical low of 6.4% down from the record highs of 9% and 10% years earlier. GT Interactive was a leader only on the arcade/action category, with a 20.3% market share. Making matters worse, GT Interactive also had a high debt/equity ratio of 41%, Electronic Arts had a debt/equity ratio of just 8%. For 1997 GT Interactive's return on equity was a dismal -16.14%.[27] For the year, GT Interactive's revenue growth continued to decelerate, increased only 45% to $530 million.[28] During 1997 GT Interactive posted its first net loss, totaling $25 million.[13]
1998
In May Epic Games's Unreal was published by GT Interactive, in the first 10 months over 800,000 copies were sold. Coincidentally Deer Hunter II, which was released in October also sold 800,000 copies.[13]
In November GT Interactive bought OneZero Media for $17.2 million in stock and $20 million in total, becoming the first game publisher to own an entertainment Internet website.[20][29]
In the fourth quarter of 1998 GT Interactive posted a net income of $16.7 million on revenues of $246.3 million.[31] For the year, GT Interactive reported revenues were almost flat rising 10% to $584 million, but GT Interactive swung into black by posting a $20.3 million net income (results from the fiscal year ending on December 31, 1998).[13][31]
1999: Acquisition by Infogrames
In 1999, GT Interactive posted first quarter losses of $90 million due to restructuring costs.[13] In February, in light of the bad results, CEO Ron Chaimowitz was replaced.[28]
Game sales in 1999 fell in comparison to 1998, which had dire consequences on GT Interactive's finances. In April, GT Interactive predicted for 2000 a first quarter loss of $55 million on revenues of around just $95 million. A failure to release 5 major games and a planned relocation to Los Angeles added to the losses.[citation needed] In June GT Interactive announced it had hired Bear Stearns to look into the possibility of either a merger or a sale of the company and in October GT Interactive fired 35% of its workforce, or 650 employees, mostly from its distribution section.[32][failed verification]
In June, Reflections-developed Driver was released, selling approximately 1 million copies.[13] In July GT Interactive sold OneZero Media for $5.2 million in cash, just six months after it was purchased.[20]
On November 16, Infogrames Entertainment, SA (IESA) announced that it would buy 70% of GT Interactive for $135 million and assume $10.5 million in debt,[32] a deal completed by December 17.[33]
IESA's acquisition came just in time because GT Interactive's 1999 results were dismal. Revenues fell 30% to $408 million in 1999 and GT Interactive posted a net loss of $254 million for the year (results with the fiscal year ending on December 31, 1999).[31][34]
On May 10, 2000, IESA announced the renaming of GT Interactive to Infogrames, Inc.[35] Almost three years later, on May 8, 2003, the company would again change its name, this time to Atari, Inc., becoming ATAR on the NASDAQ stock market.[4]
Legacy
Following the bankruptcy of Atari, the GT Interactive brand and trademark was soon sold to Tommo, Inc., and later Billionsoft.[36] On April 20, 2023, Atari announced they had re-acquired the GT Interactive brand and trademark from Billionsoft alongside select titles formerly published by the company.[37] Following this acquisition, the trademark and brand transitioned to GT Interactive, LLC, a subsidiary of Atari that holds the archived titles[38] which includes the 2000 version of Gunship!.[39]
In 2002 Jakks Pacific, a toy company, released a plug-and-play video game console called the Atari 10-in-1 TV Game. It was battery-operated and shaped similarly to an Atari 2600 joystick, and included composite video and audio output. In 2004, the same company created a device called Atari Paddle Games, in the shape of one of the 2600's "paddle" controllers with appropriate titles included.
The same year that the Paddle Games were released, Atari released a TV game of their own which they called the Atari Flashback. The device was designed and produced by Atari consultant Curt Vendel through his engineering firm Legacy Engineering. With only a 10-week development window, what they produced looked like a miniature version of the Atari 7800 console originally released in 1984. Twenty titles were built into the system. The Flashback did fairly well in sales. Since the games were all recreated on hardware more closely resembling the Nintendo Entertainment System than the 7800, some of the aspects of certain games concerning the sound, graphics, or gameplay were either changed or omitted.
Because of popular demand, Atari hired Curt Vendel once again to produce a follow-up product. With a longer development window, Vendel released a new version of the Flashback console, titled Atari Flashback 2, in August 2005. The Flashback 2 is based on an implementation of the original Atari 2600 on a single chip that Curt Vendel designed, allowing the original 2600 games to be run instead of ports as in the first Flashback. In addition, the included joysticks are fully compatible with the original 2600 joysticks and vice versa. Furthermore, the circuitboard in the Flashback 2 actually has connectors for modders to solder on a cartridge slot, allowing the Flashback 2 to play the entire library of 2600 games. Since 2011, the consoles have been produced and marketed by AtGames under license from Atari.
Also, in late October 2005, Atari released one of two collections of its classic arcade games for the Nokia N-Gage console, titled Atari Masterpieces. Atari Masterpieces Volume I includes classic arcade games: Asteroids, Battlezone, Black Widow, Millipede, Missile Command, Red Baron, Lunar Lander and Super Breakout, and features an exclusive interview with Nolan Bushnell. Atari Masterpieces Volume II was released in March 2006.
On May 5, 2006, Atari and Hasbro stopped BioWare and DLA from further development of premium modules and publishing near-completed premium modules for Neverwinter Nights. No reason was stated, but it was likely in anticipation of the upcoming sequel, Neverwinter Nights 2, which would lack features from these modules. They relented after community backlash.
Atari also released a series of games based on The Matrix movie trilogy including Enter the Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo. Although not critical successes, these titles represent some of the most expensive video games ever developed. Enter the Matrix, which was developed by Shiny Entertainment, sold 1.38 million units for the PlayStation 2 and 1 million units for the GameCube.
Another success for Atari was a series based on Godzilla. Pipeworks developed and created all three of the console titles, although handheld titles were developed separately. The series started with Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for the GameCube which was released on October 11, 2002, to much success before it was ported to the Microsoft Xbox a year later. It was followed by a sequel, Godzilla: Save the Earth for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, on November 16, 2004. Despite Save the Earth's relative commercial failure, Godzilla: Unleashed was released for the PS2 on November 20, 2007, and the Wii on December 5, 2007. Unleashed was accompanied by Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash for the Nintendo DS, which was released on November 20, 2007.
Atari was one of the companies using British legal company Davenport Lyons in 2008 to recover damages from computer users illegally downloading games. It stopped using the company when they were made aware of the false claims being made against innocent members of the public.[41]
Atari is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, California, United States in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company's products, such as Pong and the Atari 2600, helped define the electronic entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid-1980s.
The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge—initially Combat and later Pac-Man. Sears sold the system as the Tele-Games Video Arcade. Atari rebranded the VCS as the Atari 2600 in November 1982 alongside the release of the Atari 5200.
Backyard Sports is a video game series released for consoles, computers, and mobile devices created by Humongous Entertainment. The series is best known for starring kid-sized versions of popular professional sports stars, such as Albert Pujols, Paul Pierce, Barry Bonds, Tim Duncan, Clint Mathis, Kevin Garnett, Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Joe Thornton, and Andy Macdonald. The Backyard Sports series is licensed by the major professional U.S. sports leagues: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Soccer (MLS). The series has changed ownership and developers several times since Humongous's 2005 closure.
MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the Civilization and X-COM series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation and strategy games.
Cavedog Entertainment was a PC game developer and publisher based in Bothell, Washington. Founded in 1995 as a division of edutainment game developer Humongous Entertainment, Cavedog was known for the 1997 release of Total Annihilation—which won several accolades, such as multiple Game of the Year honors—considered one of the "greatest games of all time" in 2004 by GameSpot.
Adventure is a 1980 action-adventure game developed by Warren Robinett and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. The player controls a square avatar whose quest is to explore an open-ended environment to find a magical chalice and return it to the golden castle. The game world is populated by roaming enemies: three dragons that can eat the avatar and a bat that randomly steals and moves items around the game world. Adventure introduced new elements to console games, including enemies that continue to move when offscreen.
Accolade, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher based in San Jose, California. The company was founded as Accolade in 1984 by Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead, who had previously co-founded Activision in 1979. The company became known for numerous sports game series, including HardBall!, Jack Nicklaus and Test Drive.
Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, released as Dragon Ball Z in Japan, is a fighting video game developed by Dimps for PlayStation 2 release in 2002 and GameCube release in 2003. The first game in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series, it is based on the Japanese anime series Dragon Ball Z, part of the manga franchise Dragon Ball. It was published in Japan by Bandai and in North America by Infogrames, and was the first console Dragon Ball video game in five years since Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout (1997).
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, released as Dragon Ball Z2 in Japan, is a fighting video game developed by Dimps based upon the anime and manga series, Dragon Ball Z, and a sequel to Dragon Ball Z: Budokai. It released for the PlayStation 2 in 2003 and for the GameCube in 2004 and was published in Japan and Europe by Bandai and in North America, Australia and South Africa by Atari SA.
Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of home computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when Warner Communications sold the home gaming and computing assets of Atari, Inc. to Tramiel. Its chief products were the Atari ST, Atari XE, Atari 7800, Atari Lynx and Atari Jaguar; in addition to hardware, the company also published Atari video games for home systems and also had an in-house development team for Jaguar titles.
Humongous Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Bothell, Washington. Founded in 1992, the company developed multiple edutainment franchises, most prominently Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam and Spy Fox, which, combined, sold over 15 million copies and earned more than 400 awards of excellence.
Atari Interactive, Inc. is an American subsidiary of Atari SA which is the current owner of the Atari brand name, which it licenses out to its parent company. The company was originally founded by toy company Hasbro in 1995 as Hasbro Interactive, Inc., and was sold to Infogrames at the beginning of 2001 becoming Infogrames Interactive, Inc. before adopting its current name in 2003.
Atari SA, also known under the Atari Group moniker, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA is made up of several video gaming related subsidiaries, including: Atari, Inc., Nightdive Studios, Digital Eclipse and Infogrames, and a blockchain division, Atari X, and additionally owns the websites MobyGames and AtariAge. Through these divisions, the company owns the rights to many video game properties that originated from Accolade, Atari, Inc., Atari Corporation, GT Interactive, M Network, Intellivision and others. It is the sole owner of the Atari brand since 2001, through its subsidiary Atari Interactive Inc. which licenses the brand to other entities in the group.
Realsports Volleyball is a volleyball video game written by Bob Polaro and Jim Huether for the Atari 2600 and published by Atari, Inc. in 1982. Polaro also programmed the Atari 2600 port of Defender.
RealSports Baseball is a 1982 sports video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. originally for the Atari 2600. It was also launched on the Atari 5200 and 7800 machines. A version for the Atari 8-bit computers was in development, but cancelled.
RealSports Soccer is a 1983 sports video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200, concentrating on the sport of association football.
RealSports is a series of sports video games originally developed and published Atari, Inc. The first games were released in 1982 for the Atari 2600, then the series expanded to the Atari 5200, Atari 7800, and Atari 8-bit computers. By the early 1980s, Atari's initial sports releases for the VCS — Home Run and Football — were dated in terms of visuals and gameplay, and targeted by an Intellivision ad campaign from Mattel. The RealSports series was an attempt by Atari to revitalize the sports game lineup for their consoles.
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$218 million (2006)
$68 million (2006)
