So… how is Atari still in business?

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I’m aware of their bankruptcy in 1996/7, their rebirth (or their zombification) in the early 2000’s, and now… they’re still around? Like, they can’t possibly be profitable. It’s nice that we still get some great stuff, like the Atari 50 collection is my personal favorite video game collection of all time. That thing is absolutely stellar, they went all out on presentation, it’s just the best. But, the VCS is kind of just… a hipster streaming box? Which… fine… but it’s still weird.

I think SOME of their most modern business ventures are actually cool. Like, they offer newly made, HDMI compatible 2600 and 7800 consoles. That’s pretty neat! But… I don’t know how they’re even making money in their current state. Their whole legacy has kinda been torn to ribbons thanks to YouTubers and them just refusing to lie down and die. Plus, basically nobody from “gaming legacy” Atari is actually at “Atari” Atari. I think most of the arcade division went off to Midway or Raw Thrills. Or retired!

 

[LiberoVulpes]

It isn't.

It went bankrupt ages ago, what you see now is new owners using the logo and name because brand recognition.

It keeps changing hands cause its cursed, just like the Sonichu Medallion.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

It isn't.

It went bankrupt ages ago, what you see now is new owners using the logo and name because brand recognition.

It keeps changing hands cause its cursed, just like the Sonichu Medallion.

Fair, but they’re new owners that managed to buy back the rights to many of the old Atari’s properties.

Probably because they’re really cheap. Still, I can’t imagine it’s cheap to own the rights to make officially sanctioned versions of old consoles.

 

[miguk]

Atari is the Duff Man of video game companies: It can't die, only the actors who play them do. They died for real back in the gaming crash of the 80s, sold off to someone else, then that someone else revived the brand (and for whatever reason stuck to the "stay behind the times on graphics" method of the original company), it died again, and it repeated like that over and over as the brand kept on changing hands.

At this point, they are little more than a logo and some copyrights for games nobody buys anymore aside from the occasional impulse purchase of a plug-and-play console. If they were smart (and nobody smart ever seems to buy them up), they'd try to revive by updating their games into something modern, including all the lesser known ones from the post-2600 era. Or maybe just make something new.

 

[Advil Lavs]

The "New Atari" is surviving as well as a university student with sleep deprivation. They tried to revive a lot of old titles but they usually ended either very unpopular or just terrible. It's pretty difficult to give character to such a simple game and make it feel like a continuation.
Second, they've done a lot of shady stuff with NFTs, cryptocurrencies and broken promises to both fans and staff.
And finally, because non of their previous ideas worked out, not even the shady stuff, they decided to make a market where Atari enthusiasts can make money out of their new releases while also getting new releases for this almost 50 year old console.
Their situation is pretty tragic but I do hope they somehow establish a market where you can play any second-gen game, while also giving a place for indies to make some money.

 

[Yousef]

cmon man it’s common knowledge by now it’s literally not the same Atari same name but different company a five minute google search literally answers this

 

[fake-kun]

cmon man it’s common knowledge by now it’s literally not the same Atari same name but different company a five minute google search literally answers this

That was your mistake, assuming people actually use search engines nowadays.

 

[LiberoVulpes]

I can’t imagine it’s cheap to own the rights to make officially sanctioned versions of old consoles.

Essentially no one younger than 50 or hardcore collectors care about old Atari IPs, they aren't worth jack, they probably come with the Atari brand like a happy meal toy.

Nostalgia farming != Revival.

Not happening, Atari will go bankrupt again, it will be the third time i believe.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I guess, from all I’ve heard, their market is people like my dad, who may have been AWARE of their bankruptcy, but have actual things going on in their life so they don’t hear about drama surrounding a shady company, resulting in them buying their new stuff without really questioning it.

Or people like me, who maybe don’t know all the details, but think that some of the things they’ve done in the past couple years are neat (Atari 50, re-releasing old consoles, etc.)



I will say, this thread is making me look at Atari 50 a little different now. I really did love that thing, but I don’t know how to feel now knowing how shady the people who commissioned it are…

 

[Yousef]

That was your mistake, assuming people actually use search engines nowadays.

I think you mean… that was his mistake.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

cmon man it’s common knowledge by now it’s literally not the same Atari same name but different company a five minute google search literally answers this

I… literally said this in my original post. I explained I knew they went bankrupt, got their name bought out, and swapped hands a bunch of times.


I know they’re not the same. I’m just asking how the hell whoever owns the name now is even making any money to make it worth it.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 8:35 PM

Essentially no one younger than 50 or hardcore collectors care about old Atari IPs, they aren't worth jack, they probably come with the Atari brand like a happy meal toy.

Nostalgia farming != Revival.

Not happening, Atari will go bankrupt again, it will be the third time i believe.

Third time is GENEROUS. I think this would be fifth.

 

[LiberoVulpes]

To be fair, i like it when they go for NFTs, its just funny to see failure from stupid decisions, i blame Jackass for giving me this sense of humor.

Here is hoping NFTs kill Squeenix.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I… literally said this in my original post. I explained I knew they went bankrupt, got their name bought out, and swapped hands a bunch of times.


I know they’re not the same. I’m just asking how the hell whoever owns the name now is even making any money to make it worth it.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 8:35 PM

Third time is GENEROUS. I think this would be fifth.

Actually, just looked it up, and you are actually right. It is EXACTLY the third. I was sure that there was a parent company that bought their name in the mid 2010’s because of the AtGames plug and play flood (I was thinking that perhaps AtGames actually bought the name and attached assets somehow) but nope!

Three deaths.
One in 96.
One in 2013 when Infogra-I mean “Atari SA” went under
And one upcoming because, again, I don’t know how profitable you can possibly be while splashing the cash to actually make consoles, no matter how cheap they are. Hardware manufacturing is not cheap, straight up, so I don’t know what market they’re selling to in order to keep producing units of the VCS, 2600+, and 7800+.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 8:54 PM

At the end of this… I kinda think I got my answer in droves.

“Atari” is dead. Obviously. But their name has value to people who don’t care and people who like what they made (mostly older folk, but I still find the occasional game made under their roof to be fun). As a result, there’s this sense that there’s some value to the name, so they keep being picked up. And then, because there isn’t MUCH value to their name (and the companies that buy them keep making truly stupid decisions), they die again and their name and brands go up for auction, repeating the cycle again.

And, most importantly to my original question, they aren’t making money. They’re bound to die sooner or later, even if they’re trying to make it seem like they’re “back”.

Did I get all that right?

 

[Boo Man]

its ok soulja boy owns Atari now

 

[Dark Lucifer]

its ok soulja boy owns Atari now

He's sure he does

 

[SwordBreaker40]

They are in business for the same reason EA, Blizzard, Ubisoft keeps on living because people love their slop. I mean people love to keep hating on EA yet they keep selling games in the millions. Also thanks to investors.

 

[Dark Lucifer]

They are in business for the same reason EA, Blizzard, Ubisoft keeps on living because people love their slop. I mean people love to keep hating on EA yet they keep selling games in the millions. Also thanks to investors.

 

[Clippy]

If they were smart (and nobody smart ever seems to buy them up), they'd try to revive by updating their games into something modern, including all the lesser known ones from the post-2600 era. Or maybe just make something new.

They actually tried that with, uh, less than stellar results. Haunted House alone got 2 or 3 reboots/spiritual successors sanctioned by Atari if memory serves. Problem is that not only all their attempts at modernizing their games were shovelware at best but also that nobody cares about any Atari IPs. Even the more milestone stuff like Asteroids is pretty much consigned to oblivion at this point since the original can be played online for free and other developers have created more advanced takes on the formula since.

They seem to have found some success with the Recharged series but it's a far cry from what they used to be and I don't think they have the budget to make true-blue modern games considering they've resorted to scamming people with NFTs to stay afloat.