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The Return
of the Original!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
we are experiencing the resurrection of Atari
as a real company again. This is big news, very
exciting, but first some background.
For the past
few years, Atari has not existed as a company,
just a name. First owned by Hasbro, the Atari
logo was put on new 3D rehashes of old arcade
classics. Some were good, like the new Q*Bert
for the PlayStation, and some were, well, awful.
This was certainly no way for Atari to live
on, but satisfaction wouldn't come just yet.
Infogrames then acquired Hasbro and the
Atari license, releasing some games for modern
systems, and putting the logo on them. This
was better than Hasbro's Atari, but it still
wasn't the same. It wasn't Atari the way we
know and love it.
Now, Infogrames
has officially changed its name to Atari. Our
beloved game maker is back! Atari is once again
a company, though what will happen through that
company has yet to be decided.
Why did Infogrames
change its name? My guess is the
popularity and nostalgia surrounding Atari.
Even modern gamers know what it is. Certainly,
it's a better name than Infogrames, and odds
are it would help business.
Games have been
released with the Atari name and logo, but the
big question is, what about a new system? Certainly
I, as I'm sure many other gamers out there,
would be overjoyed at the news of a new Atari
system. Why, with the right games and right
support, it could be a success, but not yet.
Releasing it now would be unwise. Both Nintendo
and Microsoft have been unable to steal Sony's
hold on the industry, and since both the GameCube
and Xbox have been out for a few years, a new
console wouldn't do very well. It would be much
wiser to release a new Atari when Sony's ready
to release the PS3, or when the new Xbox is
ready to be introduced to the masses, whenever
the next round of console wars will start. If
they don't mess up marketing as they've done
in the past, we could have a great system on
our hands.
However, a far
more current issue is, what about our classic
Atari? Will the new Atari attempt to put a stop
to our emulation, homebrews and so on? While
I seriously doubt it, you never know, and certainly
a decision such as that would not only devastate,
but completely anger, our li'l gaming community.
So, as you know,
only time will tell what will happen with our
new Atari. Here's to hoping they don't repeat
mistakes of the past, and once again reclaim
the video game throne.
larry@myatari.net
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