During the late 1970's and early 80's Atari were at the forefront of the video game industry with games like Asteroids, Centipede and Pong, and you would be forgiven for thinking that Atari were no longer in business, but the truth is the company are still going strong and are set to launch a comeback as an interactive online gaming production company.
Atari will focus all of their intentions on the online casino and real money gambling markets as they look to compete in the cut throat world of online gaming. Fred Chesnais is the Chief Executive Officer at Atari and he had this to say regarding his companies relaunch. He said, “Atari is more than a game publishing company; it’s an iconic brand that has established a passionate and timeless culture. Known across multiple generations around the world, Atari will continue to embrace all audiences. What the company has accomplished over the years is no small feat, but there is more to come.”
Atari recently signed agreements with software company Pairplay and Social Casino link up company FlowPlay, agreements that Mr Chesnais hopes will “engage” with gamers new and old. He said, “We’re looking forward to delivering on our new strategy and engaging with our audience in new ways across multiple channels as the next era of Atari unfolds. We are leading a rebuilding exercise in a highly volatile industry, so at the same time we are also aware of the challenges that lay ahead.”
The online gaming industry certainly is a volatile place and it will be interesting to see how Atari tackle the mountain that lies in front of them, but if their online games and casino play are as addictive as their video games used to be then they are already on to a winner.