sbp
02-15-03, 05:41 AM
http://www.avault.com/news/displaynews.asp?story=2122003-101030
The last studio linked to classic video game company Atari is winding down its operations this month. More than 100 employees are losing their jobs. Some of these staffers date back to Atari's glory days in the 1970s. One employee even worked on Atari's second game - Tank. Parent company Midway Games - which bought Atari's arcade division in 1996 - told the NY Daily News that the downsizing is necessary to cut costs.
Atari became famous in the early '70s with a coin-operated cabinet featuring a video tennis game called Pong. The company later made the leap to household name with its 2600 game system and titles such as Asteroids and Centipede. The Atari 2600 was the first multi-game system to attach to a user's TV. Founder Nolan Bushnell sold Atari to Warner in 1976. The company later splintered - with the arcade business going to Midway and many consumer titles eventually landing at French games publisher Infogrames. Infogrames has re-released some titles in formats to match contemporary consoles and is currently using the Atari name to brand high end titles such as Unreal II. But the NY Daily News reports that there'll be no new games from Atari's creators.
Editor's note: It looks like the Atari logo in the sci-fi film "Blade Runner" was just wishful thinking. Too bad. It would've been nice for this iconic video game company to remain with us in some form into the future.
The last studio linked to classic video game company Atari is winding down its operations this month. More than 100 employees are losing their jobs. Some of these staffers date back to Atari's glory days in the 1970s. One employee even worked on Atari's second game - Tank. Parent company Midway Games - which bought Atari's arcade division in 1996 - told the NY Daily News that the downsizing is necessary to cut costs.
Atari became famous in the early '70s with a coin-operated cabinet featuring a video tennis game called Pong. The company later made the leap to household name with its 2600 game system and titles such as Asteroids and Centipede. The Atari 2600 was the first multi-game system to attach to a user's TV. Founder Nolan Bushnell sold Atari to Warner in 1976. The company later splintered - with the arcade business going to Midway and many consumer titles eventually landing at French games publisher Infogrames. Infogrames has re-released some titles in formats to match contemporary consoles and is currently using the Atari name to brand high end titles such as Unreal II. But the NY Daily News reports that there'll be no new games from Atari's creators.
Editor's note: It looks like the Atari logo in the sci-fi film "Blade Runner" was just wishful thinking. Too bad. It would've been nice for this iconic video game company to remain with us in some form into the future.