Current Atari owners confirmed to have no idea what they're doing

[TimmiT]

http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/18/abject-bollocks-tempest-2000-creator-calls-out-atari-for-trying-to-block-his-followup/


So basically: creator of Tempest 2000 had made a spiritual successor to the game called TxK for Playstation Vita. He was working on versions for other platforms including PC, PS4, iOS and Android, but Atari is threatening him with legal action and wants him to stop selling the game for Vita cause the game is similar. Their reasons include the soundtrack being the same (it isn't), them thinking he wouldn't be able to make the game without access to the source code of Tempest 2000 (even though he is the one who wrote that source code) and reviewers comparing TxK to Tempest 2000.


So with that and their current games being shovelware, it's pretty clear that the people who run Atari now have absolutely no dignity.

[Mariano]

The ATARI from the 80 does not exist anymore i think, the ATARI from these days is INFOGRAMES actually, they "bought" the name when ATARI went bankrupt.
The same happen with "Nordic games", a company that bought the name from the former company "THQ".


Anyway, a pretty sick move from them indeed.

[TimmiT]

IIRC the Infogrames Atari went down as well, and now again different people run Atari. They've been putting out games using their IP like Alone in the Dark, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Space Invaders etc. as well, but they are generally terrible and sometimes barely are like previous games in the series at all. Like their new Space Invaders game is gonna be a multiplayer FPS, and the new Alone in the Dark is a co-op survival game.

[Barry the Nomad]

I assume that Denny's app was the work of the new Atari owners?

[Berto]

Most recently, Atari revealed last year that it would focus primarily on lucrative social-casino games as well as initiatives aimed at LGBT audiences, real-money gaming, and YouTube.

Reading this really make me sad.

[crackdude]

"new Space Invaders game is gonna be a multiplayer FPS"

wat ahahah

[TruthEnigma]

This Atari is still the former Infogrames. They declared bankruptcy in January 2013 but came out of it and now are indeed a casino company.

That they are essentially IP trolling Jeff Minter is despicable. If he had the finances to take them to court, he'd destroy them as you cannot trademark a game mechanic, only the name and characters. Unfortunately, as often happens in these cases, the little guy can't fight so gets screwed.

[MadeManG74]

Atari still exists!? Thanks TruthEnigma, I had no idea they recovered after their bankruptcy from before.

Jeff Minter seems like a cool guy though, I doubt this will stick.

[TimmiT]

Like I said earlier: Atari now isn't just a casino company, they're also still putting out games. However, the quality of them is terrible. For example: http://store.steampowered.com/app/314850/