Atari
 Atari logo | |
| Key Dates | 27 June 1972 (creation of Atari Inc.). |
|---|---|
| Key figures | Nolan Bushnell (founder) Ted Dabney (co-founder) Jack Tramiel (director from 1984 to 1996) |
| Action | Euronext : ATA |
| Headquarters | Paris France |
| Activity (s) | Developer, publisher and distributor of video games Computer manufacturer (until 1993 ) |
| Product (s) | Pong (video game) Asteroids (video game) Tempest (video game) Atari ST (PC) |
| Staff | +1 800 |
| Website | www.atari.com |
change  | |
Atari is originally an American company pioneered the industry of video games founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It specializes in developing video games and manufacturer of arcade machines , the gaming consoles and personal computers. Since 2001, the brand owned by Atari Infogrames Entertainment decides May 7, 2003 to adopt the Atari name for all its business operations and renamed it and all its subsidiaries worldwide in "Atari followed by the name of the country" ( eg Atari UK) .
Summary |
Atari.
In spring 1971, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney start to develop their own version of Spacewar! called Computer Space. The project is sold to Nutting Associates in late 1971. On 27 June 1972 , Bushnell and Dabney founded Atari in California society. Originally, the company called Syzygy Co., an astronomical term, but leaders are aware that this name is already taken. Dan first game of go , Bushnell draws a new name in the vocabulary of this game and chose the term atari (), meaning that a group of stones is about to be captured. It is said that the name comes from Atari Nolan Bushnell favorite movie, Hatari! of Howard Hawks with John Wayne.
On November 29, 1972, Atari sells its first video arcade , the famous Pong , which becomes a huge success with 35,000 units in total. "I did not invent the video game. I marketed. "Said Nolan Bushnell. In the industry of arcade games, Pong is considered the first nail in the coffin of pinball.
The Atari logo, designed by George Opperman , was introduced on 1 June 1973 . Stylized version of the letter "A" also symbolizes the game Pong , and 2 players face to face . It later says he is a stylized representation of Mount Fujiyama , hence its nickname, logo "Fuji".
The second set of the company, Space Race is launched July 16, 1973. Ted Dabney, worried by the rise of competition, is withdrawing from society. To ensure market share, Bushnell decided to sign exclusive contracts with a distributor for each area. As an area is covered by an average two distributors, it raises a secret second company to manufacture, Kee Games, headed by his friend Joe Keenan, to canvass the second distributor for each zone. Games produced independently by Kee Games and Atari are finally marketed by both companies with cosmetic changes and a different title. In 1975, the company launched the console Atari Pong , the family version of the game
In March 1976, Breakout is a new hit in the arcade. In October 1976, Nolan Bushnell sells Atari. to Warner Communications for about 28 million , . In 1977 , the company releases its first cartridge console, the Atari 2600 (Atari VCS or) that the system itself as market leader, with over 40 million units sold in total. Atari then launches into the design of personal computers with the range 8-bit Atari. Despite the advanced graphics capabilities, the range remains in the shadow of the Commodore 64.
In the early 1980s , the company is opposed to tough competition and losing more and more money, up to 1 million per day at this time. The video game crash of 1983 in the United States exacerbates the financial difficulties. On July 3, 1984, Warner Communications sells the division of computer and console game 'Tramiel Technologies, the company founded by Jack Tramiel , the founder of Commodore International , thanked a few months earlier. The division was renamed Atari Corporation. Branch "arcade" ( Marble Madness , Paperboy ), renamed Atari Games in 1984, became for a few months, a subsidiary of Namco in 1985 before making its independence.
Now, Atari Corporation and Atari Games are two separate companies.
Atari Games
Atari Games continues its activities in the arcade market and has various success ( Super Sprint , Hard Drivin ' ). From 1987, the company reinvests the market of family systems (mainly adaptations) through its subsidiary, Tengen (and society Domark Software for the market microphones) on the family market, the brand rights Atari reserved for Atari Corporation. In the late 1980s, the company is experiencing trouble with various Nintendo (regarding licensing fees, the rights of the game Tetris ). In 1993, Time Warner took control of Atari Games becomes Time Warner Interactive (Atari Games label still used, it is abandoned Tengen). In 1996, WMS Industries ( Williams Electronics , Bally / Midway ) gets Time Warner Interactive.
Renamed Midway Games West, Atari Games has finally been dispersed in 2003. Midway continues to operate the catalog.
Atari Corporation
Editor Tramiel , 1984, Atari Corporation uses the remaining stock of the consoles to keep the company afloat during the development of its new 16/32 bit computer, the Atari ST. In 1985, the Company markets updates to its line of computer 8bits, Series Atari XE , and launches the Atari ST, which allows the group to recover. With its integrated MIDI, the Atari ST has established itself as the reference machine for many musicians and contributes significantly to the development of the MAO. This range is very successful, mainly in Europe. It competes with the range Amiga Commodore.
In 1989, Atari Corp.. Launches Handheld Color Lynx. Hailed by critics, it is overshadowed by the success of the Game Boy from Nintendo. In 1992 , the company launched the latest evolution of the Atari ST range, the Falcon. There has been relatively successful with musicians because of its ability to process audio 8-track in Direct-to-disk. Faced with rising compatible PC , sales remain subdued and the production is stopped at the end of 1993. Atari Corp.. focuses now on the market for consoles and software in 1993 with the launch of the Jaguar , the first home console 64 bits. The console can not win against the giants Nintendo and Sega.
In 1996 , Atari ceases all activity in the video game industry, which was considered random. On 30 July 1996 , it merged with JTS, a maker of hard disk , becoming a subdivision . On 23 February 1998 , JTS sold its stake in Atari to Hasbro Interactive, the interactive division of the American group Hasbro . In 1999, Hasbro announced its desire to Atari publishing label of preference for video games and reissuing some classics from the Atari 2600.
In 2001, Infogrames Entertainment Acquires Hasbro Interactive and becomes owner of the Atari brand (it also puts a hand on MicroProse and Games.com). Starting in 2003, Infogrames adopted the name of this brand for all its business operations and activities while keeping its name . Infogrames Inc.., Its U.S. subsidiary listed on the NASDAQ became Atari Inc. . In May 2009, Infogrames Entertainment, parent company of the Atari Group, announces that it will adopt the name Atari to "benefit from the reputation of the brand throughout the world" .
Some famous arcade games
Atari Inc.. (1972 - 1984)
- Asteroids
- Battlezone
- Breakout
- Centipede
- Gran Trak 10
- I, Robot
- Lunar Lander
- Major Havoc
- Missile Command
- Night Driver
- Pong
- Star Wars
- Tempest
Atari Games (1984 - 2000)
- APB: All Points Bulletin
- Gauntlet
- Hard Drivin '
- Marble Madness
- Paperboy
- Rampart
- San Francisco Rush 2049
- STUN Runner
- Super Sprint
- Vindicators
Video Game Consoles
- Atari Pong (and variations)
- Atari Video Pinball
- Atari Stunt Cycle
- Atari Game Brain
- Atari 2600
- Atari 5200
- Atari 7800
- Lynx
- Lynx II
- Jaguar
- Jaguar CD
- Atari XEGS
Personal computers
Atari 8-bit
All models are based on a microprocessor 6502 to 1 MHz. RAM ranges from 16 KB to 128 KB depending on version.
16/32 bit
- ST : 68000 at 8 MHz - 256 KB to 1 MB of RAM - Floppy separated.
- STF: Same as ST but floppy drive built into the case - 512 KB to 1 MB RAM.
- Mega ST: Pro version of the STF with flat housing and separate keyboard - 1 MB to 4 MB RAM.
- Stacy : portable version of the STF with integrated LCD display, a trackball, and an optional hard disk.
- ETS : STF with improved graphics chip and PCM stereo sound output - 512 KB to 4 MB RAM.
- Mega STE : STE pro version with separate keyboard and flat-pack - 68000 16 MHz + cache - Space for an internal hard drive - 68882 arithmtique coprocessor optional.
- ST Book : Portable version of ETS integrating an LCD screen, a hard disk. The floppy drive is optional.
- TT : 68030 at 32 MHz - Extra Modes - 4 to 270 MB RAM - integrated Hard Drive - Casing similar to the Mega STE but left before the latter
- Falcon030 : 68030 + 16 MHz DSP56001 to 32 MHz - 4 or 14 MB RAM - integrated Hard Drive - Chip VGA graphics with composite video output - Inputs and outputs 16-bit stereo 49.1 KHz and 8 channels of SPDIF digital connection options.
Other
References
- Website Atari France (Infogrames becomes Atari)
- Official Press Release of Infogrames Entertainment
- Al Alcorn Interview
- "Atari: The Lost Years Of The Coin-Op, 1971-1975"
- Atari 2600 FAQ
- Warner signs pact to purchase Atari. , Clare M. Reckert, The New York Times, September 8, 1976
- Warner Communications Completes Takeover Atari , The New York Times, October 5, 1976.
- The Atari from JTS interest relates principally to its workforce and factories.
- For 5 million.
- a , b and c atari.com, Atari group and its activities , accessed June 28, 2009.
- Atari.com, Infogrames Entertainment - Results of the fiscal year 2008/2009 , 29 May 2009.
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