Atari has been thought-about a retro model for many years now, but it surely hasn’t all the time leaned into that designation. Whereas licensed T-shirts and plug-and-play consoles have been a reasonably constant providing, the corporate’s development plans centered much less on its personal video games and extra on branching out to wearables, films, playing, blockchain, and motels.
That modified a pair years in the past with the arrival of latest CEO Wade Rosen. Since Rosen’s appointment, Atari has continued making an attempt to develop the enterprise, however with acquisitions and investments that principally had a really clear retro angle.
It acquired Digital Eclipse, developer of the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration assortment, possibly the best-reviewed recreation with the Atari title hooked up because the firm left the {hardware} enterprise within the ’90s.
It acquired Nightdive Studios, which constructed its title remastering older video games for launch on fashionable {hardware}, titles like Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Version, System Shock: Enhanced Version, and Blood: Contemporary Provide, which Atari revealed.
It invested Antstream Arcade, the retro subscription service that lets customers stream a library of greater than 1400 video games from over a dozen platforms, together with three Atari methods.
It additionally invested in Polymega, a modular retro console that lets customers dump their previous video games and discs from a wide range of traditional methods and play all of them on fashionable TVs with a slick person interface and high quality of life options. When it invested within the firm, it additionally introduced an Atari module that might enable customers to play and save Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 to the system.
Lastly, it acquired a pair of internet sites in AtariAge and MobyGames. The previous is a long-running and well-established group of Atari superfans, whereas the latter is the video games trade’s equal of IMDB, compiling developer credit for an enormous swath of video games.
Talking with GamesIndustry.biz, Rosen explains the corporate’s emphasis on retro endeavors.
“Once we’ve gone exterior of [retro projects], we have not been as profitable”
“I really like retro, so it is easy to get keen about it,” he says, gesturing to a CRT TV within the background with an Atari 7800 hooked as much as it. “For me it has been a ardour of mine, so every time an organization can carry ardour to one thing along with making an attempt to execute on a excessive degree, I feel it is a disproportionate benefit for any firm that may carry these collectively.
“As a corporation after I got here on board, the query was, ‘What can we do higher than anybody else on the planet?’ And we’re not in a state to essentially compete with Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo, nor can we wish to. So once we regarded and requested what we might do higher than anybody, retro was the factor that jumped out to us, at the very least at this stage in our historical past. So we simply determined to be as nice as we might at this very particular factor and that is what we have been centered on.”
Past the corporate’s acquisitions, it is also pushed the retro angle with its inner tasks, just like the just-launched Atari 2600+, an emulation-based system that performs unique 2600 and 7800 cartridges. The corporate has additionally launched new Atari 2600 video games and Rosen says it will likely be making some new 7800 video games as nicely.
“Once we’ve gone exterior of [retro projects], we have not been as profitable,” Rosen says. “So we simply preserve testing the fringes to see what we are able to do and achieve success at. However each time we keep on with that and keep on with what we’re good at, it really works. Atari 50 is one other actually good instance of that.”
As for the endeavors past retro, Rosen notes they’ve largely been restricted to licensed efforts that do not demand as a lot of its inner assets. Inside playing operations have been shut down years in the past, the lodge deal was all the time a license (although Rosen insists Atari has “an excellent licensee” for the challenge and he nonetheless hopes the challenge comes collectively), and the corporate has backed away from blockchain tasks considerably.
“The most important situation I see with Web3 is there’s simply not a whole lot of readability round it, and I feel by now everybody thought there could be extra readability round the way it might be used and there’d be extra trade adoption and issues like that,” Rosen says. “For us, we have taken a much less energetic strategy in Web3 and as an alternative of creating a whole lot of tasks and being on the forefront and pushing that ahead, we extra work with companions we predict are superb companions and we work in a licensing capability with these. For us it is extra an extension of licensing. We nonetheless try this when it is acceptable and we really feel strongly the companion is dedicated to an excellent gaming expertise, but it surely’s not as large part of our enterprise because it was once.”
As for the acquisitions and investments, Rosen runs down what he noticed in every one, beginning with the pair of Digital Eclipse and Nightdive.
“I feel each [Digital Eclipse and Night Dive] share the identical DNA with Atari of focusing on a distinct segment and making an attempt to be actually good at one thing fairly than making an attempt to be OK at a whole lot of various things,” he says. “That made it simple. And the truth that area of interest was in the identical house we actually wish to be good at – these two are arguably two of the most effective retro corporations on the planet – it made a whole lot of sense to carry these collectively. “
Whereas there’s an apparent alternative for the pair to work on tasks associated to older Atari video games, Rosen insists the corporate is not mandating them to do any such factor, although it will likely be an possibility. Greater than that, he says there are alternatives for the pair to work collectively on tasks, or refer potential tasks to at least one one other if the opposite’s skillset is a greater match.
Past that, Rosen says one benefit the 2 may have as a part of Atari is the flexibility to dump enterprise logistics to their new dad or mum.
“Working an organization, there’s a whole lot of time and power that goes into doing issues that are not strategic,” Rosen says. “Time you spend on IT, HR, finance, authorized… it is huge. And it isn’t often a strategic factor any of those corporations love to do or have experience in; it is fairly removed from why they determined to create artwork within the first place. So the very first thing we do is take these issues off their plate to allow them to focus on what they actually love.”
Atari’s different two acquisitions – MobyGames and AtariAge – are a much less apparent strategic alternative for the corporate.
“AtariAge is a very passionate group that for a very long time, I do not really feel we as Atari did a powerful sufficient job recognizing, partaking with, or being part of”
AtariAge is clearly retro and proper up Atari’s ally, but it surely’s not each day we see corporations shopping for up impartial fan communities.
“AtariAge is a very passionate group that for a very long time, I do not really feel we as Atari did a powerful sufficient job recognizing, partaking with, or being part of,” Rosen mentioned. “So a whole lot of occasions it created this sense that there is AtariAge doing issues which can be primarily based in love of the model, after which there’s what Atari is doing, which was radically totally different.”
Rosen says the corporate needed to finish that dichotomy, including that AtariAge includes among the most devoted Atari followers on the planet, and it made no sense to have the gap that existed between the group and the corporate.
“The second and extra sensible piece is with us going again and making an attempt to make retro extra accessible with the 2600+, the module that shall be popping out subsequent yr for Polymega, and different tasks we now have within the works, we would have liked to be in contact with the group that is nonetheless supporting these ecosystems,” Rosen says.
Atari nonetheless considers these platforms to be residing ecosystems, he says, and shopping for AtariAge appeared like the easiest way to foster these ecosystems since these followers have already been supporting them.
He is notably cagier in relation to MobyGames.
“I can not share an excessive amount of on Moby proper now,” Rosen says. “There shall be extra within the coming yr on our plans for Moby, however I feel it additionally has a powerful group. It is not simply retro centered, it is extra of a bigger online game group however definitely there is a retro [angle] on that. And I would love to seek out extra methods to tie it into what we’re doing holistically at Atari. Extra to return on that one; I am all the time cautious to not over-promise and under-deliver.”
That is an excellent transition to speak in regards to the funding in Polymega, an organization that has had persistent issues with under-delivering to the purpose that clients have been ready a number of years for his or her orders on the system to be stuffed, whereas introduced add-ons like a module to play N64 video games (introduced in 2021) and a lightweight gun that works with HDTVs (introduced in 2019) nonetheless have not shipped. A digital storefront for previous video games, a streamlined model of the console referred to as the Polymega Remix, and a Polymega app have additionally been introduced however not but materialized.
So if the monitor document on follow-through is that checkered, what attracted Atari to the retro console maker?
“I feel that firm has simply accomplished actually revolutionary issues,” Rosen says. “It was a type of conditions the place we checked out what had been accomplished and we requested, ‘May we do one thing higher?’ That is often the query I ask if we’re contemplating an funding, an inner intestine verify to say, might we do that higher? Would we do that otherwise? And we checked out Polymega and simply mentioned ‘no.’ I do not assume we might make a greater product. I do not actually know what might be accomplished to make it higher aside from small, incremental enhancements.”
The funding was additionally half of a bigger deal that concerned getting an Atari module added to the system, in addition to including Polymega Remix performance to the Atari VCS microconsole and unspecified different methods of bringing Atari content material to the platform.
Whereas Rosen is clearly impressed by the product Polymega has put out, he acknowledges its difficulties in fulfilling orders and assembly its personal launch schedule gave Atari pause.
“That was a very large hurdle to beat,” Rosen says. “The previous adage that {hardware} is difficult could be very true. For many of our tasks we have accomplished and possibly those we are going to do going ahead, we search for best-in-class companions who know the right way to do these issues, have entry to produce chains and distribution chains… Within the case of the Polymega, the funding actually was for them to clear that up. The funding was actually to assist them get again on monitor on these issues and work out from that backlog.
“Antstream has in all probability been probably the most profitable software for the VCS”
“COVID was a really tough time for {hardware} corporations as a result of it upended the belief that the majority {hardware} corporations had made previous to that, which is that every part in the price of inputs will go down. You spec one thing and your most costly yr goes to be your first yr and your least costly yr goes to be your final yr. Then COVID got here round and flipped it upside-down.”
Lastly, there was the funding in Antstream.
“Antstream has been a pioneer within the retro house for the previous few years in order that appeared like a really pure match,” Rosen says. “And so they have been open to promoting us MobyGames, and that was half of a bigger determination across the acquisition of MobyGames and in addition to help a companion within the retro house that has a whole lot of Atari content material on the platform.
“Antstream has in all probability been probably the most profitable software for the VCS. And I feel for Antstream, [VCS players] are in all probability probably the most devoted gamers they’ve with the very best retention. I do know that is how I nonetheless play and interact with Antstream.”
When one firm acquires one other, we do not usually ask, “What if every part goes south.” However the acquisitions of AtariAge and MobyGames are a bit totally different as a result of they are not one recreation maker shopping for one other.
In a single case, Atari purchased a long-standing group that for years proved a greater steward of Atari’s legacy than Atari itself. Within the different, it purchased a extensively used reference documenting a major cross-section of gaming’s historical past.
Having simply watched one other writer observe up its public embrace of gaming historical past by closing traditionally vital builders like Volition and Free Radical after shopping for them in a spate of acquisitions, we ask Rosen about whether or not he acknowledges the accountability individuals will count on of him to safeguard these establishments’ future even when Atari’s future would not go as deliberate.
“Do I acknowledge the accountability? Completely,” Rosen says. “Will we attempt once we make an acquisition to consider worst-case eventualities if there have been points? We do, and we attempt to work by way of all these issues.
“On the similar time, you point out Embracer. There’s part of me that empathizes with Embracer. They’re coming beneath a whole lot of fireplace proper now for having to close down these studios, and Embracer… Perhaps they leaned into it somewhat bit greater than most corporations, however most online game corporations accelerated closely throughout COVID. The acceleration in funding was simply huge, and that was a call a whole lot of groups made.
“The distinction is most corporations now… some are shutting down studios however a whole lot of occasions they’re shedding individuals internally. And that is painful, but it surely would not get as many headlines as a shutdown. I am certain if you happen to requested them on the time, they in all probability ran a worst-case state of affairs and the state they’re taking a look at proper now in all probability wasn’t on there.”
“No matter what occurs to Atari, I’d like to see one thing like MobyGames proceed to outlive”
Rosen believes the corporate has plans for taking good care of MobyGames and AtariAge if the corporate’s projected worst-case state of affairs involves cross, however acknowledges that there are issues that would not be anticipated even by these eventualities.
“No matter what occurs to Atari, I’d like to see one thing like MobyGames proceed to outlive,” he says. “I feel MobyGames is one thing that’s huge for the trade and wishes to face on its personal.
“I can see AtariAge surviving. It is somewhat bit extra sophisticated with that as a result of it truly is a direct line to Atari. My hope there may be these do not separate going ahead, however in the identical method that AtariAge would not die, I’ve a tough time seeing Atari die.
“For some time it virtually grew to become a joke within the trade what number of iterations it had gone by way of, but it surely’s additionally a testomony to its endurance as an organization and a model. And so long as Atari exists, I’ve a tough time imagining AtariAge will not exist. As MobyGames goes, so long as the online game trade exists, it will be arduous for me to see a spot the place Moby would not exist.”
Rosen has been on the helm of Atari for developing on three years now, and he says the jokes in regards to the firm and the unfavorable perceptions round it nonetheless come up, however not as typically. And the one method he can consider to make it go away completely is by the corporate doing what it says it should do.
“What I’d ask is for individuals to evaluate us primarily based on whether or not we’re doing what we are saying we will do and maintain us to these actions,” Rosen says. “And I feel it’s very cheap for individuals to have a wholesome degree of skepticism whether or not we’re totally different or not. However I’d ask on the opposite aspect of that for them to be open to seeing a special Atari and recognizing it.”