Jump to content

Atari, Inc. (1993–present)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from GT Interactive Software)
For the original company with the same name, see Atari, Inc.
Atari, Inc.
Formerly
  • GT Interactive Software Corp. (1993–2000)
  • Infogrames, Inc. (2000–2003)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedFebruary 1993; 31 years ago (1993-02) as GT Interactive Software Corp.
May 7, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-05-07) as Atari Inc.
Founders
Headquarters
Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York
,
United States
Key people
Products
Parent
Websiteatari.com

Atari, Inc. is an American video gaming company based in New York City, and a subsidiary of the Atari SA holding company. It is the main entity serving the commercial Atari brand globally since 2003. The company currently publishes games based on retro Atari franchises as well as some new content,[1] and also produces the new Atari 2600+ dedicated console.[2] In the past it produced titles including Neverwinter Nights, Driver 3, Fahrenheit, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and Test Drive Unlimited.

Its origins date to GT Interactive Software in 1993, known for publishing games such as Doom II, Quake, Driver, the first Unreal. The company was acquired by Infogrames in 1999, and later renamed to Infogrames, Inc. Two years after Infogrames's purchase of the Atari brand and assets from Hasbro Interactive, the company was rebranded to Atari, Inc., initially serving as Infogrames's US operations.[3][4] In 2008 it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infogrames, now known as Atari SA,[5] and activities were largely consolidated into Atari Inc.[6]

History

[edit]

As GT Interactive

[edit]
GT Interactive logo

The GT Interactive Software Corp., officially abbreviated GTIS, was founded in February 1993 in New York as a division and the video game publishing arm of GoodTimes Home Video, a video-tape distributor owned by the Cayre family, with Ron Chaimowitz as co-founder and president. In its first year, revenue reached $10.3 million.[7] Their first product was Wolfenstein 3D.[8] GT was unique among many publishers as they allowed developers they contracted to retain their Intellectual Property.[citation needed]

Growth and Doom II

[edit]

GT Interactive revenue soared 880% and reached $101 million in its second year of existence, with profits reaching $18 million.[9] GT Interactive's partnership with id Software scored another hit with Doom II: Hell on Earth, which was released in October 1994 and sold over 2 million copies. In February 1995, GT Interactive obtained the publishing rights to games based on Mercer Mayer property, which included Little Critter and Little Monster.[10] GT Interactive began to set up displays at Kmart and Walmart for low cost software.[11]

GT Interactive signed an exclusive software supplier agreement with Walmart,[citation needed] that meant according to UBS Securities analyst Michael Wallace: "All software developers have to deal with GT if they want to sell in a Walmart."[7]

Initial public offering

[edit]

In December 1995, GT Interactive debuted on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the stock symbol GTIS.[12] Raising $140 million with its initial public offering, it was one of the biggest IPOs of the year, second only to Netscape's.[citation needed][13] GT Interactive offered 10 million shares to the public at $14 each.[13] During GT Interactive's IPO, Joseph Cayre sold more than 1.4 million shares, 9.2% of his shares, for a $20 million return.[13]

GT Interactive reported a strong revenue growth of 134% in the year to $234.4 million but, in the first sign of trouble ahead, profits increased a meager 23% to $22.6 million.[14]

Humongous acquisition and Quake

[edit]

In January 1996, GT Interactive obtained the publishing rights for the highly anticipated Quake from id Software.[15] In February GT Interactive and Target signed an agreement in which GT Interactive became the primary consumer software supplier to all Target's 675 stores.[16] In June 1996 GT Interactive acquired WizardWorks, publisher of the Deer Hunter series, for 2.4 million shares and FormGen, which had the publishing rights to Duke Nukem, for 1 million shares,[12] or $17 million.[17] Quake was also released in June by GT Interactive for PC.[citation needed] It sold 1.8 million copies,[18] becoming a PC classic.

In July, the game developer Humongous Entertainment was bought by GT Interactive for 3.5 million shares, or $76 million.[19] In 1995, Humongous Entertainment's revenue had risen to $10 million, an increase of 233% over 1994's revenue of $3 million.[19] The deal gave GT Interactive rights to successful children's software titles such as the Putt-Putt franchise as well as the Freddi Fish and Spy Fox series.

In November GT Interactive acquired Warner Interactive Europe (including Renegade Software) from Time Warner for $6.3 million in cash, with this acquisition GT Interactive gained bigger access to software markets in Western Europe.[12] In a sign of uncertainty for its future, GT Interactive, for the year, reported a net income increase of only 11% over the previous year to $25.1 million. Revenue growth also decelerated to 56%, revenue for the year was $365 million. Making matters worse, net income in the fourth quarter reduced 16.8% to $8.5 million when compared to 1995's fourth quarter.[14]

Net loss in 1997

[edit]

In January 1997, GT Interactive bought One Stop, a European value software publisher, for $800,000 in cash.[12] In June GT Interactive signed a deal with MTV, the deal gave GT Interactive the rights to publish games based on Beavis and Butt-head and Æon Flux.[20]

In October GT Interactive bought game developer SingleTrac for $14.7 million — $5.4 million in cash and $9.3 million in stock. SingleTrac owned and developed such games as Twisted Metal and Jet Moto.[21][22] In September game developer Cavedog Entertainment, a division of Humongous Entertainment, made its first release, Total Annihilation,[23] which sold more than 1 million copies.[14]

On October 5, 1997, GT Interactive announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire MicroProse for $250 million in stock; the deal had even been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and was expected to be completed by the end of that year.[24] The merger would have made GT Interactive the second largest U.S. gaming software company, exceeded only by Electronic Arts.[25] But on December 5 the acquisition was cancelled, according to both CEOs "the time is simply not right" for the deal. MicroProse's stock plummeted after the announcement of the deal's cancellation.[26] GT Interactive's result was negatively affected because, in March, they stopped being the exclusive computer software distributor to Walmart, who decided to buy its software directly from the publishers.[27]

In 1997 GT Interactive's share of the entertainment software market reached a historical low of 6.4% down from the record highs of 9% and 10% years earlier. GT Interactive was a leader only on the arcade/action category, with a 20.3% market share. Making matters worse, GT Interactive also had a high debt/equity ratio of 41%, Electronic Arts had a debt/equity ratio of just 8%. For 1997 GT Interactive's return on equity was a dismal -16.14%.[28] For the year, GT Interactive's revenue growth continued to decelerate, increased only 45% to $530 million.[29] During 1997 GT Interactive posted its first net loss, totaling $25 million.[14]

Further acquisitions in 1998

[edit]

In May 1998, Epic Games's Unreal was published by GT Interactive, in the first 10 months over 800,000 copies were sold. Coincidentally Deer Hunter II, which was released in October also sold 800,000 copies.[14]

In November GT Interactive bought OneZero Media for $17.2 million in stock and $20 million in total, becoming the first game publisher to own an entertainment Internet website.[21][30] Legend Entertainment was acquired for around $2 million,[21] while Reflections Interactive was acquired for 2.3 million shares or $13.5 million.[21] Both companies were bought in December of 1998.[31]

In the fourth quarter of 1998 GT Interactive posted a net income of $16.7 million on revenues of $246.3 million.[32] For the year, GT Interactive reported revenues were almost flat rising 10% to $584 million, but GT Interactive swung into black by posting a $20.3 million net income (results from the fiscal year ending on December 31, 1998).[14][32]

Driver, financial troubles and sale to Infogrames

[edit]

In 1999, GT Interactive posted first quarter losses of $90 million due to restructuring costs.[14] In February, in light of the bad results, CEO Ron Chaimowitz was replaced.[29] Game sales in 1999 fell in comparison to 1998, which had dire consequences on GT Interactive's finances. In April, GT Interactive predicted for 2000 a first quarter loss of $55 million on revenues of around just $95 million. A failure to release 5 major games and a planned relocation to Los Angeles added to the losses.[citation needed] In June GT Interactive announced it had hired Bear Stearns to look into the possibility of either a merger or a sale of the company and in October GT Interactive fired 35% of its workforce, or 650 employees, mostly from its distribution section.[33][failed verification]

In June, Reflections-developed Driver was released, selling approximately 1 million copies.[14] In July GT Interactive sold OneZero Media for $5.2 million in cash, just six months after it was purchased.[21]

On November 16, France-based Infogrames Entertainment, SA (IESA) announced that it would buy 70% of GT Interactive for $135 million and assume $10.5 million in debt,[33] a deal completed by December 17.[34] IESA's acquisition came just in time because GT Interactive's 1999 results were dismal. Revenues fell 30% to $408 million in 1999 and GT Interactive posted a net loss of $254 million for the year (results with the fiscal year ending on December 31, 1999).[32][35]

On May 10, 2000, IESA announced the renaming of GT Interactive to Infogrames, Inc.[36] Additionally, California-based Infogrames North America, Inc., which was formerly Accolade, was consolidated into the new Infogrames, Inc. and hence IESA's North American division.[36]

As Atari Inc.

[edit]

In 2001, Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) acquired the Atari brand, assets and franchises from Hasbro Interactive. Later that year, Atari-branded titles published by Infogrames Inc. (and its European distributor Infogrames Europe SA) started appearing, starting with MX Rider. Amid a corporate restructuring in 2003, IESA rebranded Infogrames, Inc. to Atari, Inc. on May 8, 2003 and all titles from here on were solely under the Atari brand.[4] It became 'ATAR' on the NASDAQ stock market.[4]

Atari released a series of games based on The Matrix movie trilogy including Enter the Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo. Although not critical successes, these titles represent some of the most expensive video games ever developed. Enter the Matrix, which was developed by Shiny Entertainment, sold 1.38 million units for the PlayStation 2 and 1 million units for the GameCube.[37] However the 2004 release of Driver 3 as part of the Driver was met with a widely negative critical reception.[38]

Atari's top-selling titles had been the Dragon Ball games based on the popular anime license from Toei Animation in Japan. These include the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series of games and the Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku series of games for the Game Boy Advance. These games have topped the best-seller charts for numerous console platforms since the release of Atari's first Dragon Ball Z game, The Legacy of Goku in 2002, which was the first Dragon Ball game to be made by an American company, Webfoot Technologies.[39][40] Following the success of the Budokai and Legacy of Goku series, Atari has released numerous other Dragon Ball titles including Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors 2, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Dragon Ball GT: Transformation, Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure and Super Dragon Ball Z.

Pipeworks developed and created all three of the console titles based on Godzilla for Atari, although handheld titles were developed separately. The series started with Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for the GameCube which was released on October 11, 2002, to much success before it was ported to the Microsoft Xbox a year later.[41] It was followed by a sequel, Godzilla: Save the Earth for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, on November 16, 2004. Despite Save the Earth's relative commercial failure, Godzilla: Unleashed was released for the PS2 on November 20, 2007, and the Wii on December 5, 2007. Unleashed was accompanied by Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash for the Nintendo DS, which was released on November 20, 2007.

Retro releases and Atari Flashback

[edit]

Alongside new releases, Atari, Inc. also released compilations honoring the classic Atari library, including Atari Anthology on PC and consoles, and Atari Masterpieces in two volumes on Nokia N-Gage.[42] The company went into hardware in 2004 with Atari Flashback, designed and produced by Atari consultant Curt Vendel through his engineering firm Legacy Engineering. With only a 10-week development window, what they produced looked like a miniature version of the Atari 7800 console originally released in 1984. Twenty classic Atari titles were built into the system.[43][44] The success of Flashback led to the creation of a follow-up Flashback 2, released in August 2005, based on an implementation of the original Atari 2600 on a single chip that Curt Vendel designed, allowing the original 2600 games to be run instead of ports as in the first Flashback. A total of forty titles were available for the system,[45] including Pitfall! licensed from Activision.[46]

2006-present

[edit]

Shortly after the release of Driver: Parallel Lines in March 2006, which received a more positive critique compared to its predecessor, Atari sold the Driver franchise to Ubisoft for a reported $24 million.[47] On May 5, 2006, Atari and Hasbro stopped BioWare and DLA from further development of premium modules and publishing near-completed premium modules for Neverwinter Nights. No reason was stated, but it was likely in anticipation of the upcoming sequel, Neverwinter Nights 2, which would lack features from these modules. They relented after community backlash.[48]

Following the 2013 bankruptcy of Atari SA and subsidiaries including Atari, Inc., the GT Interactive brand and trademark was sold to Tommo, Inc., and later Billionsoft.[49] On April 20, 2023, Atari announced they had re-acquired the GT Interactive brand and trademark from Billionsoft alongside select titles formerly published by the company.[50] Following this acquisition, the trademark and brand transitioned to GT Interactive, LLC, a subsidiary of Atari that holds the archived titles[51] which includes the 2000 version of Gunship!.[52]

Software piracy

[edit]

Atari was one of the companies using British legal company Davenport Lyons in 2008 to recover damages from computer users illegally downloading games. It stopped using the company when they were made aware of the false claims being made against innocent members of the public.[53]

See also

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atari.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hussain, Mudassir (2024-07-07). "Atari Interview: The Company Has No Plans To Enter The Modern Console Market". eXputer.com. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  2. ^ Life, Nintendo (2023-11-30). "Atari Reiterates Firm's Focus On Retro, Isn't Looking To Compete With Nintendo". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  3. ^ "PRESS RELEASE". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  4. ^ a b c "10-KT Atari, Inc. Business Information – Overview". SEC Info. Fran Finnegan & Company. March 31, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  5. ^ Infogrames completes Atari, Inc. acquisition - Phil Elliott 11/10/2008 gamesindustry.biz
  6. ^ "Report: Atari finished in Europe, Namco taking over". Engadget. 2009-05-14. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  7. ^ a b Eng, Paul M. (September 2, 1996). "Lots of "Doom" but No Gloom". Business Week. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Archived from the original on 1997-06-17. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  8. ^ "GT Interactive - Company Info". web.archive.org. 1996-11-05. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  9. ^ SEC Info – Atari Inc – 10-K – For 3/31/99, On 6/29/99 – Table in Document 1 of 9 – 10-K – GT Interactive Software Corp.
  10. ^ "GT INTERACTIVE REPORTS RECORD SECOND QUARTER REVENUES; Publishing Business Increases Nearly 300 Percent. – Free Online Library". Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  11. ^ "SEC Info - Atari Inc - 'POS AM' on 5/1/97". www.secinfo.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  12. ^ a b c d "SEC Info - Atari Inc - '10-Q' for 6/30/97". www.secinfo.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  13. ^ a b c Rothman v. Gregor GT LLP
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h SEC Info – Atari Inc – 10-K – For 3/31/99
  15. ^ "GT Interactive Software Corp. has acquired the worldwide publishing rights to id Software's "Quake". Billboard. January 27, 1996. p. 96. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  16. ^ "GT Interactive and Target Stores enter distribution agreement; GT Interactive to Become Primary Software Vendor to More Than 600 Target Stores Nationwide. – Free Online Library". Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  17. ^ Game Matters: Royal tease
  18. ^ "Now What Was That GT and Hasbro Were Saying About American Game Purchasers Being a Group of 17–28 Year Olds Only Interested in Bloody Games?". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  19. ^ a b Baker, M. Sharon (July 14, 1996). "Humongous lives up to name with $76 million sale".
  20. ^ "Tidbits...". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 98. Ziff Davis. September 1997. p. 20.
  21. ^ a b c d e SEC Info – Atari Inc – 10-Q – For 12/31/99
  22. ^ "Tidbits...". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 98. Ziff Davis. September 1997. p. 23.
  23. ^ cavedog - GameSpot
  24. ^ "$250 Million Stock Deal for Microprose". The New York Times. October 6, 1997. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  25. ^ "GT Interactive Grabs MicroProse". Next Generation. No. 36. Imagine Media. December 1997. p. 20.
  26. ^ "Company News; Microprose and GT Interactive End Merger Talks". The New York Times. December 6, 1997. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  27. ^ "GT Interactive reaches understanding with Wal-Mart, enabling the mass merchant to begin purchasing directly from other software publishers". Business Wire. March 24, 1997. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2021 – via The Free Dictionary.
  28. ^ ElecArts.PDF Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ a b GT Interactive Hires Disney Honcho, Raises Cash Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ Ocampo, Jason (November 5, 1998). "GT Interactive Buys Portal". gamecenter.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2000. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  31. ^ Amazon.com: Game Design, Second Edition: Books: Bob Bates
  32. ^ a b c SEC Info – Atari Inc – 10-Q – For 12/31/99, As Of 2/14/00 – Table in Document 1 of 2 – 10-Q – GT Interactive Software Corp.
  33. ^ a b "Infogrames Gets Control of GT Interactive". The New York Times. November 16, 1999. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  34. ^ "Infogrames Entertainment Completes Acquisition of Controlling Stake in GT Interactive Software" (Press release). Infogrames. December 17, 1999. Archived from the original on 2000-08-15. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  35. ^ SEC Info – Atari Inc – 10-K – For 3/31/99, On 6/29/99 – Table in Document 1 of 9 – 10-K – GT Interactive Software Corp.
  36. ^ a b "GT Interactive to Adopt Infogrames Brand Across the Company and Its Products" (Press release). Los Angeles: Infogrames. May 10, 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-08-15. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  37. ^ Editor, Rob Fahey Contributing (2003-05-23). "Enter the Matrix sells a million". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-09-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  38. ^ "Retrospective: Driv3r". Eurogamer.net. 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  39. ^ Contributor, GamesIndustry biz (2005-01-12). "Atari And Funimation Agree To Exclusive Multi-Year Extension Of Dragon Ball License". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-09-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  40. ^ Keiser, Joe (August 2, 2006). "The Century's Top 50 Handheld Games". Next Generation. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007.
  41. ^ "Godzilla: Save the Earth Feature Preview". GameSpot. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  42. ^ Contributor, GamesIndustry biz (2005-05-12). "Atari Masterpieces Volumes 1 & 2 Bring Your Favorite Classics To The N-Gage Platform". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-09-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  43. ^ Contributor, GamesIndustry biz (2004-09-07). "Go 'Old School' for the Holidays with the 'Atari Flashback' Classic Game Console". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-09-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  44. ^ "Atari Flashback". Atari Flashback. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  45. ^ "Atari Flashback 2 | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  46. ^ https://investor.activision.com/news-releases/news-release-details/atari-and-activision-ink-licensing-agreement-atarir-flashback-2
  47. ^ Atari: "In The Money", Driver Gone Archived 2007-10-18 at the Wayback Machine - TotalGaming.net news, July 13, 2006
  48. ^ Howarth, Robert 'Apache' (2006-05-28). "Atari Drops Neverwinter Nights". IGN. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  49. ^ "GT Trademark of BILLION SOFT (HONG KONG) LIMITED – Registration Number 2009337 – Serial Number 74550441 :: Justia Trademarks".
  50. ^ "Atari Announces Acquisition of More than 100 PC and Console" (Press release). April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  51. ^ "GT Trademark of GT INTERACTIVE LLC - Registration Number 2009337 - Serial Number 74550441 :: Justia Trademarks".
  52. ^ "Gunship! On Steam".
  53. ^ BBC Watchdog website, Davenport Lyons - threatening letters, 8 December 2008
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atari,_Inc._(1993–present)&oldid=1245912883"