No clear plans for the future

May 27, 2010 17:31 GMT  ·  By

Publisher Atari has posted financial results for the fiscal year, which ended on March 31, managing to cut its losses from 221.9 million Euros, about 272.4 million dollars, during the previous year, to just over 19 million Euros.

The company even succeeded in posting a small profit, of 3.8 million, during the second half of its fiscal year, mainly thanks to the revenue streams generated by Star Trek Online and Champions Online, the MMOs that were created by the newly acquired Cryptic. This all comes as overall revenue went down for the year, dropping more than 15 percent when compared with the previous.

Jeff Lapin, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Atari, told investors that “Market conditions continue to change rapidly, and we are constantly adapting by continuing to build our on-line focused strategy. Our brands are well suited for extension into the fast growing on-line gaming sector. I am proud of the team we have assembled, and we will continue to focus on achieving profitability.”

Atari has had a lot of trouble these last few years, changing management a few times and recently losing key figures like Phil Harrison and Paulina Bozek. The new Atari shares little with that of old, being the result of a name change undertaken by brand holder Infogrames in 2009. Recently, it managed to score a public relations hit when Atari founder Nolan Bushnell joined its board.

Both Champions Online and Star Trek Online should get more content during the year, the space science fiction MMO being set to receive two new Seasons, bringing in both fresh Player vs. Player content and more quests for Federation players. The developers is also said to be preparing to launch a new fantasy MMO set in the Neverwinter Nights universe, although the project has not been officially confirmed.