14 DAY TRIAL // Atari and Infogrames are locked in a very complex relationship with an offer for all outstanding shares of Atari by Infogrames going on at the same time as the North American company is assaulted by financial problems which might force it out of the NASDAQ.
But for David Gardner, now the Chief Executive Officer at Infogrames, the name Atari still has a lot of power. The history of the company and of the name, a history that is intertwined with the history of videogame development, makes Atari very important and Gardner feels that Infogrames could even go as far as ditching its name to re-invent itself as Atari.
While talking to gameindustry.biz, Garner declared: "I'd like to consider that, I think that would be the final mark of the transformation from Infogrames to Atari. We have a new board of directors, a new management team that's less than a year old - so yes, it's really continuing".
In many ways he thinks the Infogrames of today is a different company, a company that would benefit from a name change that can signify a break with the past and the adoption of a new set of values for the future. As president Phil Harrison puts it: "We are absolutely a start-up, we're just a start-up with 25 years of history."
It was the possibility of creating something new, something different from what the industry does today, that made both Gardner and Harrison come on board earlier in the year. Prior to signing with Infogrames, the two had been talking of putting together their own company, but the offer from the French company allowed them the freedom to do what they wanted while also offering the resources to fuel their plans.
Infogrames and Atari are pinning a lot of hope on the upcoming release of Alone in the Dark to offer the company its first success with the new management in place and signal a new era of prosperity and good business at Atari.
The game is a survival horror title that places the player in the role of series protagonist Edward Carny, as the tries to solve the mysteries that surround Central Park in New York and the various supernatural sightings related to it. The game will feature an innovative inventory and crafting system and will try to scare the soul out of you.
The game will be released on PC, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 in May 2008 in Europe and a North American release is planned for June.