Atari is the company that brought Pong and Asteroids to our living room… and brought countless numbers of cartridges of E.T. to New Mexico. The company currently known as Atari recently underwent some financial problems, but they’ve announced that they’ll be focusing on a new corporate strategy, one that involves “reaching out to new audiences – including LGBT, social casinos, real-money gambling, and YouTube with exclusive video content.”
What does that even mean? Well, Chief Executive Officer of Atari, Fred Chesnais, said, “Atari is more than a game publishing company; it’s an iconic brand that has established a passionate and timeless culture… Known across multiple generations around the world, Atari will continue to embrace all audiences. What the company has accomplished over the years is no small feat, but there is more to come. We’re looking forward to delivering on our new strategy and engaging with our audience in new ways across multiple channels as the next era of Atari unfolds. We are leading a rebuilding exercise in a highly volatile industry, so at the same time we are also aware of the challenges that lay ahead.”
The company plans to move to PC and mobile as well as “other digital mediums.” They also plan to continue with hardware licensing, “gamified hardware, and wearable devices.” Does this mean Atari games coming to Oculus Rift – via Facebook? Do you start with more lives if you have more Facebook friends? This is exciting.
