Overview of Atari
Atari was still recovering from its 1974 financial woes and needed additional capital to fully enter the home console market, though Bushnell was wary of being beholden to outside financial sources.[11] While Atari obtained smaller investments through 1975, it was not at the scale they needed, and they began considering a sale to a larger firm by early 1976.[11] Atari was introduced to Warner Communications, who saw the potential for the growing video game industry to help offset declining profits from their film and music divisions.[11] Negotiations took place during 1976, during which Atari cleared itself of liabilities, including settling a patent infringement lawsuit with Magnavox over Ralph H.
Atari continued to make variants of its existing arcade games for dedicated home consoles until 1977.[34] During this period, former Atari employees Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had approached Bushnell about investing in their home computer system, the Apple I, that was build from borrowed parts from Atari and with technical support from Atari employees.[35] They initially offered the design to Bushnell and Atari, but Bushnell wanted Atari to focus on arcade and home consoles.
Atari’s CFO later claimed that they would never have done the deal had they known at the time.[9][10][11] Federated’s operational losses increased, reaching $67 million for its first full year under Atari in 1988.[12] The FBI began an investigation of Atari in May of that same year for an ongoing scheme involving the profitable import and resale of Japanese DRAM chips in the US, “in violation of U.S.
Atari also
released alternative variations on their keypad controllers, which
supported overlays and were originally for use with titles which include
BASIC Programming
(1978) and Codebreaker
(1978), but were later restyled and repackaged for use as the Video
Touch Pad for Star Raiders
(1982) and as the Kid’s Controller for educational games which include Big
Bird’s Egg Catch (1983),
further demonstrating the system’s amazing software range.
Atari sustained a net loss of $49.6 million for 1995, with $27.7 million in losses during the last quarter of the year alone.[20] Attempting to hedge their bets, in January 1996, Atari announced the formation of a new subsidiary, Atari Interactive, which would be devoted to publishing games for PC.[21] However, Atari would soon relinquish all of its interest in both the Jaguar and PC software.
Atari introduced the CX50 Keyboard Controller in June 1978 along with two games that required it: Codebreaker and Hunt & Score.[58] The similar, but simpler, CX23 Kid’s Controller was released later for a series of games aimed at a younger audience.[62] The CX22 Trak-Ball controller was announced in January 1983 and was compatible with the Atari 8-bit family.[63]
Atari (/əˈtɑːri/) is a brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972, currently by Atari Interactive, a subsidiary of the French publisher Atari SA.[1][2][3] The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, California, in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers.
Atari Hotels, announced earlier this year as an exclusive licensing agreement with Atari, the entertainment brand behind video games properties which include Asteroids, Centipede, and Pong, will offer guests a wholly unique hospitality experience inspired by, and built with, classic and modern video game culture in mind, she said.
Atari shares are listed in France on Euronext Paris (Compartment C, ISIN Code FR0010478248, Ticker ATA), in Sweden on Nasdaq First North Growth Market as Swedish Depositary Receipts (ISIN Code SE0012481232, Ticker ATA SDB) and are eligible for the Nasdaq International program in the United States (OTC – Ticker PONGF).
Atari SA’s first NFT auction, which concluded Wednesday night on OpenSea, raised 47.582 ether (about $92,000 USD at current prices) through the sale of 10 cryptographically signed NFTs, each representing a 3D model of an Atari 2600 Centipede cartridge.
Blockchain
“While the Atari VCS pays homage to the hardware company’s pioneering efforts to bring gaming to the masses, it’s also designed to move Atari forward in exciting new ways, we look forward to working closely with Ultra to help make the VCS the most blockchain-friendly gaming and entertainment system and to introduce a huge network of gamers and hardware fans to this amazing new frontier.”
Network
Arkane Network has also agreed to implement the Atari Token within its decentralized app development platform, potentially leading to its inclusion in future games from other creators.
Support
While the console will have Atari games like Pong and Missile Command preloaded, it also will have a number of modern touches, including WiFi connectivity, 4K resolution support, PC compatibility, and an updated controller, according to Atari’s Indiegogo page.
How Many Atari Token [ATRI] Coins Are There In Circulation?
The total supply of ATRI is limited to 7.481 billion tokens.The issuance, buyback and burning of ATRI tokens are managed by Atari Chain Ltd.in accordance with their policy that takes into account network growth, demand and usage.
How does the Atari Token work?
Similar to other cryptocurrencies, the Atari Token is digital money that can be spent in exchange for goods and services on platforms that accept it.As of this writing, the Atari Token is still relatively new and Atari and partners are still developing the games and platforms to use it.
What is the Atari Token?
The Atari Token is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 cryptocurrency that is primarily designed to be used as a form of payment for various entertainment services, most notably video games, gambling, and betting platforms.
Did you know?
Zellers’ Farmer Dan (2600) is none other than Gopher.
What Is Atari Token [ATRI]?
Atari Token is a decentralized cryptocurrency based on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.It was designed by Atari Chain Ltd.— a subsidiary of the video game and consumer electronics firm Atari Interactive — specifically for the needs of the interactive entertainment industry.
What can you do with the Atari Token?
As of this writing, you can buy and sell the Atari Token.That’s about it, unfortunately.Atari has detailed its plans for the future of the Atari Token, but right now the company is focused on building liquidity by selling tokens and convincing exchanges to support it.
What’s so special about Atari Token?
As of right now, the most special thing about the Atari Token is the name.Granted, Atari hasn’t been a juggernaut in the gaming industry in ages and the name has changed hands over the years, but the brand still means something to a lot of people.It is consumer-friendly branding in a crypto industry that is striving for mainstream inroads.
How Is the Atari Token Network Secured?
ATRI is an Ethereum-based token and is secured by its Ethash cryptographic algorithm.
Where Can You Buy Atari Token [ATRI]?
As of November 2020, Atari Token is available on the Bitcoin.
What Makes Atari Token Unique?
Atari Token’s main target market is the interactive entertainment industry; with ATRI, Atari is aiming to create a decentralized, secure and permissionless means of transfer of value between individual players and/or video game platforms.
Did you know?
Steve Jobs worked at Atari in the 1970s prior to co-founding Apple with Steve Wozniak, who co-designed Atari’s classic brick-breaking game, Breakout.
Who Are the Founders of Atari Token?
Atari Token was founded and is continuously developed by Atari Chain Limited, a subsidiary firm of Atari created specifically for this purpose.
What is the new Atari VCS?
Alongside Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X, Atari will launch its own brand new video game console, the Atari VCS.It looks much like the classic Atari devices from the 1970s and ‘80s, including an optional wood-grain finish, and it even comes with a retro joystick alongside the more modern controller.Atari raised more than $3 million via a pre-order crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo.
History of Atari
In 1971, Nolan Bushnell together with Ted Dabney created the first arcade game.
In 1975, Atari re-released Pong as a home video game and 150,000 units were sold.
In 1978, Atari released a revised model with
lighter RF shielding and a slightly streamlined case.
In 1992, Atari lost an anti-trust lawsuit against Nintendo.
In 1970’s retro style wood trim and with interactive games, like Pitfall, Breakout and Space Invaders it showed a new generation of kids the new frontier of entertainment.
In 1971, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded a small engineering company, Syzygy Engineering,[17] that designed Computer Space, the world’s first commercially available arcade video game, for Nutting Associates.
In 1972, Bushnell and Dabney set off on their own[where?], and learned that the name “Syzygy” was in use; Bushnell has said at different times that it was in use by a candle company owned by a Mendocino hippie commune[24][25][26][27][28] and by a roofing company.[20] They instead incorporated under the name Atari, a reference to a check-like position in the game Go (which Bushnell has called his “favorite game of all time”[29]).
In 1972, Bushnell attended a demonstration of the first-ever home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey – a brown-and-beige plastic box released in August 1972 that played a small variety of silent games, including Table Tennis, a competitive tennis game that probably looks pretty familiar to you.
In 1973, Atari secretly spawned a competitor called Kee Games, headed by Nolan’s next door neighbor Joe Keenan, to circumvent pinball distributors’ insistence on exclusive distribution deals; both Atari and Kee could market virtually the same game to different distributors, each getting an “exclusive” deal.
In 1974, Atari engineer Harold Lee proposed a home version of Pong that would connect to a television: Home Pong.
In 1975, Atari’s Grass Valley, CA subsidiary Cyan Engineering, started the development of a flexible console that was capable of playing the four existing Atari games.
In 1976, Nolan Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications for $28 million.
In 1977, Atari released its first video game console with interchangeable cartridges, the Video Computer System, or VCS.
In 1977, it introduced the Atari Video Computer System (VCS) and sold millions of game cartridges over 15 years.
In 1977, while at Atari, Bushnell purchased Pizza Time Theatre back from Warner Communications.
In 1978, Atari sold only 550,000 of the 800,000 systems manufactured.
In 1978, Kee Games was disbanded.[22] In December of that year, Nolan Bushnell was fired following an argument with Manny Gerard.
in 1979 and manufactured until 1992.
in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800[2] and manufactured until 1992.
In 1979, a group of disgruntled star software developers left Atari and founded Activision, which would later release blockbuster titles for the VCS.
In 1980 it was released for the Atari 2600.
In 1980, Atari released Adventure,[77] the first action-adventure game, and the first home game with a hidden Easter egg.
In 1980, the difficulty switches were moved to the back of the console, leaving four switches on the front.
In 1980, things began to shift.
In 1981 Bushnell turned over day-to-day food operations of Chuck E.
In 1981, Atari’s marketing vice president and a group of developers, including the programmers for Asteroids and Space Invaders on the console, started a company called Imagic.
In 1982 Atari rebranded the console as the “Atari 2600”, a name first used on a version of the four-switch model without woodgrain, giving it an all-black appearance.
In 1982, Atari launched its second programmable console, the Atari 5200.
In 1982, Atari released the Atari 5200 SuperSystem.
In 1982, Atari started the Sweet 8 (or “Liz NY”) and Sweet 16 projects to create an upgraded set of machines that were easier to build and less costly to produce.
In 1983, Ray Kassar had resigned and executives involved in the Famicom merger lost track of negotiations, eventually killing the deal.
In 1983, the previously Japan-only Atari 2800 was rebranded as the Sears Video Arcade II.[69]
In 1984, as a result of the video game crash of 1983, the home console and computer divisions of the original Atari Inc.
In 1984, Commodore founder Tramiel rounded up a group of investors and bought Atari’s consumer divisions for around $200 million.
In 1984, Warner Communications unloaded Atari to Jack Tramiel, ex-CEO of Commodore.
In 1985, a controlling interest in the coin-oeprated games division was sold to Namco, which also took the Atari Games name.
In 1985, they released their update to the 8-bit computer line—the Atari XE series—as well as the 16-bit Atari ST line.
In 1986 a columnist for Atari magazine ANALOG Computing warned that company executives seemed to emulate Tramiel’s “‘penny-pinching’ [and] hard-nosed bargaining, sometimes at the risk of everything else,” resulting in poor customer service and documentation, and product release dates that were “perhaps not the entire truth …
In 1986, Atari launched two consoles designed under Warner — the Atari 2600jr and the Atari 7800 console (which saw limited release in 1984).
In 1986, the new Atari Corporation under Tramiel released a lower-cost version of the 2600 and the backward-compatible Atari 7800, but it was Nintendo that led the recovery of the industry with its 1985 launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System.
In 1987, Atari acquired Federated Group for $67.3 million, securing shelf space in over 60 stores in California, Arizona, Texas and Kansas[26] at a time when major American electronics outlets were reluctant to carry Atari-branded computers, and two-thirds of Atari’s PC production was sold in Europe.[27] The Federated Group (not related to Federated Department Stores) was sold to Silo in 1989.[28]
In 1987, Atari Corporation released the XE Game System console, which is a repackaged 65XE (from 1985) with a detachable keyboard that can run home computer titles directly,[18] unlike the 5200.[16] Anderson wrote in 1984 that Atari could have released a console compatible with computer software in 1981.[17]
In 1987, Namco sold 33% of its shares to a group of employees led by then-president Hideyuki Nakajima.[36] He had been the president of Atari Games since 1985.
In 1988, Stewart Alsop II said that Atari was among several companies that “have already been knocked out” of the GUI market by Apple, IBM/Microsoft, and others,[16] but Atari’s sales hit their peak that year, at $452 million.[17][4]
In 1989 the manufacturer made a play for the handheld market with the release of the world’s first colour LCD portable gaming device, the Atari Lynx.
In 1989, Atari Corp.
In 1989, Atari released the Atari Lynx, a handheld console with color graphics, to much fanfare.
In 1989, Atari released the Lynx, a handheld console with color graphics, to critical acclaim.
In 1992, Atari Corporation officially dropped all remaining support for the 8-bit line.[6]
In 1993, Atari positioned its Jaguar as the only 64-bit interactive media entertainment system available, but it sold poorly.
In 1993, Atari released its last console, the Jaguar.[4] One of the first entries in the fifth generation of game consoles, the Jaguar was marketed as the world’s first 64-bit console.
In 1994, Sega game systems invested $40 million in Atari in exchange for all patent rights.
In 1996, the new Atari Interactive division failed to revive the company which was taken over by JTS, a maker of computer disk drives that same year.
in 1996,[2] becoming a small division which itself closed after JTS sold all Atari assets to Hasbro Interactive in 1998.[3]
In 1998, Hasbro Interactive acquired all Atari Corporation related properties from JTS,[8] creating a new subsidiary, Atari Interactive.[9]
In 2001, the Hamptons drafted Jan-Michael Gambill as their marquee player.
In 2002, Claude Okin of Sportime Clubs became involved with Patrick McEnroe in running the team.[45] After two years in East Quogue, the Hamptons moved their home matches to the Amagansett-East Side Tennis Club in Amagansett, New York.
In 2003, it renamed the division Atari Interactive.
In 2004 Atari released the Atari Flashback 2, which contains 40 classic games and mimics the look of the original Atari 2600, including the iconic joystick, for play on newer console systems and personal computers (PCs).
in 2004,[68] claimed that Atari released the 8-bit chipset into the public domain.[69]
There is agreement in the community that Atari authorized the distribution of the Atari 800’s ROM with the Xformer 2.5 emulator, which makes the ROM legally available today as freeware.[70][71]
In 2006, Curt Vendel, who designed the Atari Flashback for Atari, Inc.
In 2008, Atari became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment (IESA) — currently known as Atari SA — a French holding company specialized in video games and based in Paris.
In 2008, IESA completed its acquisition of Atari, Inc.’s outstanding stock, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.[13] IESA renamed itself Atari SA in 2009.
In 2017, Hyperkin announced the RetroN 77, a clone of the Atari 2600 that plays original cartridges instead of pre-installed games.[88]
In 2018, the E-Sports Stadium Arlington opened the largest dedicated e-sports facility in North America, a 100,000-square-foot space in Texas with a broadcast studio and an 85-foot-long LED wall.
In 2020 Atari launched the Atari Token in partnership with the ICICB Group, where ICICB Group is 50% owner of the company, Atari Chain LTD, registered in Gibraltar.
In 2020 Atari[74][75] Token was launched by Atari,[76] a world-known producer of interactive entertainment products, in equal partnership with the ICICB[77][78] Group.[79] The group was granted with issuance license to launch an online casino using crypto-currencies, including the Atari[80] Token.[81]
