A simple face palm does not do this justice, if it turns out to be true.

If anybody can save them... It's Lex Luth.... I mean, Phil!! He da MAN!!!!

I wonder how many zeros were on the check Atari offered him?

I spat my water all over my monitor at this. This just....it....going from Sony to Atari? It's like deciding to stop having Porterhouse steak in favor of Taco Bell.

I thought he was a smart guy, guess I was wrong. No one in their right mind would leave a huge company for a sinking ship.

Why?

Hmm...I would have been more happy to see Phil join one of the other larger publishers instead of Atari, mainly just becuase there hasnt been anything good comming out of atari for a while.

Hell I think Activision would have been a better choice.

Aw fuck, anyways we love ya Phil and wish you the best of luck!

I wonder if this move will help save Atari?

Noooooooo
I not believed.

I'm sure a big cheque swayed him here. Atari may be going down the shitter but that doesn't mean that they can be saved.

Anyway is it not just the American wing that ballsed up?

Just remember guys, it's only a rumor. I mean, come ON..Phil's a bright guy, he worked for freakin' Sony, and he's leaving to head up a washed up Atari? No way!

Dude... wait... what?

We're talking about the same Atari that's currently in it's death throes, right?

Tell me there's some other Atari out there, with golden toilets and free waffles for every employee.

This is not Sparta, this is truly madness.

@ShaggE: '....some other Atari out there, with golden toilets and free waffles for every employee.'

I..I would so work there.

I almost fell off my chair when I read the title of this blog. Well, if anyone can save Atari (apart from the Justice League) its Phil Harrison.

Also, even if it is true, don't be so quick to judge him. Maybe he just likes a (very large) challenge? There are a lot of execs out there who will only stay with a company for so long, before moving on to somewhere they feel they can have a greater influence on the company's future.

Has he ever heard of Atari... does he know they tread waist-deep in their own waste? I hope he has a really good plan and a lot of anti-anxiety pills. There really is no way to be positive about this. If he manages to get the company back on track it will be nothing short of a miracle and I expect to see it in the world news.

I wonder, is this maybe a sign that Atari is going to put out another console? Hmmmmmm.

@ixalon: Hey, never thought of that..I mean like others have said if anyone had a chance..it'd be Phil. Of course, is there any bigger challenge in the world of gaming then making Sony NOT seem like a bunch of *expletives*? If he wanted a real challenge, he could've just convinced Sony to rehire Krazy Ken, let him do some speeches and stuff. Then Phil would've been a busy little beaver again.

Well i just did a wiki on him and according to them, "On February 25, 2008, Sony announced Harrison's resignation from the company effective February 29".

atari must have really offered him a lot,not just moneywise. i mean why otherwise would someone leave sony to jump into a company that seems like heavily sinking?
i guess phil can do some good stuff but not sure if he can make atari not sink more.

On February 25, 2008, Sony announced Harrison's resignation from the company effective February 29. According to wikipedia.

I think this is excellent news! I think this will push Atari's creative side and hopefully set it on course to a better future!

Good riddance, perhaps Sony can hire someone who can tell the truth for a change.

@Neer'mo:

(Can't use the reply button on you for some reason.)

All you need is an 80's style musical montage, a ragtag group of children about to lose their orphanage to the local oil baron, and maybe a down-and-out Little League team who might lose the pennant to the Brownsville Wolverines (those bullies), and you can do anything.

I have it on good faith that Phil has all these things. So, I expect... NAY! guarantee! That Atari will be bigger than Microsoft within 5 weeks after he arrives.

IF it is true, it's not totally surprising. Especially considering his recent comments about SCEJ. It's also not unreasonable to have something like this happen. It is business after all. Who knows, IF it does turn out to be true then Phil might be able to make a turnaround the way Carlos Ghosn did for Nissan when it was considered hopeless.

Well, I'll say it...at least when Peter Moore left he made a wise career decision. But hey, he probably knows something we don't.

I mean, obviously he knows something we don't..we don't know squat. (=

Atari! they made Pong!!!

well, it was a bit ago...

@photoboy: He didn't ever say anything that wasn't true at the time, iirc. But things change and the final product doesn't always match exactly to what the intention for it was originally - case in points, Fable, Livin' La Vida Loca in EBA. So all he was really guilty of was speaking too much before it was finalised.

Atari, eh?

This is some kooky shittata. Would rather him become an Honorary something like Kutaragi.

Perhaps this is his part of his master plan...

No, Phil! Don't join the terrorist organization!

All he wants is a challenge.

@GregoriusH: if this is true, its time to
break the mergency move: jab,jab,short,->,fierce

I will also say that, if true, I may buy Atari stock. I love me some dollar stocks!

@Witzbold: Blizzactivision. I would imagine he might need even more credibility to helm that ship.

But I do agree with the rest. The move is quite questionable; IF its true.

Perhaps he has financial freedom, with the disgruntled production of today's gaming world, decides to take a sinking company and bedazzle it within 5 years or so.

The story is not far-fetched. I am sure he is having his mid life crisis and is looking for a "meaning" in all aspects his life.

all this ball breaking news suddenly this past sunday/monday.
no seriously, my jewels are getting sore.

No. Way. Rebuilding Phil shrine.

Either the money is fantastic, or the Sony job became bullshit/boring.

But considering how Sony has been punishing Microsoft in Europe, if anyone can do it Phil Harrison can.

Forget the PS3, I think maybe I'll save up for the Atari 10400.

Wow... Career suicide.

Seriously, can they even pay his salary?
He's just parked there until the "no competitor" clause in his contract expires. Then he'll join Microsoft.

No offense to Phil intended at all... because I think he's quite bright and generally a great guy with a good finger on the industry pulse...
 
... but I don't think Atari is in trouble because of a lack of high-paid executives.
 
Even the current Atari isn't that Atari anymore because the name has been sold off so many times, I wonder if they even still own the rights to publish their own old games. Seems to me what they lack is content that consumers want, especially with the loss of the Dragon Ball franchise.
 
Oh well.
 
In other news, the Atari hoodie that I wear on my morning walk to get coffee every day just gained a new purpose. I wish you luck, Phil.

@dv8godd: The MIA has returned!

He's smart, just in time for the massive success of "alone in the dark". At least I hope it'll be that good.

This explains a lot about last week...

Amazing.

I'm gonna go and let out a few tears before school. His career is practically over now.

If true, it's possible he wants a new challenge, and steering Atari's busted-up (terrorist) money train to a profitable station is about as tough as it gets.
I get my kicks playing Ikaruga on expert, Phil goes to run Atari, it's all the same!

@dv8godd: Phils a pretty smart guy when it comes to marketing and branding. I have a good feeling that he can turn around atari as a publisher, and suite of designers. I am sure he is financially solvent at this point in his career and will be paid in options from atari. If he succeeds he will own a nice share of the pie, if he doesnt... well I bet he succeeds.

I agree with you DV8, I cant think of any IPs I have played in recent memory that were ataris, with the exception of the above average Witcher on the PC.

@Okari: Some smart guys like taking on big, insane challenges. If they fail, they can say "it's not exactly like it was a sure thing" and if they succeed, then they're kickass!

Since Phil is going to leave Sony, it actually makes sense for him to join Atari. The guy is probably set for life anyways so why not make his mark on the world by trying to save Atari? If he succeeds he'll get something like CEO of the year award or something like that. That would command a lot of respect in the business world.

Afterall, when you already have the fortune, the only thing left is the fame.

How on earth could Atari afford Phil Harrison. I thought they weren't doing so well recently (again).

I guess they had a bit more money stashed away for a rainy day for this casual gaming thing than I realized.

Hey, Shane Bettenhausen, this job just opened up, and I think you might be interested..

@Belain: I was listening to Lorne Lanning on a 1up podcast this morning, and something he said really drove home more of what I'm thinking in this regard. I would have articulated better had I listened to the piece before I commented, but oh well.
 
Besides the fact that Lanning is worth paying serious attention to any time he speaks, he was talking about publishers "now" vs publishers "then", and how they've gone from being run by gamers to being run by the guys that can talk to Wall Street. In the context, they were discussing how to make successful IPs: the idea that publishers should be run by people who are gamers, have made games, who understand the gamer mindset, is a pretty solid one.
 
Harrison has background as a game designer... which is, I think, part of the reason he "gets it". He's a good pick because thats the kind of leader the company needs.
 
What they don't need at Atari is just more suits. Suits were the whole problem in the first place... just like so many other companies.
 
So if he's there to really guide and listen and be a gamer / game maker... that's great.
 
Speaking of Atari in general lately... loved The Witcher, and just this weekend picked up Fantasy Wars because Witzbold has me on a hex-based strategy kick. I think they still publish up good games now and then, but I think their focus is just scattershot and confused... like they don't know who they're talking to or making games for anymore... just hoping for magic to happen or something.
 
As an aside, Oddworld Inhabitants (Lorne Lanning's company) was previously majority owned by Atari, who dumped them off in '04, just prior to Stranger's Wrath. I need to listen to the rest of the podcast to see if he speaks specifically to Atari. But I gather that much of his experience with publishers being "bankers" rather than "gamers" has to do with them and EA of a few years ago.

Pfft, Harrison joining Atari? That'd be like Peter Moore leaving Microsoft to join EA Sports.

Oh, wait a minute...