Today the two companies are now a single, more streamlined publisher and developer working to strike a balance between creating new titles and resurrecting some of Atari's classics.

Gone are some games, gone is the name Infogrames and gone too is Harrison as president of the company. Now the charismatic Englishman will serve as the non-executive Director of the Group. While Jeff Lapin, formerly of THQ, has joined the board as Chief Operating Officer.

"Phil's had enormous impact and some of it has been painful for us to do," said David Gardner, CEO and director of Atari. "We needed to get rid old projects that weren't going to be viable, clean out the old IP portfolio and sign up new things.

"He's made a huge difference to us, but on the other hand we are mainly going to be in the U.S. and we are simplifying the business and structure."

Harrison is much happier to be on the board, Gardner said, adding that Harrison's family recently had a baby.

Part of that streamlining meant dumping a number of older games and reexamining what would work best for the company, Gardner said.

"We did cancel a number of projects throughout the year," he said "The company's focus is going to be less on trying to build another giant packaged good company and more on putting out products with a longer subscription model and more web-centric games. Games that take advantage of Atari's IP."

Recently acquired developer Cryptic will be working on a new massively multiplayer online game based on an IP that Atari already owns.

"We don't want to announce any products we are working on per say," he said. "We have a very valuable catalog of IP that for a long time haven't been exploited properly. Cryptic is very excited about developing them and are in the process of mocking up things and building prototypes so we can look at them and decide what to greenlight."

The key to Atari's success, though, will be in finding the right balance between new IP and reinvigorating classics.

"We are an IP owner," said Jim Wilson, CEO of Atari, Inc. in the U.S. "As an IP owner it is contingent for us to develop our IP."

Atari recently announced they wouldn't be exhibiting at E3, leading some to ponder the company's future line-up of games, past Ghostbusters and Champions Online.

Gardner said the decision was made because the games they have coming out don't really need the support of a booth at the show. Atari will be making some announcements soon about future titles.

"The decision was not about the money as an overall comment, it was always about the efficiency," Gardner said. "Atari doesn't need to be the trend-setter at E3. I'm very comfortable with the decision we made."

The most noticeable news coming out of Infogrames/Atari this morning was the decision to rename the company simply Atari, a decision that was easy to make but not as easy to implement, Gardner said.

"That's something we have been planning for awhile," Gardner said. "Things were messier than I liked when we arrived (at the company.) There was so much confusion about Atari and Infogrames, it was really impressive.

"Our goal was to get things massively streamlined over the year, which we have done."

But, Gardner added, the brand will mean nothing without the product to support it and Atari is hard at work making sure it does.

"The Board agreed to change Infogrames Entertainment's name to Atari," the company announced today. "This decision will enable us to make the best use of the Atari brand, capitalizing on worldwide strong name recognition and affinity, which are keys drivers to implement the Company's online, product and licensing strategies."

In March 2008, France's Infogrames bought out and took over Atari Inc.

During the previous fiscal year, the company only posted losses €51.1. However, the good news is that consolidated revenues were up 51 percent to €136.4 million in a sluggish global economy. US revenue growth was up 82.3 percent.

Infogrames attributed these losses to "discontinued operations due to the exit of its distribution business in Europe and Asia." Instead, the company is focusing on a few selected big titles as well as migrating Infogrames online.

Atari's yearly fiscal report has revealed that Cryptic "is working on the development of a series of new games based on Atari's existing and historically successful IPs". Existing and historically successful, hey?

Looks like my dreams of an ET MMO - based on the events of the game's mass grave, not the motion picture - might be about to come true.

That or they mean stuff like Alone in the Dark.

According to a statement made by Atari as part of the company's fiscal year report:

Because of a shift of business operations to the US, Phil Harrison will move from the role of President to that of non-executive Director of the Group. As all Board members, he will continue to assist, support and guide the Company's strategy.

He's still sticking around, sure, but the whole "non-executive" thing makes his new job title sound awfully ceremonial.

Which, if correct, is a shame for Atari, since Harrison is one of the most well-known and successful public faces a company can hope for in this business.

But it must be a bigger shame for Phil, since you only ever get one chance in a lifetime to have a business card that says "Directeur Général Délégué".

We'll contact Atari in the morning, and try to get a clearer idea of what this move means for both Atari and Harrison, along with who, exactly, will be replacing him (the company's report does not specifically name a replacement).

At the Atari Live event in London, Bozek spoke about her involvement in setting up Atari London and the kind of social gaming she will be pursuing at the new studio now that she isn't tied to the PS3.

"I'm working on something brand new," said Bozek, "It's still very much in the social, mass-market space, that's the area that I'm very, very much interested in. And now cross-platform. Or potentially on any platform which could include PlayStation of course.”

Bozek eyeing social games on all formats [GamesIndustry.biz]

Atari's former management team, Jim Wilson, Tim Flynn and Jeff Reese will stay on, among the few survivors of an Infogrames whack about a year ago. directing their efforts on rehabbing the brand in North America. Infogrames also gave a four-point strategy it 'll follow under a new "simplified global structure"

• Reduce general and administrative expenses, including costs related to being a US public company, and generate economies of scale
• Provide greater opportunities to develop the US distribution business and find new partnerships
• Strengthen the US online platform to develop online operations

Infogrames Completes Atari Inc Acquisition [GamesIndustry.biz]

This is a significant step in expanding Atari’s online game development capability. Paulina is one of the industry’s most respected creative leaders with an outstanding track-record of commercial and creative success and I’m delighted that she will bring her unique vision, consumer insight and proven ability for creating amazing entertainment experiences to Atari.

Hit the jump for the press release.

INFOGRAMES ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF PAULINA BOZEK AS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF NEW ONLINE GAME STUDIO

- Award-Winning Game Director Of $500 Million, 15 Million Unit-Selling SingStar® Franchise to Lead New Online Game Development Team at Atari, Based In London -

LONDON, UK – 8 September 2008 – Infogrames Entertainment, under its consumer brand Atari, today announces the formation of a new in-house game development studio under the creative and production leadership of Paulina Bozek, one of the games industry’s most pioneering and successful producers. At Atari, Paulina will apply her outstanding production and development skills to establish a new game development team and studio based in London. The new studio will focus on innovating and developing mass-market consumer games and services for online-enabled devices including Personal Computers and game consoles.

“This is a significant step in expanding Atari’s online game development capability,” said Phil Harrison, President of Infogrames. “Paulina is one of the industry’s most respected creative leaders with an outstanding track-record of commercial and creative success and I’m delighted that she will bring her unique vision, consumer insight and proven ability for creating amazing entertainment experiences to Atari.”

“I am very excited to be joining Atari at this pivotal time for both the company and the industry,” said Paulina Bozek. “There is a huge opportunity as gaming platforms become more ubiquitous, more connected and attract more mainstream audiences. Atari has a great vision for the future and I can’t wait to start realising that vision in new products and services.”

For the past 6 years Paulina has been Executive Producer and Game Director of the multi-award winning SingStar franchise on PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 at Sony Computer Entertainment’s London Studio. SingStar has achieved combined sales of over 15 Million units and life-time revenue of approximately $500M (measured at retail and online worldwide). The most recent version of SingStar on PLAYSTATION 3 incorporates a variety of online innovations including integrated commerce, community and user-generated content services.

The new Atari studio will initially be located in Hammersmith, west London and will recruit industry-leading technical, creative and production resources, both as in-house employees and externally contracted resources.

About Paulina Bozek:

Paulina started her career in games in 1999 at Ubisoft in Montreal, Canada where she worked with a small team to launch and project manage GameLoft.com, Ubisoft’s then online portal of game services and communities. In 2003, she joined Sony’s London Studio and was appointed as the Producer of SingStar shortly afterwards, over-seeing the production and creative direction of the Franchise. Since its release, the SingStar Franchise has been instrumental in establishing games as popular entertainment for mainstream audiences.

Paulina is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the first ever BAFTA Interactive New Talent Award in 2004. In 2007, she was listed in the Top 10 rising stars of the Media field on the ‘Courvoisier Future 500 List.’ And in 2008 Mangagement Today listed Paulina in its annual list of top ’35 women under 35’ in British Business. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Studies and an MSc in Media & Communications from the London School of Economics.

About Infogrames Entertainment and Atari:
The Infogrames group, including the Atari brand, is a global producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software for all market segments and all interactive game platforms including consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, advanced smartphones, Personal Computers, web and online. Its games are sold in more than 60 countries through an international distribution network and direct to consumers via www.atari.com.

Atari’s extensive catalogue of popular games is based on original franchises (Alone in the Dark, Test Drive, V-Rally, My Horse & Me, Backyard Sports franchise, Total Annihilation, Outcast etc.), publishing properties (The Witcher, Legendary, Race Pro etc.), international licenses (Dragon Ball Z, Dungeons & Dragons, Jamie Oliver etc.) and classic games covering the entire history of the video game industry (Pong, Missile Command, Asteroids etc).

Paulina Bozek leaves Sony to join Atari [VG247] [Pic]

"We rely on borrowings to meet our operating needs," said Atari, now that it has no more substantially-valued IP to sell. Atari's majority shareholder, Infogrames SA, will preserve Atari through an acquisition and a $20 million loan, while BlueBay High Yield Investments has also loaned Atari $14 million.

Atari also relies heavily on publishing revenues from a single franchise - Dragon Ball Z, which it says generated 49.1 percent of its net publishing revenues in fiscal 2008. Godzilla accounts for 9.2 percent.

Atari now primarily acts as a North American publisher-distributor for Infogrames-licensed titles. In kind, Atari has licensed its Test Driver and Test Driver Unlimited properties for seven years to Infogrames, and the language in the annual report suggests a tense relationship:

"During fiscal 2008, we completely terminated our product development activities and we granted IESA a seven year license to exploit our last remaining valuable game franchise," the company said. "Further, we increasingly focused our efforts on distributing products published by IESA. These steps substantially reduced our revenues."

Atari also warns, when quantifying its risk factors, that Infogrames' control over the company might be "disadvantageous" to its shareholders, although Atari also said it expects Infogrames to approve the pending merger.

"IESA [Infogrames Entertainment SA] controls us and could prevent a transaction favorable to our other stockholders," Atari said. "IESA beneficially owns approximately 51% of our common stock, which gives it sufficient voting power to prevent any transaction that it finds unfavorable, including an acquisition, consolidation or sale of shares or assets that might be desirable to our other stockholders."

"Additionally, IESA could unilaterally approve certain transactions as a result of its majority position. IESA also has sufficient voting power to elect all of the members of our Board of Directors."

Infogrames SA has long been a majority shareholder in Atari, and announced it would officially acquire the company (and loan it $20 million) in April 2008. One of Infogrames' founders, Bruno Bonnell, was Atari's chairman and CEO until April 2007, presiding over the company's decline.

On April 4, 2007, Bonnell was asked by Infogrames to resign, and the company agreed to pay him to step down. "Golden parachute" scenarios for corporate executives asked to resign during difficult times are not unusual. Yesterday, we reported that Activision chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick earned a $3,079,798 bonus for leading the company through a banner year. So how much did Bonnell receive in departure cash?

Infogrames SA paid Bonnell 3.0 million euros as part of his resignation agreement - that's 4.73 million dollars. In other words, Bonnell earned nearly $2 million more on Atari's poor performance (arguably attributable to his leadership) than Kotick earned in thank-you bonus for his leadership in Activision's record year.

Adding insult to injury, Atari's annual report discloses that Infogrames went over its head to form the agreement with Bonnell:

Neither our Board of Directors nor any member of our management was consulted about the agreement between IESA and Mr. Bonnell and our management was not provided with a copy of the agreement until more than two months after it was signed.

Atari details in its annual report the way that its current activities now largely center on North American publishing and distribution for games developed by Infogrames, though it still holds a library of titles licensed from Infogrames as well, including Dragon Ball Z (FUNimation), Alone in the Dark (IESA),Asteroids, PONG, Missile Command and Centipede (Atari Interactive), Dungeons and Dragons (Hasbro and Atari Interactive), Earthworm Jim (Interplay), RollerCoaster Tycoon (Chris Sawyer and Atari Interactive), and Godzilla (Sony Pictures).

The $23.6M loss however is one-third the $69.7 fiscal assbeating Atari took in FY07, precipitating the whole Infogrames merger/buyout/$20M loan announced April 30 and taking effect the third quarter of this year. Also, Atari's loss includes about $6.5 million in corporate restructuring charges. rather than regular business. Still, revenue was about $80 million, less than $122 million of a year before. So there wasn't the kind of expenses that go toward publishing crappy games games, but there wasn't anything to sell either.

Some brands, no matter how sickly they become, can just go on forever because they got in the race early, no matter where they dropped out. Just ask United Press International. Or Ovaltine. So if Atari is shifting to social, casual, whatever you want to call it, that's probably going after brand of low-awareness game consumer who thinks Atari's been around forever and will give games under its title a benefit of the doubt that the publisher didn't earn in the past five years.

Atari Reports 23.6M Loss for FY2008[Shacknews]

At the time, I didn’t know he was going to Atari. It was obviously a surprise when he told me he was going to move on. But, you know, it’s a small industry and he’s obviously remained in it and from his perspective, it was a great thing to move on to a new challenge.

Oh...oh Kaz. There, there. You're still beautiful, OK? It was him, not you. Him.

Kaz Hirai interview…[Three Speech]

If the libraries are available, then yeah, I would hope that the PS3 version can take advantage of that.

"Would hope"? Heck Phil, everyone would hope that.

Harrison Unsure [Multiplayer]

I’ve been here two months now and I’m making a whole new group of friends. It’s like changing schools when you’re a kid.

Sounds like he's not eating lunch alone in the company cafeteria. That'd be sad.

Interview: Phil Harrison on Alone in the Dark and life after Sony [videogaming247]

Infogrames has also agreed to spot Atari $20 million to keep them operationally afloat. You know what that means, Atari employees? Bagel Mondays are back!

Full release after this.

Infogrames Entertainment S.A. and Atari, Inc. Announce Agreement to Merge

Infogrames to Acquire Outstanding Shares of Atari, Inc. for Cash

LYON, France and NEW YORK, April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ —Infogrames Entertainment S.A. (Euronext - ISIN: FR-0010478248) ("Infogrames" or "the Group") and Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) ("Atari") today announced that they have reached a definitive agreement to merge.

The agreement:
— brings to a close a period of financial underperformance for Atari;
— strengthens Atari under Infogrames' new management team;
— delivers a platform for future growth in the US; and
— offers Atari shareholders an all cash exit.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Infogrames will acquire the remaining outstanding equity interests of Atari (other than shares of common stock held by Infogrames or its affiliates, which would be cancelled) for US$1.68 per share, equivalent to a cash payment of approximately US$11 million. Infogrames is currently the majority shareholder in Atari holding approximately 51.4%. Following the merger, Atari will be a wholly- owned subsidiary of Infogrames. The merger will be funded by Infogrames from existing cash resources. The transaction is not subject to any financing conditions and is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2008.

This agreement is an essential and positive development for Infogrames and its shareholders. It brings Atari fully under the control of Infogrames, delivering a platform for future growth in the US. This step closely follows a series of recent major restructuring actions implemented in an effort to reposition Atari, streamline its corporate structure and reduce its annualized costs, including costs related to being a US public company.

The Board of Infogrames believes that full ownership of a restructured Atari is an important step for the Group, leading to a simplified operating structure that will deliver greater efficiency, provide the Group with greater opportunities to expand its US distribution capabilities and strengthen its platform for its global online initiatives.

Commenting on today's announcement, David Gardner, CEO, Infogrames, said:

"Bringing Atari US and Infogrames businesses together will enable us to create a simplified global structure for our business as we seek to re-build a well-managed, cohesive and financially disciplined company. This is a key strategic event for Infogrames that will benefit all of our shareholders. I believe that this transaction will generate significant benefits for the Group."

The management of Atari, Inc., led by recently appointed President and CEO, Jim Wilson, will join the Group upon the closing of the transaction and remain focused on growing the key North American gaming market.

Mr. Wilson said: "By joining Infogrames, we will have the opportunity to further transform Atari. As part of this newly integrated company, we will be better able to streamline operations and have a stronger platform for growth in North America."

The transaction was negotiated and approved by the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Atari, consisting entirely of directors who are independent of Infogrames. In approving and recommending the merger transaction, the Special Committee considered, among other things, the terms of the merger agreement, which permits the Special Committee to terminate the agreement under certain circumstances, Atari's financial position and results of operations, general market and industry conditions, the risks of implementing Atari's business plan, Atari's limited liquidity and the limited range of options available to Atari. The Special Committee also considered the effects of Infogrames' controlling interest, the risk that the transaction will not be completed, the premium to Atari's share price 30 days prior to the date of Infogrames' offer, and the willingness of Infogrames to extend a loan of up to $20 million to Atari to cover expected capital requirements.

The transaction is subject to a number of customary conditions, including the approval of the holders of a majority of outstanding shares. Atari expects to call a special meeting of shareholders to consider the merger in the third quarter of calendar 2008. Since Infogrames controls a majority of Atari's outstanding shares, Infogrames has the power to approve the transaction without the approval of Atari's other shareholders.

In connection with the transaction, Infogrames has committed to lend Atari US$20 million, subject to the terms and conditions of the credit agreement between Atari and Infogrames. This loan will be used to fund Atari's operational cash requirements during the period between the date of the merger agreement and its closing.

However, says Infogrames: "The SCi Board has declined, at this stage, to entertain Infogrames' offer."

Infogrames is still raring to go on the bid, though, saying that it has "sufficient resources" to satisfy the offer, and adding it has also "secured commitments" that will help fund SCi's potential working capital requirements. "Importantly," the statement adds, "Infogrames is in a position to move expeditiously with its proposal."

The regulatory announcement suggests the door's still open on the proposal, though there are no guarantees:

"Whilst Infogrames has been considering a range of options, including but not limited to a potential merger with SCi, there can be no certainty that any offer will be made for SCi," said the statement in part, concluding with, "A further announcement may be made, if and when appropriate."

SCi recently got a shot in the arm in the form of a $120 million bailout from investor Warner Bros.,who increased its stake in the company to 20 percent. In the process, SCi gained access to couple WB licenses (Looney Toons, The OC, the Batman comics) — and, apparently, lost 25 percent of its staff as well as some current projects (flagship titles like Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex and Championship Manager are safe).

When approached for questions, a rep for SCi said he was unable to comment on the company's current business.

I'm making is that I think the game is very relevant to the market, and I think will do very, very well. Can we afford as a company to chase that up, to USD 80 million, without downstream revenue? The answer is no.

So can we take that kind of production value and smash it into an online community and social experience? I hope so, but it won't be Alone in the Dark.

Over the life of the product in this business year across platforms we are expecting between 2 and 3 million units.

NEW YORK, March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), an interactive entertainment company, announced today that on March 24, 2008 it received a Staff Determination Letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department stating that Atari, Inc. has not gained compliance with the requirements of Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4450(b)(3), and that its securities are therefore subject to delisting from The Nasdaq Global Market.

As previously announced, on December 21, 2007, the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department notified Atari, Inc. that, pursuant to Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4450(e)(1), unless the market value of Atari, Inc.'s publicly held shares (which is calculated by reference to Atari, Inc.'s total shares outstanding, less any shares held by officers, directors or beneficial owners of 10% or more) maintains an aggregate market value of $15.0 million or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days prior to March 20, 2008, Atari, Inc.'s securities would be subject to delisting. The value of Atari, Inc.'s publicly held shares did not reach that level within the required period. Atari, Inc. intends to request a hearing before a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel in order to appeal the Nasdaq Staff's determination in light of, among other things, the pending proposal by Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock not held by IESA. The hearing request will stay the delisting and, as a result, Atari, Inc.'s securities will remain listed on The Nasdaq Global Market until the Panel issues its decision following the hearing. There can be no assurance that the Panel will grant Atari, Inc.'s request for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market.