Difference between revisions of "Atari Games"

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Atari Games created a new division, [[Tengen]] in 1987 to tap into a home console market, initially publishing NES titles from Namco and Sunsoft as well as Atari Games products. The division was also used to sub-license the Japanese arcade rights and illegitimate Mega Drive rights to ''[[Tetris]]'' to [[Sega]] after Atari Games acquired the arcade rights and illegitimate console rights to the game from [[Mirrorsoft]].
 
Atari Games created a new division, [[Tengen]] in 1987 to tap into a home console market, initially publishing NES titles from Namco and Sunsoft as well as Atari Games products. The division was also used to sub-license the Japanese arcade rights and illegitimate Mega Drive rights to ''[[Tetris]]'' to [[Sega]] after Atari Games acquired the arcade rights and illegitimate console rights to the game from [[Mirrorsoft]].
  
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In 1994, Atari Games was bought by Time Warner Inc., becoming a subsidiary of the conglomorate until 29th March 1996 when it was sold to WMS Industries{{magref|nextgeneration|18|26}}. Atari Games kept its name and headquarters during this period, although Tengen became [[Time Warner Interactive]] (1994) and then [[Midway Games West]] (1996).
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In 1994, Atari Games was bought by long-term shareholders Time Warner Inc., becoming a subsidiary of the conglomorate. This period saw Atari Games and Tengen be merged with Time Warner's software division, Time Warner Interactive Group to form a new "[[Time Warner Interactive]]" (sans "Group") subsidiary{{magref|cb|1994-04-23|30}}. But while the same company internally, only Tengen traded under the Time Warner Interactive name - arcade games continued to be sold under the "Atari Games" moniker (though dropped the "Corporation").
  
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1998 saw WMS spin-off [[Midway Games]] as an independant entity, taking Atari Games and Midway Games West with it. Midway subsequently chose to merge Atari Games into Midway Games West in January 2000 to avoid confusion with [[Hasbro Interactive]], which had at this point acquired the old Atari Corporation rights. This marked the end of the Atari Games brand, and meant the 1999 release of ''[[San Francisco Rush 2049]]'' would be the last arcade game to bear the "Atari" name.
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On 29th March 1996, Time Warner Interactive was sold to WMS Industries{{magref|nextgeneration|18|26}} and was renamed [[Midway Games West]]. Again, arcade games continued to use the "Atari Games" name. 1998 saw WMS spin-off [[Midway Games]] as an independant entity, taking Midway Games West with it. Midway subsequently chose to drop the Atari Games name in January 2000 to avoid confusion with [[Hasbro Interactive]], which had at this point acquired the old Atari Corporation rights. This marked the end of the Atari Games brand, and meant the 1999 release of ''[[San Francisco Rush 2049]]'' would be the last arcade game to bear the "Atari" name.
  
 
==Softography==
 
==Softography==

Revision as of 12:41, 10 March 2020

https://retrocdn.net/images/c/cd/AtariGames_logo.svg

AtariGames logo.svg
Atari Games
Headquarters:
Milpitas, California, United States
1984
2000-01

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Atari Games (or Atari Games Corporation) was a company formed in 1984, after the original Atari, Inc. split into two halves (the other half being Atari Corporation, sold by Warner Communications to Jack Tramiel). Atari Games started life off as the arcade division of Atari Inc., producing a number of top arcade games during the 1980s. One of the conditions of the split requires Atari Games to always include "Games" in its title and logos - Atari Corporation did not have that restriction.

Unlike Atari Corporation, Atari Games was comprised of many former Atari Inc. imployees, and as such continued operating in a similar manner to Atari Inc. In 1985 Namco bought a controlling interest in the company, though in the following year these shares were bought back by Atari Games employees.

Atari Games created a new division, Tengen in 1987 to tap into a home console market, initially publishing NES titles from Namco and Sunsoft as well as Atari Games products. The division was also used to sub-license the Japanese arcade rights and illegitimate Mega Drive rights to Tetris to Sega after Atari Games acquired the arcade rights and illegitimate console rights to the game from Mirrorsoft.

In 1994, Atari Games was bought by long-term shareholders Time Warner Inc., becoming a subsidiary of the conglomorate. This period saw Atari Games and Tengen be merged with Time Warner's software division, Time Warner Interactive Group to form a new "Time Warner Interactive" (sans "Group") subsidiary[1]. But while the same company internally, only Tengen traded under the Time Warner Interactive name - arcade games continued to be sold under the "Atari Games" moniker (though dropped the "Corporation").

On 29th March 1996, Time Warner Interactive was sold to WMS Industries[2] and was renamed Midway Games West. Again, arcade games continued to use the "Atari Games" name. 1998 saw WMS spin-off Midway Games as an independant entity, taking Midway Games West with it. Midway subsequently chose to drop the Atari Games name in January 2000 to avoid confusion with Hasbro Interactive, which had at this point acquired the old Atari Corporation rights. This marked the end of the Atari Games brand, and meant the 1999 release of San Francisco Rush 2049 would be the last arcade game to bear the "Atari" name.

Softography

Arcade

System 16

Master System

Mega Drive

Game Gear

Mega-CD

32X

Saturn

References

  1. ↑ Cash Box, "April 23, 1994" (US; 1994-04-23), page 30
  2. ↑ Next Generation, "June 1996" (US; 1996-05-21), page 26
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