Difference between revisions of "Atari Games"

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{{CompanyBob
 
| logo=AtariGames logo.svg
 
| logo=AtariGames logo.svg
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| founded=1984-07-02
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| defunct=1999-12-22
 
| headquarters=Milpitas, California, United States
 
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| prevdate=1984-07-02
 
| prev=[[Atari, Inc. (1972–1984)|Atari, Inc.]]
 
| prev=[[Atari, Inc. (1972–1984)|Atari, Inc.]]
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| nextdate=1999-12-22
 
| next=[[Midway Games West]]
 
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{{sub-stub}}'''Atari Games''' (or '''Atari Games Corporation''') was a company formed in 1984, after the original [[Atari, Inc. (1972–1984)|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.
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{{sub-stub}}'''Atari Games''' (or '''Atari Games Corporation''') was a company formed in 1984, after the original [[Atari, Inc. (1972–1984)|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. 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.
  
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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.
+
There were two conditions Atari Games had to follow after the split - the first was that Atari Games had to include "Games" in its title and logos, and the second was that Atari Games could not use the "Atari" name in the home video game market. Atari Games created a new division, [[Tengen]], in 1987 as a result of the second condition. Tengen would be responsible for developing and publishing console games as well as licensing games made by other companies that contain Atari Games' properties. 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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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.
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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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In 1993, 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]] (1993) and then [[Midway Games West]] (1996).
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On 29th March 1996, Time Warner Interactive was sold to [[WMS Industries]].{{magref|nextgeneration|18|26}} In 1998, WMS spun-off [[Midway Games]] as an independant entity, taking Atari Games with it. Midway subsequently chose to rename Atari Games to [[Midway Games West]] on December 22, 1999 to avoid confusion with [[Hasbro Interactive]], which had at this point acquired the old Atari Corporation rights. The last game to use the Atari Games brand was ''[[San Francisco Rush 2049]]''.
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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.
 
  
 
==Softography==
 
==Softography==
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<references />
 
<references />
  
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[[Category:Third-party software developers]]
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[[Category:Licensors]]

Latest revision as of 13:25, 26 August 2023

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

AtariGames logo.svg
Atari Games
Founded: 1984-07-02
Defunct: 1999-12-22
Headquarters:
Milpitas, California, United States
1984-07-02
1999-12-22

This teeny-tiny article needs some work. You can help us by expanding it.

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. 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.

There were two conditions Atari Games had to follow after the split - the first was that Atari Games had to include "Games" in its title and logos, and the second was that Atari Games could not use the "Atari" name in the home video game market. Atari Games created a new division, Tengen, in 1987 as a result of the second condition. Tengen would be responsible for developing and publishing console games as well as licensing games made by other companies that contain Atari Games' properties. 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] In 1998, WMS spun-off Midway Games as an independant entity, taking Atari Games with it. Midway subsequently chose to rename Atari Games to Midway Games West on December 22, 1999 to avoid confusion with Hasbro Interactive, which had at this point acquired the old Atari Corporation rights. The last game to use the Atari Games brand was San Francisco Rush 2049.

Softography

System 16

Arcade

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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