Atari

From WE Computers Museum
Revision as of 01:40, 3 September 2023 by Jenni (talk | contribs) (slight change in wording and reordering see also section)

This article is about the company originally known as Syzygy Engineering and Atari, Inc. as well as the company originally known as Infogrames. For the company formerly known as Atari Games, see NetherRealm Studios. For the company that was originally known as GT Interactive, see Atari, Inc. For the company formerly known as Atari Japan, see the company that purchased it, Namco. For the company formerly known as Legacy Engineering, see Syzygy.

Atari logo.png
Atari
Type Publicly traded company
Founded 1971 (Syzygy Engineering)
June 27, 1972 (Atari, Inc.)
June 1983 (Infogrames Entertainment)
July 1, 1984 (Atari Corporation)
1996 (JTS Corporation)
2009 (Atari, S.A)
Headquarters Paris, France
Key people
Industry Video games, consumer electronics
Products
Number of people
Website http://www.atari.com/

Atari, S.A. is a video game holding company located in Paris, France. Its subsidiaries include Atari, Inc. and Atari Interactive.

Atari

Syzygy Engineering was founded by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in 1971 and was incorporated as Atari on June 27, 1972. In 1976, Warner Communications purchased Atari as they wanted to get into the interactive entertainment business.

Infogrames Entertainment

Infogrames Entertainment, SA was formed in Lyons, France in June 1983.

Atari Corporation

On July 1, 1984, because of the video game crash of 1983, Warner sold the home division of the company to Tramel Technology, while Warner kept the arcade division. The arcade division became Atari Games and the home division became Atari Corporation.

JTS Corporation

In July 1996, Atari Corporation merged with JTS Inc. to form JTS Corp.

Infogrames Interactive

In March 1998, JTS sold the Atari name and assets to Hasbro Interactive. On December 6, 2000, Infogrames purchased Hasbro Interactive and acquired the Atari rights.

Atari, S.A.

In May 2009, Namco Bandai Holdings bought Atari Europe and Infogrames announced it was getting out of the distribution business in Europe. That same month, they changed their name to Atari, S.A., bringing an end to the Infogrames brand name.

Atari filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2013, remaining in business but selling some assets at auction, such as Humongous Entertainment.

Home computers and video game consoles by Atari

Name Released Added to Museum Notes
Pong 1975 Not yet The console only played Pong.
Stunt Cycle 1976 Not yet The console only played Stunt Cycle.
Video Pinball 1977 Not yet The first Atari Video Pinball model and the Telegames Pinball Breakaway had:
  • 4 variants of Video Pinball
  • 1 variant of Basketball
  • 2 variants of Breakout
    The second, beige, Atari Video Pinball model and the Epoch TV-Block had:
  • 4 variants of Video Pinball
  • 2 variants of Basketball
  • 1 variant of Breakout.
    • Atari 2600 Video Computer System 1977 January 1, 2020
    Atari 8-bit computers 1979-1984 Not yet The 8-bit line included the Atari 400, 800, XL, XE, and XEGS.
    Atari 5200 SuperSystem 1982 Not yet

    Home computers and video game consoles by Atari Corporation

    Name Released Added to Museum Notes
    Atari 7800 ProSystem 1986 Not yet
    Atari ST 1986-1993 Not yet The Atari ST line included the Atari 520ST, 520STFM, 1040STF, Mega ST, Mega ST 1, Mega ST 2, 520STE, 1040STE, TT030, Mega STE, and Falcon030. It also included portable computers including the STacy, ST BOOK
    Atari Transputer Workstation 1989 Not yet The Atari Transputer Workstation (ATW-800) was a computer designed for technical or scientific applications.
    Atari Portfolio 1989 Not yet The Atari Portfolio (Atari PC Folio) was an IBM-PC compatible palmtop computer.
    Atari XEGS 1987 Not yet The Atari XEGS was a redesign of the XE 8-bit computer as a video game console.
    Atari Lynx 1989 Not yet A handheld video game system originally designed by Epyx as the Handy Game.
    Atari Jaguar 1993 Not yet
    Atari Jaguar CD 1995 Not yet CD-ROM add-on for the Atari Jaguar.

    Home computers and video game consoles by Atari, S.A.

    Name Released Added to Museum Notes
    Atari Flashback 2004-present Flashback 2+: May 10, 2019 The Atari Flashback 1, 2, and 2+ were designed by Legacy Engineering.
    All other Atari Flashback consoles were designed by AtGames.
    Atari VCS 2020 Not yet The Atari VCS was designed by Atari Interactive.
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