Atari Assets Go Under Hammer In July Auction

[Karloff]

Atari Assets Go Under Hammer In July Auction

$15 million is the opening bid! Any advance on $15 million?

Back in January, US-based Atari Inc. filed for bankruptcy [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121617-Atari-Inc-Files-for-Bankruptcy], as part of a plan to divorce itself from French company Atari SA and thus mitigate some of Atari's crippling debt burden. At the time it was hoped that a buyer could be found, but that hasn't happened, and so Atari Inc. the brand, and its related assets - Pong, Asteroids, and Centipede, among other game titles - go under the auction hammer in July. Minimum bid, if you happened to be thinking about bidding, is $15 million for the brand name, with various different minimums for its properties.

The auction has yet to be approved by the courts overseeing the bankruptcy process. If it goes ahead, Atari is hoping to raise at least $22 million from this sale. The likes of Test Drive and RollerCoaster Tycoon will start the bidding in the millions, while Total Annihilation, the classic sci-fi RTS and the very first to feature 3D units and terrain, will start the bidding at just $250,000 minimum.

The case is In Re: Atari Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No:13-10176.

Source: Reuters [http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/22/us-atari-sale-idUSBRE94L0QP20130522]


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[redisforever]

Ooh, I'd like a new Total Annihilation game... now, if only I could get together $250,000...

 

[Andy Shandy]

You know, while this would probably never happen, for purely selfish reasons, I'd like to see Nintendo pick up Test Drive.

I say for purely selfish reasons, because I'd like to see the competition if every main console had its' own "car porn" franchise. Obviously Sony has Gran Turismo and also DriveClub, Microsoft has Forza Motorsport, so why not Nintendo with Test Drive?

Also whoever gets Pong, make me another game like Pong: The Next Level. I played that like hell when I was a kid.

 

[tahrey]

How much for the rights to the home computer OS ROMs? The holding company still has legal claim to them and apparently aggressively pursues anyone distributing them (for emulators etc)... I guess as a moneyspinning exercise, as they're not likely to actually make any money off their genuine use any more.

I'd like to buy them up and then release them as public domain

So long as it's, like, no more than about £100? I'm poor.

 

[Jhooud]

Jeez, what is the deal with this company? It's like some sort of weird Japanese RPG boss that just won't stay dead...

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Nintendo should buy Pong, Centipede, Asteroids, and RollerCoaster Tycoon (To Show off how the WiiU is the closest thing to a computer this Gen). Test Drive and Total Annihilation should probably be picked up by Activision-Blizzard (TD for Activision, TA for Blizzard). Whoever gets it though, I hope they do good stuff with it.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Ooh, I'd like a new Total Annihilation game... now, if only I could get together $250,000...

This is for you.

http://www.uberent.com/pa/

Still not out fora while yet, but it illustrates the main problem with Atari's attempted sale, they've sat on their IPs for too long and for too much money, so the market's wandered off and done it's own thing without them. They've got a whole lot of names but no products, which is kind of sad, but very Atari.

 

[Dr.Awkward]

Hmm... Someone should buy and revisit Tempest.

 

[Glaice]

EA better not be among the bidders..

 

[Thaluikhain]

Oh...they could sell Blade Kitten Part 2 to a company that wants to distribute it. The game has already been made and Atari has it, but decided it wasn't worth the effort of going and selling it to gamers...maybe for good reason.

 

[Deacon Cole]

Hmm... Someone should buy and revisit Tempest.

Stay out of my brain!

Besides, there's Space Giraffe.

 

[RicoADF]

How much for the rights to the home computer OS ROMs? The holding company still has legal claim to them and apparently aggressively pursues anyone distributing them (for emulators etc)... I guess as a moneyspinning exercise, as they're not likely to actually make any money off their genuine use any more.

I'd like to buy them up and then release them as public domain

So long as it's, like, no more than about £100? I'm poor.

That's a good idea actually, seriously look into what they want for it if you can get the community into it they could help.

 

[Strazdas]

Jeez, what is the deal with this company? It's like some sort of weird Japanese RPG boss that just won't stay dead...

indeed. just close it down already, its been deald for long and yet still somehow breathes. if i had 15 million to spare i would buy it just to close down that whole deal and get it over with.

actually my dream is to buy up old assets like say old sci-fi movies and release the stuff for public domain becuase i believe all of it should be puiblic tdomain to begin with. the copyright hold should be closer to 15 years not 95.

Besides, there's Space Giraffe.

No, how coudl you, never mention spacegiraffe, this game does not exist!

 

[MartyGoldberg]

Jeez, what is the deal with this company? It's like some sort of weird Japanese RPG boss that just won't stay dead...

indeed. just close it down already, its been deald for long and yet still somehow breathes. if i had 15 million to spare i would buy it just to close down that whole deal and get it over with.

Seems you guys are a bit confused, this is just a brand now, not the original company. The original Atari (Atari Inc.) went under in '84. It's Consumer Division was sold to Jack Tramiel to start up Atari Corp., which was itself closed in '96. After that it purely became paper assets and a brand name, which shuffled to Hasbro and then to Infogrames. Infogrames then renamed it's subsidiaries into Atari names and then later itself into Atari SA. The Atari Inc. that's declaring bankruptcy is simply the former GT Interactive, which Infogrames renamed into Infogrames NA, Inc. and then Atari Inc.