Atari and its parent, Infogrames, has had its share of troubles, including angry investors, mounting financial troubles which led to an exit from game development by Atari, and NASDAQ notices. But it appears they’re on the upswing since Infogrames proudly announced, "We’re back in business!" according to MCVUK.
Thanks to a hefty €150 million ($219 million) investment from BlueBay Asset Management, Atari’s parent firm plans to double the number of games in development and build up to a 30 strong network of partner studios to help rebuild its infrastructure.
In addition, Infogrames will push Atari to begin an "aggressive publishing drive on more platforms, [which] will help secure its position alongside the forefront of the global market…"
As well as a push back into the traditional gaming market, Infogrames/Atari will encompass a greater focus on casual games. They’ll be working on "…several mass market licenses for DS and Wii platforms and in certain cases casual online versions."
Mathias Hautefort, executive vice president of publishing and production at Atari, said, "[Infogrames has] plans to greatly reinforce its publishing business this year. We are expecting to double the number of group products between 2007 and 2008.
We will be offering more than 15 group projects on next-generation platforms. The Group is planning to harness the market’s metamorphosis, that is to say new platforms and new gamer categories."
