You probably remember two weeks ago when Phil Harrison suddenly left Sony, ending his 15 year tenure as President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide. No one knew for sure why Phil left the company he had helped turn into a worldwide icon of gaming, and his sudden departure left a lot of people wondering if things might be going poorly behind the scenes in Sony’s camp.
Apparently, though, Phil just wanted more of a challenge. In a recent press release, Infogrames has announced that Phil Harrison has been appointed as President and Directeur General of Infogrames Entertainment. Infogrames is known for gobbling up a series of publishers and developers in the late 90’s/early 00’s, most famously the resurrected Atari brand.
What they’re most known for recently, though, is their financial struggle. The company has been bleeding money, selling off properties such as Driver and Civilization, and laying off numerous employees to make end’s meet.
In other words, Phil has his work more than cut out for him.
Regarding his appointment, Phil stated, "This is the perfect time to join Infogrames and help shape the future of Atari – one of the industry’s legendary brands. As the game business moves rapidly online I believe we have an outstanding opportunity to create amazing network game and community experiences for players the world over. I am especially excited to be working on this challenge together with David [Gardner, CEO of Infogrames], one of the most respected leaders and successful executives in our industry."
Can Phil turn the company around and bring a bright future for Atari? Only time will tell. Even though Infogrames has looked to be dying for years now, I can’t help but believe one of the key players behind the PlayStation brand has some ideas and tricks up his sleeve.
