Atari Corporation

The company was founded by Commodore International's founder Jack Tramiel soon after his resignation from Commodore in January 1984. Initially named Tramel Technology, Ltd. (TTL), the company's goal was to design and sell a next-generation home computer. On July 1, 1984, TTL bought the Consumer Division assets of Atari, Inc. from Warner, and TTL was renamed Atari Corporation. Warner sold the division in exchange for $240 million in stock in the new company.File:Atari 1040STf.jpgUnder Tramiel's ownership, Atari used the remaining stock of game console inventory to keep the company afloat while they finished the development of their 16-bit computer system, the Atari ST. In 1985, they released their update to the 8-bit computer line—the Atari XE series—as well as the 16-bit Atari ST line. Then in 1986, Atari Corp. launched two consoles designed when Atari was under Warner's control: Atari 2600 Jr and Atari 7800 (which had a limited release in 1984). Atari Corp. rebounded, producing a $25 million profit for 1986.{{cite magazine |title=The Life and Death of Atari |magazine=GamePro |issue=92 |publisher=IDG|date=May 1996|page=20}} The Atari ST line proved very successful (mostly in Europe, not the U.S.), ultimately selling more than 5 million units. Its built-in MIDI ports made it especially popular among musicians. Still, after initially outselling the Amiga line, its closest competitor in the marketplace, the Amiga outsold it 3 to 2 in the end.{{Cite book |last=Wolf |first=Mark J. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XiM0ntMybNwC&q=Commodore+Amiga%2C+outsold+it+3+to+2&pg=PA60 |title=The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to Playstation and Beyond|date=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-33868-7|language=en}}File:Atari-7800-Console-Set.jpgAtari eventually released a line of inexpensive IBM PC compatibles, announcing a budget model at "a record-breaking price of under $599" in early 1987,{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/Atari_Explorer_Volume_7_Number_1_1987-02_Atari_Explorer_Publications_US/page/n13/mode/1up | title=Atari Announces Products At CES | magazine=Atari Explorer | date=January–February 1987 | access-date=16 December 2023 | pages=12 }} to be followed by a more expandable PC-2 model at a higher price point,{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/1987.08-australian-personal-computer/page/118/mode/2up | title=Atari PC | magazine=Australian Personal Computer | last1=Jackson | first1=Peter | date=August 1987 | access-date=16 December 2023 | pages=118–120,122,125,127 }} this being announced alongside the PC-3 in November 1987.{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/Atari_Explorer_Volume_8_Number_1_1988-02_Atari_Explorer_Publications_US/page/n19/mode/1up | title=Atari Announces New Products at Comdex | magazine=Atari Explorer | date=January–February 1987 | access-date=26 March 2024 | pages=18 }} Responding to the introduction of the low-cost Amstrad PC1512 in the UK, price points for the initial PC model were given as around £400 including VAT for a 512 KB floppy-only model supporting CGA, EGA and Hercules graphics, rising to £1000 including VAT for a hard drive model.{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1987-05-01/page/n5/mode/1up | title=Atari's expandable PC heats up cheap clone system wars | magazine=Popular Computing Weekly | date=1 May 1987 | access-date=16 July 2024 | pages=6 }} Later, the company introduced an MS-DOS compatible palm computer called the Atari Portfolio.

Atari, under Tramiel, had a poor reputation in the marketplace. In 1986 a columnist for Atari magazine ANALOG Computing warned that company executives seemed to emulate Tramiel's {{"'}}penny-pinching' [and] hard-nosed bargaining, sometimes at the risk of everything else," resulting in poor customer service and documentation, and product release dates that were "perhaps not the entire truth ... Pretty soon, you don't believe anything they say." He concluded, "I think Atari Corp. had better start considering how they're perceived by the non-Atari-using public."{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/analog-computing-magazine-39/Analog_Computing_39_1986-02_Fifth_Anniversay_and_CES#page/n117/mode/2up | title=The End User | work=ANALOG Computing | date=February 1986 | access-date=24 June 2014 | last=Leyenberger | first=Arthur | pages=109–110}} The company, however, was much more open to the press than its predecessor Atari Inc., which had refused to let Antic preview forthcoming announcements and even opposed the magazine printing the word "Atari" on its issues.{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1987-03-anticmagazine/Antic_Vol_5-11_1987-03_Inside_Atari_Corp#page/n29/mode/2up | title=Today's Atari Corp. {{!}} A close-up look inside | work=Antic | date=March 1987 | access-date=4 July 2014 | pages=30–33 | last=Friedland | first=Nat}}

On August 23, 1987, Atari agreed to purchase the Federated Group for $67.3 million. October 4, 1987, Atari completed the acquisition and gained full control of its own retail stores. In the final quarter of 1987, Federated lost $6.4 million in day-to-day operations. A post-acquisition audit ended on February 15, 1988, and identified $43 million in adjustments to Federated's balance sheet, far more than Atari anticipated. The net worth of its acquisition was reduced by $33 million. Atari's CFO later claimed that they would never have done the deal had they known at the time.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-08-24-fi-2005-story.html |title=Atari to Acquire Federated Group for $67.3 Million: Deal Would Give Video Pioneer Access to a Retail Network |first=Nancy |last=Yoshihara |date=24 August 1987|via=LA Times}}{{cite web |url=https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/970/970.F2d.641.91-15693.91-15668.html |title=970 F.2d 641 |website=law.resource.org}}{{cite web |url=https://www.atariarchives.org/atarileaks/Atari%201987%20Annual%20Report.pdf |title=1987 Annual report |website=www.atariarchives.org }} Federated's operational losses increased, reaching $67 million for its first full year under Atari in 1988.{{cite web|url=https://www.atariarchives.org/atarileaks/Atari%201988%20Annual%20Report.pdf |title=1988 Annual report |website=www.atariarchives.org }} The FBI began an investigation of Atari in May of that same year for an ongoing scheme involving the profitable import and resale of Japanese DRAM chips in the US, "in violation of U.S. import laws and contrary to import agreements."{{Cite web |url=http://www.atarileaks.org/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501002118/http://www.atarileaks.org/index.html |url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-05-01|title=AtariLeaks |date=2013-05-01 |access-date=2018-09-30}} This alleged DRAM scheme was purportedly to offset the unanticipated losses in the purchase of Federated.{{Cite web |date=2013-04-26 |title=AtariLeaks |url=http://www.atarileaks.org/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426155326/http://www.atarileaks.org/story.html |archive-date=2013-04-26 |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=AtariLeaks}} In March 1989, Atari announced that it would treat Federated as a discontinued operation and took an additional one-time charge of $57 million.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-10-fi-1144-story.html |title=Ailing Unit Blamed for $85-Million Loss: Atari Puts Federated on the Block |first=CARLA |last=LAZZARESCHI |date=10 March 1989 |via=LA Times}} Federated was eventually sold to Silo in 1989.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/11/business/company-news-atari-is-selling-26-federated-stores.html |title=COMPANY NEWS; Atari Is Selling 26 Federated Stores |last=AP |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 11, 1989 }}

In 1988, Stewart Alsop II said that Atari was among several companies that "have already been knocked out" of the GUI market by Apple, IBM/Microsoft, and others,{{Cite journal |last=Alsop |first=Stewart II |date=1988-01-18 |title=WUI: The War Over User Interface |url=http://vintagecomputer.net/cisc367/PC-Letter_19880118.pdf |journal=P.C. Letter |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=1–4}} but Atari's sales hit their peak that year, at $452 million.

File:Atari Falcon 030 displayed during an enthusiast meeting in Gdansk.jpg 030 model from 1992]]

In 1989, Atari released the Lynx, a handheld console with color graphics, to critical acclaim. However, a shortage of parts kept the system from being released nationwide for the 1989 Christmas season; the Lynx lost market share to Nintendo's Game Boy, which had only a monochrome display, but a much better battery life, and was widely available.

As the fortunes of Atari's computers faded, video games again became the company's main focus. In 1993, Atari released its last console, the Jaguar. One of the first entries in the fifth generation of game consoles, the Jaguar was marketed as the world's first 64-bit console. However, due to a games library which was low in both quantity and quality, as well as being extremely difficult to program games for the system because of its multi-chip architecture, it was unable to compete effectively against the incumbent fourth generation consoles;{{cite magazine |title=Which Game System is the Best!? |magazine=Next Generation |issue=12 |publisher=Imagine Media |date=December 1995 |pages=36–85}}{{cite web |last=Langshaw |first=Mark |title=Atari Retrospective: The Rise and Fall of a Gaming Giant |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a453849/atari-retrospective-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-gaming-giant.html |website=Digital Spy |access-date=13 April 2017 |date=January 27, 2013}} the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation would outsell the Jaguar in very large numbers late in its lifespan.

Atari sustained a net loss of $49.6 million for 1995, with $27.7 million in losses during the last quarter of the year alone.{{cite magazine|title=New Systems, New Price Cuts|magazine=GamePro |issue=93 |publisher=IDG|date=June 1996|page=16}}

File:Atari-Jaguar-Console-Set.jpgIn December 1995, Sam Tramiel suffered a mild heart attack, forcing him to step down as Atari's president, causing Jack Tramiel to come back and lead the company again. On January 2, 1996, at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show, Atari Corporation formally announced the formation of a PC division, Atari Interactive, to "address the worldwide PC market".{{cite web|website=Compkarori.com|title=Atari Broadens its Platform Base|publisher=Business Wire|date=January 2, 1996|url=http://compkarori.com/jaguar/hoff4.txt|access-date = 2009-08-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172957/http://compkarori.com/jaguar/hoff4.txt|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}{{cite web |last=Shelton |first=Denise |date=January 3, 1996 |title=Atari announces PC games unit. |url=http://news.cnet.com/Atari-announces-PC-games-unit/2100-1023_3-201192.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025003519/http://news.cnet.com/Atari-announces-PC-games-unit/2100-1023_3-201192.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |access-date=2009-08-15 |publisher=cNet}} Planning to initially launch with four titles, Tempest 2000,[http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/tempest-2000/cover-art/gameCoverId,1540/ Tempest 2000 CD cover at Moby Games] Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods, Baldies, and FlipOut!, further releases would include Missile Command 3D, Return to Crystal Castles, Rocky Interactive Horror Show, and Virtual War. These plans did not materialize.

Despite the Jaguar being a commercial failure, by February 1996, a series of successful lawsuits followed by profitable investments{{clarify|date=February 2023|reason=Which lawsuits and which investments?}} left Atari with millions of dollars in its bank account but no new products to sell at all. In addition, the Tramiel family wanted out of the business. On February 13, 1996, Atari agreed to merge with JTS Inc., a short-lived maker of hard disk drives, in a reverse takeover to form JTS Corporation.{{cite web |url=http://contracts.onecle.com/atari/jt.mer.1996.04.08.shtml |title=Atari and JT Storage Reorganisation Plan |publisher=One Cle |access-date=November 25, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209123854/http://contracts.onecle.com/atari/jt.mer.1996.04.08.shtml |archive-date=December 9, 2006 |url-status=dead}} The reverse merger was completed on July 30, 1996.{{cite magazine |title=Video Game Timeline |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |issue=102 |publisher=Ziff Davis |date=January 1998 |page=137}} Financially, the merge consisted of Atari's "acquisition" of JTS for approximately $112.3 million.{{Cite web |title=A History of JT Storage / JTS |url=https://mcurrent.name/atarihistory/jt_storage.html |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=mcurrent.name}}https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/941167/0000950153-96-000413.txt Atari's role in the new company largely became a holder for most of its properties. Most of Atari's staff members were either dismissed or resigned, and its Atari Interactive division was quickly shut down,{{cite magazine|title=Adios, Atari |magazine=GamePro |issue=92 |publisher=IDG|date=May 1996|page=20|quote=... the recently formed PC division, Atari Interactive, has been completely liquidated.}} with the remainder of its employees being relocated to JTS's headquarters.{{cite magazine |last=Thomas |first=Don |title=Atari's Historic Road to Nowhere |magazine=Next Generation |issue=24 |publisher=Imagine Media |date=December 1996 |pages=97–104}}{{cite web |last = Biggs |first = Brooke Shelby |title='Success' killed Pac-Man creator Atari

|publisher=San Jose Business Journal |date=July 19, 1996 |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1996/07/22/story3.html?jst=s_cn_hl |access-date=2009-08-15}} Consequently, the Atari name almost vanished from the consumer market.

On March 13, 1998, JTS Corporation sold the Atari name and assets to Hasbro Interactive for $5 million,{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/atari-goes-to-hasbro/1100-2462915/ |title=Atari Goes to Hasbro |last=Johnston |first=Chris |date=April 8, 2000 |website=GameSpot}} less than a fifth of what Warner Communications had paid 22 years earlier. The transaction primarily involved the brand and intellectual property rights, which Hasbro Interactive largely used as a brand name for retro game releases.{{efn|JTS Corporation itself would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 1998, a filing which would ultimately be converted into Chapter 7 liquidation by the courts in January 1999.}}{{efn|Hasbro Interactive would announce the release of all rights to the Atari Jaguar on May 14, 1999, during that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo,{{cite web |url=http://www.atariage.com/Jaguar/archives/HasbroRights.html |title=Hasbro Releases Jaguar Publishing Rights |publisher=Hasbro Interactive |access-date=May 14, 2008 |quote=Beverly, MA (May 14, 1999) – Leading entertainment software publisher, Hasbro Interactive announced today it has released all rights that it may have to the vintage Atari hardware platform, the Jaguar.}} opening up the platform for anyone to publish software on. The Jaguar has since gained a cult following, with many homebrew titles, as well as some unfinished games, being released.{{cite web |last=Goss |first=Patrick |title=Redundant gadgets (Atari Jaguar entry) |url=http://tech.uk.msn.com/features/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=6171299&imageindex=5 |access-date=October 23, 2007 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071011200651/http://tech.uk.msn.com/features/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=6171299&imageindex=5 |archive-date=October 11, 2007}}}}

On January 29, 2001, Hasbro Interactive was sold to Infogrames,{{cite web |url=http://pc.ign.com/news/28701.html |title=Infogrames to Acquire Hasbro Interactive |date=December 6, 2000 |website=IGN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011119190727/http://pc.ign.com/news/28701.html |archive-date=November 19, 2001 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 30, 2019}} which renamed it Infogrames Interactive and then the Atari Interactive name in 2003. The present day Atari Interactive, through Atari SA, continues to hold and license all Atari trademarks as well as produce many new games, some based on Atari's original properties, to this day.

File:Atari-Portfolio-Computer.png

• Atari ST (1985)
• Atari STacy (1989)
• Atari Transputer Workstation (1989)
• Atari TT030 (1990)
• Atari MEGA STE (1991)
• ST BOOK (1991)
• Atari Falcon (1992)
• Atari XE series (1985)
• Atari XEGS (1987)
• Atari 7800 (1986)
• "Atari 2600 Jr." (1986)
• Atari Portfolio (1989)
• Atari Lynx (1989)
• Atari Panther (cancelled)
• Atari Jaguar (1993)
• Atari Jaguar CD (1995)

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons|Atari}}

• [http://mcurrent.name/atarihistory/tramel_technology.html A History of Tramel Technology / Atari by Michael D. Current]
• [https://archive.today/20120722141847/http://www.atarimuseum.com/ The Atari History Museum] – Atari historical archive site
• [http://www.atariage.com/ AtariAge.com]
• [http://www.atarihq.com/ Atari Gaming Headquarters] – Atari historical archive site

{{Atari}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1984 establishments in California

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Category:American companies established in 1984

Category:Atari

Category:Defunct computer hardware companies

Category:Defunct computer systems companies

Category:Defunct video game companies of the United States

Category:Video game companies established in 1984

Category:Video game companies disestablished in 1996

Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States

Category:Defunct computer companies based in New York (state)