Video game 1 maker takes Atari name

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, May 11, 2003 | by Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Almost 30 years after "Pong" first mesmerized the nation with a dot bouncing across the TV screen, Atari is again the name of a video game company. Hoping to capitalize on the cachet of the brand, New York-based Infogrames Inc. changed its name Wednesday to Atari Inc.

Its French corporate parent, Infogrames Entertainment SA, which owns the brand name, also changed the names of other units to include "Atari." "In any language, Atari is synonymous with video games and it's recognized for transforming entertainment," said Bruno Bonnell, chief executive of Infogrames and Atari.

The original Atari Corp. was founded in 1972 in Sunnyvale. The home version of "Pong," launched in 1975, was one of the first successful video games. Japanese competitors forced Atari out of the console business in the 1990s.

The rights to classic games like "Pac-Man" and "Asteroids" ended up with Hasbro Interactive, which Infogrames bought in 2001. Infogrames has already published some titles under the Atari brand. Its games include "Neverwinter Nights," "Roller Coaster Tycoon" and the coming movie tie-in "Enter the Matrix."

The name's status as a pop-culture icon has been confirmed by its use by two successful bands, The Ataris and Atari Teenage Riot. The word "atari" is a term from the Japanese board game go.