Most people growing up from the late 1970s through the mid ’80s can remember the Atari home video game, especially the Atari 2600. Thirty years later, this institution is poised for a comeback.
Atari’s new CEO Fred Chesnis wants to lead that comeback. With only ten employees, one step is licensing the brand to other studios. Let others carry Atari’s legacy. Don’t expect any old consoles to come back either. The focus will strictly be on online and smartphone gaming. They will be new games coming out this fall. Some new games, like Roller Coaster Tycoon, are already out. They plan on entering global gambling, only where it’s legal, of course. Then there’s Atari TV, set to go on You Tube and other acts of social media. Their first Atari TV, will be of all things, a video blog following soccer legend Pele through the ongoing world cup in Brazil.
This is a great step for Atari. It shouldn’t just stick to gaming. It should branch out to other venues like this. If it wants to compete in today’s market, this is the way to do it. And something else I’m excited about: they’re bringing old games back! I don’t mean the old bulky 2600 set, I mean our favorite games like Asteroids. It will be updated to fit the 2010s, but still, it’s nice to have nostalgia. I hope they’ll bring Pitfall and Q-Bert back as well. What old school Atari games would you like to see comeback?