After at least two years of solid losses and being delisted from Nasdaq, publisher Atari has announced a profit of $3.5 million for the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, which ran from April 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008.

In all, the company brought in $40.3, with $36.7 million of that stemming from the its publishing efforts, which include Eden and Hyrdravision's Alone in the Dark (PC, 360, PS2, Wii), CD Projekt's The Witcher (PC), and several Xbox Live Arcade games.

The news comes just as Atari is about to complete its merger with parent company Infogrames, a deal that is set to close shortly.

SimBin Studios, the developer behind the RACE and GTR line of PC racing simulators, today announced its first Xbox 360 effort, RACE Pro.

Due out this fall, the game is billed as "the ultra real racing simulation" and is said to recreate "a breathtaking reality giving gamers the ultimate racing simulation experience" through its use of SimBin's internally-developed physics engine Lizard.

The game will sport 13 real-life tracks--including Macau, Porto, Pau, Laguna Seca and Road America--throughout campaign and online play, which supports up to 12 players.

The amount of cars in the game was not disclosed, though SimBin noted that it will contain all the World Touring Car Championship cars from Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet and Seat along with vehicles from Aston Martin and Saleen. Only three cars were specifically mentioned: the Audi R8, Dodge Viper SRT10, Mini Cooper.

RACE Pro will be published by Atari. THQ had previously been reported to be publishing a SimBin game titled RACE 360. However, SimBin quickly denied that news, stating that while it was developing an Xbox 360 title, the reported details were incorrect.

Update: Gamer.nl staffer Erwin Bergervoet has informed Shacknews that Atari also asked the Dutch gaming site to pull its 5/10 review of Alone in the Dark posted Thursday, a day before the game's official European street date.

"Within an hour [after posting], Atari called to have the review pulled off, claiming there was an embargo till Friday," Bergervoet said in a comment to Shacknews. "Our review copy was sent directly to us by Atari and [was] not a pirated copy. They explicitly told [Gamer.nl] that they only let high scoring reviews break the post-release embargo date."

Original Story: Atari has filed suit against German gaming website 4Players for publishing a negative pre-release review of Alone in the Dark, alleging that it was written based on an illegally obtained copy of the game.

According to a 4Players editorial spotted by Game|Life, Atari's lawsuit claims that the publication date of the review—which scored Xbox 360 version of the game at 68%—implies that it was written based upon a pirated or preview... Read more

Atari has released its financial results for its 2008 fourth quarter and financial year ending March 31, showing a $23.6M net loss in 2008 for the troubled publisher.

The loss illustrates a significant improvement over Atari's staggering $69.7M loss in its 2007 fiscal year, and also accounts for $6.5M in charges amassed in the publisher's corporate restructuring efforts.

The company reported net revenue of $80.1M its 2008 fiscal year, compared against a $122.3M take in 2007.

In the midst of reconstruction after several brutal years, Atari was recently purchased outright by former majority shareholder Infogrames, now led by former Sony Worldwide Studios executive Phil Harrison.

Harrison has repeatedly noted that Atari will shift its focus towards social, multiplayer titles as "the single-player, disconnected console game is probably in its dotage."

Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to star as Atari founder Nolan Bushnell (pictured left) in a new feature film detailing the gaming godfather's life, according to Variety.

Bushnell, with fellow Atari founder Ted Dabney, founded Atari in 1972. The company was critical in bringing video games to North American audiences via arcade games, home gaming consoles and consumer-oriented personal computers.

Pitched with the title "Atari", the film will be produced by DiCaprio's production company Appian Way. The script was written by Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman, both independent writers with little Hollywood experience.

DiCaprio's Appian Way is currently at work on a number of projects, including an adaptation of the classic sci-fi anime Akira in a partnership with Warner Bros. The actor is perhaps best known for his appearances in Titanic, Gangs of New York and The Departed.

Adding to comments made late last week, Infogrames president and former Sony executive Phil Harrison suggested that linear single-player gaming experiences may be on the way out in favor of online-enabled, downloadable content-fueled titles.

"I think the single-player, disconnected console game is probably in its dotage," Harrison told Videogaming247. "Now, that doesn't mean that those games aren't relevant going forwards, but they will be enhanced by community features being embedded in them, or downloadable content becoming an inherent part of the experience, or some kind of user-generated content will be part of the experience."

"All of the things we see in other games, the things that we can point to in compelling games," he added. "A relatively linear single-player game without online connectivity is going to be a challenge to green-light going forward."

Harrison said last week that Atari, which is wholly owned by Infogrames, would likely be turning away from high-budget single-player titles in the future. It was recently revealed that the Atari-published horror reboot Alone in the Dark will feature an unconventional DVD-style chapter menu, allowing players to rewind or fast-forward through the game at will.

Alone in the Dark publisher Atari will soon move away from publishing and developing "high-budget single-player games," according to Phil Harrison, the president of parent company Infogrames.

"I don't see that we're going to be making huge-budget, single-player games in the future," he told Gamasutra. "That doesn't mean that we won't have ambition to do really incredible games that have high quality, high execution, and high innovation, but they won't be one-player, narrative-driven, start-middle-end games."

Instead, Harrison, who previously served as the president of Sony Computer Entertainment's worldwide studios, suggested that Atari might take a leading role in the shift towards online social games.

"I think Atari is part of an industry in some transition from pure packaged media to an online business model and social communication and community model," he observed. "If we are part of that transition, perhaps we are going to take a slightly aggressive, leading-edge role in that transition."

Publisher Atari has revealed that, as of today, its stock will no longer be listed or traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market.

The action follows numerous warnings from Nasdaq, in which Atari was informed that it would be delisted if the value of its public shares did not increase to $15 million or more and stay above that figure for at least ten days.

Following its removal from Nasdaq, Atari stock will be available for purchase and sale through delisted company trader Pink Sheets.

The company does not expect its delisting to affect its merger with parent company Infogrames, which is set to close in the third quarter of 2008.

Publisher Infogrames today announced that it has acquired the remaining shares of Atari for $11 million, making the ailing company a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Infogrames previously held a majority stake of 51.4% in Atari.

"Bringing Atari US and Infogrames businesses together will enable us to create a simplified global structure for our business as we seek to re-build a well-managed, cohesive and financially disciplined company," said Infogrames CEO David Gardner.

Atari had been financially troubled for months, posting losses quarter after quarter. As part of the merger, Infogrames has agreed to lend Atari $20 million in cash.

Battlezone and Rocky and Bullwinkle will debut on Xbox Live Arcade this week, Microsoft has revealed. Both will be downloadable from the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace beginning Wednesday, April 16.

Ported by Stainless Games and priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5), Battlezone is an update to Atari's classic tank-on-tank combat title. As is typical for most XBLA reimaginings, it includes both the original game and a mode with enhanced graphics.

Battlezone also features support for two-person offline and online multiplayer.

A collection of over 100 mini-games inspired by the cartoon series, Rocky and Bullwinkle was developed by Zen Studios and will sell for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). It allows up to 12 local players care of controlling-passing, and 25 of its mini-games can be played with the Xbox Live Vision camera.

Atari today announced the appointment of former Vivendi Games executive Jim Wilson as CEO and president of the troubled publisher, effective immediately.

Wilson's appointment is the latest in a series of restructuring efforts by Atari and parent company Infogrames following mounting losses and workforce cuts. His predecessor, David Pierce, resigned in November of last year.

Earlier this month, Atari owner Infogrames hired a new president of its own, former Sony Computer Entertainment executive Phil Harrison, with Harrison specifically noting Atari's high potential.

"Atari, Inc., with its world-renowned brand and strong library of game franchises, has a tremendous opportunity in North America," Wilson said today. "I look forward to working with the Atari team and shareholders to lead Atari, Inc. into its next phase of growth."

Valve Software today announced that Atari is the latest publisher to put many of its games up for download on Steam, Valve's popular digital distribution service.

Beginning today, Atari-published titles such as Bohemia Interactive's ArmA: Combat Operations and Frontier's RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum will be available for purchase via the Steam store.

Valve also announced that CD Projekt's highly-rated RPG The Witcher will be added to the Atari catalog in the coming weeks, along with other Atari-published RPGs such as Obsidian Entertainment's Neverwinter Nights 2 and its expansion Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer.

Atari's largest shareholder and parent company Infogrames has made an offer to buy the remainder of shares and make the company private, GamesIndustry reports.

Infogrames, which already owns a 51 percent stake in Atari, offered $1.68 per share in an effort to retain the company as a wholly-owned property. Atari said that the company's board of directors intends to give the proposal a thorough evaluation.

The news comes just days after the appointment of former Sony executive Phil Harrison as president of Infogrames. Harrison noted that shaping the future of the Atari was one of his major goals in his new position.

Late last year, Atari enacted a plan to restructure its corporate model in the wake of mounting losses and a $3.5 million settlement payout to FUNimation over royalties owed for properties associated with Dragon Ball Z.

Atari parent company Infogrames Entertainment today announced the appointment of former Sony executive Phil Harrison as the company's new president.

Harrison, who resigned from his post as the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios late last week, will also join Infogrames' board of directors in his new position. As president, he will oversee the studios and content development for the group.

"This is the perfect time to join Infogrames and help shape the future of Atari—one of the industry's legendary brands," Harrison said today. "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."

The addition of Harrison to Infogrames' corporate roster comes amid troubled times for the publishing house, which is restructuring in effort to cope with mounting losses, a hefty settlement payout to FUNimation over royalties owed for properties associated with Dragon Ball Z, and a 20% cut of its workforce.

Metanet Software and Slick Entertainment's N+ will be this week's sole Xbox Live Arcade release, Microsoft has announced. Selling for 800 Microsoft Points ($10), it will be available for download from the Xbox 360's online marketplace Wednesday, February 20. Based on Metanet's original ninja-tastic physics-based freeware platformer N, the console remake adds cooperative and versus multiplayer, both local and online, along with more than 300 levels, a stage editor, additional costumes, and the promise of more downloadable arenas.

Versions of N+ are also in development for Nintendo DS and PSP at SilverBirch Studios. Slated to arrive later this spring, they will be published by Atari.

Neverwinter Vault has posted a Mysteries of Westgate Q&A, asking the folks at Ossian Studios about their Atari published Neverwinter Nights 2 adventure pack.

Following up on yesterday's trailer, Atari has provided us with new screenshots from the Xbox 360 version of Eden Games' modern reimagining of the classic survival horror series.

The game is currently slated for a May release on PC, Xbox 360, PS2 and Wii, with the PS3 edition said to follow later in the year.

Atari has sent out a new Alone in the Dark (PC, PS2, PS3, X360, Wii) movie, showing two minutes of gameplay footage from the Eden Games developed horror action game. As we recently noted, the game is due out this May.

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Metanet Software and Slick Entertainment's N+ , the console-enhanced remake of the ninja-tastic physics-based freeware platformer N, has completed Microsoft's certification process and will soon be unleashed onto the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Arcade.

Slick Entertainment revealed the news on its website, though no specific date for the title, which supports user-created content and four-person multiplayer, was provided.

"It's been quite the ride to get this project out the door," wrote the developer. "It was like one of those nice and gentle rollercoaster rides, but just as you think you’re at the end, there is a double loop with a tripple[sic] corkscrew."

Versions of N+ are also in development for Nintendo DS and PSP at SilverBirch Studios, and will be published by Atari.

An Infogrames executive has confirmed that the release of Eden Games' Alone in the Dark (PC, PS2, PS3, X360, Wii) will be pushed back to May of this year.

In an interview with French newspaper Les Echos, republished on MCV, Infogrames CEO Patrick Leleu said "[Alone in the Dark's] development is nearing completion but some scenes in this fully immersive game deserve to be more polished and we will not take any shortcuts."

Infogrames owns a controlling stake in the struggling Alone in the Dark publisher Atari, holding roughly 51% of its shares.

Additionally, CVG reports that the PS3 version of Alone in the Dark has been delayed beyond the new May release window, but will still see a 2008 release.

Rumors of a delay were sparked when a feature in this month's Games For Windows magazine listed the title's release date as September, which Atari had dismissed earlier this week.