Atari CEO Resigns, Publisher Licenses Test Drive to Parent Company

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New York-headquartered Atari announced the resignation of CEO David Pierce today following mounting losses that forced the company to secure a $10 million loan from Paris-based parent company Infogrames.

Infogrames recently initiated a restructuring plan for its subsidiary, which saw the ousting of several members of the board of directors. It's safe to assume Pierce's removal resulted from Infogrames' desire for drastic change as well, as chief restructuring officer Curtis G. Solsvig III has taken over as interim CEO while the company searches for a replacement.

Atari also announced its complete withdrawal from the production business, with the American company now focused solely on publishing and distribution. In light of this, Atari has given up the license for the Test Drive series of games to Infogrames for further development of the franchise. Atari received $5 million in advance royalties for the exchange.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 13, 2007 4:01 PM

    Atari will fold within 6 months. I just don't see any other outcome.

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      November 13, 2007 4:08 PM

      Maby it'll get sold again so some completely unreleated company can try and use the name. Then again I'd say the name value is awfully low and probably do more harm than good to anyone who tried to use it.

      • reply
        November 13, 2007 6:01 PM

        Yeah, this is actually completely unrelated. The Atari name just had some retro brand power in the late 90s, but not anymore :P

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        November 14, 2007 4:56 AM

        They should do nothing but license their logo for t-shirts :P

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          November 14, 2007 5:41 AM

          haha, yeah. It was crazy how many Atari t-shirts I saw in clubs a few years ago....

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