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Wade Rosen desires Atari to return again as some of the precious gaming manufacturers. In spite of everything, there aren’t many 50-year-old recreation firms.
Final yr, the corporate began marking its anniversary with a set of traditional video games, and it’ll probably have extra as the unique Atari 2600 console video games all begin turning 50. On high of that, the corporate has been making video games and doing licensing offers to get the model in entrance of recent audiences.
For a small firm with simply 30 individuals, that’s quite a lot of work, Rosen mentioned in an interview on the Cube Summit. Rosen took over as CEO in April 2021, after earlier CEO Fred Chesnais moved on after taking Atarin into the cellular video games market and blockchain. The corporate lately introduced the launch of a brand new and improved MobyGames web site, constructed from the bottom up.
Atari additionally partnered with Utomik to publish video games like RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack, Pong Quest, and Asteroids: Recharged on the cloud gaming service.
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And Atari dealt with the worldwide launch of Jeff Minter’s frenzied tube shooter recreation Akka Arrh on the PC and consoles. Minter is a legendary arcade recreation designer who gave us classics like Tempest.
Right here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
GamesBeat: It looks like a giant yr. You’ve gotten Atari’s fiftieth anniversary. When did all of the celebration begin?
Wade Rosen: It began initially of final yr, however the problem was that once I got here on board, we didn’t have an amazing quantity of content material. We needed to begin by rebuilding the content material. I suppose the celebration in earnest began within the second half of the yr, and it continues right now. We’re nonetheless doing issues to have fun the 50 years of Atari. The good half is, within the coming years there might be 50-year anniversaries for lots of main video games and milestones. All of the arcade video games first, after which ultimately Journey and Yar’s and all of the 2600 titles will comply with behind. It’s good. We’d love to do a rolling anniversary of Atari.
GamesBeat: Is there something specifically that stands out to you as one thing it is best to pour improvement assets into for the anniversary?
Rosen: Atari 50 was our huge undertaking. However the good factor about that undertaking is—the response has been so universally constructive. It’s one thing the group actually loves. We most likely need to do extra with 50. We expect there’s extra that may be finished there, extra that may be constructed upon. As nice of a set as that’s, it’s actually simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the historical past of Atari. We’re persevering with to construct that and flesh that out. After which taking a look at no matter titles have one thing coming across the bend, looking for distinctive and attention-grabbing methods to assist that. Generally that’s software program. Generally that might be {hardware}. Generally it’s a mixture of these.
GamesBeat: How many individuals are at Atari now?
Rosen: We at all times joke that it’s a 50-year startup. It’s nonetheless fairly small. There are about 30 of us. However we additionally use solely outsourced improvement, so it’s most likely a bit bigger than that. The 30 is simply the core group. Then now we have quite a lot of our outsourced improvement that we work with throughout quite a few nice firms. It’s very a lot a scrappy, nimble firm. The good half about that’s all of us get to get up every single day and have the chance to push issues ahead. All people could make a tangible distinction in an organization of that dimension.
GamesBeat: Are your remakes nonetheless in progress? The place you’re making use of the normal IP.
Rosen: The Recharged titles? We sort of go down two paths. We prefer to have all the pieces we do have that core ingredient of straightforward to be taught, troublesome to grasp. We simply had a launch earlier this week, Akka Arrh, which is a recreation from Jeff Minter primarily based on a famously unreleased Atari arcade recreation. That’s a fantastic instance of a really cool, revolutionary, stunning title. You may decide it up and also you’ll get it earlier than too lengthy. However as you’re taking part in it the mastery comes slowly. There’s no talent gating to it. You may decide it up and you probably have the talent, you are able to do wonderful issues from bounce. However it’s actually constructing that up.
That’s one thing we’ve discovered is deeply satisfying. After which additionally discovering methods to supply a common narrative for all of the Atari video games. Or I shouldn’t say a common narrative, however discovering methods to loop them collectively. Even for those who’re taking part in video games which can be historically narrative-light, having Centipede relate to Missile Command and Missile Command relate to Asteroids, that’s one thing we’ll do extra of within the coming years too. Pulling all of it collectively into one bigger Atari universe.
GamesBeat: Is there something that you just’d say you’re making your largest guess on? One thing you’re doubling down on? Below Fred the corporate appeared to be going in lots of instructions. Extra firms proper now appear to be specializing in fewer issues.
Rosen: Proper, focusing fairly than spreading to quite a lot of issues. The query we regularly ask ourselves is, “What will we really feel we are able to do higher than anybody else?” Relying on what you have a look at, that modifications. For software program, it’s that straightforward to be taught, troublesome to grasp, holistic Atari universe—these are distinctive issues that we expect we are able to deal with. For {hardware} we expect that there’s a robust place we are able to carve out in retro gaming. That’s an underserved market from a {hardware} standpoint. With licensing and what we do in popular culture, there’s quite a lot of alternative to have interaction with followers in a bunch of recent and attention-grabbing methods.
When it comes to what we need to deal with, I believe it’s—we’re taking a look at a few of the giant video games we are able to put out that may broaden, that take what individuals love and develop it. When you have a look at the franchises that fall underneath that, there’s the massive ones like Asteroids, Missile Command, Centipede, Breakout. However there’s additionally Rollercoaster Tycoon, which is one thing lots of people love. It’s close to and expensive to our hearts. We’ll most likely be specializing in some fairly cool, revolutionary methods to have a look at these collection.
GamesBeat: On the licensing facet, is there something that’s particularly attention-grabbing or seeing extra focus as effectively? Issues just like the resort licensing or other forms of licensing alternatives. What continues to be on the market for you?
Rosen: I believe the most important licensing alternative that we haven’t pursued—we do have quite a lot of new licensing initiatives that we’re engaged on, however most likely the biggest is round media. Movie, tv, animation, documentaries, recreation exhibits, all of these issues. We simply introduced a partnership with APA. They’ll be representing us in each scripted and non-scripted. Taking a look at alternatives in that area might be the most important piece of the licensing puzzle that we haven’t put in but. They’ve been fantastic.
GamesBeat: Are a few of the earlier licensing initiatives just like the inns going ahead?
Rosen: There’s nonetheless a inns license that’s lively. The initiatives are nonetheless being pursued there. The group is predicated out of Phoenix. They’re wonderful. They maintain me up to date on what they’re doing. Fingers crossed on that. I’ve to defer to them on the place they’re with their plans, however I do hope that one thing will get launched with that. It’s cool.
GamesBeat: And the blockchain stuff continues to be a completely separate firm?
Rosen: We do have blockchain initiatives. A few of the outdated initiatives are not a part of Atari. They’re completely separate, fully other than what we do. Plenty of what we do now in web3 is concentrated on community-building and initiatives that permit individuals to have interaction and do enjoyable issues collectively. What that business is transferring away from in a short time is something that felt—it’s transferring towards extra of a collaborative, community-driven, purpose-driven business. Much less of a financially-driven initiative. It has to to ensure that it to outlive. Extra utility, extra fleshed-out initiatives, deeper initiatives.
Gaming is one a part of that. However I believe the place we’ve seen the most important progress, and the place we’re doing quite a lot of issues, is simply in methods to permit individuals to work together as a neighborhood. Usually it looks like web2. To the consumer it truly doesn’t really feel any totally different than web2. The deeper half is extra concerning the companions you possibly can combine with. Web3 permits for lots of attention-grabbing integrations with the bigger neighborhood of companions. That’s most likely the most important shift I see. It’s a shift from web3 being very targeted on, “Hey, right here’s all of the issues that buyers would need,” to, “This permits us to combine in a significant means with our companions. Let’s make it really feel as easy and straightforward and user-friendly to individuals as we are able to.” Proper now that’s usually a web2 expertise for the shopper.
GamesBeat: Do you will have extra contact as of late with Nolan Bushnell?
Rosen: Yeah, undoubtedly. I see Nolan fairly repeatedly. He’s a strategic advisor at Atari now too. He was within the workplace. We have been doing our all-hands just a few weeks in the past and he swung by for that. We get to work with and work together with Nolan. He’s a fantastic man. Anyone who meets Nolan, they at all times stroll away deeply impressed and impressed with how real and he’s.
GamesBeat: There was a partnership with certainly one of his sons too, proper?
Rosen: Yeah, Tyler Bushnell, with Polycade. That’s persevering with. That’s an instance of a extremely cool web3-based undertaking. There’s a really robust, tangible, bodily presence. The web3 piece is simply further performance that folks can use and interact with if they need, however they don’t must. Tyler’s finished an excellent job of exhibiting what a brand new sort of web3 utility seems like.
GamesBeat: Is the board in some methods totally different than it was?
Rosen: The board has been comparatively constant. We had one change this previous yr, when Jessica joined. However the board is nice. They’re deeply passionate concerning the turnaround of Atari, the renaissance story there. They’re an incredible board. I’m fortunate to have them.
GamesBeat: Do you will have extra video games coming this yr than in earlier years?
Rosen: Yeah, yeah. We’ve been rising the quantity of video games yearly fairly a bit. The primary yr, as a result of we have been simply placing most of our video games in improvement, we solely had a pair that we have been in a position to get out. Final yr I believe we completed with seven. We’re capturing for 11 this yr. Some are smaller titles, just like the Recharged line, that are actually for the followers, clear remasters of nice video games. There are a few surprises within the Recharged line, too. A couple of deep cuts and a few fan favorites that aren’t essentially considered Atari, however are actually wrapping in. These might be cool surprises. We have now some bigger video games as effectively, throughout the entire spectrum. I believe individuals can anticipate to see some fairly cool content material from us that’s not simply on consoles. We’re doing a little revolutionary stuff on the sport facet.
One factor that folks can sit up for is Atari doing issues as a extra unified model going ahead. Whether or not they’re interacting with us on the software program facet or on the {hardware} facet or they’re simply shopping for a T-shirt from Atari.com, actually any of the initiatives we’re doing, we would like it to really feel prefer it comes from a single Atari. Not that these are simply initiatives we determined to do as a result of they have been opportunistic in nature, however that they have been strategic and half of a bigger imaginative and prescient for the corporate.
The one which’s exhausting to explain, however that we do really feel goes to start this yr, is pulling all the pieces collectively and permitting it to dwell underneath a single banner, a “one Atari” sort of program. That’s one thing for individuals to sit up for, particularly deep Atari followers. These are the sorts of issues that they’re asking for. We need to present that for them. Deeper neighborhood engagement total. For Atari it simply comes again to that. With any of those lasting manufacturers, it’s about the way you have interaction with the neighborhood. It’s not as headline-catching as a brand new recreation launch, however it’s one thing we put quite a lot of time and power into. We work on it every single day.
The opposite factor can be some new {hardware} initiatives we’ll be asserting later within the yr. A kind of goes to be associated to the VCS. As we seemed on the VCS to supply extra utility, one of many ways in which we expect that may be finished successfully is to broaden the {hardware} capabilities of the VCS. It’s a fairly cool {hardware} initiative that I believe is exclusive for the business. You may anticipate that, in addition to a number of others we’ll be engaged on and introducing with companions.
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