History Creator / Atari

In 1977, Atari introduced the Video Computer System or VCS, later known as the UsefulNotes/Atari2600. While not the first cartridge-based console (that honor goes to the Fairchild Channel F released in the previous year), it was much more successful and had several hits (most notably ''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}}'' and ''VideoGame/ChopperCommand'').

* UsefulNotes/Atari2600
* UsefulNotes/Atari5200
* UsefulNotes/Atari7800
* UsefulNotes/AtariLynx
* UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar
* UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers
* UsefulNotes/AtariST
* UsefulNotes/AtariVCS

* ''VideoGame/CrystalCastles''

The pre-split games catalogue is now owned by the modern Atari Interactive, while all original games in the post-split Atari Games catalog (late 1984-1999) are part of the Midway Games catalog, which is currently owned by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, explaining their absence in ''Atari 50'' (a compilation of video games created by Atari Inc., the arcade section noticably stopping at ''VideoGame/IRobot'', their final arcade game released before the split).

The pre-split games catalogue is now owned by the modern Atari Interactive, while all original games in the post-split Atari Games catalog (late 1984-1999) are part of the Midway Games catalog, which is currently owned by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

* Creator /CrypticStudios (sold to Perfect World in 2011)

* Creator/{{Accolade}}

* Creator/{{MircoProse}}

* ''VideoGame/PajamaSam: Life is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff!''

* ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline''
* ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokai''

** ''Driver: Parallel Lines''[[note]]initial release; later versions were published by Creator/{{Ubisoft}}[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline''
* ''VideoGame/{{Stuntman}}''
* ''VideoGame/SupermanShadowOfApokolips''

** ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings''

After providing developmental support for ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'', Time Warner Interactive was sold to Creator/MidwayGames in 1996, at the time a division of Creator/WilliamsElectronics, who would spin out Midway entirely two years later. It was renamed to Midway Games West in 2000, shortly before Midway abandoned the arcade business, and disbanded three years later, thus killing off the final remnant of the original Atari for good. In an ironic twist, when Midway itself fell into bankruptcy in 2009, its assets were bought by... Warner Bros. Interactive. [[SincerityMode Can't make this stuff up]].

The pre-split games catalogue is now owned by the modern Atari Interactive, while all original games in the post-split Atari Games catalog (late 1984-1999) are part of the Midway Games catalog, which is currently owned by Warner Bros. Interactive.

* VideoGame/PipeworksGodzillaTrilogy

* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo''

In 1977, Atari introduced the Video Computer System or VCS, later known as the UsefulNotes/Atari2600. While not the first cartridge-based console (that honor goes to the Fairchild Channel F released in the previous year), it was much more successful and had several hits (most notably ''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}}'' and ''Chopper Command'').

* ''Blasteroids''

* ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom''

* ''Rampart''

In February 1998, JTS Corp. sold Atari's assets (including the name, logo and properties) to Creator/{{Hasbro Interactive}} subsidiary Hiat XI Corp, which was renamed as Atari Interactive, Inc. after the purchase. Hasbro used the Atari name for 3D remakes of their arcade game leaching off the success of Hasbro's VideoGame/{{Frogger}} remake a year prior. Hasbro also published compilations of Atari's arcade games under their banner around this time.

Hasbro Interactive however led directly to many money losses following the burst of the Dot Com bubble after the company purchased out creator/MicroProse and creator/{{Avalon Hill}}, with loads of money in debt, and so in 2000 Hasbro Interactive, which included Atari and Creator/MicroProse, was sold to French-based game company Infogrames Entertainment, SA, who were already one of the largest game companies in the world due to their "expand through acquisition" by purchasing other game publishers like Creator/Accolade and Creator/{{GT Interactive Software}}.

Early on, Infogrames continued to use the Atari name to release compilations, but in 2001 the company reinvented the Atari brand for use on most of their core titles like VideoGame/Stuntman and VideoGame/{{Enter the Matrix}}, keeping the Infogrames brand for more casual titles.

* Atari Inc. (formerly Infogrames Inc. and Creator/GTInteractiveSoftware; acquired in 1999)

* Atari Interactive Inc. (formerly Infogrames Interactive; the former Hasbro Interactive)

By the mid-2000s, the strategy proved to be a big failure, and Atari began to run out of money due to lack of successful titles. In 2006, many of the development studios were sold off, and by 2008, Infogrames had fully purchased Atari, Inc. and Atari Interactive. In 2009, Infogrames Entertainment, SA restructured itself as Atari SA, the first time since the company sold itself to Warner in the 1970s that a company called Atari wasn't owned by a holding company. Most of the European and Australian assets were sold to Namco Bandai Games that year.

In 2017, Atari, SA [[http://nerdist.com/atari-making-new-console-over-20-years/ announced]] that they are re-entering the video game console business after 20 years, with a new system called the UsefulNotes/AtariVCS.

Atari Corporation merged in 1996 with a hard drive company, JT Storage Inc., which became JTS Corp. and sold off the Atari rights to Hasbro in 1998. (JTS Corp. went bankrupt a year later.) In 2000, Hasbro Interactive, which included Atari and Creator/MicroProse, was sold to Infogrames Entertainment, SA. Infogrames used the Atari name to sell {{anime}}-based {{fighting game}}s, other {{licensed game}}s, and most successfully, anthologies of classic Atari console and home games (Hasbro started doing this, but the former Infogrames heavily stepped up in promoting the Atari back catalog on modern consoles and computers).

Infogrames' acquisition of Atari was part of a buying spree which absorbed more than a dozen video game companies around the world between 1996 and 2001. In May 2003, most of Infogrames' subsidiaries were renamed after Atari:
* Atari Inc. (formerly Infogrames Inc. and Creator/GTInteractiveSoftware; aquired in 1999 and included development studios Eden Studios, Creator/HumongousEntertainment, Oddworld Inhabitants, Creator/ParadigmEntertainment, Reflections Interactive and Creator/ShinyEntertainment)
* Atari Europe S.A.S.U. (formerly Infogrames Europe; sold to Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment in 2009)
* Atari Interactive Inc. (formerly Infogrames Interactive; acquired from Hasbro)
* Atari Australia Pty Ltd. (formerly Infogrames Australia; acquired from [=OziSoft=] in 1998; sold to Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment in 2009)

* Atari UK Ltd. (formerly Infogrames UK; acquired from Ocean Software in 1996)

In 2009, after a long period of decline in which many previously acquired companies were closed down or sold off, Infogrames Entertainment went bankrupt and restructured itself as Atari SA, the first time since the company sold itself to Warner in the 1970s that a company called Atari wasn't owned by a holding company. In 2010, Bushnell returned to Atari as a member of its board of directors. In 2013, the American division of Atari declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in one of the few instances where such a thing is actually positive for a company: They want independence from the failing European side of the business, which has been draining the quite hefty income the American side has been making from sales of its classic catalog on smartphones and other platforms.

In 2017, Atari [[http://nerdist.com/atari-making-new-console-over-20-years/ announced]] that they are re-entering the video game console business after 20 years, with a new system called the UsefulNotes/AtariVCS.

* ''Gravitar''

In 1982, Atari created the [[UsefulNotes/Atari5200 5200]], a game console largely based on its home computer line (in fact, it was little more than an 800 with no tape or disk support and joysticks instead of a keyboard). It was a flop, largely due to its infamously bad analog controllers (they weren't self-centering and were so cheaply made that they frequently broke...after a few hours of use), and its lack of compatibility with either games for the computer line it was based on or its predecessor 2600. The console was also incredibly large (even larger than the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}), due to a built-in controller storage compartment. Atari soon discontinued the machine. An oddity of this console was that a single cable ran from the back of the machine to a small box, to which an RF cable and power adapter connected.

Due to UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, Warner Communications broke the company up in 1984. The video game and computer divisions were sold to a small company called Tramiel Technologies, founded by Jack Tramiel (born Jacek Trzmiel), the founder and former CEO of Commodore Business Machines, who had been pushed out of his old company the previous year; he renamed his company to Atari Corporation. The arcade division was retained and spun out as a new company called Atari Games Inc., retaining most of Atari's arcade programmers and designers. Many divisions (such as a telecom division called Ataritel) were scuttled entirely.

Due to UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, Warner Communications broke the company up in 1984. The video game and computer divisions were sold to a small company called Tramiel Technologies, founded by Jack Tramiel (born Jacek Trzmiel), the founder and former CEO of Commodore Business Machines, who had been pushed out of his old company the previous year; he renamed his company to Atari Corporation. The arcade division was retained as a new company called Atari Games Inc. Many divisions (such as a telecom division called Ataritel) were scuttled entirely.

While all of this was happening to Atari Corporation, Atari Games Inc. continued producing arcade games with the caveats that Atari Corp owned the pre-1985 back catalogue and owned the Atari trademark and licensed it to Atari Games only for use on arcade games (and only with the full "Atari Games"). Warner continued to shop it to buyers (after Tramiel said no to the sale price because, again, he cared only about the computer division). In 1985 Warner sold a majority share to Namco while retaining a minority share. (The relationship between Atari and Namco dated to 1975, when Atari sold its Japanese subsidiary to Nakamura Manufacturing Ltd.) After a couple of years Namco sold some of their portion in a management buyout, reducing them to a minority holder, while Warner retained their own minority share throughout.

After that, looking to get into home publishing, but unable to use the Atari name because of the restrictions of their license from Atari Corp, Atari Games started producing games for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and other consoles through a new subsidiary named Tengen (a term referring to the central dot on the Go board). Though Tengen was initially a Creator/{{Nintendo}} licensee, Atari Games acquired the source code to the NES's lock-out system and Tengen, having found a way to circumvent it, started releasing its games for the NES on unlicensed black cartridges. Lawsuits began immediately, Atari Games suing Nintendo for monopolizing the market for NES cartridges, Nintendo claiming patent violation. Another legal battle between Atari Games and Nintendo, concerning the rights to ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', was more quickly decided in Nintendo's favor.

The bad relations between Tengen and Nintendo helped draw the former into alliance with the latter's main competitor. Some of Tengen's unlicensed NES releases were authorized conversions of Creator/{{Sega}} games, and the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis became Tengen's favored platform in the early 1990s.

After providing developmental support for ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'', Time Warner Interactive was sold to Creator/MidwayGames in 1996. It was renamed to Midway Games West in 2000, shortly before Midway abandoned the arcade business, and disbanded three years later, thus killing off the final remnant of the original Atari for good. In an ironic twist, when Midway itself fell into bankruptcy in 2009, its assets were bought by... Warner Bros. Interactive. Can't make this stuff up.

The pre-split games catalogue is now owned by the modern Atari Interactive, while all original games in the post-split Atari Games catalog (late 1984-1998) are part of the Midway Games catalog, which is currently owned by Warner Bros. Interactive.

While all of this was happening to Atari Corporation, Atari Games Inc. continued producing arcade games with the caveats that Atari Corp owned the pre-1985 back catalogue and owned the Atari trademark and licensed it to Atari Games only for use on arcade games (and only with the full "Atari Games"). Warner continued to shop it to buyers (after Tramiel said no to the sale price because, again, he cared only about the computer division). In 1985 Warner sold a majority share to Namco while retaining a minority share (The relationship between Atari and Namco dated to 1975, when Atari sold its Japanese subsidiary to Nakamura Manufacturing Ltd.) after a couple of years Namco sold some of their portion to a management buyout, reducing them to a minority holder, while Warner retained their own minority share throughout.

After that, looking to get into home publishing, but unable to use the Atari name because of the restriction of their license to use it, Atari Games started producing games for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and other consoles through a new subsidiary named Tengen (a term referring to the central dot on the Go board); around this time, British publisher Domark began to distribute computer versions of Atari Games titles, in a partnership that would last into the 1990s. Though Tengen was initially a Creator/{{Nintendo}} licensee, Atari Games acquired the source code to the NES's lock-out system and Tengen, having found a way to circumvent it, started releasing its games for the NES on unlicensed black cartridges. Lawsuits began immediately, Atari Games suing Nintendo for monopolizing the market for NES cartridges, Nintendo claiming patent violation. Another legal battle between Atari Games and Nintendo, concerning the rights to ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', was more quickly decided in Nintendo's favor.

The bad relations between Tengen and Nintendo helped draw the former into alliance with the latter's main competitor. Some of Tengen's unlicensed NES releases were authorized conversions of Creator/{{Sega}} games, and the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis became Tengen's most favored platform in the early 1990s.

In 1990, Namco started releasing its games on its own account in America and sold its stake in Atari Games back to Warner, which had by now become Time Warner, making Time Warner the majority owner again. Shortly after settling the Nintendo lawsuit in 1994, Warner abandoned the Atari Games and Tengen brands and began putting out most of its releases under the name of Time Warner Interactive. The only retained ownership for a couple more years.

After providing developmental support for MortalKombat3, Time Warner Interactive was sold to Creator/MidwayGames in 1996. It was renamed to Midway Games West in 2000, shortly before Midway abandoned the arcade business, and disbanded three years later, thus killing off the final remnant of the original Atari for good. In an ironic twist, when Midway itself fell into bankruptcy in 2009, its assets were bought by... Warner Bros. Interactive. Can't make this stuff up.

In 2017, Atari [[http://nerdist.com/atari-making-new-console-over-20-years/ announced]] that they are reentering the video game console business after 20 years, with a new system called the UsefulNotes/AtariVCS.

After providing developmental support for Mortal Kombat 3, Time Warner Interactive was sold to Creator/MidwayGames in 1996. It was renamed to Midway Games West in 2000, shortly before Midway abandoned the arcade business, and disbanded three years later, thus killing off the final remnant of the original Atari for good. In an ironic twist, when Midway itself fell into bankruptcy in 2009, its assets were bought by... Warner Bros. Interactive. Can't make this stuff up.

The pre-split games catalogue are now owned by the modern Atari Interactive, while all original games in the post-split Atari Games catalog (late 1984-1998) are part of the Midway Games catalog, which is currently owned by Warner Bros. Interactive.