What do you think about investing in updated games of Atari classics? Do you think there is still juice to be squeezed, or has their gaming journeys come to an end? Thanks again to RexMD to partnering with us. Get 90% off RexMD and only pay $2 per dosage with our exclusive link: rexmd.com/CUPODCAST!
Atari games (some) could look awesome in the vein of Resogun. That game looks amazing by today's standards, and it is nothing more than a Defender clone with bosses at the end of the stage. It can be done. Other games could feature sprites or simpler 3D graphics. Wayforward made a Centipede game years ago for the DS I think, and it was a blast. So, it can be done. The problem is that Atari has gone full Tommy Tallarico (Tommy Atarico) and they want to experiment using other people's money instead of theirs.
I'm convinced that Atari could be strengthened as a brand but by making newer, simpler arcade style games. Don't rehash the classics again and don't bother trying to update them a la Paperboy 64: just straight up start making newer titles that would have seemed like fun stuff in the late 80s and release them cheap on mobile and Switch Hell, a bunch of talented single-man indie devs mess around in games of that scope; see what's already good and offer to publish their work Ian is right that Atari as a brand can't really make anything new that will stick with audiences and reusing the older stuff has a shelf life, but newer IPs that seem like something the Atari of old would do? Not saying it'll work but if I was the CEO that would be what I would look into
People can crap on the VCS all they want but at least the Atari VCS came out and was an actual thing you could buy at retail stores. That's way more than could be said of the Caleco Chameleon or the Amico. It takes a lot of resources and connections to pull that off, so regardless of if the VCS was good or not, whoever is running Atari at least has the ability to get products released and in stores.
“Atari” has nothing to do with the Atari that most people are thinking of. That company died a long time ago, much longer than most people realize. Atari in 2023 is just a name, nothing more.
Actually in France, in the retogaming community, most of the people know exactaly who "Atari" is... Infogrames (dramatic music )... More context... French people have their own version of the AVGN called "Joueur du Grenier" or JDG for short (for me, nowadays WAY better than the AVGN)... And as the AVGN has a "difficult relationship" with LJN, JDG hates INFOGRAMES with the same pation... Infogrames were the guys who bought atari...
If there was a "lot of interest" in their games, they'd be offered publishing deals, not beggin for money on the net. I'd also make the argument that NO old Atari games are "marketable" because what are they, really? Single screen titles that work for Arcades. I don't think anyone is dying for another asteroids?
Most of their good games were the basis for what we play now. Asteroids became the TIE Fighter franchise in the 90s. River Raid? Any airborne combat shooter. Shmuups in general. But yeah, not a lot of meat on the bone. Wait, would that make ET the first open world game with its cube design?
Pat and Ian, don't you realize that Atari just bought the Bubsy series? Just imagine what the company behind Haunted House: Cryptic Graves could do with a Bubsy 5! It's a surefire bet! Everyone should empty their bank accounts and go all in on Atari yesterday or else we're just pissing all that money away. I myself have taken out a mortgage on one of my kidneys and can't see anything possibly going wrong! 🙃
Be very careful when investing in Atari, absolutely. How about Atari games in VR with a minimalist, neon aesthetic? You know, in line with the style of Tron. We feel like they could corner such a market for years to come.
"nobody wants a remaster of Ninja Golf" hmmmm that actually sounds like a really good idea. I would play that. Modern golf controls and modern fighting game controls would be awesome.
I think a new version of Food Fight reimagined as a twin-stick shooter could be great! It's also something WayForward could make look real nice with their pixel art expertise. 🍔🌭🍕🍉🍦
Atari did buy 100+ IPs of older PC and console (including Bubsy). Also they bought Nightdive Studios who specializes on remaking and porting older games
They also bought up Stern Electronics old back catalog a couple of months back (Bezerk etc.). However.... Whilst their recent "Recharged" games have been positively received the number of actual reviews of these titles is very small so with (if I recall correctly) an estimate of 1 in 70 owners leaving a review they've sold low thousands at best, perhaps tens of thousands if you account for other platforms but not huge numbers. Given this I can't see how this crowd funding offering can possibly make back it's investment by 2027. If you were looking to invest it would probably be a better option to take a gamble on buying their actual shares which are just €0.12. They were selling for €0.95 a couple of years ago after all. If this strategy works you'd get a much better return there.
Most of my memories of Atari were of them as a publisher during the six generation era. Games like Battle Engine Aquila was one of my favorite games growing up.
Atari 50 is an incredible piece of software, probably the best archive retrospective ever put together, but nothing based on their historic games needs to exist now. They did it and did it perfectly. Atari needs to make new games and move on.
Atari 50 was overall a good package, but the main reason I bought the thing-Swordquest Airworld-was a letdown. It was quite obviously not an Atari 2600 game. It did things and made sounds that the 2600 is incapable of. So that was problem #1: Whoever arranged that fake retro game should have had oversight to ensure it wasn't breaking rules. Without that, the effort may as well be any random simulation of a hypothetically retro game. Problem #2 was that even though the puzzle component of the game was fundamentally clever, some of the minigames broke the 4th wall. One of them was Flappy Bird, ffs. They probably thought they were being cute, but what they actually did was toy with what was supposed to be the culmination of a legend.
RCTycoon have already moved on to great alternatives like Planet Coaster or Parkitect, i think it's a lost cause down that road too, they would have to make A LOT to make it work, and i don't think Atari would be down to that much effort.
I wanted to play the devil's advocate and reason that Atari has released and developed a lot more games than that - which were known or loved - ... but then I ran into the fact that Atari was split in two in 1984... and these games are just one half of it all... the other half was the Arcade games and the rights of those are still with Warner Brothers. This is so confusing...
Hey Pat, my Howard Phillips book came today. I know you got one as well, just wanted to know if you're thinking of doing a video review about the book?
I don’t think trying to build off of what little equity the brand has left is such a terrible idea, but the way they’re doing it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Why should anyone invest in something that hasn’t been relevant in so long? People need proof that there’s going to be something bigger. What I would do is keep releasing those compilations and upgraded versions of existing games. More “RollerCoaster Tycoon”, plus anything decent from the Infrogames and Ocean catalogs (more on that later) is also a given. While I was doing that, I would continue to build the brand in other ways, through merchandise licenses and cross promotions. I disagree that Atari doesn’t have any brands, but they’re obviously not as big or recognizable. Still, the bigger names like “Asteroids” and “Centipede” are recognizable enough that they’e gotten merch in recent years. I’d do as much of that as I could tell was reasonable, to build awareness of the brand and raise capital. If I could make progress on that front, then (and only then) I’d test the waters with a more ambitious modern reimagining of one of those bigger names, probably “Centipede”. It’s unusual enough visually to stand out, most of their other properties are just generic space games or even just ball and paddle stuff. It could be a third-person shooter where you’re stuck on a giant forest planet, and have to hide among the mushrooms at shoot at the centipede and new monsters to survive while you figure out how to escape the planet. The basic scenario would be the same, but it’d have an actual story, modern 3D graphics, and a different style of gameplay. If that experiment worked, I’d do “Ninja Golf”. The original game wasn’t great, but come on… “Ninja Golf”! That too ridiculous and original of a concept to NOT try to do something with, even if you had to start from scratch. Some of the Ocean and Infogrames stuff might be interesting. From what I’ve heard about “Alpha Waves”, you could do a decent follow-up or even just a spiritual successor. “Where Time Stood Still” was well-regarded in its day, “Hunchback” could be fun (maybe not a direct remake or sequel in terms of gameplay, but something with that character), and “Mr. Nutz” had a decent reception. From another one of their aquisitions, they have “Section 8” (rather mediocre by most accounts, but it could be their “Halo”). I think there’s potential. If they can generate enough interest, they can then move on to totally originally stuff and/or be a publisher of indie content. Lots of people are homebrewing for old systems and/or making games that just have a retro aesthetic, Atari could be the go-to publisher for those who don’t want to do it themselves.
Honestly if I were Atari, I would test the waters first with a simple Asteroids reimagining and to keep it simple. You don't need a hard core story, just a simple, fun story based puzzle-adventure game
I had an Atari 5200 as a 4-6 year old kid so my list is completely different Tier 1 on the 5200 is Joust which is much better than the arcade version. Tier 2 which I also think are better than the arcade goes to Froger, Wizard of War, River Raid, Mario Bros and Pengo Tier 3 are games like PacMan, Popeye, Breakout and Qbert
Atari doesn't own any of those properties is the issue. Except for Breakout. The rest are Williams, Midway, Nintendo, Namco, Activision, and Konami. This is kind of the issue at hand. People love the Atari consoles, but a lot of the best remembered titles weren't actually made by Atari.
If Atari would make a Arcade1Up type machine with handlebar controls, a joystick, and a trak ball that contained their games for the Atari System 1 & Atari System 2, it would sell. Have the following games on it: - Paperboy - Marble Madness - 720 - Road Runner - Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom - Roadblasters
wait, Rollercoaster Tycoon was Infogrames, and that was also a combination of GT interactive. By the time Enter the Matrix games came out, we all kinda knew it wasn't Atari or even Midway, some sort of a husk of a holding company than a publisher. Because no one here thinks of Neverwinter Nights and Atari, no one!
My favorite Atari game(s) is Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 & Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. I know of fans of RCT3 would love a game with updated graphics, somehow make a deal with the top modders of the game to put their content in and maybe add more flat rides and I imagine a lot would be happy with that. Atari I don't see how you can trust with how badly they handled RCT World.
Roller coaster Tycoon 3 is already on Switch. And often seen as perhaps the last good one. Not sure they’d have much more luck with that license unless they make a major turnaround and make a new good RCT.
Tempest has spawned multiple sequels. This may be the only game that has had success for Atari long term. I think a Pong or Breakout which has something like a Geometry Wars atheistic could be a hit. Pong is probably Atari's biggest brand, after the Atari name itself. Mix in Tetris 99 or Mario 35 type competition, there's something there. On Atari 50, VCTR-SCTR was incredible. It's one of my top games of 2022 and could've easily commanded $25 as a standalone product. An Atari meets WarioWare type release could also be fun. This is where Centipede, Asteroids, etc. could be monetized. That's everything I can come up with for Atari that could make money. These ideas could be a lot of fun, but I certainly wouldn't invest in this limited opportunity.
@João Fernandes Any company can buy another company and turn it into a revenue stream. That could be Atari, Activision, Sony, etc., it's studio/publisher/developer agnostic. If the question here is, "is Atari a wise investor that's buying the right studios and turning into a great Sponsor," that's almost a completely different question. I would need to better know the background of the individuals making the decisions on what to buy and if they ever made money doing similar business in the past. But to your original point, if these properties being bought at a relative discount are so popular, why haven't they been cash cow franchises for years?
Personally, if I was in charge of Atari, I’d pour all the resources into making a type of Movie Mogul / Atari Tycoon game. Where the player is the CEO trying to figure out how to bring these past-their-prime properties back to relevancy. Then, thanks to the advent of digital data, we’d collect these ideas in our game server, analyze them, and use the best ones.
They just bought Nightdive and Atari is actually making a lot of video game studio and industry related moves. They may actually have proper leadership now but we will see.
Yeah Atari got split in two and a lot of the stuff that hasn't been in collections that you remember just straight ain't with the Atari that's doing the re-releases
I know I did not hear Ian say Adventure was known for "nostalgia, not gameplay". My. God. If there was no Adventure, there would be no Zelda. The entire action adventure game GENRE derived from Adventure.
They could do good 2D indie games that just happen to have the names of old Atari games. Sequels instead of straight up remakes but with that being said, the odds of this being profitable are not good.
I don't know if Atari owns the rights to it anymore (I'm guessing they probably don't) but I would love to see more Gauntlet games. I have very fond memories of playing Gauntlet: Legends as a kid and I'm kinda surprised the series hasn't really evolved much since then.
I assume you bought the 2014 Gauntlet game. It was a great game but a catastrophic failure that didn't even cover half it's budget in sales because no one cares about Gauntlet. Unfortunately.
If people could come up with fresh twists on old Atari games like Pong: The Next Level was in the 90s then sure....Atari should just licenses out its IPs and let people go nuts if it sounds like a good idea. Something to invest in to make the monies? No. Heck no. Go invest in gold coins one can buy directly from the US mint. Reliable stocks with decent dividens. Anything besides Atari in the year 2000 and 23. Also I could be wrong but if I remember correctly one of the last RTC games was bad to the point its intended demographic of theme park/coaster enthusiasts went off and made their own spiritual successors. Unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat the franchise is kind of dead.
Actually disagree on Combat -- LOVED that game as a kid (yeah, it dates me slightly.) That said, yeah, not sure how you can "modernize" it without ripping out it's soul and getting a different game? Adventure could potentially be done, but my nestalgia goggles aren't attached for that one as I never owned it as a kid and only ever played under *warped voice*EmUlAtIoN*end warped voice*. Though same problem: who do you trust to remake Adenture without ripping out it's soul? (Maybe Digital Eclipse or Way Forward might be able to work magic with that one, but other then them, I'm not sure if anyone else is up to that challange.)
I do see modern versions of Centipede in most arcades I go to that are still around. Even the small ones in movie theaters seem to have one. But, yeah probably won't invest in them.
But here’s my thing with Atari… they even were a publisher for games like the driver series, some were good but some were bad so idk what Atari could really do 😂🤣 never thought I’d see a viagra add on Pat the nes punk haha no shame but was take by surprise
Boy, I sure do want to invest in a name that has just been a name for 27 years, being desperately tossed from company to company in a futile attempt to cash in on games older than most of the people who would ever watch this video.
The most relevance the name Atari has had in modern times is their publishing. Well that company went out of business and they clearly no longer have that kind of money. So I see Atari is not viable in modern times. Who is clamoring to buy another port of centipede or asteroids for the 15th time? It's frankly pathetic at this point. The only reason anybody even thinks about those games is because they were 1st not because they were quality.
I think you forgot one Atari title with a lot of potential, how about Gauntlet? I wasn't very impressed with the last couple of versions, but Legends and Dark Legacy ones were a lot of fun. Since you were mentioning Way Forward, how about some pixel-art Gauntlet ARPG, choice of 4-characters. take my $$$ please. hey they can even make the newer invented characters like Jester, Sorceress, etc. as DLC to pad the coffers.
Warner Bros. owns Gauntlet right now. Atari doesn't have the rights to it anymore. I think it has something to do with the time Atari split the arcade and home divisions in two.
considering most of the worth while games both 1st and 3rd parties no longer exist what games are we talking about??? all the half decent games came from other devs their in house was dead 85 and everything from 5200, 7800 and jaguar were ports of 2600 games So I ask what games are we talking here???? because even on 90's standard all publishing houses all but left atari in the dust and Atari hadn't really delivered arcade port of any game since the late 70's to early 80's as a software publisher for other consoles how many game do they still have license for that they legally publish for today atari as a brand name no matter the owner have been active since the mid-late 1990's have been flogging 2600 clones however they haven't had the games to suit what i played from a kid to mid teen
Even if atari still owns roller coaster tycoon, they have so thoroughly destroyed its reputation since RCT3 there's no point making more. I'm the biggest RCT fan, but any new game made by atari would absolutely just be a garbage cash grab and I wouldn't bother. Just play Planet Coaster or Parkitect.
@@venicebeachsportsnetwork6677 They have the joysticks and I think like 60 games? I don't remember exactly. My sister-in-law bought me one a couple years ago.
Have a look at the republic fundraising campaign that took place for Digital Eclipse. The testimonials and feedback from investors is pretty telling! Pretty much all of them had no idea what games they actually could agree licensing for.
What do you think about investing in updated games of Atari classics? Do you think there is still juice to be squeezed, or has their gaming journeys come to an end? Thanks again to RexMD to partnering with us. Get 90% off RexMD and only pay $2 per dosage with our exclusive link: rexmd.com/CUPODCAST!
Give the old timers a last hurrah, but the Atari nostalgia and rehash is waning.
Atari games (some) could look awesome in the vein of Resogun. That game looks amazing by today's standards, and it is nothing more than a Defender clone with bosses at the end of the stage. It can be done. Other games could feature sprites or simpler 3D graphics. Wayforward made a Centipede game years ago for the DS I think, and it was a blast. So, it can be done. The problem is that Atari has gone full Tommy Tallarico (Tommy Atarico) and they want to experiment using other people's money instead of theirs.
Atari belongs in a museum.
I'll invest in Custer's Revenge, Knight Out of Town, Jungle Fever, Philly Flasher & Cat house Blues.
I'm convinced that Atari could be strengthened as a brand but by making newer, simpler arcade style games. Don't rehash the classics again and don't bother trying to update them a la Paperboy 64: just straight up start making newer titles that would have seemed like fun stuff in the late 80s and release them cheap on mobile and Switch
Hell, a bunch of talented single-man indie devs mess around in games of that scope; see what's already good and offer to publish their work
Ian is right that Atari as a brand can't really make anything new that will stick with audiences and reusing the older stuff has a shelf life, but newer IPs that seem like something the Atari of old would do? Not saying it'll work but if I was the CEO that would be what I would look into
People can crap on the VCS all they want but at least the Atari VCS came out and was an actual thing you could buy at retail stores. That's way more than could be said of the Caleco Chameleon or the Amico.
It takes a lot of resources and connections to pull that off, so regardless of if the VCS was good or not, whoever is running Atari at least has the ability to get products released and in stores.
“Atari” has nothing to do with the Atari that most people are thinking of. That company died a long time ago, much longer than most people realize. Atari in 2023 is just a name, nothing more.
Atari has just been a name since 1996.
Actually in France, in the retogaming community, most of the people know exactaly who "Atari" is... Infogrames (dramatic music )...
More context... French people have their own version of the AVGN called "Joueur du Grenier" or JDG for short (for me, nowadays WAY better than the AVGN)... And as the AVGN has a "difficult relationship" with LJN, JDG hates INFOGRAMES with the same pation... Infogrames were the guys who bought atari...
@João Fernandes I don't think french people hate infogrames... As with LJN, it's just a joke... Both AVGN and JDG are only characters...
I thought Nolan Bushnell designed the Atari box?
If there was a "lot of interest" in their games, they'd be offered publishing deals, not beggin for money on the net.
I'd also make the argument that NO old Atari games are "marketable" because what are they, really? Single screen titles that work for Arcades. I don't think anyone is dying for another asteroids?
I'm dying for another geometry wars, asteroids is close enough!
Most of their good games were the basis for what we play now. Asteroids became the TIE Fighter franchise in the 90s. River Raid? Any airborne combat shooter. Shmuups in general.
But yeah, not a lot of meat on the bone. Wait, would that make ET the first open world game with its cube design?
Pat and Ian, don't you realize that Atari just bought the Bubsy series? Just imagine what the company behind Haunted House: Cryptic Graves could do with a Bubsy 5! It's a surefire bet! Everyone should empty their bank accounts and go all in on Atari yesterday or else we're just pissing all that money away. I myself have taken out a mortgage on one of my kidneys and can't see anything possibly going wrong! 🙃
GET IN EARLY!
Be very careful when investing in Atari, absolutely.
How about Atari games in VR with a minimalist, neon aesthetic? You know, in line with the style of Tron. We feel like they could corner such a market for years to come.
Will Custer's Revenge be worth it?
"nobody wants a remaster of Ninja Golf" hmmmm that actually sounds like a really good idea. I would play that. Modern golf controls and modern fighting game controls would be awesome.
I think a new version of Food Fight reimagined as a twin-stick shooter could be great! It's also something WayForward could make look real nice with their pixel art expertise. 🍔🌭🍕🍉🍦
Food Fight has already been announced, and will launch this year.
It’s so weird that Pat became friends with that guy from Luna games that showed him Caltron 6-in-1.
Atari did buy 100+ IPs of older PC and console (including Bubsy). Also they bought Nightdive Studios who specializes on remaking and porting older games
They also bought up Stern Electronics old back catalog a couple of months back (Bezerk etc.). However....
Whilst their recent "Recharged" games have been positively received the number of actual reviews of these titles is very small so with (if I recall correctly) an estimate of 1 in 70 owners leaving a review they've sold low thousands at best, perhaps tens of thousands if you account for other platforms but not huge numbers.
Given this I can't see how this crowd funding offering can possibly make back it's investment by 2027.
If you were looking to invest it would probably be a better option to take a gamble on buying their actual shares which are just €0.12. They were selling for €0.95 a couple of years ago after all. If this strategy works you'd get a much better return there.
When Bubsy is the biggest name you have, you're fucked.
@@nick-playercharacter8583 Bubsy could work if they focused it on being a parody of platformers, kind of like how Parodius is of shooters.
For the recharged sales they gave them away for free a few times on EGS.
Why would we buy them when we could get them for free?
I know Atari owned Bubsy. But I thought they sold it to Tommo a few years back.
Most of my memories of Atari were of them as a publisher during the six generation era. Games like Battle Engine Aquila was one of my favorite games growing up.
dude, that was Infogrames
I like that they released a physical copy of Aquadventure completing the Swordquest tetralogy.
Dudes, an updated Switch RC Tycoon would be freaking BOMB.
Spent countless hours playing RCT/RCT2. Wish there’s a PC update for widescreen.
Atari 50 is an incredible piece of software, probably the best archive retrospective ever put together, but nothing based on their historic games needs to exist now. They did it and did it perfectly. Atari needs to make new games and move on.
Atari 50 was overall a good package, but the main reason I bought the thing-Swordquest Airworld-was a letdown. It was quite obviously not an Atari 2600 game. It did things and made sounds that the 2600 is incapable of. So that was problem #1: Whoever arranged that fake retro game should have had oversight to ensure it wasn't breaking rules. Without that, the effort may as well be any random simulation of a hypothetically retro game. Problem #2 was that even though the puzzle component of the game was fundamentally clever, some of the minigames broke the 4th wall. One of them was Flappy Bird, ffs. They probably thought they were being cute, but what they actually did was toy with what was supposed to be the culmination of a legend.
RCTycoon have already moved on to great alternatives like Planet Coaster or Parkitect, i think it's a lost cause down that road too, they would have to make A LOT to make it work, and i don't think Atari would be down to that much effort.
I wanted to play the devil's advocate and reason that Atari has released and developed a lot more games than that - which were known or loved - ... but then I ran into the fact that Atari was split in two in 1984... and these games are just one half of it all... the other half was the Arcade games and the rights of those are still with Warner Brothers. This is so confusing...
"I don't know what they can do at this time?" That logo looks good on a tshirt, shrugs
I just put my entire savings into Atari per your advice. Presumed advice since i havent watched the video yet.. Anyway, fingers crossed! 🤞
Hey Pat, my Howard Phillips book came today. I know you got one as well, just wanted to know if you're thinking of doing a video review about the book?
If you can't make money selling games, make money selling investment on games that won't sell enough
I don’t think trying to build off of what little equity the brand has left is such a terrible idea, but the way they’re doing it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Why should anyone invest in something that hasn’t been relevant in so long? People need proof that there’s going to be something bigger.
What I would do is keep releasing those compilations and upgraded versions of existing games. More “RollerCoaster Tycoon”, plus anything decent from the Infrogames and Ocean catalogs (more on that later) is also a given. While I was doing that, I would continue to build the brand in other ways, through merchandise licenses and cross promotions. I disagree that Atari doesn’t have any brands, but they’re obviously not as big or recognizable. Still, the bigger names like “Asteroids” and “Centipede” are recognizable enough that they’e gotten merch in recent years. I’d do as much of that as I could tell was reasonable, to build awareness of the brand and raise capital. If I could make progress on that front, then (and only then) I’d test the waters with a more ambitious modern reimagining of one of those bigger names, probably “Centipede”. It’s unusual enough visually to stand out, most of their other properties are just generic space games or even just ball and paddle stuff. It could be a third-person shooter where you’re stuck on a giant forest planet, and have to hide among the mushrooms at shoot at the centipede and new monsters to survive while you figure out how to escape the planet. The basic scenario would be the same, but it’d have an actual story, modern 3D graphics, and a different style of gameplay. If that experiment worked, I’d do “Ninja Golf”. The original game wasn’t great, but come on… “Ninja Golf”! That too ridiculous and original of a concept to NOT try to do something with, even if you had to start from scratch. Some of the Ocean and Infogrames stuff might be interesting. From what I’ve heard about “Alpha Waves”, you could do a decent follow-up or even just a spiritual successor. “Where Time Stood Still” was well-regarded in its day, “Hunchback” could be fun (maybe not a direct remake or sequel in terms of gameplay, but something with that character), and “Mr. Nutz” had a decent reception. From another one of their aquisitions, they have “Section 8” (rather mediocre by most accounts, but it could be their “Halo”).
I think there’s potential. If they can generate enough interest, they can then move on to totally originally stuff and/or be a publisher of indie content. Lots of people are homebrewing for old systems and/or making games that just have a retro aesthetic, Atari could be the go-to publisher for those who don’t want to do it themselves.
Honestly if I were Atari, I would test the waters first with a simple Asteroids reimagining and to keep it simple. You don't need a hard core story, just a simple, fun story based puzzle-adventure game
I had an Atari 5200 as a 4-6 year old kid so my list is completely different
Tier 1 on the 5200 is Joust which is much better than the arcade version.
Tier 2 which I also think are better than the arcade goes to Froger, Wizard of War, River Raid, Mario Bros and Pengo
Tier 3 are games like PacMan, Popeye, Breakout and Qbert
Atari doesn't own any of those properties is the issue. Except for Breakout. The rest are Williams, Midway, Nintendo, Namco, Activision, and Konami.
This is kind of the issue at hand. People love the Atari consoles, but a lot of the best remembered titles weren't actually made by Atari.
I’m thinking they can rethink Crystal Castles in a platforming mindset. Also keep in mind they bought some ips like Bubsy recently
Crystal Quest already did that on the 7800...
If Atari would make a Arcade1Up type machine with handlebar controls, a joystick, and a trak ball that contained their games for the Atari System 1 & Atari System 2, it would sell. Have the following games on it:
- Paperboy
- Marble Madness
- 720
- Road Runner
- Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom
- Roadblasters
wait, Rollercoaster Tycoon was Infogrames, and that was also a combination of GT interactive. By the time Enter the Matrix games came out, we all kinda knew it wasn't Atari or even Midway, some sort of a husk of a holding company than a publisher.
Because no one here thinks of Neverwinter Nights and Atari, no one!
My favorite Atari game(s) is Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 & Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. I know of fans of RCT3 would love a game with updated graphics, somehow make a deal with the top modders of the game to put their content in and maybe add more flat rides and I imagine a lot would be happy with that. Atari I don't see how you can trust with how badly they handled RCT World.
If I was Atari CEO I would make good 8-bit games of famous movies, tv shows and overall pop culture of the 80s era.
Roller coaster Tycoon 3 is already on Switch. And often seen as perhaps the last good one. Not sure they’d have much more luck with that license unless they make a major turnaround and make a new good RCT.
Tempest has spawned multiple sequels. This may be the only game that has had success for Atari long term.
I think a Pong or Breakout which has something like a Geometry Wars atheistic could be a hit. Pong is probably Atari's biggest brand, after the Atari name itself. Mix in Tetris 99 or Mario 35 type competition, there's something there.
On Atari 50, VCTR-SCTR was incredible. It's one of my top games of 2022 and could've easily commanded $25 as a standalone product. An Atari meets WarioWare type release could also be fun. This is where Centipede, Asteroids, etc. could be monetized.
That's everything I can come up with for Atari that could make money. These ideas could be a lot of fun, but I certainly wouldn't invest in this limited opportunity.
@João Fernandes Any company can buy another company and turn it into a revenue stream. That could be Atari, Activision, Sony, etc., it's studio/publisher/developer agnostic. If the question here is, "is Atari a wise investor that's buying the right studios and turning into a great Sponsor," that's almost a completely different question. I would need to better know the background of the individuals making the decisions on what to buy and if they ever made money doing similar business in the past. But to your original point, if these properties being bought at a relative discount are so popular, why haven't they been cash cow franchises for years?
They could make a great StunRunner remake. F-Zero GX style
Atari think they are relevant, bless them.
Personally, if I was in charge of Atari, I’d pour all the resources into making a type of Movie Mogul / Atari Tycoon game. Where the player is the CEO trying to figure out how to bring these past-their-prime properties back to relevancy. Then, thanks to the advent of digital data, we’d collect these ideas in our game server, analyze them, and use the best ones.
This is just brilliant! Yes they should Be this devious 😄
It’s honestly not a bad way to farm ideas and market test in the most roundabout way. Sadly, it’s also painfully unethical.
I have an Atari Race Drivin cabinet at home. Be cool to see an update in 2023.
What are your thoughts on the new hour long video about you Pat?
Chading wheel with a stick was a popular game, it became obselete and a remake would not bring sales. Very similar situation
Maybe they could work out a deal with Toho with get the 2000s Godzilla video games back in print.
Here for any commentary on Jenovi's recent video.
They just bought Nightdive and Atari is actually making a lot of video game studio and industry related moves. They may actually have proper leadership now but we will see.
You know a little more Atari than you think. Marble Madness, Road Blasters, 720, Paperboy, San Francisco Rush, Primal Rage.
Yeah, but the Atari owners don't know them.
Yeah Atari got split in two and a lot of the stuff that hasn't been in collections that you remember just straight ain't with the Atari that's doing the re-releases
Atari can make money on more Recharged games , especially if you help pay for it .
I know I did not hear Ian say Adventure was known for "nostalgia, not gameplay". My. God.
If there was no Adventure, there would be no Zelda. The entire action adventure game GENRE derived from Adventure.
They could do good 2D indie games that just happen to have the names of old Atari games. Sequels instead of straight up remakes but with that being said, the odds of this being profitable are not good.
I don't know if Atari owns the rights to it anymore (I'm guessing they probably don't) but I would love to see more Gauntlet games. I have very fond memories of playing Gauntlet: Legends as a kid and I'm kinda surprised the series hasn't really evolved much since then.
I assume you bought the 2014 Gauntlet game. It was a great game but a catastrophic failure that didn't even cover half it's budget in sales because no one cares about Gauntlet. Unfortunately.
The ad makes the whole thing weird
7:56 We did, Ian. It's called Chuck E. Cheese.
Star Wars could have some kind of new look or polish to it. Though would need some kind of uber vector monitor.
Does anyone know where to find Flintstones Chewable Viagra?
If people could come up with fresh twists on old Atari games like Pong: The Next Level was in the 90s then sure....Atari should just licenses out its IPs and let people go nuts if it sounds like a good idea. Something to invest in to make the monies? No. Heck no. Go invest in gold coins one can buy directly from the US mint. Reliable stocks with decent dividens. Anything besides Atari in the year 2000 and 23.
Also I could be wrong but if I remember correctly one of the last RTC games was bad to the point its intended demographic of theme park/coaster enthusiasts went off and made their own spiritual successors. Unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat the franchise is kind of dead.
This is what happens when Soulja Boy is your CEO.
Actually disagree on Combat -- LOVED that game as a kid (yeah, it dates me slightly.) That said, yeah, not sure how you can "modernize" it without ripping out it's soul and getting a different game? Adventure could potentially be done, but my nestalgia goggles aren't attached for that one as I never owned it as a kid and only ever played under *warped voice*EmUlAtIoN*end warped voice*. Though same problem: who do you trust to remake Adenture without ripping out it's soul? (Maybe Digital Eclipse or Way Forward might be able to work magic with that one, but other then them, I'm not sure if anyone else is up to that challange.)
The tank mini game was the best thing on wii play
Tempest VR would be 🔥
Well they have been investing in game IPs, they just bought Busby, they bought Nightdive studios, and have bought fron stern, M network.
Best video game podcast, love you guys, we gotta get pasta guys, lil call back there bro
I do see modern versions of Centipede in most arcades I go to that are still around. Even the small ones in movie theaters seem to have one. But, yeah probably won't invest in them.
Can't wait for the Cybermorph remake
But here’s my thing with Atari… they even were a publisher for games like the driver series, some were good but some were bad so idk what Atari could really do 😂🤣 never thought I’d see a viagra add on Pat the nes punk haha no shame but was take by surprise
In regards to classic Atari Nolan Bushnell was Atari.
Maybe Nintendo should own Atari. The former was the company that saved the video game industry from extinction.
Awesome man....this podcast is litteraly giving me a rexion....❤🤣❤
Curious if you guys have used your sponsor and confirm its a good product
Who cares. LeBron has a Ruffles commercial. Do you think he eat that stuff? Barkley.. maybe. 😅
Wasn't Paperboy made by Atari as well...
Boy, I sure do want to invest in a name that has just been a name for 27 years, being desperately tossed from company to company in a futile attempt to cash in on games older than most of the people who would ever watch this video.
The most relevance the name Atari has had in modern times is their publishing. Well that company went out of business and they clearly no longer have that kind of money. So I see Atari is not viable in modern times. Who is clamoring to buy another port of centipede or asteroids for the 15th time? It's frankly pathetic at this point. The only reason anybody even thinks about those games is because they were 1st not because they were quality.
@João Fernandes Well see. Personally I'm not invested in System Shocks story.
I wouldn't mind an Atari Lynx III ... ... ... ... am I the only one?
a new 4-way cocktail table...
The only thing they have to do is make the new Atari games and old have online play that’s what I wanted with 50 th anniversary
I think you forgot one Atari title with a lot of potential, how about Gauntlet? I wasn't very impressed with the last couple of versions, but Legends and Dark Legacy ones were a lot of fun. Since you were mentioning Way Forward, how about some pixel-art Gauntlet ARPG, choice of 4-characters. take my $$$ please. hey they can even make the newer invented characters like Jester, Sorceress, etc. as DLC to pad the coffers.
Warner Bros. owns Gauntlet right now. Atari doesn't have the rights to it anymore. I think it has something to do with the time Atari split the arcade and home divisions in two.
considering most of the worth while games both 1st and 3rd parties no longer exist what games are we talking about??? all the half decent games came from other devs their in house was dead 85 and everything from 5200, 7800 and jaguar were ports of 2600 games
So I ask what games are we talking here????
because even on 90's standard all publishing houses all but left atari in the dust and Atari hadn't really delivered arcade port of any game since the late 70's to early 80's
as a software publisher for other consoles how many game do they still have license for that they legally publish for today
atari as a brand name no matter the owner have been active since the mid-late 1990's have been flogging 2600 clones however they haven't had the games to suit what i played from a kid to mid teen
I love how you guys still adress tommy because we all know he is here lurking. I kind of feel bad for him in a way because i view him as a child.
Atari flashback is where it's at!
A flashback with the Jaguar, lynx, and arcade games built in. The Jaguar mini with HDMI
Even if atari still owns roller coaster tycoon, they have so thoroughly destroyed its reputation since RCT3 there's no point making more. I'm the biggest RCT fan, but any new game made by atari would absolutely just be a garbage cash grab and I wouldn't bother. Just play Planet Coaster or Parkitect.
Investors are probably the same ones to buy these games. I dont think this make sense .
Rollercoaster 3 still need a remaster.
TBH i wouldn't want the CEO job at Atari, I mean really, at this point what move could you realistically make, maybe go back to publishing lol idk...
Tempest is great
Didnt Atari make all those PS2 dragon ball Z games like Budokai?
Can we just get like the classic Nintendo but from Atari?
They sell em at the Dollar Store. They are EVERYWHERE.
@@adamhoffoss5768 with the joystick controller and just the good games?
@@venicebeachsportsnetwork6677 They have the joysticks and I think like 60 games? I don't remember exactly. My sister-in-law bought me one a couple years ago.
@@adamhoffoss5768 that sounds pretty sweet. The only thing I play now are the classic Nintendo and Sega would be fun to add in another
@@venicebeachsportsnetwork6677 They're called "Atari Flashback", if you wanna check em out.
Tempest and Battlezone
Have you bought Atari today?
What’s the deal with the name, it’s an American company but the name sounds vaguely Japanese, it’s the Funko Pop strategy in naming.
Atari pac man and ET were my all time favorite : /
Atari restaurants? Like Chuckie cheese ?
Gauntlet, paperboy,rolling thunder? Plenty more
The rights to the later arcade games like Gauntlet are held by Warner
Maybe they should work with Tomi Tallirico cause he is so knowledgeable about success in video games 😂 lol
omg so nice to see you again, guys!
They are planning on coat tail riding on other people’s ip with their purchase of Night Dive
With your Rex MD ad I feel old. Am I already the targeted public?!!! lol
I’m hard for this sponsor………
Pat and Ian use generic viagra. They know it works!
better than intellevision that is for sure
Pitfall!
Have a look at the republic fundraising campaign that took place for Digital Eclipse. The testimonials and feedback from investors is pretty telling! Pretty much all of them had no idea what games they actually could agree licensing for.
You can't argue against breakout. Cmon
Atari has run its course.
RexMD?? Really?
Alone in the dark
Somehow Atari was the only company to produce a Superman game.
It's a money grab...........