I don’t really want to go back and actually give you a hard number on how many times we (or any other outlet) have reported about Atari being threatened with delistment by NASDAQ. Trust me, it’s been quite a few, as this has been brewing for what feels like years. But the Infogrames subsidiary has finally seen itself delisted from the NASDAQ Global Market, which suspends trading of the company’s shares.

Atari plans on requesting a review, according to GI.biz, which could potentially allow for Atari stock to be traded even if the suspension is not ended. The company is expecting to be quoted on the Pink Sheets, which allows for companies that have been delisted to continue trading.

We know that Infogrames has big plans for Atari — or at least the Atari name. How this will affect those plans remains to be seen, but this certainly isn’t going to help the situation for Phil Harrison and company.

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David Gardner, CEO of Infogrames, has been working hard on transforming his company, with the help of president Phil Harrison. Among the list of changes the two are contemplating, dropping the name of Infogrames for Atari is a tempting proposition.

“I’d like to consider that, I think that would be the final mark of the transformation from Infogrames to Atari,” said Gardner. “We have a new board of directors, a new management team that’s less than a year old - so yes, it’s really continuing.

“We like to think of Infogrames, instead of being the tired, old company, we like to think of it as the best-funded, best-branded, most energetic start-up in the history of computer gaming.”

While I think a move to the Atari name would be refreshing for Infogrames internally, I don’t know anyone who would characterize Atari as being the best branded, best funded, or anything else of the sort.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Harrison explained that he and Gardner had been brainstorming ideas for a new company. When the opportunity to take over Infogrames presented itself, it fulfilled everything the two wanted.

“We had a very interesting series of dreams, of discussions, about if we were to create a company, what kind of company would it be, and what direction would it be headed in,” he said. “We got quite a long way down that path, and then, out of leftfield, this opportunity came along.

“When we were evaluating it, we thought about what we would want from a successful company. You’d want people, products, you’d want revenue and cashflow. You’d want some infrastructure, some offices around the world, and it’d be great to have a brand that was a global brand.

“And I tell you, that was the hardest thing when I was trying to brainstorm this, when I was trying to come up with a brand that we could use worldwide - every time I came up with a new name for a games company, I’d Google it and find that somebody had already taken it.

“So when we were looking at what we’d need to create a successful company, and then we evaluated what Infogrames has, it ticked all the boxes.”

Apparently a history of threats to have its most valuable asset delisted from NASDAQ wasn’t one of those boxes.

With all the talk of Activision-Blizzard and EA’s attempts to acquire Take-Two, I had nearly forgotten about the perennial takeover target, SCi. According to The Guardian (via GamesIndustry.biz), takeover talks are likely continuing to take place as share prices rose 20.4% yesterday.

Back in January, rumor had it that Midway and SCi were talking about a merger. Despite a denial of interest in SCi back in October, Ubisoft may be one of several potential bidders for the company, alongside Infogrames and Time Warner. Time Warner purchased a 10% stake in the company a year ago, but SCi has seen major changes since then. In late February, 14 projects were cancelled as 25% of jobs were cut.

SCi is the parent company of Eidos, so Lara Croft and friends have a vested interest in seeing how this turns out.

With the potential acquisition of the company by Infogrames a strong possibility, Atari has named Jim Wilson its new CEO and president, effective immediately. His duties had been held by a restructuring officer since previous CEO David Pierce announced his resignation late last year.

Wilson has previously worked in executive management with a number of companies, including The Walt Disney Company, Vivendi Universal Games, Universal Interactive Studios and Sony Wonder/Sony BMG, according to GamesIndustry.biz.

“Atari Inc, with its world-renowned brand and strong library of game franchises, has a tremendous opportunity in North America,” said Wilson.

“I look forward to working with the Atari team and shareholders to lead Atari, Inc. into its next phase of growth.”

It’s unclear what sort of impact this will have or if this is a sign as to whether Atari will accept or dismiss Infogrames proposal to fully acquire any outstanding Atari stock. After being threatened once again with a delisting from NASDAQ, it seems like the Infogrames offer is the best option available for Atari.

Yes, it’s happening once again like a bodily function the company just can’t shake – Atari is once again being threatened with a delisting by the hands of NASDAQ. In the past, it’s been due to the company’s declining value and failing to file annual reports on time. This time, it’s a failure of a NASDAQ requirement to have the company’s value reach and/or exceed a value of $15 million for ten consecutive days, which Atari did not do by the March 20 deadline.

Atari has requested a hearing before a NASDAQ panel so that they may appeal the decision, according to GamesIndustry.biz. Given Infogrames’ attempt to acquire the rest of Atari, they might be able to make a solid argument. However, Atari admits that there are no assurances one way or another, so a NASDAQ delisting might be unavoidable at this point.

Things are off to a rocky start for the Phil Harrison Atari era, but I feel confident in saying he’ll be able to help turn things around.

While already the majority shareholder in the company, Infogrames announced this week that it intends to buyout the remaining Atari stock it doesn’t already own. The offer would be for $1.68 per share.

Atari’s board of directors has said that it will take a thorough look at the offer before making a decision. Atari is viewed as a major brand for Infogrames under the new leadership of CEO David Gardner and president Phil Harrison.

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that this deal will go through (with little to no negotiating on the stock price) and Infogrames will have taken another step forward in their revitalization of the company. I’m excited to see what Infogrames does with Atari and what Phil Harrison has in store for us.

via GamesIndustry.biz

Making his first speech since being named president of Infogrames, Phil Harrison addressed colleagues roughly half a day later. He and Atari CEO David Gardner talked Monday about “the vision Phil and I have been sharing and really enjoy, the idea of the future of a network-centric gaming world.” Harrison had big words for Atari, claiming the company is “the best opportunity that exists in the industry today to redefine, refocus and re-energise an incredible brand, an incredible group of people towards that networked future.”

Harrison wasn’t overly specific when explaining why he decided to resign from his position at Sony, only saying that “the things that excited me the most, the things that turned me on as a gamer, and as a business person, and as a creative person were the future of our industry, the connected community experiences - all the things we’re starting to see emerge that are really exciting players around the world.

“And those are the things I started thinking about in terms of creating a company or getting involved with a company to really shape and direct a business towards that future.”

The two execs seemed very upbeat and tried to get across the fact that they don’t intend to turn Atari into a “big corporate entity,” maintaining that their plans for Atari would be “fun.” The two didn’t even bother to wear suits or ties, prompting Harrison to point out, “As you can see David and I are the suits.” Oh, I see what you did there, Phil.

I must say, I’m very intrigued by Atari now that Harrison is at the helm. Previously, I really didn’t see them as a top tier game developer or publisher. Now, I can certainly see Atari becoming a very important piece of the industry.

via GamesIndustry.biz

Following his unexpected departure from Sony as head of worldwide studios, Infogrames has named Phil Harrison president of the company. He’ll work alongside the company’s new CEO, David Gardner.

“This is the perfect time to join Infogrames and help shape the future of Atari - one of the industry’s legendary brands. 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.
“I am especially excited to be working on this challenge together with David, one of the most respected leaders and successful executives in our industry,” said Harrison.

This was rumored to be the case, following Harrison’s apparent disenchantment with his former employer. A few weeks ago, we reported on how he was frustrated with his colleagues in Japan who believed there to be no market for social games in Japan – a market Nintendo is now thriving upon.

via GamesIndustry.biz

Atari continues in its downward spiral as it is warned for the second time this year that Nasdaq may delist its stock. The market value of Atari’s stock has fallen below $15 million. If it fails to rally within thirty days it will be delisted. The company has suffered through a number of hardships this year from board firings, layoffs, late financial reports and withdrawal from game development. Atari isn’t down for the count yet. The company has until March 20th to get its affairs in order and barring that will be able to appeal the decision

It’s ironic that Infogrames bought the Atari name because of the marketability of the brand with the video game industry in the US. Now this incarnation is poised to suffer the same fate as the original company.

I’m just glad that CD Projekt only published The Witcher through Atari as it’s one of my favorite games for the year.

via Joystiq

Amidst concerns about its inability to run a viable business, Atari has decided to bow out of videogame production to concentrate its efforts on publishing and distribution in North America.

Atari will be terminating its Production Services Agreement with IESA in the near future. Although an effort will be made to transfer some employees and contract others on a project basis for a limited period of time, Atari is planning to reduce its current work force “in order to re-align the Company’s cost structure with its on-going business base.”

Atari CEO David Pierce has announced his resignation. Curtis G. Solsvig III, Chief Restructuring Officer, has been appointed interim CEO and will assume Pierce’s responsibilities until a new CEO is found.

“We appreciate David’s support and commitment through a difficult period in the Company’s history and wish him well in his future endeavors.” said Gene Davis, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

In an effort to transfuse life into the failing company, Atari has licensed its Test Drive franchise to Infogrames under a six-year agreement that provides for a $5 million advance royalty. Atari said it “will assure the continued vitality of the franchise and will strengthen the relationship between Atari and its parent company while providing an important element in the on-going financial restructuring of Atari.”

“Atari continues to take important steps to stream-line operations and establish a winning business plan. We expect that the actions we are undertaking today will position us for the future as a preferred business and distribution partner,” concluded Curtis G. Solsvig III.

via Game Daily

Atari has revealed in a recent SEC filing it is in danger of losing the Dragon Ball Z franchise license.

On October 18, FUNimation has served Atari with a notice to terminate the license based on alleged breaches of their licensing agreement.

“[Atari] disputes the validity of the termination notices and has continued to distribute the titles covered by the license agreements,” the company stated in the SEC filing, noting that the parties were in discussions attempting to resolve the issue.

Atari, who earned USD 85 million on the Dragon Ball Z franchise in fiscal 2005, noted that “…In the event that FUNimation is successful in terminating the license agreements it could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations and financial position.”

This would come as a huge blow to a company already foundering. Atari registered a USD 69.7 million loss for the last fiscal year.

Infogrames, Atari’s parent company, has recently fired five members of the Atari board of directors and appointed a chief restructuring officer to try to salvage the company.

via GamesIndustry.biz

Coghill Capital Management, a major investor in Atari, is infuriated with the company’s recent shake-up of the board of directors.

Infogrames recently abruptly dismissed five board members replacing them with new members of their choosing. CCM has taken this as yet another affront to public share holders.

“Coghill Capital Management has contacted the Issuer’s Board of Directors to express its serious concerns regarding the removal of the Issuer’s five independent directors by Infogrames Entertainment,” said the company in a SEC filing.

“These actions were taken without cause, without notice and without a shareholders’ meeting, and in our opinion is just the culmination in Infogrames’ treatment of the Issuer as its private source of assets and funds, and its oppression of the public shareholders,” it detailed.

CCM has backed up its claims by issuing Infogrames a letter with official demands.

“The Letter demands that the Issuer’s Board of Directors immediately reconstitute itself with a majority of independent directors, re-establish an independent audit committee, put an end to the sweetheart agreements with Infogrames, and seek compensation from Infogrames and the Issuer’s management for the serious damage they have caused both the Issuer and its public shareholders,” states CCM.

via GamesIndustry.biz

Infogrames, Europe’s largest video games maker, has announced some big changes in store for U.S. Atari’s Board.

Five of the current board directors will be removed from Infogrames’ 51 percent owned U.S. affiliate Atari Inc to restore profitability. The new board is expected to select and appoint a chief restructuring officer to stabilize its operations and reduce its losses, repositioning Atari Inc. as a “reliable player in the U.S. video games market.”

Infogrames has stated Atari Inc. has become a significant drain on the group’s profitability. Losses so far this year have been reported at 50 percent.

At one time Atari was one of the big names in video games. In recent years, the company has been almost completely overshadowed by video game industry giants. It will be interesting to see if Atari can turn things around and become formidable once again.

via Reuters

Infogrames, the parent company of U.S. based Atari, has announced that Bluebay has bought up major chunk of the company. Bluebay now owns 22.5 percent of the publisher’s stock. Although it claims it has no plans to take over Infogrames, Bluebay does plan to seek representation on the publisher’s board. Bluebay is the largest shareholder of Infogrames’ stock. It is scheduled to purchase up to 49 percent of the publisher’s stock. Infogrames has announced that sales have fallen over the last year due to decline in US sales in the second half.

One has to wonder why a company would purchase such a large interest in another company, and yet be content to merely have a say on the board. It’s hard to believe they are buoying a floundering company out of the goodness of their hearts. I wonder how long that will last.

via Gamasutra