j_factor
07-06-2006, 02:54 AM
We all know that Atari split into two companies in 1984. Warner sold the console/computer divisions to Jack Tramiel, and it became Atari Corp.; Warner retained Atari Games, which included the arcade operations, as well as AtariTel. The AtariTel division of Atari Games was sold off to Mitsubishi, and the Atari Games division of Atari Games Inc. (ugh!) was sold to Namco, with Warner renaming their remaining slice Atari Holdings, which had one division. That division, Atari Adventure, was sold to Adventure Properties, and Atari Holdings remained an official division of Warner but had no assets or operations. Atari Games became independent of Namco and formed Tengen (for console games) and Atari Operations (operations of actual arcades). Namco bought Atari Operations from Atari Games which they had previously owned (wtf), and it was renamed/merged a few times with other Namco arcade operations, now called Cybertainment. Atari Games was bought by Time Warner and renamed TWI, then bought by Midway and renamed Atari Games again, and then re-renamed Midway Games West, and eventually shut down. Atari Corp. merged with JTS, shut down operations, its IP sold to Hasbro, and then Hasbro sold the entire Hasbro Interactive division to Infogrames, who renamed GT Interactive as Atari Inc.
So in theory, what is now called Atari should own the consoles and computers and games for them, and Midway should own the arcade hardware and games.
Midway published Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection. But then Atari Anniversary Edition was published by Atari. Both of these releases are compilations of early Atari arcade games. So do both companies own the same games somehow? I have noticed that the Midway Arcade Treasures releases include Atari Games releases like Toobin' and Paperboy, but not pre-'84 Atari games like Centipede and Tempest. There was a second Atari Collection by Midway that included 4 Atari Games releases and 2 older Atari arcade games; however, that was back in 1997. Did Midway somehow lose the rights to those older games? Also, how do those Jaguar sequels (Tempest 2000 etc.) fit into it? The Saturn releases of Tempest 2000 (Atari Corp.) and The Atari Collection (Midway) came out at almost the same time, and they both include the original Tempest on them.
@_@
So in theory, what is now called Atari should own the consoles and computers and games for them, and Midway should own the arcade hardware and games.
Midway published Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection. But then Atari Anniversary Edition was published by Atari. Both of these releases are compilations of early Atari arcade games. So do both companies own the same games somehow? I have noticed that the Midway Arcade Treasures releases include Atari Games releases like Toobin' and Paperboy, but not pre-'84 Atari games like Centipede and Tempest. There was a second Atari Collection by Midway that included 4 Atari Games releases and 2 older Atari arcade games; however, that was back in 1997. Did Midway somehow lose the rights to those older games? Also, how do those Jaguar sequels (Tempest 2000 etc.) fit into it? The Saturn releases of Tempest 2000 (Atari Corp.) and The Atari Collection (Midway) came out at almost the same time, and they both include the original Tempest on them.
@_@