No more big budget games for Atari

Posted May 23rd 2008 5:30PM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News

Phil Harrison, recently appointed president of Infogrames (parent company of Atari), has gone on record stating that Atari isn't likely to pursue any more big budget, single-player games after Alone in the Dark. Harrison told Gamasutra, "I don't see that we're going to be making huge-budget, single-player games in the future." Harrison did add that the company will still pursue "really incredible games that have high quality, high execution, and high innovation, but they won't be one-player, narrative-driven, start-middle-end games." Harrison sees online, socially driven games as the future for Atari and places emphasis on episodic content.

So, while a direct sequel to Alone in the Dark sounds unlikely, it's possible we might see similar games released in an episodic manner instead (as was the original plan for Alone in the Dark, which still incorporates an episodic structure). Harrison sees episodic games with integrated community features as a new direction for Atari and the games industry in general, giving video games the kind of "water cooler" effect that television shows enjoy. Sounds interesting to us.

[Via Joystiq]

Tags: alone-in-the-dark, alone-in-the-dark-5, atari, business, eden, eden-games, infogrames

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-23-2008 @ 5:57PM

Teabag said...

You know what i learned today? Single player games are also called 'start-middle-end games'. Interesting way of putting.

5-23-2008 @ 6:24PM

EMOruffino said...

if this game sky rockets, i see a sequel. Anytime soon? No. Probably more like the halo series... YEARS APART.

5-23-2008 @ 7:53PM

Etchasketchist said...

Wow. Great idea. Episodic games that people talk about over the water cooler like they were movies or tv show. Hey wait. I already have a game like that. It's called Grand Theft Auto IV. I think I've played like 70 "episodes" (they call them "missions, but same shit) so far. Those of us in the office with 360's talk about it all the time in the break room where there is in fact a water cooler (although the coffee maker gets more love; water coolers are for tea-drinkers and tea-drinkers don't play video games). So yeah, I think Phil might have exactly the wrong approach here. But whatever. Prove me wrong, Atari. Prove me wrong.

5-23-2008 @ 10:01PM

chefgon_ign said...

I thought water coolers were for water drinkers?

5-24-2008 @ 3:25PM

Etchasketchist said...

Ooh gross. There aren't any vitamins or electrolytes or subtle hints of fruit in that stuff. Plus it doesn't come in its own little plastic bottle. Nasty.

5-24-2008 @ 7:46AM

vio said...

Further proof that video games are getting to expensive to develop. These overbloated games are going to start bankrupting 3rd parties.

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