Atari fiscal Q3 results indicate revival for embattled publisher
Atari may not have published a ton of games in 2009, but that doesn’t mean the company hasn’t been picking up the bottom line. In a press release that reads like the exact opposite of those we saw from the company just a few years ago, CEO Jeff Lapin celebrates the €92.5 million ($126.25 million) in revenue earned in the nine months ending December 31, saying “the company has now strengthened its equity and is in a position to work on an expanded publishing plan.” In so many words, Lapin’s suggesting that Atari is financially bouncing back and maybe even gearing up to (dare we say it?) make more games.
The company cites sales of Ghostbusters, Chronicles of Riddick, Backyard Football, and Champions Online for bolstering revenues in fiscal Q3 and looks forward to a better 2010. The recent release of Star Trek Online certainly doesn’t seem to be hurting his confidence in that department. Lapin says that he’s “very enthusiastic about the launch” of the “promising MMO game.”
But things aren’t all gumdrops and money hats — the Q3 revenues were still down by 1.9% year-over-year. We won’t find out the full year’s earnings until late May, but for now we’ll comfort ourselves with the knowledge that the publisher’s next title, Project Runway, is coming in a few short weeks. Finally!
Source 1 - Big Download
Source 2 - Atari (warning: PDF link)
Atari fiscal Q3 results indicate revival for embattled publisher originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Buyers Remorse Hitting Champions Online Players
I tried to warn you, I really did. When I tore Champions Online a new a-hole for sucking in every conceivable way except character customization (apparently the only aspect of design Cryptic can do successfully any more), you all called me names and insisted it was a stunt to increase traffic. Now, several months after release, players are discovering that I was right, evidenced by this nifty editorial from MMOCrunch titled, quite simply, “Why I Quit Champions Online”.
Plan and simple, Champions Online lost its hold on me. I continued to dive into the game, move around the world, soak up the atmosphere, read about its future and most importantly, evaluate the content beyond my reach. What I definitively learned, and I hope my review hinted at, is that the game lacks legs. The atmosphere has always been incredibly disjointed thanks to the instancing of most zones. Even though all of the settings make sense in the universe, they lack a cohesive flow. And the multitude of characters aren’t employed effectively either. Because of these continued slip-ups through the middle to later levels, Champions Online gets boiled down to its diverse arcade-y combat. In essence, it becomes a soulless experience.
When I tore Star Trek Online a new a-hole for the very same reasons, I was once again called every name in the book and, like Champions Online, it will take a few months before I am once again proven correct. I’m trying to save you people money, I swear. I die a little inside every time I hear someone has foolishly purchased a lifetime subscription.
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