Atari (or the current company that is using the Atari brand name- at this point, it should be well known that the Atari of today isn’t the Atari that essentially almost single handedly created video games back in the 1970s) has made waves recently by announcing classic, hardcore focused reboots and revivals of some of its classic brands and properties- a reboot for Alone in the Dark, a reboot for Haunted House, and also a reboot for RollerCoaster Tycoon. And considering especially that these games all actually look good, one has to stop and wonder- is this all too good to be true? Will it last?
Well, Atari certainly thinks it will, as it promises that there will be more revivals and reboots of classic franchises that we can expect from them in the future.
“In having this great catalog of over 220 IPs, it affords us a lot of challenges and benefits,” Atari’s chief operating officer, Todd Shallbetter, said to Polygon. “The challenge side is what do you select? What is it that we really want to put resources behind and really blow out for this fan base that is clamoring for these new things? On the other side, you have the benefit of having that back catalog to choose from.
“[At Atari], we all have our favorites that we’ve had ideations on. What would this look like leveraging new technologies, new delivery methods, and what makes sense from an artistic, creative and also commercial perspective?
“Our goal is to create new experiences with classic gameplay,” he said. “Full, sustained relevance.”
Well, I wish you the very best of luck, because nothing would please me more than seeing a fully relevant and powerful Atari returned.
