ATARI

Since its inception in 1972, the Atari brand has been owned by a number of different companies. The French firm Atari SA (previously Infogrames) currently owns it through a division called Atari Interactive. Established in Sunnyvale, California, in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, the original Atari, Inc. was an industry leader in the development of video arcade games, home video game systems, and personal computers. From the 1970s to the mid-1980s, the electronic entertainment industry was shaped in large part by the company's wares. The 1980s were a golden era for the product line.

In 1984, following the decline in the video game industry that began in 1983, the original Atari Inc. sold its home console and computer operations to Jack Tramiel's Tramel Technology Ltd., which changed its name to Atari Corporation. The former Atari company is now known as Atari Games Inc. Atari Games was granted permission to produce arcade games bearing the Atari name and emblem, with the word "Games" added to the end of the name.

Atari Corporation was granted trademark and home rights to Atari, Inc.'s video game properties as part of a business deal. Disk drive manufacturer JT Storage (JTS) became a subsidiary of Atari Corporation in a reverse merger in 1996. Hasbro Interactive established Atari Interactive as a wholly owned company in 1998 after purchasing all Atari Corporation-related properties from JTS.

Founded: 27 June 1972
Headquarters: France
Website: Home – Atari®