Not just its VCS console that's MIA, Atari is a no-show in court, too: Reborn biz ignores hardware architect's lawsuit over unpaid wages

Atari is on track to lose by default in a lawsuit brought by the architect of its much-delayed VCS games console over unpaid wages. Rob Wyatt sued the iconic games company in April for failing to pay him months of wages, showing a Colorado court invoices that totaled $261,720. The company was served with a summons at its US …

[Blackjack]

Anyway ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=raspberry+pi+atari+project

You can even get pre made plastic cases, but dunno if those exist for the Pi 4 yet.

[IGotOut]

Re: Anyway ...

You can get Pi4 cases on the likes of Etsy, pretty average looking though

[J. R. Hartley]

Re: Anyway ...

It's not looking good, is it.

[Graham Lockley]

Lets be honest, the bulk of Atari console games arent actually very interesting now, much less enjoyable. The only property that the current IP holders have that is of any real interest is the iconic logo.

[Blackjack]

A lot of good Atati games had better versions or ports for the Nes.

[Pascal Monett]

Predicting the impact of an asteroid 2km above the Earth

I'm really sorry for the 12k people who have been conned out of their money, but it is more than obvious that they have been conned.

I do hope that the the scum who is the reason of this con will forever be remembered : Fred Chesnais. This guy is touted to be at the head of no less than FIVE companies.

I suggest that investors in those companies think twice before leaving their funds with such a lying loser.

[MiguelC]

Re: Predicting the impact of an asteroid 2km above the Earth

At for at least 2 of those he's acting as liquidator... probably also in Atari's case, although not officially

[jvf]

All things don't always come to he who waits

Rob,

I feel your pain. Can’t tell you how much money I’ve left on the table because of late billing or patiently waiting for the check(s) to arrive. We’ve got to get better at this.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: We’ve got to get better at this.

Well, for a start, it needs to be "the dustbin of history" in a jail with a mop, for long enough to need multiple replacement mops.

[Anonymous Coward]

Atari?

The article does not make it terribly clear, so I'd like to confirm: is it correct that this company id *not* the Atari company from the 80s or thereabouts?

As I understand, it is a couple of people who bought(?) some of that company's intellectual property, perhaps just the name and logo, and then went to the crowdfunding sites to raise money. Is that more or less it?

[Phil Kingston]

Re: Atari?

Pretty much, yes.

[Ashentaine]

Re: Atari?

Correct. The Atari name and logo have changed hands a few times over the last few decades, but the original company that was headed by the late Jack Tramiel has been gone since the late '80s.

[J. R. Hartley]

Re: Atari?

Mid 80s? That's funny. The Jaguar really was ahead of it's time then.

[Stuart Castle]

Re: Atari?

He is actually right. Warner communications owned Atari until 1984, but they split the company into a consumer unit and arcade unit. They kept the arcade unit. When he bought the consumer unit, Atari created a new company, called "Atari Corporation", so yes, the original Atari to all intents and purposes, ceased to exist in 1984.

[J. R. Hartley]

Re: Atari?

He's wrong. Jack Tramiel didn't even buy Atari until he'd left Commodore after CES 84. He's talking about the other part of Atari.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Atari?

The Atari trademark as well as the copyright for much of the original Atari's game catalog is owned by the French company Atari SA, formerly Infogrames.

[Anonymous Coward]

That recording

In the other article: https://www.theregister.com/2018/06/21/atari_interview_in_full/

I find it very educative, it should probably be used in marketing school as an example of what not to do.

Personally, it does lift up my spirits a bit. I am not a marketing person so I find it quite hard to deal with clients, the press and even with suppliers sometimes. But by god, do I feel adequate after hearing those tapes! At least I do not a) bullshit about the state of a product or b) waste other people's time with non-answers. I am guilty though of going into way too much detail and boring people to death with it.

[Getmo]

Re: That recording

It's always good to recognize when the eyes go dead and start to roll back into their heads. At that point I just throw in some hand waving magic and get to the point.

I just listened to those recordings too, enjoyed them as well. If this dude survives these lawsuits he might have a promising career in politics.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: That recording

Play all the clips at once - it's just like being down the pub.

[J. R. Hartley]

Re: That recording

Fucking lolled, it really does sound like a pub. Remember them? :'(

[teri_ma]

Re: That recording

Welcome back

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: That recording

> If this dude survives these lawsuits he might have a promising career in politics.

Nah, he's rubbish. The only requirement he could potentially fulfil for a political career is having a criminal record.

[redpawn]

$400?

What, rocks in the head? You can easily get one off ebay for far less ($80 with a stack of games) and it will be way more retro.

[aregross]

Vapor Absolute?

[lglethal]

I worked out what the VCS stands for!

VCS? Vapourware Coming Someday?

[Gonzo wizard]

Re: I worked out what the VCS stands for!

Vacuous Corporate Spouting?

[Anonymous Coward]

2 employees

"People imagine that Atari remains a large company but in reality it is no more than a corporate shell with the rights to the Atari name, and has only two employees, both of which are marketing people and have no software or hardware development experience."

Wow, so they shrank since the last time I checked ? I remember Atari being a whopping 10 employees !

With 10, they probably could have re-badged a PI4 for gaming with a case, but with 2 cons, probably not any longer ...

[Maelstorm]

A few years ago...

I remember something on here a few years ago when Atari invited el Reg to view a console prototype or something. All that the reporter was shown was some pieces of plastic. If someone could dig the link up? I can't seem to find it.

[TheProf]

Re: A few years ago...

https://www.theregister.com/2018/03/22/atari_lempty_box/

[BebopWeBop]

Re: A few years ago...

https://www.theregister.com/2018/06/21/atari_interview_in_full/ (the search box is your friend)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: A few years ago...

> I can't seem to find it.

Err... It's the third link offered in this article, 7th paragraph down.

[RyokuMas]

Oh how the mighty have fallen...

From the must-have of the first wave of home consoles and the best pre-PC 16-bit machine of the 90s to this.

I'm gonna go hug my STE and let my inner child cry for a bit.

[jsider]

It's only been 3 years. Atari users have been waiting 10 years for some 7800 machine add on device they paid for. lol When did Atari fans become so gullible?

[Anonymous Coward]

Atari lawsuits are common

Atari has won quite a few judgments itself against t-shirt companies printing images of Asteroids and Centipede. More than one of these was won by default, because the other party didn’t show up, just like Atari in this case. They also submitted a lot of documents under seal, unlike the Feargal Mac case, which had some embarrassing letters to Fred Chesnais. Links to the docket here: https://notmyatari.com/lawsuits

[Raithmir]

Have they shipped any yet?