May for Alone in the Dark
But Atari fed up with hardcore market.
Atari has ended speculation and confirmed a May release for Alone in the Dark on 360, PC, Wii and PS2.
A little later than its expected March release, but earlier than the rumoured September slip. PS3 offering missing in action, presumably still "to follow".
Confirmation comes by way of an interview with Infogrames/Atari big boss Patrick Leleu in French newspaper Les Echos.
Interestingly, all the recent Atari US problems seem to have taken its toll, and Leleu suggests the publisher has had enough of the hardcore market and competition within.
"We are scheduling regular releases for those [Alone in the Dark, Test Drive, Dungeons & Dragons] best sellers, but we will not position ourselves exclusively in this segment aimed at experienced gamers, which requires larger investments where competition from majors is increasingly fierce and where development cycles are getting longer, actually too long for us," admitted Leleu.
All of which sounds rather foreboding, especially as Wii and PS2 ports of Alone in the Dark have seemingly been knocked up in no time since their unveiling last November.
"Alone in the Dark will be a major release. But the company's survival does not hinge on the success of that game, although we do hope it sells millions of copies," offered Leleu as reassurance. If indeed it is reassuring and not a pre-emptive warning in disguise.
Its master plan? Casual games; the segment of the gaming market making a bigger name for itself each and every day. Probably because it makes shed loads of money for seemingly less effort.
"An Atari.com portal is soon going to be accessible, offering a series of specially developed games for playing online or downloading," he went on to reveal.
The aim is to become a well-known publisher of family games in the next three to five years. And, while Atari will try to remain independent and profitable, if a good enough offer for a merger comes along then it just might take it.
"Of course, with the sector consolidating, should a good opportunity to create value present itself, we would take a close look at it, but that's another story..."
