Yeah, definitely a smart strategy. Hopefully they can make yet another comeback

Atari isn't the biggest name in games so like Eidos, Majesco, and the other smaller game devs focusing on the Wii/DS it isn't a huge deal by itself.  However when added together it's good news for the Wii/DS.

I don't know the state of their relationship with all of these licences but (in the recent past) they have published the following game series:

Alone in the Dark
Backyard Sports
Dragon Ball Z
Driver
Ikaruga
Neverwinter Nights
Test Drive

wow atari, lol good for you.

 i love it, all the crappy dev will make wii games while the top power hungry devs with something to prove will make games for PS3.

Out of those, the only one that I know they no longer own is Driver. Ubisoft has the rights to that now.

Hopefully they can establish some franchises like Cooking Mama or Trauma Center. They have the odd advantage of actually having name recognition with some of the non-traditional demographics, like the over-40s.

The new Nintendo Dream Team! Atari!! Majesco!! Hudson!! Sega!! How times change.

Isn't this a prof that something serious is wrong in the industry, Atari, Majesco, Take2 all have or had big problems with the finansicial powers. I really hope DS/Wii can generate some money or we are in serious trouble. We can't just have Nintendo, EA, Ubi making money in the industry.

The problem is that the more powerful systems get, the more complicated and costly it is to make games. Thats why EA is so big, because they have to be to develop games in a timely fashion. Its kinda hard to go from xbox/ps2 to PS3 which basically invented a new type of computer chip, LOL.

Quite ironic. Nintendo who once made Atari irrelevant may now be the very one to save Atari!

I support Nintendo for MORE than JUST supporting Nintendo. It used to be Squaresoft and Enix and now it's Square-Enix. It used to be Sega now it's Sega-Sammy. It used to be Namco and Bandai. Now it's Namco-Bandai. What happened to all those prolific developers like SNK, Data East, Taito?

The higher the bar is set game-making wise the less developers available to independently make games. They talk about competition as the reason not to get behind Nintendo so strongly. Have they not thought of the fact that it's the gamemakers available who count in this equation also? Gotta keep the platforms viable but also have to keep the developers viable too. Only a few companies making games is less competition, right?

Many either drop out of the biz or co-opt with other companies to produce games now.

Thank God Capcom is still healthy in itself. I sure don't want to wake up and see the day when it's Capcom-Konami because of elements in this biz getting too big for their britches and wrecking the fragile structure of the still relatively small videogame industry.

More & more input for the same & equal returns is a maintaining strategy at best and a fatal strategy at worst.

It forces less creativity for fear of loss and a conformity to keeping what you already have by putting out the "tried and true". You need a mix of both for a healthy industry. Those chance takers and those familiars to be able to pull in the widest audience possible and keep the business fresh.

Wii's strong enough to get the job done and its easier game development costs allow developers/publishers to recoup their investments in order to make more and better games. I don't see how anyone can be against it. Should Wii be the only platform available? Of course not. There will ALWAYS be an alternative and that is necessary. Though I 'd love Nintendo to dominate again I don't want them becoming an absolute monopoly either. I loved the NES days but I also loved the days of SNES Vs. Genesis. I just want that company to lead in order to maintain certain valuable properties in this industry that make gaming worthwhile.

The direction Sony & Microsoft's going will only drain the industry of what made it great in the first place. I want them kept in check before we see more companies merge and go out of business.

John Lucas 

Absolutely. Right now I am very happy that Playstation and PS2 did so well. This forced Nintendo to rethink the entire videogame industry. And now we are all reaping the benefits. A cheap, awesome console, with amazing controls.