Infogrames to become Atari?

Infogrames CEO David Gardner has said that he would consider dropping the company name to put all its weight behind the Atari brand.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, he said “I'd like to consider that; I think that would be the final mark of the transformation from Infogrames to Atari."

Along with Gardner, formerly an executive VP at Electronic Arts, Infogrames has recently added ex-Sony man Phil Harrison into the brilliantly titled role of Directeur Général Délégué, so it’s looking for a major shakeup to breath fresh life into its dwindling business.

“We like to think of Infogrames, instead of being the tired, old company, we like to think of it as the best-funded, best-branded, most energetic start-up in the history of computer gaming," added Gardner.

This name change wouldn’t exactly be unfamiliar to members of Atari, which has changed hands and names on numerous occasions in its checked business history. But it must now have something going for it if can lure people like Harrison away from nice comfortable roles at industry leading businesses.

But there seems to be an awful lot of faith in the name ‘Atari’ and it may be undue. I’m sure it’s far more familiar to the average person than Infrogrames (which I’ll probably always remember for the original Alone in the Dark) but its history will always be stained by the fact that it has struggled to find its way in recent years.

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