Finally Atari filed for Chapter 12 Bankruptcy in US and similarly in a French Court, and a beautiful journey came to an end. My first experience with gaming was with Atari 7800 console. I am sure many of my older users readers may have had similar experiences with Atari. I am writing this article out of sheer nostalgia.
My first interaction with computers came much after I purchased a Atari. As Atari was not freely available in India at that time, I purchased one from Mumbai's electronics flea market called Manish Market. In those days when even color television was a luxury in India, owning a Atari made me a virtual favorite among my friends. Actually, Atari inbibed the love of computers in me. I used to sit hours on the console playing PacMan, Pong, Asteroid Super Mario Bros, Space Invaders etc.
Thereafter when I purchased my first PC, first thing I downloaded was SNES emulator so I could relive the magic of Arcade games but time and tide wait for no one, slowly and steadily I lost interest in the Arcade games as did many of the others. This meant an end of era and a big company.
When I learnt Atari had filed for Bankruptcy, I was a bit nostalgic and a bit sorry for the company. It is indeed a lesson for many a corporations who do not change with the times and embrace the new technology as it develops. Kodak moments is a thing of the past, as Kodak has gone the same way, Instant photography is just not feasable that is why Polaroid is no more. By the end of 2020, I don't think many of today's blue eyed babies will be around. First to go would be Zynga followed by RIM, Nokia etc. This is my prediction based on the market realities. I hope the top execs in the above companies realise this before its too late.
I am really sorry for Atari
Vijay Prabhu
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