Atari's finances down, PSP and DS support up

Atari may have made history last May with Enter the Matrix's record-breaking launch--but it didn’t exactly make its numbers.

Today, the publisher, formerly known as Infogames, released revenue figures for its 2004 fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2004. Atari reported net revenues of $66.4 million for the fourth quarter of that year, and annual revenues of $468.9 million. Those figures compare to revenues of $84.7 million and $534.2 million for the same period a year earlier.

The company attributed the decline in revenues to its "decision to release a lighter slate of new titles" in the quarter. The delay to Driver 3, which was pushed back from a March to a June release, was also mentioned as a reason revenues were below expectations.

Atari's biggest success of last quarter was the acclaimed PC shooter Unreal Tournament 2004, which sold 400,000 units in its first two weeks. For the year, Enter the Matrix was the publisher's high point; since its release last May 15, the franchise has sold more than 5 million units worldwide.

The often-bounding and extravagant founder and CEO, Bruno Bonnell said in a statement that "fiscal 2004 was a year of evolution for our company." Not that the year was without fireworks: "We adopted the Atari name; launched Enter The Matrix, our most successful title to date; [and] completed a $200 million recapitalization and stock offering," he continued.

In an analyst conference call conducted after the markets closed today, Bonnell elaborated on a few noteworthy company agendas. He said Atari would be present at the launch of the PSP, indicating that it would bring "several launch titles" to retail. He then added that Atari would "support strongly" the Nintendo DS. Bonnell also stated that development has already begun for next-generation systems, though he did not identify any consoles or games by name.

Bonnell reminded listeners that the company has the license to publish two additional Matrix games, but offered no additional details other than to say production of new Matrix games are "ongoing, and currently in development." Commenting on the delay to Driver 3, Bonnell emphasized that it was decisions related to marketing that had contributed to the game's delay.

While predicted revenues for the upcoming full fiscal year are less than revenues reported for the just-completed year, Bonnell reminded listeners that the company would drive those revenues from "fewer, but bigger titles." The company expects to release 45 games in the upcoming fiscal year, versus the 75 it released in fiscal year 2004.