Harrison says oui to Atari

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Mar 3, 2008 4:14 pm PT

Recently departed Sony Worldwide Studios chief taking new gig as president and general director of troubled publisher's parent Infogrames.

Phil Harrison must like a challenge. Why else would the executive resign his post as president of Worldwide Studios at Sony--where he had worked for 16 years--just as the PlayStation 3's fortunes seem to be improving? And why then would he take on one of the most unenviable tasks in the game industry: turning around Atari, the once-mighty publisher that has seen itself drown in red ink for the past several years?

Why is this man smiling?

Questions may still linger about Harrison's exit from Sony last week, but rumors of him jumping ship to Atari have now been confirmed. Today, Atari's parent company Infogrames SA announced that the executive has signed on to be its president and director general, effective immediately. He will report to David Gardner, Infogrames' recently installed CEO.

"I am pleased to welcome Phil to Infogrames," Gardner said in a statement. "He has an outstanding reputation in the industry, as one of the key leaders behind the success of PlayStation. We have been seeking an opportunity to work together for some time and I am certain he will be able to make a significant contribution to [Atari's] publishing strategy."

Indeed, Harrison's main duties at Infogrames will be to "lead group publishing and game development into the network era." Harrison's task may prove a Sisyphean one: In mid-February, the French company's New York-based Atari subsidiary reported it lost $300,000 on a 13 percent revenue slide during the quarter ended December 31, 2007. The lackluster report came three months after Atari--which is facing delisting on the Nasdaq exchange--itself said it has "substantial doubt about [its] ability to continue as a going concern."

For his part, Harrison is unfazed by Atari's woes. "This is the perfect time to join Infogrames and help shape the future of Atari, one of the industry's legendary brands," he professed in a statement. "As the game business moves rapidly online, I believe we have an outstanding opportunity to create amazing network game and community experiences for players the world over."

217 Comments

  • neonblueshadow

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    I've had respect for him, and now I have a lot more respect. He still wants to make waves, looking at a sinking ship as an opportunity is risky, but also awesome if you can re-float it.

  • Fewsness

    Posted Apr 2, 2008 3:10 am PT

    This 3 guys (Gardner, Harrison and Wilson) aren t there for money.
    They have strong passion for the atari brand and they know the great potentiel of this factory to revolution the world video game market.

  • Maveus

    Posted Mar 9, 2008 9:23 pm PT

    I can see him pulling Atari through to become a decent developer again, best of luck, Phil.

  • jsc_tidus

    Posted Mar 9, 2008 5:33 am PT

    whats wrong with this guy.. dude, sony needs ya much more.. why goes to atari? let me guess, higher salary?

  • Carlito911

    Posted Mar 7, 2008 12:47 am PT

    Let's see what he can do with Atari!

  • zombey1333

    Posted Mar 6, 2008 10:19 am PT

    Good luck with this one, yo. You'll need it.

  • LindBergh2007

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 6:06 pm PT

    Drand,I like everyone here remembers Atari and will never fogret the mark on history they've left. I still wouldn't mind playing a Lynx handheld or wouldn't mind playing a 2600 VCS again(Which I haven't played in 11 years.) But fact of the matter is that they're gone and all that's left is Infogrames who COULD make a great game if they tried.

    It's too bad there gone, I also miss Coleco and Mattel Electronics. But SEGA is the only surviving former console maker that IS still very much alive today henceforth they have a better chance at ever returning to the console market.

  • valdarez

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 5:15 pm PT

    If you're a developer who dislikes maintenance work, and only wants to create new products, then you've found the right place! Join Atari and help create games that are incomplete, bug ridden, and have no support. In fact, when you come to work for Atari, you'll never have to worry about finishing a product, fixing a bug, or taking the blame for anything wrong with the game ever again! Why? Because we want to be the biggest (not best) and model our business after the most excellent example set forth from EA.

  • GreyblutDBM

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 4:49 pm PT

    Its very likely that the publicity alone derived from this move will be to the benefit of Atari. Mr. Harrison has a point with it being an industry brand name, all these years- and stirring the kettle in this manner has at least bought my interest in the wellfare of Atari for the remainder of this fiscal year...

  • V-Nine

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 2:13 pm PT

    ...Atari has the most extra lives I've ever seen.....

  • JackfnBurton

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 12:34 pm PT

    You can second guess his decision - and it IS easy to second guess a decision you weren't involved in - but when you think about it, it IS only the sinking ships that need saving. Sony will be fine without him, but his new employer represents the sort of challenge that truly ambitious execs love. If he fails, everyone will call it inevitable and like most execs at his level, he'll land on his feet somewhere else. But if he succeeds, he becomes a legend and will be in an excellent position to wield considerable personal influence and restore much needed credibility to a once respected publisher. Looking at his career so far it seems like a challenge that was hard to resist.

  • enoslives7

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 9:10 am PT

    I hope Atari brings out a new system thats bw compatible with the 2600.

  • Dreski83

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 7:14 am PT

    poor Harrison... I'd be shocked if he could fumble anything special with Infogrames or Atari in the next few years

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 3:43 am PT

    I hope things work out for Phil. He was pretty good with Sony, so he certainly has the potential to turn Atari around.

  • Tyaj

    Posted Mar 4, 2008 7:24 pm PT

    I've never heard about this guy until the press conferences...... he's a good speaker though and really stands out from the other boring speakers out there.

  • stillereize

    Posted Mar 4, 2008 5:26 pm PT

    The guy has all the money in the world that one man needs and for some reason he found a lost puppy and took some time off work to nurse it back to health. PS3 is fine. It doesn't matter who you have running Sony because the crappy defective Xbox 360's (3 coffins myself) sells Playstation3's on its own. Now that HD DVD is DEAD! and Blu-Ray is the clear winner, all this man has chosen to do is climb a different mountain. Give the guy a break. Maybe some pro-bono work over at Atari might salvage that wreck, because face it, The Witcher stunk. I mean who re-releases the same game months after its first arrival and rename it because the second title actually contains the finished game? Things like that won't happen with Phil. As for Sony, every time a 360 dies a Playstation3 is born. Im a born-again Playstationier myself. Bought a new Plasma to celebrate my divorce with microsoft. Im sure loving my 50" plasma. And Blu Ray has given me new reason to watch movies. As for the games, well, you got me there, but they're coming. Sooner or later they show up. Oblivion, GTA, Guitar Hero, etc. Halo3 was so boring, it was insulting. So for overall entertainment and PEACE of MIND, Playstation3 with or without Phil makes me one happy gamer. I'm not so much a Sony fanboy but Microsoft and their "I'm sorry" customer approach for the past two years made me a Microsoft hater. So I guess I'm a Sony fanboy by default. Happy red rings of death.

  • Timstuff

    Posted Mar 4, 2008 4:30 pm PT

    Harrison pulled the PS3 out of the toilet after a poor launch, so hopefully he can do the same for Atari.

  • runstalker

    Posted Mar 4, 2008 3:26 pm PT

    I really hope Phil can turn Atari, the pioneering old-school game publisher, around again. Heh, just kidding. There's nothing "old-school" or "pioneering" about this Atari. It's just a bought name. A facade purchased by a faltering French company. Infogrames has squandered the "Atari" brand since buying it. I will give props to them for a few smart decisions like Indigo Prophecy, Test Drive Unlimited, NWN 2, and The Witcher, but for the most part it's been a comedy of errors at new-school Atari for years and years, leaning on their DBZ license like a crutch. Phil, by the gods, fix Infogrames!

  • IKKF

    Posted Mar 4, 2008 3:20 pm PT

    I love how everyone mocked this rumor, and now he's actually at Atari. If the reason he left Sony was pay, I'm pretty sure that Atari won't do any better. I guess Phil knows best, but why the hell is he working at Atari?

  • jknight5422

    Posted Mar 4, 2008 3:19 pm PT

    I think it's obvious he saw the writing on the wall for the piece of crap that is the PS3. Future-proof schmoof.

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