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Atari turning to online, social games

By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UKPosted May 23, 2008 9:52 am PT

Infogrames president Phil Harrison says gaming subsidiary is moving away from big-budget, single-player games.

It has been almost three months since Phil Harrison quit his high-profile position as head of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios and took on a new role as president of troubled publisher and Atari-parent Infogrames.

People have been waiting to see the direction in which he is going to be steering the Infogrames ship--and in an interview with Gamasutra, some clues have emerged.

Harrison said that he believes the release of action survival game Alone in the Dark (coming up in June) will mark the beginning of a "new Atari," with an accompanying change in direction.

He said, "I don't see that we're going to be making huge-budget, single-player games in the future. Now, that doesn't mean that we won't have ambition to do really incredible games that have high quality, high execution, and high innovation, but they won't be one-player, narrative-driven, start-middle-end games."

The future lies in social games, Harrison believes. He commented, "'Swan song' is probably not the right word, but I think Atari is part of an industry in some transition from pure[ly] packaged media to an online business model and social communication and community model. If we are part of that transition, perhaps we are going to take a slightly aggressive, leading-edge role in that transition."

72 Comments

  • Jebbers

    Posted Jun 15, 2008 7:27 pm PT

    my 360 hasnt been online in 6 months, i only play single player games, or sports games with a friend, i havnt been into online multiplayer in a long time, then again i work alot and have an 11 month old son, so when i do get some spare time, i'd rather play a single player experience, eg gta4, mass effect, oblivion.

  • Erebus

    Posted Jun 15, 2008 4:51 pm PT

    You can still have strong single-player experiences in multiplayer environments.... The question is, does Atari look at it this way, or are they jumping on the MMO bandwagon?

  • gshell

    Posted Jun 14, 2008 5:24 am PT

    I agree with those gamers who say they don't want to see the end of story driven, single player experiences but I think Phil is right. I personally don't get into the whole social networking thing but I'm also an older gamer who loves single player games and on-line gaming with a few select friends. I think younger people want as much creativity and interaction as possible. I mean do you really need youtube, facebook, and a myspace page?.....hey, I think I know everything about you now. But that's what younger people are really into and I think Phil sees that and is trying to capitalize on that trend.

  • pippocalippo2

    Posted Jun 1, 2008 3:31 am PT

    No. I ca't stand this. They must give a sequel of Alone in the Dark or the entire saga will die. It's true that no many people like this kind of games, but the social games are boring: you can play them for a pair of weeks...

  • akiwak

    Posted May 28, 2008 10:08 am PT

    There's people that like social gaming but not all people like social gaming. OK to focus time into this sector but don't forget that there are lots of us also that like story, gameplay, and single player experiences.

  • fencingbean

    Posted May 28, 2008 1:40 am PT

    Atari can do whatever they like, as long as they make some very good games.

  • vbc_bt

    Posted May 27, 2008 6:37 pm PT

    The best way to turn their ship around is to go for the Social Networking aspects of Roller Coaster Tycoon. It's got all the buzz words/trends covered and could be a lot of fun. Imagine user created and/or Atari created virtual amuement parks you could visit with your friends. The opportunity for Atari to cash in with things like micro transactions is real. The ability to visit parks online and actually buy things from the shops you visit in the game would be very unique and a fun way to shop online. The RCT franchise is very popular and well branded. If people could actually visit RCT4 parks online and walk around the parks, shop, ride the rides, watch the shows, play the games, etc. what would that be worth?! I can think of many, many revenue streams for a product like that.

  • lamprey263

    Posted May 27, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    Jeez Phil, just when I thought you might actually turn things around for Atari, I was soooo wrong. Anyhow, ALONE IN THE DARK actually looks like it just might be the game that'll turn Atari around... just too bad Phil had absolutely nothing to do with it.

  • Rhubarb9

    Posted May 27, 2008 12:15 pm PT

    they should make a sequel to E.T

  • Tysonia

    Posted May 27, 2008 9:53 am PT

    Boo. There will always be a role for narrated games and media. People like the escapism and fantasy that narrated games create. Social games of course have a role too--it's just not narrative. If Atari wants to "outsource" story development to their consumers, so be it. But it's short-sighted.

  • williamquah

    Posted May 27, 2008 7:55 am PT

    i think that's a bad move. i enjoy playing alone(no lag, no people running off half way, start and quit a game at my leisure) it's a sad thing because the day online only happens is probably the end of gaming for me. it's that simple.

  • Lokar

    Posted May 26, 2008 6:43 pm PT

    I will always have a place in my heart for Atari. Hope they can continue to keep doing things.

  • Proust

    Posted May 26, 2008 1:03 pm PT

    Glad Phil left Sony.

  • CHROMEFLAMIN

    Posted May 26, 2008 12:05 pm PT

    Atari can turn to whatever they want but until they put out decent products, it wont make a dam bit of difference.

  • MC_Raptor

    Posted May 26, 2008 9:44 am PT

    I for one have recently (since purchase of a ps3) been introduced to the world of online gaming. I have to say, It's like a whole new genre. You now KNOW who is the best, you have a whole new bunch of targets to meet, and achievements to aim for. I am excited by the whole "Play Create Share" motto of media molecule. I know that phil harrison has given sony a huge push in the direction of the "online social community" and see where he is going with infogrames.
    You can't tell what sort of games he is suggesting entirely, so I am excited to see where he takes them, and what he hopes to produce. I agree with phil, the future of gaming is social communication and of the community model. It's going to be brilliant.

    HenriH-42
    Little big PLanet. probably one of the most innovative game in the last decade. British!

  • _iMMuNiTy_

    Posted May 26, 2008 8:14 am PT

    I would play social games.

    If outside didn't exist.

  • thekodaman

    Posted May 26, 2008 6:56 am PT

    So essentially what this means is that Atari no longer has the revenue to compete with the big boys in the console market and are now turning to cheaper development options to get an income to limp by on. What's the point?

  • Diernes

    Posted May 25, 2008 10:43 pm PT

    Awesome, hopefully that means they will release there franchises like D&D to a more worth publisher...

  • Nulike

    Posted May 25, 2008 8:39 pm PT

    Everyone buy Alone in the Dark so this man has to eat his own words lol

  • bugsnaruto

    Posted May 25, 2008 7:17 pm PT

    Square enix never needed multiplayer games

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