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SAN JOSE, CA -- A team of 10 videogame designers and developers from the glory days of the original Atari Inc. (30 years ago) have reteamed under the auspices of a startup called Innovative Leisure.
The veteran gamemakers, mostly in their 50s and 60s, are working with interns 20 years their junior to develop games for the iPad and iPhone. The former Atarians said these new mobile platforms are the 21st century equivalent of the old-fashioned videogame arcade of yesteryear. | SEE STORY
The onetime Atarians and Innovative Leisure's chief executive Seamus Blackley spoke about "The New Arcade" at DICE Summit held in early February in Las Vegas.
Separately, the current corporate incarnation of Atari (not part of Innovative Leisure) is staging the Indie Developer Challenge, offering a $100,000 prize for the best app to update Atari's 1972 classic Pong for Apple's mobile devices. Games from the finalists will be released under the Atari brand at the App Store later this year.
The contest is only open to U.S. developers who have already made at least one iPhone app. Deadline for entry is March 31.
