Humbled video game pioneer iconic Atari files for bankruptcy protection 

To answer the question and given recent speculation, video game pioneer Atari is the fallen icon of American Video game industry – declared itself bankrupt. known for such popular early games as Pong, Asteroids and Centipede, the video game pioneer Atari’s U.S. operations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to separate from their French parent company, Atari S.A.

The 31-year-old brand expects to sell or restructure its assets within the next 90 to 120 days.

The New York bankruptcy filing listed estimated assets of $1 million to $10 million, in contrast with estimated debts listed at $10 million to $50 million.

The video game maker, founded in 1972, Atari was one of the first video game innovators, its parent company, Atari SA, has not posted a profit since 1999. Here you can find official release.

In a statement, Atari says the move is necessary to secure investments it needs to grow in mobile and downloadable video games.  Atari said the division has approval to obtain $5 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Tenor Capital, a firm that specializes in distressed lending. The group will “conduct business as usual” during the Chapter 11 proceeding, Atari said.

Robert Mattes will remain as CFO of the U.S. entities, the firm said. “In light of the current situation with BlueBay, we have decided to take what we think is the best decision to protect the company and its shareholders,” Atari CEO Jim Wilson said in announcing the filings.

“If you’re too young to remember Atari’s heyday, back in the early 1980s, then you didn’t know that Atari was the jam.  Back when Silicon Valley was basically Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Halted Specialties, Atari was like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. says Sam Grobart.”

About the author: Amarendra Bhushan

A journalist, author and serial entrepreneur- Founder and CEO of CEOWORLD Magazine and Lucentbyte Media Technologies LTD. (amar@ceoworld.biz)