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| Founded By: | Bruno Bonnell |
| Location: | Lyon, France |
| Year Started: | June 1983 |
| Year Wound Up: | 29 May 2009 |
| Titles in Database: | 134 |
| Rights Now With: | Now known as Atari, SA |
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| Infogrames Entertainment, SA (IESA) was an international French holding company headquartered in Lyon, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe.
It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory computer book. Through its subsidiaries, Infogrames produced, published and distributed interactive games for all major video game consoles and computer game platforms. |
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Added: 21 May 2013
Early history
The founders wanted to christen the company Zboub Système, but were dissuaded by their legal counsel. According to Bonnell in a TV interview, they then used a mix-and-match computer program to suggest other names, one of which was "Infogramme": a portmanteau of the French words "informatique" (information technology) and "programme" (a computer program). The final choice, "Infogrames", was a slightly modified version of that suggestion, and is pronounced /ˌɪnfoʊˈɡræmz/ in English.
The company logo is an armadillo (tatou in French), chosen when the company was moved to Villeurbanne. Bonnell commented: "This dinosaur [sic] is our symbol. The armadillo has always survived changes to its environment, from the melting of glaciers to the worst of heat waves."
In the late 1980s Infogrames was noted for its French computer games that often featured original game ideas and occasionally humorous content. They had acquired several licences for popular Franco-Belgian comics, such as Tintin, Asterix and Les Tuniques Bleues.
In 1992, they released Alone in the Dark, a 3D horror adventure game to international attention. They also released, "Fantasia" for the Sega Genesis, with the player controlling Mickey Mouse on a quest to locate lost musical notes.
1996-2002 - growth through Acquisition
In 1996, Bruno Bonnell's Infogrames embarked on an acquisition campaign that would last seven years and cost more than $500 million; the objective was to become the world's leading interactive entertainment publisher. While the company's debt increased from $55 million in 1999 to $493 million in 2002, the company's revenue also increased from $246 million to $650 million during the same period.
In 1996 IESA bought Ocean Software for about $100 million,[7] renaming the company as Infogrames UK. In 1997 Philips Media BV was purchased.
In 1998 IESA acquired a majority share of 62.5% in the game distributor OziSoft, which became Infogrames Australia,[9] and in 2002 IESA bought the remaining shares of Infogrames Australia from Sega and other share holders for $3.7 million. In this same year the distributors ABS Multimedia, Arcadia and the Swiss Gamecity GmbH were acquired.
In 1999 IESA bought Gremlin Interactive for $40 million, renaming it to Infogrames Sheffield House but it was closed in 2003.[13] In the same year IESA also bought Accolade for $60 million[14][15] and Beam Software, later renamed to Infogrames Melbourne House Pty Ltd.
Acquisition of GT Interactive
Then in December 1999, IESA made one of the most expensive acquisitions in the company's history. Infogrames bought 70% of GT Interactive for $135 million, and assumed the new subsidiary's $75 million bank debt. By June 2000 Infogrames had invested another $30 million in GT Interactive.[12][17] IESA justified the purchase by stating that GT Interactive provided Infogrames with a "distribution network for all of its products in the United States, as well as a catalog of products that includes Driver, Oddworld, Unreal Tournament and Deer Hunter".
Included in the GT Interactive purchase were the game development studios Humongous Entertainment Legend Entertainment[19] and Reflections Interactive.
GT Interactive became Infogrames, Inc.
In 2000 the developer Paradigm Entertainment was bought for $19.5 million and in-flight games developer Den-o-Tech Int. (DTI) , later renamed to Infogrames DTI, was also acquired for $5.6 million.
Acquisition of Hasbro Interactive
In January 2001, IESA purchased Hasbro Interactive and the handheld game console Game.com from Hasbro for $100 million; with $95 million as 4.5 million common shares of Infogrames and $5 million in cash.
With the acquisition of Hasbro Interactive, which was renamed as Infogrames Interactive, Inc, IESA became the owner of:
The MicroProse brand and titles, including Civilization, Falcon, and RollerCoaster Tycoon;
The legendary Atari name and properties, such as Centipede, Missile Command, and Pong.
MicroProse UK studio was eventually closed on September 20, 2002.[27]
Also under the terms of the sale agreement, Infogrames gained the exclusive rights to develop and publish games based on Hasbro properties, which included Dungeons and Dragons, Mr. Potato Head, My Little Pony and others, for a period of 15 years plus an option for an additional 5 years based on performance.[24]
Eden Games and Shiny Entertainment[edit]
In 2002 IESA acquired the remaining 80% of game development studio Eden Games[28] for $4.1 million[7] and Shiny Entertainment for $47 million. With Eden Games, IESA would have right to publish Eden Games titles, such as V-Rally 3 and later Test Drive Unlimited, and with the Shiny Entertainment acquisition, IESA obtained the rights to develop and publish Enter the Matrix which was the first game based on The Matrix films and sold more than 5 million copies.[29]
Atari Group[edit]
In October 2001, IESA relaunched the Atari brand when Atari Interactive, Inc., at that time a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames Interactive, Inc., released MXrider.[25][30] On May 7, 2003, IESA officially reorganized its Infogrames Inc.[31] US subsidiary as a separate Nasdaq listed company known as Atari Inc., named its European operations as Atari Europe, renamed Infogrames Interactive, Inc. to Atari Interactive, Inc.,[25] (a wholly owned subsidiary of IESA),[32] rebranded Infogrames Australia Pty Ltd as Atari Australia Pty Ltd,[10] renamed Infogrames Melbourne House Pty Ltd to Atari Melbourne House Pty Ltd,[17] Infogrames UK became Atari UK,[9] while IESA became a holding company.[33]
Atari Inc. is a public company that, as of 2007, had, as a majority stockholder, the company California U.S. Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IESA.[34] Atari Inc. licences the Atari trademark from Atari Interactive, Inc., a license which will expire in 2013.[32] Atari Inc. has the rights to publish and sublicense in North America certain intellectual properties either owned or licensed by IESA or its subsidiaries, including Atari Interactive, Inc.[32]
Atari's Australian subsidiary also distributes games for Konami of Europe, Codemasters UK, Eidos Interactive and SCi. Konami has an Australian headquarters but this is for Konami's Gaming Machines.
Financial difficulties[edit]
In the fiscal year of 2002 IESA had a net loss of $67 million on revenues of $650 million, and in 2003 the net losses increased to $89 million.[9] In 2006 IESA reported a net loss of $201 million on revenues of $525 million, and debts of around $290 million.[7] From 1999 to 2006 IESA accumulated losses totaling €500 million.[7]
In 2004 Infogrames sold the rights to the Civilization franchise to Take-Two Interactive for $22.3 million[35] and closed down Legend Entertainment[36] studios. Also that year Infogrames lost the right to publish games of the phenomenally popular Unreal franchise when the game's developer Epic games signed with Midway Games.[37] In June 2005, Infogrames sold back to Hasbro the digital rights to most Hasbro properties including Transformers (except in Japan), My Little Pony and Connect Four, but not Dungeons & Dragons, for $65 million.[22][38]
On April 2007 Infogrames' founding chairman Bruno Bonnell left the company after 24 years; on the day of the announcement of his departure IESA's shares jumped 24%.[39] After his resignation, Infogrames through the remainder of 2006[clarification needed] sold intellectual properties and some studios in order to raise cash and stave off the threat of bankruptcy.[40]
In May 2006 IESA sold the rights to the games Stuntman to THQ and Timeshift to Saber Interactive. The sales generated $13 million in revenue. THQ also bought developer Paradigm Entertainment from IESA.[41] In July 2006 IESA sold the game developer Reflections Interactive and the rights to the Driver franchise for $21.6 million to Ubisoft.[42] In October, Shiny Entertainment was acquired by Foundation 9 Entertainment for $1.6 million.[42][43] In November of the same year Atari Melbourne House was sold to Krome Studios and renamed to Krome Studios Melbourne.[17 |
The Retro Isle team
Added: 4 Apr 2026
Click here to view a list of titles we have in the database here at Retro Isle. |
Scott Steinberg
Added: 19 Sep 2016
1UP: Between the rise of companies like Infogrames, Ubisoft, Titus and Microids in the late 1990s, what is it with the French and the videogame industry?
Bruno Bonnell: It's that a generation of French students has been educated under computing and mathematical models. Don't forget the country's depth of culture either. I was a wannabe movie producer myself at first, until I realized I could invent the movies of the 21st century.
As a nation, we had a base of raw talent ready to pounce on any creative outlet, and videogames presented just such an opportunity at the time. But truthfully, most French are bad businesspeople. We kind of burst onto the scene for a while, then lost steam as we went along. It's no wonder only Ubisoft and Infogrames have survived thus far -- these are the only two companies which decided to break out of the Franco mindset.
1UP: You've spent over 20 years in the videogame business and accomplished almost any goal a CEO can imagine. What keeps you coming back for more?
Bonnell: I created Infogrames on June 1, 1983. I was 25 years old, and had a deep vision that videogames would become the major entertainment business of the 21st century. It's like building a cathedral -- though I've spent all this time building a company, I've never had any expectation of seeing the project reach completion. But I am confident that I'm on the right path. So it's not the money that keeps me coming back day in and day out, or new products or more powerful technology -- it's the fact that we, as an industry, sell dreams. You have to respect that.
1UP: Fair enough. But why spend so much time building the Infogrames brand, only to suddenly change names to Atari?
Bonnell: I decided to take the pragmatic approach. We were the number one publisher in Europe. After so many years though, I had to realize that the brand just wouldn't take in the United States. After buying Hasbro, I realized it would be a mistake to let the Atari name go to waste -- the brand literally means "video games" to so many people. That said, the money I spent on building the Infogrames brand wasn't wasted...it was needed to get the company to that point.
1UP: Speaking of purchases, in the past several years, it seems as if your company's strategy has simply been "buy everything." What's the point of all the acquisitions been?
Bonnell: Okay, I'll admit it -- when you see someone trying to consolidate 25 companies, from an outside perspective, it looks like he's biting off more than he can chew. But there are two reasons I adopted this approach.
One -- I'm a firm believe in market share. As a French company alone, we weren't growing at the same pace as most of our American competitors, and we needed to stay in their league. Two -- we weren't buying randomly. There was a method to the madness.
For example, in the first stage of our company's evolution -- through the purchase of GT Interactive -- it was about territorial growth. We picked up holdings in one European country after another. In stage two -- the era where we acquired Hasbro, Paradigm, etc. -- it was about guaranteeing a flow of product to the retail pipeline.
Do I plan to buy more companies? Aside from in the Asian territories, where we need a larger presence, no. Now we want to focus on improving game content and building franchises. It's a very rational business model, if you think about it.
1UP: Understood, but let's look at all the studios you bought, then shut down -- Accolade, Gremlin, Legend, etc. One word: why?
Bonnell: A company is a living body -- people don't understand that. Nothing about a company is set in stone. Let's say you buy an Accolade or a Legend. If a studio isn't performing up to standards, you can always change your mind, change the management, etc. Failing that, you can also incorporate people into other parts of your organization. Shutting down an operation is a purely pragmatic decision -- it has nothing to do with lack of respect. In many cases, a studio, as much as we're fond of it, just may not be delivering the necessary level of quality in its products we demand.
1UP: Alright, then -- what, in your opinion, are some of the best and worst purchases you've made?
Bonnell: Let's put it this way: what do I regret and what am I proud of? Well, I'm exceptionally proud of what we've done in America with GT Interactive. The company's organizational structure was all across the board -- in two years' time, we managed to make it profitable and manageable once again. As for regrets, I may have been too hasty in the past in acquiring minor studios like Accolade and Gremlin, which you mentioned. But from the point of view of learning experiences, all of these milestones were very important.
1UP: As a publisher, you do PC games, Macintosh games, console titles, value products, children's amusements...is there any market sector you won't touch?
Bonnell: What we've decided is that the mass-market is the evolution of our business. I'm a big fan of [Sun Tzu's literary classic] The Art of War -- it's my secret to success. As the book teaches, one shouldn't fight an enemy on their strengths. There are a lot of people in the videogame business we just can't go head to head with in certain categories. For example, Electronic Arts -- in the sports arena, we can't match them face to face. But we can be smart, and attack in areas where they don't expect -- we're number one in the children's market with the Backyard Sports series, for instance. Don't expect us to fight Madden NFL anytime soon, though.
Otherwise, my only other limit is ethical. I won't sacrifice my company's integrity for dollars. There are some games -- I won't mention any names -- that are seen as big successes that Atari, under my command, would have rejected outright. We sell dreams here -- not nightmares.
1UP: Your name has appeared in the credits of countless games. But with so many titles in production, just how involved can one man be with so many given properties?
Bonnell: My official title here is Chairman/CEO/Chief [Game] Credits Director of the company [laughs]. It means I'm trying to inspire my designers, and guide the feel of every game we do. I'm actually fairly involved in the whole company portfolio. And I'm very involved in the key properties -- they reflect an image of the company.
Say in the case of Test Drive, for example -- my goal is to show the designers the evolution of the property. It's like being a fashion designer. These people don't cut every dress, but they do influence the entire line. I'm very open to discussion though, and associates know they can make me change my mind.
1UP: Thing you miss most about being a simple start-up...perhaps the fact you might wish the company was as small and personal as in the old days?
Bonnell: Honestly, I don't miss the old days at all. I really believe that both personally and professionally, you go through different stages in life. If I left my current business, I would never put together another start-up in the sector...I'd scuba dive or raise sheep in New Zealand. Emotionally, you have to move beyond each passing point in your life -- I can't wait to see what adventure each new day brings.
1UP: At this point, which company do you see as your biggest rival, and why so?
Bonnell: I'm a strong believer in different corporate identities. Say you go to a club, and you're a good looking man, but blonde. Other good looking men can also be at the same club who are bald or have brown hair. Some women will prefer you; some women will prefer the other men at the club. The reason for the analogy is that business as a whole revolves around freedom of choice, and therefore it's nothing but a competition -- we see everyone as a rival.
On the other hand, size-wise, Electronic Arts is of course our closest counterpart. Companies in the second tier -- Activision, Take 2, etc. -- aren't as big of a worry right now. But because there's too much ego and vision in this business for much more consolidation to occur, my paranoia tells me everyone's a competitor. Then again, my pride says that no one can compete with Atari.
1UP: Where do you see interactive entertainment headed in the years to come?
Bonnell: The future of interactive entertainment is clearly headed towards easier user interfaces and more accessible games. People want to play what they want, when they want. Remember the old days of radio in the U.S.? People listened to music all day long, and programming was formatted. Then we became surrounded by music. The videogame business has been similarly insulated. Now we can download on demand, and play outdoors. Consumers are pushing towards having much more freedom in terms of their gaming experience -- that's why mobile and online gaming is growing.
A second evolution is also going to happen in the space where games have traditionally been seen as an art form. In the past, game designers have viewed making their creations as something like producing an opera...they want to produce something epic, titles that offer 30-40 hours of in-depth (and sometimes open-ended) play. Consumers are moving towards a desire for something more complete, and more exciting. It's as if they want to make the move from opera into pop music.
A new generation of consumers is growing that wants quick, fast-paced entertainment that's instantly gratifying. After all, dancing along to a pop song is more fun than watching a three-hour opera, isn't it? The problem is that in the past, the critics in our game industry have largely been opera specialists. This is going to change going forward. |
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