The latest incarnation of Atari has seen its share of ups and downs since being revived and its half-year 2022/2023 report tells an interesting tale regarding what has and hasn’t worked for the company. In the report, it is overwhelmingly apparent that the Atari VCS has not fared well in the current console landscape. The company saw a 27 percent revenue decrease year-over-year but in particular, its hardware segment saw a drop of 92 percent for the same time period. In a statement to Tom’s Hardware, Atari said it has suspended relations with its original Atari VCS manufacturer as part of a reorganizing strategy.
“As we noted in our Half-Year 2022/2023 Results, we have reorganized our hardware business and laid the groundwork for a new commercial strategy. As part of this reorganization, we suspended our relationship with the original manufacturing partner of the Atari VCS, but we continue to maintain inventory and fulfill new orders.
Atari remains committed to the VCS platform. We have been adding more support for game developers and continue to add new games to the store. Hardware is an important part of Atari’s legacy and will continue to be a part of our long-term strategy.
We have several hardware and software projects in development, under licensed contracts, that will expand the VCS ecosystem and create additional utility for users.”
Blockchain to the rescue
The company states it has plans to fulfill orders but also continuing with expanding its VCS ecosystem. Meanwhile in an opposite turn of events Atari’s blockchain ventures saw an uptick of 101 percent, although that was not enough to offset its losses from hardware and licensing. The report indicates that thanks to NFT sales Atari’s blockchain revenue rose from €0.4M to €0.7M.
Blockchain revenues increased from €0.4M to €0.7M thanks to the NFT sales completed during the period despite a challenging market environment for cryptocurrencies in general.
As the value of the cryptocurrency has plummeted it remains uncertain if Atari will continue to see rewards from its blockchain ventures but it is continuing to develop its Web3 ecosystem, Atari X community, and new NFT initiatives as it collaborates with various partners. A former collaboration led to the creation of the 259 million ATRI Tokens but it does not intend to sell the ones it holds, 58 million valued at €0.3M in intangible assets, but is investigating the creation of a new token as part of its blockchain roadmap. Lastly, Atari recently launched its 50th-anniversary celebration for PC and consoles.
Discussion (7 replies)
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I'm a little shocked that basically, NFTs, etc. kept them afloat during a year when many lost their you-know-what with it. I doubt they'll be so lucky for the FY 2nd half though.
Whaaaaaaaat blockchain bullshit didn't sell?
no, the other way around . . .it did! That's what's so ironic about this.
Here's the breakdown from their report and I highlighted how hardware/licensing is where they took the hits but blockchain miraculously carried through.
Well... I wouldn't say Blockchain carried them. It was a significant line item, and saw some impressive growth - catching up and slightly exceeding licensing -- but now that crypto firms are going belly up left and right, will that be sustainable?
Gaming still carries Atari far and away, but wow Hardware took a nose dive. What were they selling hardware-wise that was getting them that much revenue?
I'd have to go back and get the details but here's what I remember off the top of my head (but not guaranteeing is totally accurate)
1. Atari VCS possibly renamed to VCS 800, and maybe even different multiple models. An Android or AMD SoC, or similarly based system that was priced $300-400ish and ridiculously underpowered compared to anything in a similar price range.
2. Multiple launch delays due to supply chain(?) and redesigns(?) during production
3. Retro gaming but the hardware that was so limited you were almost better off on your phone
Again, this is just what I remember so take it with a grain, or bucket, of salt.