Best Of 2024: "It Would Be Really Cool To Do A Retrospective On Iwata" - Atari's CEO On Acquisitions & Dream Collaborations

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Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy!

For many younger gamers, the idea that Atari was once the undisputed king of console gaming might seem somewhat farfetched. Yet in the late '70s and early '80s, the gaming giant dominated the market with the Atari 2600, introducing audiences to the likes of Adventure, Yars' Revenge, and Haunted House. However, after a wave of shovelware and some poor management decisions, the video game market crashed in 1983 and was seemingly done for. Until a little company called Nintendo stepped in, that is.

Since then, the Atari brand has struggled to regain its footing in the industry, but with the appointment of Wade Rosen as its CEO in 2021, the company is heading in a decidedly focused direction, leveraging its broad history and expertise in retro gaming to tap into an increasingly growing interest in older games amongst the community.

After the success of Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, the company has gone on to acquire retro specialists Digital Eclipse and Nightdive Studios, both of which have consistently put out critically acclaimed retro-inspired games and remasters. With the release of the qomp2 on the Nintendo Switch, developed by Graphite Lab, we took the opportunity to sit down with Rosen to discuss his thoughts on the recent acquisitions, what he'd like to see Digital Eclipse tackle in the future, and how the Switch is such a great fit for Atari's games.