Interactive ALTERNATIVE PAYMENTS
Fred Chesnais will be exploring this topic at the EiG show in Berlin.
Two sides of the same coin
Exploring the synergies and business opportunities between the real-money gaming and the video gaming industries, Atari’s Fred Chesnais will at EIG expanding on the company’s recent partnership with Pariplay and what this means for the player and the industry as the video/console gaming sector colides with the social and real-money gaming sector
Casino, an Atari 2600 video game released in 1978, allowed video game players to play blackjack, five-card stud poker and poker solitaire. Undoubtedly crude by today’s graphical stan- dards, the game gave players at the time the opportunity to experience casino-style gaming on a cutting-edge gaming console. Fast forward 36 years and Atari is back in the casino market once again, but this time for ‘real.’ Atari is launching two casino platforms, one for real money gaming internationally and in selected US states, and a social casino populated by virtual currency. It’s a return that also sees Atari bouncing back from the brink, having entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy pro- tection in January 2013, the company has been revitalised and refinanced to meet the gaming needs of the next generation of players.
Atari has been resurrected by its current CEO, Frederic Chesnais. Formerly the CEO of Atari Interactive, Mr. Chesnais has pulled together financing to not only save the Atari name, but to bring the brand back to prominence in new gam- ing sectors. Today, the company renowned for its gaming brands; Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Pong, Haunted House, Test Drive, Alone in the Dark, and Rollercoaster Tycoon; are powerful properties upon which Atari is deliver- ing compelling games online (i.e. browser, Facebook and digital download), on smartphones and tablets and other connected devices. As a licensor, Atari also continues to extend its brand and franchises into other media, merchandising and publishing categories.
In April, Atari announced a worldwide long-term strategic partnership with PariPlay, an imaging and lottery developer, to launch Atari’s video game brands across real money gambling formats, including iLottery, social, online and mobile plat- forms. In addition, Pariplay will distribute Atari branded games throughout the Pariplay network. G3 spoke to Mr. Chesnais about his plans for
7 0 Atari’s social and real money gaming platforms.
There are lots of IP licensing deals for film, TV and gaming brands. Universal Studios, Hasbro and Endemol have all made a small fortune from sell- ing these rights. The strategics partnership between Atari and Pariplay appears to be much more than simply taking clone games and re- labelling - why is Atari taking this route?
Usually, the types of licensing deals are very straightforward. You provide the IP and the devel-
Usually, the types of licensing
deals are very straightforward. You provide the IP and the
developer does the rest, taking the game completely from A- Z. However, this deal is very much a joint venture. Pariplay
are providing the expertise in a real-money environment.
oper does the rest, taking the game completely from A-Z. However, this deal is very much a joint venture. Pariplay are providing the expertise to create these games in a real-money environment. However, we are the ones in charge of user acqui- sitions. Atari is talking to the community, building on our games expertise and marketing knowledge to recruit and retain players. I believe in the long- run, to acquire expertise and build stability, the users have to be Atari customers. If they are not Atari users, if they are someone else’s, then you’ve lost the value of the acquisition. We want to build an Atari audience and believe that this is the strategic way to approach this. If you can’t
Fred Chesnais is the CEO and Chairman of Atari, the iconic brand. Chesnais became CEO and Chairman of the Board of Atari in early 2013 and is now the largest shareholder of Atari. Chesnais was previously COO and CFO of the Atari Group from 2001-2004 and CEO of Atari Interactive until 2007. When Chesnais left Atari in 2007, he created the company I2G which produced the hit game Jillian Michaels: Fitness Ultimatum for the Nintendo Wii. Chesnais sold I2G in 2011 and later produced online survival multiplayer games. He returned to Atari early 2013 to re-boot the brand and produce interactive entertainment content across many platforms, using Atari's global portfolio of properties. In 2014, Atari has launched multiple games across various platforms including RollerCoaster Tycoon(R) 4 Mobile(TM), Minimum, and Haunted House. Atari has announced the launch of Atari Casino for the fall of 2014.
communicate directly with your players then ultimately you’re not building value for the future.
What are the differences between video games and real money games in terms of their creation - and how do you bridge that divide to create Atari real-money games that work at both levels?
We understand that real-money gambling is dif- ferent, but the elements that make a great game remain the same, and it’s these elements that ensure that people really engage with the brands. At the same time we understand that we have to create a community, our own community, and interact one-to-one with our Atari customers. Rollercoaster Tycoon is one of most successful games in mobile right now - it’s a great game and one that’s able to engage with this gaming com- munity. Our job is to talk with that audience, build relationships and really engage with the player. We have a lot of expertise in managing communities. We know what they need and what motivates them to play.
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