ATARI Inc. (ticker: ATAR, exchange: )
News Release -
6-Apr-2004
Atari Launches ATARI ON DEMAND Service Digitally Delivering Games and Software to Customers Worldwide Global Subscription Service Marks a First for Online Publishing World
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2004-- Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), a leader in interactive entertainment,
today announced the launch of the Company's first online software
service that delivers its back-catalog titles over the Internet to
Atari fans worldwide. The service will distribute the software to
personal computers in pure digital form, bypassing the need to install
from a disk. Unlimited access to Atari's growing e-catalog of games,
productivity software, and kids' software is available at
www.atariondemand.com for a monthly fee of $14.95. The "Atari On
Demand" service uses the EXEtender(TM) Turnkey technology solution
from Exent Technologies Inc., which powers leading online game
services in North America, Europe and Asia.
"Atari is delighted to work with Exent in offering this exciting
new category of digital entertainment," said Wim Stocks, Atari's
Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Atari on Demand is
the next logical step in building on the unprecedented successes we've
had in digital distribution. The service creates a market-expanding
channel that is great for Atari, its partners, and for Atari fans."
The "Atari On Demand" subscription service, powered and operated
by Exent, opens up Internet access to a large and growing selection of
Atari's back catalog, offering value packages for the Atari gaming
enthusiast and casual user alike. With a broadband connection,
Microsoft Windows operating system, and an international credit card
(Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover), customers can join
the service from any place on the globe. The Atari software is
delivered using Exent's innovative streaming technology, which ensures
that bandwidth utilization is kept to a minimum and that the
customer's computer can handle application-specific requirements prior
to delivering the software.
"Exent is proud to be Atari's partner in pursuing this high-margin
growth opportunity for on-line, on-demand gaming and software
services", said Zvi Levgoren, Exent's CEO. "Both consumers and
publishers stand to benefit from the tremendous value that digital
distribution brings - our technology and solutions serve to strengthen
and energize the relationship between consumer and publisher."
About Exent Technologies
Exent is the market leader in technology solutions for secure
digital delivery of gaming and application software for service
providers seeking to digitally distribute, manage and monetize a
digital, on-demand games and applications service. Exent delivers
products and solutions that support software publishers, broadband
service providers, consumer portals, retailers and others. Exent's
technology enables all standard business models - purchases,
subscriptions, rentals, try-before-you-buy - for applications of any
size. Both full download and streaming delivery models for offline and
online use are available. Exent's Digital Rights Management solution
dramatically lowers software piracy and ensures enforcement of
licensing restrictions. Exent's EXEtender(TM)-based products &
services are currently in commercial use by Yahoo!, Bell Canada,
Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, KPN, Telenet, Telenor, Fujitsu, Swisscom
and other leading service providers worldwide. Major shareholders of
Exent include AOL Time Warner Ventures, Comcast Interactive, Concord
Ventures and New Enterprise Associates. The company has offices in
Bethesda, Maryland and Tel-Aviv, Israel. For more information, please
visit www.exent.com.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive
games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party
publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The
Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such
as Driver(TM), Enter the Matrix(TM), Neverwinter Nights(TM),
Stuntman(TM), Test Drive(R), Unreal(R) Tournament 2003, and Unreal(R)
Championship; and mass-market and children's games such as Backyard
Sports(TM), Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(TM) and Dora the Explorer(TM),
Civilization(R), Dragon Ball Z(R) and RollerCoaster Tycoon(R). Atari,
Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames
Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games
publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
CONTACT:
Atari, Inc.
Nancy Bushkin
212-726-4222
nancy.bushkin@atari.com
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