Atari, the company behind the Atari 2600, your grandfather’s favorite console, has acquired the Ouya, the Towerfall: Ascension device that lasted only two years on the market before it was discontinued.
The news came from Atari CEO Wade Rosen, who, from the still-constructing balcony of his favorite Atari Hotel room, live-streamed the announcement by saying “Booya, baby, booya, booya, booya. ” It’s not clear why Rosen said this, but shortly after, Atari released a press release explaining that the company had acquired Ouya for $99. [Editor’s Note: $99 is coincidentally the MSRP of the Ouya device]
“Atari is delighted to announce a monumental move, the company’s biggest since the release of Pitfall: the acquisition of Ouya,” the press release reads. “Together, we believe we can dominate in this new era of gaming. Imagine checking into an Atari Hotel room and seeing a sleek and attractive Atari Booya machine in front of your Plasma TV (with a movable TV mount in premium rooms). It’s the kind of excitement for families that Atari has provided for decades and we can’t wait to do it again. ”
The Atari acquisition combined with a host of other purchases has largely defined gaming in 2022 so far. It started with Take-Two Interactive, the parent company behind the Grand Theft Auto series, announcing back in January that it acquired mobile giant Zynga for almost 13 billion dollars. Then, a week later, Microsoft announces that it is acquiring Activision Blizzardthe company behind Overwatch and Call of Duty, for a whopping $68.7 billion, and then two weeks later, Sony reveals they are buying Bungie for $3.6 billion. A few weeks later, Sony also announced it acquired Jade Raymond’s new studio, Haven Studios.
In an exclusive interview with Game InfarcerRosen explains Atari’s strategy behind the purchase.
“I mean, just say it out loud: Booya,” Rosen said. “Feel good, right? Feeling really good. Boya. Boya. Boya! ”
At this point, Rosen continued shouting at Booya for about three minutes and Game Infarcer It is not possible to determine exactly what this means. However, Ouya is now Booya and it is owned by Atari. As for what this means for gaming, the answer is simple: nothing, like apparently absolutely nothing. However, Booya felt great talking.
Insiders tell Game Infarcer that with this transaction set to close next month, Atari is now eyeing Intellivision for its next acquisition, citing “Atari is really interested in bolstering its Atari Booya library with games play Amico like Pool 3D, Corn Hole 3D and other fan favorite games. ”
