Infogrames may ditch name in favor of Atari brand

Speaking with gamesindustry.biz, Infrogames CEO David Gardner has said that he’d consider dropping the company’s name in favor of the Atari brand. Calling it the “final mark of the transformation from Infrogrames to Atari,” Gardner cites recent internal management changes as the catalyst.

“We like to think of Infrogrames, instead of being the tired, old, company, we like to think of it as the best-funded, best-branded, most energetic start-ups in the history of computer gaming,” he Gardner says.

As an American, the word “Atari” resonates with me, and has a cultural meaning synonymous with videogames (it’s also my cat’s name). Of course, the posted $70 million dollars lost in fiscal year 2006-2007 indicates all of that means squat. Still, I’ve never been attached to Infogrames and its armadillo-esque logo; perhaps a rebranding — and some great games — is exactly what the company needs.