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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!osu-cis!tut!weaver
From: weaver@tut.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Atari's Marketing Approach
Message-ID: <2494@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Date: Tue, 1-Dec-87 02:01:50 EST
Article-I.D.: tut.2494
Posted: Tue Dec  1 02:01:50 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 4-Dec-87 01:13:15 EST
References: <8711301706.AA18559@cory.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: The Ohio State University Dept of Computer and Information Science
Lines: 38

In article <8711301706.AA18559@cory.Berkeley.EDU> dillon@CORY.BERKELEY.EDU (Matt Dillon) writes:
>>Amiga.  When will Atari learn?  All of the television commercials I see
>>for Atari are for their game systems, but if they want to change their
>>image, shouldn't they advertise their computers?  The Amiga commercial
>
>	Well, this is somewhat unfair to Atari.   The Atari that controls
>the video game market is no longer the same company as the Atari that 
>controls the ST series.  They are entirely separate entities.  So the problem 

	Not quite.  The Atari that owns the _home_ video games _is_ the
same Atari that controls the ST series.  When Jack Tramiel bought Atari
he sold off the coin-op division of Atari (a company now known as Atari Games)
but retained control of the 2600/5200/7800 game systems as well as the 
8-bit computers and now the ST line.

	The games systems _are_ selling, and probably outselling the STs,
unfortunately for us ST users.  However, what needs to be advertised is
the ST series; the 2600s can sell themselves (I think I heard some figure
that around 100,000 Model 2600 game system units sold in '85 or '86 with
$0 advertising.  Now that says something or other about a game image.)

	Atari has previously been the leader with graphics (at least with
Jay Miner's work with the 800.)   Even some of the arcade games testify to
this:  Battle Zone, Tempest, Xevious, Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, etc.
Maybe this 'Abaq' thing will fly; but only if it is unique in some way.
Some nasty fast graphics would be nice; but lets face it:  unless Atari
gets something to market (on time) that has something unique about it,
and isn't in the 'game vein', then they always will be 'that damn toy
company.'

>					-Matt

Cheers,

-- 
Andrew Weaver, The Ohio State University College of Business
UUCP: ...!cbosgd!cis.ohio-state.edu!weaver    | "This ain'ta my planet,
ARPA: weaver@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu	      |  monkey-boy!"
					      |  - Emilio Lizardo