Atari is looking to sell sections of their multifaceted videogame business after failing to find a prospective bidder for their assets.
According to the Wall Street Journal, court papers filed by Atari yesterday indicated the publishers are seeking minimum bids summing up to $22.2 million. Assets up for auction include the Atari brand, the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise (the highest asset so far at $3.5 million), and the TestDrive franchise.
In addition, Atari is also auctioning fragments of its brands and intellectual properties. Amongst the bids up for sale in that category is Total Annihilation, a real-time strategy developed by Cavedog Entertainment (a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, owned by Atari). Total Annihilation will be auctioned on July 17 with a starting bid of $250,000.
Atari has yet to await court approval, hoping a judge could consider signing off bid rules at a June 11 hearing. Moreover, Atari wishes to receive bids in advance of July 10, as they’ve projected auction dates for July 16, 17, 18, and 19.
Since filing for bankruptcy protection this January, Atari initiated the search to find potential buyers. Appealing to 180 would-be purchasers, only 15 submitted primary bids. Atari was unsatisfied, deeming them unfit to serve as a stalking-horse—or initial—bidder.
A publishing juggernaut in its heyday, Atari is notable for titles such as Pong and Asteroids.