Atari boss reveals turnaround plans

Speaking to French newspaper Les Echos, Leleu set out his battleplan to bring Infogrames and Atari back to former glories.

Our current strategy consists of starting to spend on capital projects again, adopting a consistent publishing policy that takes into account new market trends, and restructuring the company, including by turning around our Atari Inc. subsidiary in the United States,” said Leleu. In practical terms, this means that after repaying debts of 40 million euros, we will have more than 100 million euros for capital projects in 2008, to finance our restructuring and meet our working capital needs.”

In June 2007, I said that it would take more than a year to get operations back on an even keel. Infogrames’ recovery will primarily be achieved by increasing sales and improving the quality of our products, meaning higher profit margins.”

He also revealed that key title Alone in the Dark will be released in May, while adding that the company’s product strategy will now be

In publishing, we have the opportunity to do three things. The first is to spend on the Group’s major traditional properties, such as Alone in the Dark, Test Drive, or Dungeons and Dragons. Still, Alone in the Dark will be a major release. But the company’s survival does not hinge on the success of that game, although we do hope it sells millions of copies.”

The second thing is our intention to increase our investment in games aimed at the mass market made up of consumers who were introduced to gaming on the DS and Wii. And the third thing is to be present on the Internet. An Atari.com portal is soon going to be accessible, offering a series of specially developed games for playing online or downloading. We are going to enter into partnerships with specialized sites in order to expand our global reach. In keeping with the brand’s image and the market’s dynamics, Infogrames’ goal for the next three to five years is to become a well-known publisher of family games, not just a company famous among an elite gamer population.”

Read the full interview here.