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Atari Inc – ‘424B1’ on 9/19/03

On:  Friday, 9/19/03, at 6:53am ET   ·   Accession #:  950123-3-10554   ·   File #:  333-107819

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  As Of                Filer                Filing    For·On·As Docs:Size              Issuer               Agent

 9/19/03  Atari Inc                         424B1                  1:1.5M                                   RR Donnelley/FA

Document/Exhibit                   Description                      Pages   Size 

 1: 424B1       Filed Pursuant to Rule424(B)(1)                     HTML   1.49M 

27,000,000 Shares

Common Stock

We are offering 9,820,588 shares and the selling stockholder is offering 17,179,412 shares of our common stock. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of any common shares sold by the selling stockholder.

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “ATAR.” On September 18, 2003, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $4.71 per share.

Investing in our common stock involves risk. See “Risk factors” beginning on page 8.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

We will reimburse all underwriting discounts and commissions incurred by the selling stockholder with respect to the offering.

The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional 4,050,000 shares of common stock from the selling stockholder at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, within 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to cover over-allotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise the option in full, the total underwriting discounts and commissions will be $6,598,125 and the total proceeds, before expenses, to the selling stockholder will be $85,713,751.

The underwriters are offering the common stock as set forth under “Underwriting.” Delivery of the shares will be made in New York, New York on or about September 24, 2003.

UBS Investment Bank

The date of this prospectus is September 18, 2003

[INSIDE FRONT COVER PAGE

INSIDE GATEFOLD

A selection of words (e.g. “PLAY,” “INNOVATE,” “DARE,” “REACH,” “PLANET,” “LAUGH,” “AMAZE,” “IMAGINE” and “SPARK”) in which the “A” is replaced with the Atari Logo in tandem with product logos from some of our most popular games, such as Enter the Matrix, Unreal, Mission Impossible, Terminator 3, Driver, Neverwinter Nights, Test Drive, Dungeons & Dragons, Dragon Ball Z, Backyard Sports, Civilization, Rollercoaster Tycoon, KYA, Dora the Explorer, and BeyBlade.]

You should rely only on information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not and the underwriters have not authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different. We are offering to sell and seeking offers to buy shares of common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our common stock.

Atari and the Atari logo are registered trademarks of Atari Interactive, Inc. and are used by us under license. Our product names mentioned in this prospectus are our trademarks, except where we license them. Other product names mentioned in this prospectus are trademarks of their respective owners.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus summary

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all of the information that you should consider before buying our common stock in this offering. You should read the entire prospectus carefully.

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to “Atari,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” include Atari, Inc. and its subsidiaries and predecessors as a consolidated entity.

OUR BUSINESS

We are a leading global publisher and developer of video game software for both gaming enthusiasts and the mass-market audience. We are also a leading distributor of video game software in North America. We publish and distribute games for all platforms, including Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2; Nintendo Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and GameCube; Microsoft Xbox; and personal computers, referred to as PCs. Our diverse portfolio of products extends over every major video game genre, including: action, adventure, strategy, children, family, racing and sports games.

Our products are based on intellectual properties that we have created internally or have licensed from third parties, including leading entertainment companies. We have built an extensive library of licensed properties that include some of the most recognizable names in popular entertainment. In addition to our licensed properties, we have successfully developed game franchises based on brands we have created internally. The following sets forth some of our most successful franchises, including the units sold through at retail in the United States to date:

--Driver (over 5.0 million);

--Test Drive (over 5.0 million);

--Backyard Sports (over 4.0 million);

--Dragon Ball Z (over 3.5 million);

--Freddi Fish (over 2.0 million); and

--Putt Putt (over 2.0 million).

In addition, we released Enter the Matrix on May 15, 2003, which has since sold through at retail over 3 million units globally.

OUR INDUSTRY

The video game software industry is comprised primarily of software for dedicated game consoles (such as GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox), handhelds (such as Game Boy Advance) and PCs. Publishers of video game software include the console manufacturers, and third-party publishers whose sole involvement in the industry is the development, publishing and distribution of video game software. According to IDC, the worldwide video game software market is expected to be $21.3 billion in 2004.(1)

OUR STRATEGY

Our objectives are to improve our leadership position within the video game software industry through increased market share and to consistently achieve profitability. We believe that our achievement of this objective is largely dependent on our ability to execute the following strategies:

--continue to build a diverse product portfolio for mass entertainment audiences;

--maintain a disciplined approach to product development;

--enhance profitability and achieve financial stability;

--grow through strategic acquisitions and relationships; and

--invest selectively in emerging technologies and early stage development for next-generation consoles.

RELATIONSHIP WITH IESA

Infogrames Entertainment SA (“IESA”), a French corporation listed on Euronext, owns (directly and through a wholly owned subsidiary) approximately 88% of our stock as a result of a combination of a company IESA purchased in 1997 and a publicly owned company that IESA took control of in 1999. IESA is selling 17,179,412 shares in this offering. After the closing of the offering, we will reimburse all underwriting discounts and commissions incurred by IESA. As a general matter, we have conducted our activities in the United States and Canada both with regard to our own products and with regard to distribution of IESA’s products, and IESA has conducted its activities in Europe, Asia and certain other regions, including distribution of our products there.

From time to time, IESA has loaned us money to enable us to make acquisitions or for other purposes. At September 18, 2003, we owed IESA $212.4 million for money we had borrowed from it. At that date, Atari Interactive, Inc. (“Atari Interactive”) and Atari Australia Pty Ltd (“Atari Australia”), both wholly owned subsidiaries of IESA, owed us $46.5 million for money we had advanced to them. Immediately before the offering made by this prospectus, (i) we will transfer to IESA the indebtedness of Atari Interactive and Atari Australia owed to us in satisfaction of an equal amount of our indebtedness to IESA, and (ii) we will satisfy the remainder of our indebtedness to IESA by issuing to it 39,029,877 shares of our common stock, valued at the public offering price of the shares offered by this prospectus.

In addition, IESA renders management services to us and we render management services to Atari Interactive, which is based in Beverly, Massachusetts. Atari Interactive develops videogames, and owns the name “Atari” and the Atari logo. We use the name “Atari” and the Atari logo under a license from Atari Interactive. In connection with the offering, IESA will cause Atari Interactive to extend the term of the license under which we use the Atari name to ten years expiring on December 31, 2013, for which we have agreed to issue 2,000,000 shares of our common stock to Atari Interactive. In addition, we will pay a royalty equal to 1% of our net revenues during years six through ten of the extended license.

OUR CORPORATE INFORMATION

Atari (formerly known as Infogrames, Inc.) was organized in Delaware in 1992. In May 2003, we changed our name to Atari, Inc. and changed our trading symbol on the Nasdaq National Market to “ATAR.” Our corporate office is located at 417 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10016. Our main telephone number is (212) 726-6500. Our worldwide web homepage is located at http://www.atari.com. Information contained on our website should not be deemed part of this prospectus.

The offering

The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 70,082,737 shares of common stock outstanding as of September 18, 2003. The number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 18, 2003 excludes:

Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters have not exercised the option granted to them to purchase additional shares of common stock in this offering but assumes that 39,029,877 shares of common stock are issued to IESA as part of the capital restructuring based on the public offering price and 2,000,000 shares of common stock are issued to Atari Interactive in connection with the extension of the license for the Atari name.

Summary consolidated financial data

You should read this data in conjunction with “Selected consolidated financial data,” “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and our consolidated financial statements, including introductory paragraphs and related notes to these financial statements, appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Effective April 1, 2000, we changed our fiscal year-end from March 31 to June 30 to conform with IESA’s fiscal year. Effective March 28, 2003, we changed our fiscal year-end from June 30 to March 31 to conform with our peers in the video game software industry. The consolidated financial information for the nine months ended March 31, 2002 and the three months ended June 30, 2002 and 2003 is derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements.

The following table presents our summary consolidated balance sheet data as of June 30, 2001, June 30, 2002, March 31, 2003 and June 30, 2003. The actual and as adjusted consolidated financial information for June 30, 2003 is derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements. The as adjusted data gives effect to (i) the sale of the 9,820,588 shares of our common stock that we are offering under this prospectus, (ii) the satisfaction of our debt to GECC under the senior credit facility, (iii) the satisfaction of our related party debt, in part through the transfer to IESA of the indebtedness of Atari Interactive and Atari Australia owed to us and in part by the issuance of additional shares of common stock, a portion of which IESA is selling in the offering made by this prospectus and (iv) the issuance of 2,000,000 shares of our common stock to Atari Interactive in connection with the extension of our license to the Atari name. For the purposes of preparing this table we have reduced the net proceeds to us by the underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us of $2.1 million, the estimated offering expenses payable by us of $1.0 million and the reimbursement by us of IESA’s underwriting discounts and commissions of $3.7 million with respect to the offering.

Before you invest in any of our securities, you should be aware of various risks to which we may be subject, including those described below. You should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties, together with all of the other information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus before you decide whether to purchase any of our common stock. If any of the material risks or uncertainties we face were to occur, they may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS

The loss of Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target or Toys ‘R’ Us as key customers could negatively affect our business.

Our sales to Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and Toys ‘R’ Us accounted for approximately 24.0%, 10.5%, 8.6% and 8.3%, respectively, of net revenues for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003. Our gross accounts receivable from these retailers were approximately $6.2 million, $8.8 million, $7.5 million and $9.0 million, respectively, as of March 31, 2003. Our business, results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected if:

We do not have any written agreements or understandings with Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us or Target. Consequently, our relationship with Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us or Target could end or change at any time. We cannot assure you that Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Toys ‘R’ Us and Target will continue to use us as a major supplier of video game software, or at all.

Fluctuations in our quarterly net revenues and results of operations may lead to reduced prices for our stock.

Our quarterly net revenues and results of operations have varied in the past and can be expected to vary in the future. Our business experiences substantial seasonality, and typically, our net revenue is significantly higher during our third fiscal quarter (which ends on December 31) than during our other quarters because of increased consumer demand during the calendar year-end holiday season. Other factors that cause fluctuations include:

In other particular fiscal quarters, our net revenues may be lower and vary significantly. As a result, we cannot assure you that our results of operations will be consistent on a quarterly or annual basis. If our results of operations in a quarter fall below our expectations and the expectations of market analysts or investors, the price of our common stock will likely decrease.

Partly because our new product releases during the current fiscal year are concentrated primarily in the first, third and fourth fiscal quarters (ending June 30, 2003, December 31, 2003 and March 31, 2004), our revenues and earnings for the second fiscal quarter (ending September 30, 2003) will be lower than they were during the same period of 2002. Nonetheless, we expect our net revenues for our full fiscal year ending March 31, 2004, to be between $560 million and $590 million, which would be between 5% and 10% higher than our net revenues for the twelve months ended March 31, 2003, and our net income for our full fiscal year to be between $35 million and $45 million, which would be between 100% and 160% higher than our net income for the twelve months ended March 31, 2003.

These expectations are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and must be viewed in light of the discussion under the caption “Special note regarding forward-looking statements” on page 19. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these expectations, which are speculative in nature. Our actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to various risks including, without limitation those identified under “Special note regarding forward-looking statements” and “Risk factors.” In addition, our results for our fiscal year ending March 31, 2004 will be materially worse than these current expectations if:

Also, as is discussed under the caption “Our issuance of stock in satisfaction of indebtedness to IESA may materially affect our reported earnings available to common stockholders” on page 18, our issuance of stock to IESA in satisfaction of indebtedness will be treated for accounting purposes as involving a dividend to IESA equal to the value of the number of shares we will be issuing in satisfaction of that debt in excess of the number of shares we would have issued if that debt had been converted into common stock at stated conversion prices of $20 and $9.25 per share. Based upon the public offering price of $4.25, our reported income available for common stockholders would be approximately $39.4 million less than the net income for the year ending March 31, 2004, with a resulting reduction of earnings per share.

Our revenues will decline and our competitive position will be adversely affected if we are unable to introduce successful new products on a timely basis.

Our performance in the video game software publishing business depends on the timely introduction of successful new products, sequels or enhancements of existing products to replace declining revenues from older products. Our inability to introduce compelling new products, sequels or enhancements, or significant delays in their release, could materially and adversely affect the ultimate success of our products and, in turn, our business, results of operations and financial condition, particularly in view of the seasonality of our business. The process of introducing new products, sequels or product enhancements is extremely complex, time consuming and expensive, and will become more complex as new platforms and technologies emerge. Competitive factors in our industry demand that we create increasingly sophisticated products, which in turn makes it difficult to produce and release compelling products on a predictable schedule.

We may be unable to develop and publish new products if we are unable to secure or maintain relationships with leading independent video game software developers.

Although we have substantially increased our internal video game software development capabilities over the last five years, we are still dependent, to a meaningful degree, upon leading independent software developers. Consequently, our success depends in part on our continued ability to obtain or renew product development agreements with leading independent video game software developers. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain or renew these product development agreements on favorable terms, or at all, nor can we assure you that we will be able to obtain the rights to sequels of successful products which were originally developed for us by leading independent video game software developers. Many of our competitors have greater financial resources and access to capital than we do, which puts us at a competitive disadvantage when bidding to attract leading independent video game software developers to enter into publishing agreements with us. We may be unable to secure or maintain relationships with leading independent video game software developers if our competitors can offer them better shelf access, better marketing support, more development funding, higher royalty rates, or other advantages. Usually, our agreements with independent software developers are easily terminable, often without notice, if either party declares bankruptcy, becomes insolvent, ceases operations or materially breaches its agreement and fails to cure that breach within a designated time frame. In addition, many leading independent video game software developers have limited financial resources. Many are small companies with a few key individuals without whom a project may be difficult or impossible to complete. Consequently, we are exposed to the risk that these developers will go out of business before completing a project, or simply cease work on a project for which we have hired them.

Our results of operations and competitive position may be adversely affected if we are unable to anticipate and adapt to rapidly changing technology, including new console technology.

The video game software industry is characterized by rapidly changing technology. The introduction of new technologies, including new console technology, software media formats, and delivery channels could render our previously released products obsolete or unmarketable. We must continually anticipate the emergence of, and adapt our products to, new technologies and systems. In addition, the development cycle for products designed to operate on new systems has been defined by an increased rate of change and complexity in the technological innovations of video game hardware and software. When we choose to publish or develop a product for a new system, we may need to make a substantial development investment one or two years in advance of when we actually ship products for that system. If we develop products for a new system that is ultimately unpopular, our net revenues from that product may be less than expected and we may not be able to recoup our investment as quickly as anticipated, if at all. Conversely, if we choose not to publish products for a new system that is ultimately popular, our revenue growth and competitive position may be adversely affected.

If we are unable to maintain or acquire licenses to intellectual property, our operating results will be adversely impacted.

Many of our products are based on or incorporate intellectual property owned by others. For example, many of our titles such as Enter the Matrix, Mission Impossible: Operation Surma, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, are based on key film licenses. We expect that many of the products we publish in the future will also be based on intellectual property owned by others. The rights we enjoy to licensed intellectual property may vary based on the agreement we have with the licensor. Competition for these licenses is intense and many of our competitors have greater resources to take advantage of opportunities for such licenses. We are currently in the process of negotiating renewals to several third party licenses. If we are unable to maintain our current licenses and obtain additional licenses with significant commercial value, we believe our sales will decline. In addition, obtaining licenses for popular franchises owned by others could require us to expend significant resources and the licenses may require us to pay relatively high royalty rates. If these titles are ultimately unpopular, we may not recoup our investment made to obtain such licenses. Furthermore, in many instances we do not have exclusive licenses for intellectual property owned by others. In these cases, we may face direct competition from other publishers holding a similar license.

Termination or modification of our agreements with hardware manufacturers will adversely affect our business.

We are required to obtain a license to develop and distribute software for each of the video game consoles. We currently have licenses from Sony to develop products for PlayStation and PlayStation 2, from Nintendo to develop products for Game Boy and GameCube, and from Microsoft to develop products for Xbox. These licenses are non-exclusive, and as a result, many of our competitors also have licenses to develop and distribute video game software for these systems. These licenses must be periodically renewed, and if they are not, or if any of our licenses are terminated or adversely modified, we may not be able to publish games for such platforms or we may be required to do so on less attractive terms. In addition, our contracts with these manufacturers often grant them approval rights over new products and control over the manufacturing of our products. In some circumstances, this could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition by:

The loss of our senior management and skilled personnel could negatively affect our business.

Our future success will depend to a significant degree upon the performance and contribution of our senior management team and upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly qualified employees with technical, management, marketing, sales, product development, creative and other skills. In the video game software industry, competition for highly skilled and creative employees is intense and costly. We expect this competition to continue for the foreseeable future, and we may experience increased costs in order to attract and retain skilled employees. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in attracting and retaining skilled personnel. Our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected if we lost the services of senior management or key technical or creative employees or if we failed to attract additional highly qualified employees.

Significant competition in our industry could adversely affect our business.

The video game software market is highly competitive and relatively few products achieve significant market acceptance. Currently, we compete primarily with other publishers of video game software for both video game consoles and PCs. Our competitors include Activision, Inc., Electronic Arts, Inc., SEGA Corporation, Take Two Interactive, Inc., and THQ, Inc., among others. In addition, console manufacturers including Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony publish products for their respective platforms. Media companies and film studios, such as Walt Disney Company, are increasing their focus on the video game software market and may become significant competitors. These current and future competitors may also gain access to wider distribution channels than we do. As a result, these current and future competitors may be able to:

We may not have the resources required for us to respond effectively to market or technological changes or to compete successfully with current and future competitors. Increased competition may also result in price reductions, reduced gross margins and loss of market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully compete against our current or future competitors or that competitive pressures will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may face limitations on our ability to integrate additional acquired businesses or to find suitable acquisition opportunities.

We intend to pursue additional acquisitions of companies, properties and other assets which we believe can be operated profitably. Some of these transactions could be material in size and scope. Although we continue to search for additional acquisition opportunities, we may not be successful in identifying suitable acquisition opportunities. As the video game software industry continues to consolidate, we face significant competition in seeking and consummating acquisition opportunities. We may not be able to consummate potential acquisitions or an acquisition that is consummated may not enhance our profitability. In the future, we may issue additional shares of our common stock in connection with one or more acquisitions, which may dilute our existing stockholders. Future acquisitions could also divert substantial management time and result in short-term reductions in earnings or special transaction or other charges. In addition, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully integrate the businesses that we may acquire into our existing business. Our stockholders may also not have the opportunity to review, vote on or evaluate future acquisitions.

Revenues from our distribution business may decline as competition increases and Internet technology improves.

During the nine months ended March 31, 2002 and 2003 and the three months ended June 30, 2002 and 2003, net revenues from our distribution business were approximately 27%, 19%, 16% and 10%, respectively, of our total net revenues. This decrease as a percentage of net revenues is primarily a result of the increase of publishing net revenues in the 2003 period over the comparable 2002 period. However, recently, several of our customers have begun to purchase products directly from video game software publishers rather than purchasing through us. New video game systems and electronic delivery systems may also be introduced into the software market and potential new competitors may enter the software development and distribution market, resulting in greater competition. Revenues from our distribution business may be adversely affected as Internet technology is improved to enable consumers to purchase and download full-version software products or order products directly from publishers or from unauthorized or illegal sources over the Internet.

Revenues from our distribution business may decline if the third-party products which we distribute for other companies become unavailable to us.

As part of our distribution business, we earn revenues by distributing to retailers our own products and products of others, including products published by our competitors. We cannot assure you that these competitors will continue to provide us with their products for distribution to our mass merchant customers. Our inability to obtain software titles developed or published by our competitors, coupled with our inability to obtain these titles from other distributors, could have a material adverse effect on our relationships with retailers and our ability to obtain shelf space for our own products, as well as our own revenues that we earn from our distribution activities. This, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If our distribution arrangements with IESA are adversely modified or terminated, we may lose revenue or incur disruption in the distribution of our products.

Pursuant to agreements we have in place with IESA, we distribute products on their behalf in the United States and Canada and IESA distributes products on our behalf in Europe, Asia and certain other regions throughout the world. If these agreements are terminated or amended in a manner adverse to us, we may:

We may face increased competition and downward price pressure if we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights.

Our business is heavily dependent upon our confidential and proprietary intellectual property. We sell a significant portion of our published software under licenses from independent software developers and, in these cases, we do not acquire the copyrights for the underlying work. We rely primarily on a combination of confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as other proprietary rights laws and legal methods, to protect our proprietary rights and the intellectual property rights of our developers. However, current U.S. and international laws afford us only limited protection. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy our products or franchises, or obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Software piracy is also a persistent problem in the video game software industry. Policing unauthorized use of our products is extremely difficult because video game software can be easily duplicated and disseminated. Furthermore, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our proprietary rights to as great an extent as U.S. law. Our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected if a significant amount of unauthorized copying of our products were to occur or if other parties develop products substantially similar to our products. We cannot assure you that our attempts to protect our proprietary rights will be adequate or that our competitors will not independently develop similar or competitive products.

We may face intellectual property infringement claims which would be costly to resolve.

As the number of available video game software products increases, and their functionality overlaps, software developers and publishers may increasingly become subject to infringement claims. We are not aware that any of our products infringe on the proprietary rights of third parties. However, we cannot assure you that third parties will not assert infringement claims against us in the future with respect to current or future products. There has been substantial litigation in the industry regarding copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights. We have also initiated litigation to assert our intellectual property rights. Whether brought by or against us, these claims can be time consuming, result in costly litigation and divert management’s attention from our day-to-day operations, which can have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

If returns and other concessions given to our customers exceed our reserve, our business may be negatively affected.

To cover returns and other concessions, we establish a reserve at the time we ship our products. We estimate the potential for future returns and other concessions based on historical return rates, seasonality of sales and retailer inventories of our products, among other factors. While we are able to recover the majority of our costs when third-party products we distribute are returned, we bear the full financial risk when our own products are returned. In addition, the license fees we pay Sony and Nintendo are non-refundable and we cannot recover these fees when our products are returned. Although we believe we maintain adequate reserves with respect to product returns, we cannot assure you that actual returns will not exceed our reserves, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may be burdened with payment defaults and uncollectible accounts if our customers do not or cannot satisfy their payment obligations.

Distributors and retailers in the video game software industry have, from time to time, experienced significant fluctuations in their businesses, and a number of them have become insolvent. The insolvency or business failure of any significant retailer or distributor of our products could materially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. We typically make sales to most of our retailers and some distributors on unsecured credit, with terms that vary depending upon the customer’s credit history, solvency, credit limits and sales history, as well as whether we can obtain sufficient credit insurance. In addition, while we maintain a reserve for uncollectible receivables, the reserve may not be sufficient in every circumstance. As a result, a payment default by a significant customer could significantly harm our business and results of operations.

Our software may be subject to governmental restrictions or rating systems.

Legislation is periodically introduced at the local, state and federal levels in the United States and in foreign countries to establish systems for providing consumers with information about graphic violence and sexually explicit material contained in video game software. In addition, many foreign countries have laws that permit governmental entities to censor the content and advertising of video game software. We believe that mandatory government-run rating systems may eventually be adopted in many countries that are potential markets for our products. We may be required to modify our products or alter our marketing strategies to comply with new regulations, which could increase development costs and delay the release of our products in those countries. Due to the uncertainties regarding such rating systems, confusion in the marketplace may occur, and we are unable to predict what effect, if any, such rating systems would have on our business.

In addition to such regulations, certain retailers have in the past declined to stock some of our competitors’ video game products because they believed that the content of the packaging artwork or the products would be offensive to the retailer’s customer base. Although to date these actions have not impacted our business, we cannot assure you that similar actions by our distributors or retailers in the future would not cause material harm to our business.

We may become subject to litigation which could be expensive or disruptive.

Similar to our competitors in the video game software industry, we have been and will likely become subject to litigation. Such litigation may be costly and time consuming and may divert management’s attention from our day-to-day operations. In addition, we cannot assure you that such litigation will be ultimately resolved in our favor or that an adverse outcome will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR CORPORATE STRUCTURE AND FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS

IESA controls us and could prevent a transaction favorable to our other stockholders.

IESA will beneficially own approximately 71% of our common stock after this offering, which gives it sufficient voting power to prevent any transaction that it finds unfavorable, including an acquisition, consolidation or sale of assets desirable to our other stockholders. IESA also has sufficient voting power to elect a majority of our Board of Directors. Four of the nine members of our Board of Directors are employees of IESA or its affiliates. One of the remaining five directors has recently been affiliated with us and another director is currently affiliated with us. Therefore, only three of the total nine directors are considered independent. This concentration of control could be disadvantageous to other stockholders whose interests differ from those of IESA.

Our success may be impacted by IESA’s success, ability and willingness to continue to support us.

We rely on the staff, efforts and services of IESA and its affiliates in connection with our ongoing operations. IESA, through itself and our other affiliates, provides us with the services of several of our executives, developers and programmers, as well as access to their development and production studios. Our business will be adversely affected if IESA is no longer able to or willing to provide us with this support. In addition, IESA has in the past provided us with significant financing for our operations and acquisitions. While IESA ceased funding our operations since the execution of our revolving 30-month, $50 million Senior Credit Facility with GECC, there remain outstanding significant balances under several credit and debt agreements payable to IESA or its affiliates by us. Although we intend to eliminate our debt to IESA in connection with this offering, there can be no assurance that any such transactions will be consummated, or that if consummated any such transactions will improve our business, results of operations or financial condition. If this debt remains outstanding, our operations will be significantly and adversely impacted given the terms of such credit and debt instruments and the magnitude of the debt outstanding. In addition, if IESA becomes insolvent, certain software licenses we have with Hasbro may revert back to Hasbro.

Our affiliates retain considerable control over the Atari trademarks, and their oversight or exploitation of such trademarks could affect our business.

Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of IESA, has granted us the right to use the Atari name for software video games in the United States and Canada. In connection with the offering, IESA will cause Atari Interactive to extend the term of the license under which we use the Atari name to ten years expiring December 31, 2013, for which we have agreed to issue 2,000,000 shares of our common stock to Atari Interactive. In addition, we will pay a royalty equal to 1% of our net revenues during years six through ten of the extended license. We are subject to quality control oversight for our use of the Atari name. Any disputes over our performance under the trademark license agreement could materially affect our business. Furthermore, Atari Interactive’s use of the Atari mark (either through itself, its affiliates or third parties) to exploit products in the video game industry or related sectors could affect the reputation or value associated with the Atari mark, and therefore materially affect our business. Therefore, we are dependent upon the cooperation and business actions of IESA and its affiliates with regard to the Atari trademark.

Our Senior Credit Facility may be terminated.

We utilized the proceeds of our Senior Credit Facility to fund our working capital needs, including the manufacturing and development of products. The credit documents which we entered into with GECC to obtain this credit facility contain numerous covenants and conditions which may cause a default upon breach thereof by us. Although we are currently in full compliance under the credit documents and no event of default has occurred, there can be no assurance that we will continue to remain in compliance. If an event of default occurs under any credit document and GECC opts not to waive such default, the Senior Credit Facility may be terminated and all debt outstanding accelerated, in which case we will need to raise additional capital or seek other alternatives, many of which may adversely affect our stock price.

We may need to seek additional capital.

We have in the past generated significant financial losses. If we generate significant financial losses in the future, our cash resources and Senior Credit Facility may not be adequate to fund our operations. This will require us to seek additional capital, including through the issuance of debt or equity, or through other financing. If we borrow funds, we likely will be obligated to make periodic interest or other debt service payments, and the terms of this debt may impose burdensome restrictions on our ability to operate our business. If we seek financing through the sale of equity securities, our current stockholders may suffer dilution in their percentage ownership of common stock. Additionally, we are not certain as to our ability to raise additional capital in the future or under what terms capital would be available. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, our business will be negatively affected, which could cause our stock price to decline.

RISKS RELATED TO THIS OFFERING

Our stock price is highly volatile.

The trading price of our common stock has been and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to certain factors, including, but not limited to, the following:

Additionally, the public stock markets experience extreme price and trading volume volatility, particularly in high technology sectors of the market. This volatility has significantly affected the market prices of securities of many technology companies for reasons often unrelated to the operating performance of the specific companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. As of June 30, 2003, of the 70.0 million shares of our outstanding common stock, only 8.3 million shares (approximately 12%) were not held by our affiliates. This stock ownership structure and general lack of liquidity may also be a cause of volatility in our market price.

Our issuance of stock in satisfaction of indebtedness to IESA may materially affect our reported earnings available to common stockholders.

In connection with this offering, a portion of our long-term related party debt will be satisfied by our issuing common stock at the offering price. Some of this long-term debt is convertible at IESA’s option into common stock at stated conversion prices. Since the public offering price is materially lower than the stated conversion prices of the long-term debt, the number of shares of common stock we issue in satisfaction of the long-term debt will be substantially greater than the number of shares we would have been required to issue if IESA converted the long-term debt in accordance with the stated terms of the long-term debt. Accordingly, the value of the additional shares will be treated as a dividend to IESA. This will not affect our reported net income or our stockholders’ equity, however, it will reduce our reported income available for common stockholders, and therefore, will reduce our earnings per share.

The large number of shares eligible for public sale after this offering could cause our stock price to decline.

IESA holds a substantial number of shares of our common stock that they will be able to sell in the public market after the expiration of its lock-up agreement with the underwriters which will end 120 days after the date of the final prospectus relating to the offering. Except as provided in the lock-up agreement, we generally cannot control the timing of any sale made by IESA. Large sales by IESA could significantly reduce the market price of our common stock. These potential sales also could impede our ability to raise future capital.

This prospectus, including the sections entitled “Prospectus summary,” “Risk factors,” “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and “Business” contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control, that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “our future success depends,” “seek to continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward looking statements in this prospectus include, but are not limited to:

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

The net proceeds to us from the offering will be $35.0 million. We will use $0.9 million of the net proceeds from this offering to repay indebtedness outstanding under our credit facility with GECC. Any remaining net proceeds will be used to pay costs of developing video game software, to meet general working capital needs and, possibly, to acquire development companies or other companies involved in the development or production of video games (although we do not currently have agreements or understandings regarding any acquisitions). Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, interest bearing, investment-grade securities. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the 17,179,412 shares being sold by IESA in the offering made by this prospectus. We will reimburse the $3.7 million of underwriting discounts and commissions incurred by IESA with respect to the offering.

As of September 18, 2003, outstanding borrowings under our credit facility with GECC were $0.9 million. Borrowings under the credit facility bear interest at prime plus 1.25% for daily borrowings or LIBOR plus 3% for borrowings with a maturity of 30 days or greater. Borrowings from the credit facility were used to fund our working capital and general corporate needs, as well as to fund advances to Paradigm Entertainment, Inc. and Atari Interactive, each a related party.

Our common stock is quoted on Nasdaq under the symbol “ATAR.” The high and low closing sales prices for our common stock as reported by Nasdaq for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2001, June 30, 2002 and March 31, 2003 and the first and part of the second fiscal quarters for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2004, are summarized below.

On September 18, 2003, the last reported sale price for our common stock on Nasdaq was $4.71 per share. Since IESA holds a substantial portion of our common stock, only a small percentage of our common stock is publicly traded. As a result, the trading price of our common stock may not be indicative of the trading price of our common stock if it were held more broadly. As of July 29, 2003, there were approximately 9,180 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividend policy

We have never paid dividends on our common stock and do not currently anticipate paying dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance operations and for the expansion and operation of our business.

The terms of our indebtedness impose limitations on our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions on our capital stock. We may enter into additional agreements related to our indebtedness from time to time which may contain similar limitations.

Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and such other factors as our Board of Directors deems relevant.

The following table sets forth, as of June 30, 2003, our cash and capitalization:

For purposes of preparing this table, we have reduced the net proceeds to us by the underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us of $2.1 million, the estimated offering expenses payable by us of $1.0 million and the underwriting discounts and commissions incurred by the selling stockholder of $3.7 million with respect to the offering, which we will reimburse.

This information should be read together with the sections of this prospectus entitled “Selected consolidated financial data” and “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus.

The table above excludes:

We have for some time been negotiating to obtain a production finance facility that would provide, or reimburse us for, up to $35.0 million spent on the production of three video games. As currently contemplated, the facility, if entered into, would have to be repaid within 33 months and would be secured by the three games. While it is possible that this production finance facility will be in place very shortly, it is also possible that it will never be put in place.

The following tables set forth a summary of our consolidated financial data which, for the years ended March 31, 1999 and 2000, the three months ended June 30, 2000, the years ended June 30, 2001 and 2002 and the nine months ended March 31, 2003, is derived from our consolidated financial statements which have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP. The consolidated financial information for the three months ended June 30, 1999, the year ended June 30, 2000, the nine months ended March 31, 2002 and the three months ended June 30, 2002 and 2003, is derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements. The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements. On October 2, 2000, we completed a merger with Infogrames North America, Inc. (“INA”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of IESA (the “INA Merger”). The merger was accounted for on an “as if pooled” basis as of December 16, 1999, the date from which we and INA were under the common control of IESA.

Effective April 1, 2000, we changed our fiscal year-end from March 31 to June 30 to conform with IESA’s fiscal year. Effective March 28, 2003, we changed our fiscal year-end from June 30 to March 31 to conform with our peers in the video game software industry.

In November 2001, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) reached a consensus on Issue 01-9 (formerly EITF issues 00-14 and 00-25), “Accounting for Consideration Given to a Customer or Reseller of the Vendor’s Products.” This EITF addressed the recognition, measurement and income statement classification of consideration from a vendor to a customer in connection with the customer’s purchase or promotion of the vendor’s products. The EITF requires the cost of such items as cooperative advertising arrangements, price protection and other allowances to be accounted for as a reduction of revenues. The impact of this accounting principle resulted in the reclassification of cooperative advertising from selling and distribution expenses to a reduction of net revenues and has no impact on our financial position or net income. All comparative periods have been reclassified to conform to the new requirements.

The following should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.