Atari Inc. it has entered into an exclusive, long-term agreement with Spark Unlimited, developer of CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR, for worldwide publishing rights across all media to all future titles developed by the award-winning creative team at Spark Unlimited. The first joint project is in development at Spark for the next generation of consoles, and will be unveiled in greater detail in the spring, with an anticipated launch during the holiday 2006 season.
"Interactive entertainment extends across a full spectrum of mediums, not as an afterthought, but by strategic design that begins with a comprehensive creative vision," said Jim Caparro, president/ceo of Atari in making the announcement. "We are focused on working with innovative teams like Spark to launch and cultivate franchises which fully embrace the all-encompassing entertainment experience. With a track record for creating compelling, unique stories and characters, Spark is an ideal collaborative partner."
Spark's critically acclaimed CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR was released in November 2004 and ranked #5 among the best-selling titles across all platforms during the month of December according to recently released NPD TRST data. The game recently received a BAFTA award for "Best Audio in a Game" was also named "Best Military Game" at Spike TV's second annual "Video Game Awards" in 2004.
"To date, our goal at Spark has been to create high-quality innovative titles that deliver uniquely realistic and cinematic gaming experiences," said Craig Allen, ceo of Spark Unlimited. "We are excited about this new partnership with Atari in part because they have a proven track record for publishing hit titles, but also because we share Jim's and the company's vision for creating titles that blend many expressions of media into a dynamic new framework for audiences to experience."
Spark Unlimited (www.sparkunlimited.com) was founded in 2002 by 27 of the individuals who developed titles in the MEDAL OF HONORconsole and PC series. Members of the Spark team have worked on such best-selling games as MEDAL OF HONOR FRONTLINE, MEDAL OF HONOR ALLIED ASSAULT, MEDAL OF HONOR UNDERGROUND and the original MEDAL OF HONOR. Headquartered in Sherman Oaks, California, Spark is an employee-owned company that seeks to create artistry through technology for a global gaming audience.
New York-based Atari Inc. (www.atari.com) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. Atari Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Ent. SA, the largest interactive games publisher in Europe.
