Atari Reinforces Its Board of Directors With the Addition of Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell and Tom Virden

LYON, France, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Atari S.A. announces the arrival of two new members to its Board of directors: industry veteran and Atari founder Nolan Bushnell and online entrepreneur Tom Virden step in to further reinforce the strategic insight of the Group and contribute actively to the company's planning.

The addition of Mr. Bushnell and Mr. Virden comes at a time when Atari has increased its focus on its iconic brand and world-renowned game franchises while further expanding its business online. Commenting on this announcement, Frank Dangeard, Chairman of the Board, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Bushnell and Mr. Virden as new members of the Board of Directors of Atari. We are convinced that their deep industry, technology and online business knowledge will be a substantial addition to the strategic insight of our Board".

Nolan Bushnell is an icon of the video gaming industry. He is the co-founder of the original Atari Inc., which he led to global acclaim with the launch of Pong and of the Atari 2600, a second-generation console which helped to revolutionize home video gaming. Mr. Bushnell has started over 20 companies since then and has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame. He will be a representative of the BlueBay High Yield Investment (Luxembourg) SARL.

"I am very excited to be reacquainted with Atari at a time when it is poised to make interesting strides in key growth areas of the games industry," said Nolan Bushnell. "The company and its iconic brands have always been important to me, and I look forward to further guiding them at the board level."

Atari's Board of Directors also co-opted Tom Virden, a seasoned executive in the online leisure, technology and travel businesses who will bring Atari his strong knowledge of online business and e-commerce. Lately, M. Virden founded Boatbookings.com, the largest yachts charter-only website. M. Virden previously held a number of senior positions at technology companies, including International Director at lastminute.com, Head of European Websites at Netscape Communications and Vice President, Marketing at Digidesign. Tom Virden will also join the Audit Committee of Atari.

Tom Virden said, "I look forward to providing strategic insight and guidance to the executive team as it further expands its business online and builds value around its world-renowned brand and properties."

David Gardner and Phil Harrison have resigned from the Board of Directors.

About Atari SA

Atari group is a global creator, producer and publisher of interactive entertainment for interactive game platforms that include PC, online, consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony and advanced smart phones (i.e. iPhone). Divisions of Atari, S.A. include Cryptic Studios, Eden Studios, Atari Interactive, Inc. and Atari, Inc.

Atari benefits from its global brand and an extensive catalogue of popular games based on classic owned game franchises (Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Lunar Lander), original owned franchises (Test Drive, Backyard Sports, Deer Hunter), MMO games from Cryptic Studios (Star Trek Online, Champions Online) and third party franchises (Ghostbusters, Project Runway, Dungeons and Dragons).

For more information please visit http://corporate.atari.com

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SOURCE Atari