MinnMax Interview - CEO Wade Rosen On Atari’s Future, Acquiring Nightdive, Avoiding Layoffs (Patreon)

MinnMax's Ben Hanson sits down in the studio and talks with the CEO of Atari Wade Rosen about his journey to become the head of the legendary publisher, why Atari acquired the remaster kings Nightdive Studios, the strategy to avoid brutal layoffs in the game industry, Bubsy's future, and the benefits of living in Minnesota.

You can watch and share the video version here - https://youtu.be/6hdtDD3Ucbw

To jump to a particular discussion, check out the timestamps below...   

00:00:00 - Intro 

00:01:12 - Why he lives in Minnesota 

00:07:58 - The state of modern Atari 

00:09:43 - Acquiring Nightdive Studios, remastering Star Wars: Dark Forces 

00:17:15 - The intersection of his business and personal nostalgia 

00:21:27 - Atari 50’s origins 

00:25:39 - AtariAge and the modern Atari community 

00:29:34 - How he became Atari’s CEO 

00:32:08 - The fun and challenges of being a CEO 

00:36:16 - Trying to change Atari’s perception 

00:37:52 - The financial strategy of small development budgets 

00:41:50 - Why Atari is not a profitable company 

00:42:54 - Breaking down Atari’s income 

00:48:16 - The importance of learning Atari’s history 

00:51:10 - Acquiring the rights to Bubsy and more 

00:53:55 - Comparisons to Embracer, owning so much IP 

00:56:22 - Lessons from industry layoffs 

01:00:01 - How many people work at Atari 

01:01:23 - Hollywood and Atari’s IP 

01:03:53 - Will we see AAA Atari games? 

01:08:26 - Interacting with Atari founder Nolan Bushnell

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