Atari, one of the world’s most recognized publishers and developers of interactive entertainment, today announced a partnership with Internet Explorer to launch the Atari Arcade. The browser-based portal is a next-generation collection of Atari's classic games reimagined in HTML5 with fresh graphics, gameplay and integration with Facebook and Twitter. Atari Arcade shines in Internet Explorer, but also works well in other modern browsers. Because of the quality of the IE experience, an ad-free version is made available to all Internet Explorer customers when they play Atari Arcade.
In celebration of Atari’s 40 year anniversary and the upcoming launch of Internet Explorer 10, classic games like Asteroids, Pong, Lunar Lander, Missile Command, Centipede, and others have been developed with new graphics and gameplay features. Like the arcades that first popularized gaming, players can go head-to-head with friends in competitive, real-time battles for high scores and leaderboard placement in the next evolution of Atari fan favorites like Super Breakout and Combat.
“Atari and Microsoft have had a long and successful history on Xbox LIVE and in the digital space,” said Jim Wilson, CEO of Atari. “The reimagined Atari Arcade expands this partnership in a new direction, in keeping with our current digital strategy, making it easier than ever for gamers around the world to access our renowned franchises, through the power and flexibility of an HTML5 based platform.”
“We were excited to work with a gaming legend, Atari, to bring their classic arcade games to life on the web with Internet Explorer,” adds Ryan Gavin, general manager, Internet Explorer. “Atari Arcade demonstrates what’s possible when you couple HTML5 along with a fast and fluid browser that is perfect for touch, which is precisely what you get with Internet Explorer 10. Now together with Internet Explorer and HTML5, we get to see some of our favorite games jump into the next generation of gaming on the web - which is pretty fantastic.”
Atari’s new platform will grant developers access to Create.js, a suite of tools for creating cross-browser, cross-device HTML5 gaming and media experiences. This new offering will give developers a platform to publish and monetize games with the ability to utilize features like Facebook integration.
Attendees at this year’s PAX Prime, taking place Aug. 31 – Sep. 2 in Seattle, will be able to get hands-on experience with the Atari Arcade in Internet Explorer’s booth in the north lobby.