Atari’s Sinking Ship

TCW Podcast Episode 187 - Atari's Sinking Ship

In part two of our look at Atari and the reasons behind the crash of the mid-1980 we see how Atari's handling of the excess product led to its downfall. The idea that they could treat this like any other overstock of products and push through did not consider the consumer's lack of knowledge. Together with the massive price reduction in the hardware for not just the VCS, but also the 5200 further eroded consumer confidence and understanding. By the time Atari started taking the drastic measure they needed to right the company they were sold by Warner because Warner could not afford the depression in stock price. Though logistics may not be the most exciting topic. It really is the core of what lead to the crash, and how Atari got into and failed to manage it speaks volumes about what future companies would need to do in order to survive.

ET Commercial Christmas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7LwjROqsQw

TCW 133 - Rolling Dice with the Parker Brothers: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/rolling-dice-with-the-parker-brothers/

2600 Pitfall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pslbO6Fddhw

Skeet Shoot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UWJFOUBxTo

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

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Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RolemMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/