Most Recent: Mobile

Try to follow along, if you dare. In 1984, the original corporate entity known as “Atari” became two separate companies: the home-based Atari Corporation and the arcade-based Atari Games (which owned all of Atari’s arcade properties). In 1998, Hasbro purchased Atari Corporation and renamed the company to Hasbro Interactive. Meanwhile, the next year, IESA purchased GT Interactive and renamed it Infogrames. IESA then purchased Hasbro Interactive in 2001 and changed the name again (this time to Infogrames Interactive). In 2003, IESA came to an agreement with Atari Games to allow Infogrames Interactive to become Atari Interactive, Infogrames to be known solely as Atari, and IESA itself to be rebranded as Atari SA. In 2008, Atari SA purchased Atari Games and there was finally one Atari to rule them all for the first since 1984.

Until today.

Today, Atari’s US companies (Atari, Atari Interactive, Humongous, and California US Holdings) have filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in a bid to form their own company, separate from Atari SA. After the bankruptcy filing, Atari expects to find a new buyer within 90-120 days. This new owner will control the Atari name and logo, as well as the rights to most (if not all) of the company’s major franchises including Pong, Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Battlezone and Tempest.

Atari is making this move as their recent mobile titles (including Atari’s Greatest Hits, Asteroids Gunner, Breakout Boost, and Outlaw) have all been very profitable while parent company Atari SA remains riddled with debt.

While the new Atari won’t be the same Atari that was founded by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in 1972 (and included Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as early employees), it’ll be interesting to see where the company goes from here.

Square Enix’s next mobile game set in the Final Fantasy universe will be available tomorrow! Final Fantasy: All the Bravest is all action as the app has jettisoned the heavy plot threads that the series is known for and instead focuses on the Active Time Battle system first introduced in Final Fantasy IV.

Players will be able to build massively huge parties as they battle a succession of monsters, behemoths, and bosses from throughout Final Fantasy’s history. More than 20 classes of characters will be available including White Mages, Fighters, Monks, Black Mages, and more. DLC packs will allow players to add 35 additional characters to the game including favorites such as Cloud.

Final Fantasy: All the Bravest is currently available on the iTunes App Store in New Zealand and will be released in the rest of the world tomorrow. It’ll likely be priced around $4.

Another day, another announcement of an Android-powered console. Except this one has a bit of a higher profile than all the rest.

A day ahead of the opening of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, Nvidia has announced Project SHIELD, an Android-based portable device that includes a built-in “console-grade” controller. Project SHIELD is powered by Nvidia’s new Tegra 4 processor and features a 5-inch multitouch display that outputs at 720p. The clamshell design of the controller/screen combo allows the device to be closed when not in use.

In addition to running Android-based games downloaded from the Google Play store, the SHIELD can stream full-sized games from a Windows PC, including those available from Steam. A built-in HDMI port can also be connected to shift the display to an HDTV.

“Project SHIELD was created by Nvidia engineers who love to game and imagined a new way to play,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Nvidia. “We were inspired by a vision that the rise of mobile and cloud technologies will free us from our boxes, letting us game anywhere, on any screen. We imagined a device that would do for games what the iPod and Kindle have done for music and books, letting us play in a cool new way. We hope other gamers love SHIELD as much as we do.”

A release date and price for Project SHIELD were not announced by Nvidia.

Hundreds is the latest game from Semi Secret Software and the minimalist puzzle game has quite the pedigree behind it with the creators of Gasketball, Wurdle, Osmos, and iOS favorite Canabalt all having a hand in its development.

So what is Hundreds? Well, the game gives you a set of circles with a zero in the middle of each one. By tapping the circles, you increment the number. The goal is to coninue tapping them until the numbers inside each circle add up to “100.” Sounds easy, right? But if two circles that have been recently tapped touch, they explode. And various mathematical symbols are floating within each level to mess with your addition skills.

Not so easy anymore is it?

Hundreds was first released as a Flash game on Newgrounds and the iOS is said to be improved in every way. Hundreds for the iOS (it’s playable on both the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch) includes over 100 levels and is available to download for $2.99 until January 10 (then the price jumps up to $4.99).