Atari's Act of War: Direct Action Blurs the Lines between Films, Nove

    Business Editors/Entertainment Editors

    BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2005--

    Live-Action Feature Film Footage Vividly Recreates Action-packed Techno-thriller Story By Dale Brown In Atari's Upcoming PC Blockbuster

    Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) today announced that Act of War: Direct Action(TM), a near-future, geopolitical techno-thriller for PC, will have a story created and written by New York Times best-selling author Dale Brown and will feature nearly one hour of original, live-action feature film footage produced by SWAT Films/Beyond FX to vividly present the story.
    "SWAT Films theatrical interpretation of Dale Brown's intense story gives Act of War: Direct Action(TM) a dramatic sense of authenticity and creates a truly immersive entertainment experience," said Bob Welch, Executive Producer for Atari's Beverly studio. "By bringing together a novelist, filmmakers and game developers, Act of War: Direct Action(TM) is more than the sum of its parts."
    "Producing nearly an hour of live-action film, as well as special effects for Atari's Act of War: Direct Action(TM) was an exciting creative challenge," said Daniel LeBlanc, Executive Producer, SWAT Films. "Our team had to produce film content to tell the game's story in the traditional between-levels format while also sharing with players what was going on behind the scenes with voiceover and shorter film clips streamed to players mid-game. The goal was to draw them in with the story and let the game blow them away and there's no doubt we've done just that."
    The film production element of Act of War: Direct Action(TM) was shot over two weeks and featured a cast of 10 principal actors and hundreds of extras. The film footage will be blended with scenes created by the in-game engine to tell the story of Jason Richter and Task Force Talon as they discover a web of intrigue and terrorism that spans the globe from Moscow to Washington, D.C. Act of War: Direct Action(TM) is due for release on PC in March 2005.

    About SWAT Films

    SWAT Films is a Montreal-based production house founded in 1994. In the past 10 years, it has become one of the most well respected production companies in Montreal, Qc, Canada. It has carried out over 500 production projects that span a wide range of fields: TV commercials, music videos, corporate films and the latest development, the integration of live-action film cinematics and in-game engines in interactive entertainment. Its customer base is extensive and the company has worked with such clients as the Coors Lite brewing company, Celine Dion, General Motors and McDonalds.

    About BEYOND FX

    Beyond FX is a visual effects studio located in Montreal, Quebec. It has a unique approach where it gathers a personalized team around the needs of a specific project. This studio uses state-of-the-art computers and software technology to realize the vision of the most demanding projects. Through a strong network of film artists, Beyond FX is able to expand around different types of projects by providing several services including storyboard conception, graphic design, animation, compositing and editing.

    About Dale Brown

    Dale Brown is the author of more than 15 New York Times bestsellers, including Plan of Attack (available in January 2005), his most recent novel starring his intrepid hero, Patrick McLanahan. His next book, Act of War (due out in June 2005), launches an unforgettable new series lead by a young new hero named Jason Richter. This surefire thriller combines geopolitics, terrorism, and plenty of action as it takes readers deep into the new world of intelligence-focused warfare like never before. A former U. S. Air Force captain, Brown can often be found flying his own plane over the skies of Nevada. He lives near Lake Tahoe. To learn more about Dale Brown and his books, visit his web site at: www.dalebrown.info.

    About Atari

    New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as DRIV3R(TM), Enter the Matrix(TM), Neverwinter Nights(TM), Stuntman(TM), Test Drive(R), Unreal(R) Tournament 2004, and Unreal(R) Championship; and mass-market and children's games such as Backyard Sports(TM), Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(TM) and Dora the Explorer(TM), Dragon Ball Z(R) and RollerCoaster Tycoon(R). Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.

    (C) 2004 Atari, Inc. All rights reserved.
    All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

--30--GK/bo*

CONTACT: Atari, Inc. Erik Reynolds, 978-921-3857 erik.reynolds@atari.com or HighWater Group PR Tara Bruno, 212-338-0077 x. 312 tara@highwatergroup.com

KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ELECTRONIC GAMES/MULTIMEDIA PRODUCT SOURCE: Atari, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005