Atari to Become a Billion Dollar Distribution Force, says Gardner

Last week, Infogrames and Namco Bandai Games revealed a strategic partnership for a new business entity devoted to distribution. Following the news, Infogrames CEO David Gardner explained the business strategy to MCV. Gardner believes Infogrames has a distinct advantage over other top publishers, and he thinks that distribution can be a booming business for his company.

"I think it's very interesting because thanks to this deal we're creating a PAL market distribution force that's largely independent," he stated. "If you look at Electronic Arts or Activision, they're too busy with their own products to properly take care of third party products."

"We have the opportunity to show people that there is a high quality pan-European solution. Now we can offer the market one company, not dominated by anyone, that has a management team just focused on distribution – not getting confused by making games or any other conflicting interests. I think if you look at the total European distribution market, EA, Activision and Ubisoft probably have half," he continued. "And you've got the other half of the market trying to figure out how to get to retail – I think that this company should be able to get 25 per cent of that business – it should be able to, over time, become a billion dollar distribution force across Europe and PAL markets."