Atari parent company Infogrames recently secured a €150 million ($220 million) convertible bond to help with its strategic turnaround. Now Patrick Leleu, chairman of the French publisher, has outlined in part to newspaper Les Echos (via MCV) what that turnaround plan entails.

"Our current strategy consists of starting to spend on capital projects again, adopting a consistent publishing policy that takes into account new market trends, and restructuring the company, including by turning around our Atari Inc. subsidiary in the United States," he said. "In practical terms, this means that after repaying debts of 40 million euros, we will have more than 100 million euros for capital projects in 2008, to finance our restructuring and meet our working capital needs."

"In June 2007, I said that it would take more than a year to get operations back on an even keel. Infogrames' recovery will primarily be achieved by increasing sales and improving the quality of our products, meaning higher profit margins," Leleu continued.

Leleu talked about the importance of balancing Infogrames' investments among traditional games, mass market/casual games and downloadable Internet games via an Atari portal.

"In publishing, we have the opportunity to do three things. The first is to spend on the Group's major traditional properties, such as Alone in the Dark, Test Drive, or Dungeons and Dragons. Still, Alone in the Dark will be a major release. But the company's survival does not hinge on the success of that game, although we do hope it sells millions of copies," he stated.

"The second thing is our intention to increase our investment in games aimed at the mass market made up of consumers who were introduced to gaming on the DS and Wii. And the third thing is to be present on the Internet. An Atari.com portal is soon going to be accessible, offering a series of specially developed games for playing online or downloading. We are going to enter into partnerships with specialized sites in order to expand our global reach. In keeping with the brand's image and the market's dynamics, Infogrames' goal for the next three to five years is to become a well-known publisher of family games, not just a company famous among an elite gamer population."

Leleu also confirmed that Infogrames plans to release Alone in the Dark this May. He said for the coming fiscal year the company has a dozen projects in the pipeline for Xbox 360 and PS3. And Nintendo's platforms will receive even more attention: "As for our Wii and DS games, which accounted for a large share of our business this year, their number will double from 15 to 30 next year, thanks to investments made in 2007."

In terms of sales, Leleu reiterated that Infogrames is still aiming for 305 million euros, which would be stable revenues compared to the previous year, but he added "that is what we continue to aim for, even though it cannot be taken for granted at this time."

Update: The entire interview with Les Echos is now available on the corporate Infogrames site in pdf format. You can read it here.