The final logo used from 2000 until the transition to Atari, SA
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Public | |
Industry | Software & programming |
Fate | Reincorporated as Atari, SA |
Successor | Atari, SA |
Founded | June 1983 |
Defunct | 2009 |
Headquarters | Lyon, France |
Area served
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Worldwide |
Key people
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Bruno Bonnell (Founder) Frank Dangeard (Chairman) David Gardner (CEO) Phil Harrison (President) Harry M. Rubin (COO) Jeff Lapin (COO) |
Products |
North & South Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Alone in the Dark Unreal Tournament 2003 RollerCoaster Tycoon Civilization III Robot Arena |
Revenue | €305.3 million (2007) |
€-103.1 million (2007) | |
Subsidiaries | Atari, Inc, Atari Interactive |
Website | Infogrames.com |
Infogrames Entertainment, SA (IESA) (French pronunciation: [ɛ̃fɔɡʁam]) was an international French holding company headquartered in Lyon, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory computer book. Through its subsidiaries, Infogrames produced, published and distributed interactive games for all major video game consoles and computer game platforms.
The founders wanted to christen the company Zboub Système (which can be approximatively translated by Dick System in arabic), but were dissuaded by their legal counsel. According to Bonnell in a TV interview, they then used a mix-and-match computer program to suggest other names, one of which was "Infogramme": a portmanteau of the French words "informatique" (information technology) and "programme" (a computer program). The final choice, "Infogrames", was a slightly modified version of that suggestion, and is pronounced /ˌɪnfoʊˈɡræmz/ in English.
The company logo and mascot is an armadillo (tatou in French), chosen when the company was moved to Villeurbanne. Bonnell commented: "This dinosaur [sic] is our symbol. The armadillo has always survived changes to its environment, from the melting of glaciers to the worst of heat waves."