Discop Johannesburg, taking place from 2 – 4 November, has announced the participation of Atari, the company that was the dominant force in household console gaming almost half a century ago.
Atari, founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell, was the pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company’s products, such as Pong and the Atari 2600, helped define the electronic entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid-1980s.
The Atari brand is on the move again bringing its genius to new generations in innovative ways. Atari will officially unveil their offline and online strategy to conquer television audiences with new cutting edge programming and franchise opportunities at Discop Johannesburg.
Robert Blagman, head of global distribution for Atari explains: “As video gaming becomes more mainstream as well as more abstract, broadcast networks are looking for content to attract the highly valuable generations X, Y and now Z audiences through content that combines the best of all tech worlds. Atari owns the world’s most popular library of iconic, home console and arcade games, each one with the potential to become a popular television format and deliver highly coveted eyeballs to broadcasters and advertisers.
“In addition, Atari is developing mobile apps for TV networks to combine old school and new school content and technology.”
“The statistics in terms of the hours people spend playing games and watching games on television are beginning to tilt toward the latter very quickly,” says Patrick Zuchowicki Jucaud, founder of the Discop markets. “During the Johannesburg market, we are going to see more and more broadcasters trying to exploit that. In the US, networks like CW, ESPN and TBS have already begun licensing e-sports shows and games.”
Robert Blagman and Atari CEO Frederic Chesnais will both be attending Discop Johannesburg, and are expected to take the stage on the opening day to explain how the virtual reality “experience” will boost the engagement of television audiences who are already fond of video-game competitions.
Discop Johannesburg will welcome the US as its guest country, and is expected to draw upwards of 2 500 delegates, including more than 250 global and regional suppliers of multiplatform television content and 500 acquisition, programming and commissioning executives representing Africa’s key broadcasters and content distribution platforms.
