Amid the video game news last week that Sony's PlayStation 3 would be delayed in Europe and fewer would be coming to the United States and Japan, news about the company that basically started the industry was overlooked. Less than a week after Atari Inc. hired new CEO David Pierce, the U.S. video game publisher's French parent Infogrames SA was delisted Monday from the Paris exchange, according to the BBC. The company's U.S. shares, which trade on Nasdaq, are also likely to be delisted. The BBC article explains that the company will go through a restructuring. It is not clear from the BBC report if the company is headed for the equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection here in the U.S. as the Europeans use slightly different terms for distressed companies. If Atari falls into bankruptcy, it could undergo the same fate as 3DO and Acclaim. Both bankrupt video game publishers basically liquidated their intellectual property via auctions to pay debtors. The advantage for Atari is that in addition to having a cache of games like Test Drive, it also has one of the most recognizable names in the industry behind the Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox brands. Arguably, Atari's brand is as well known if not better recognized than industry leaders Electronic Arts and Activision. So who would want the venerable Atari brand? Odds are mid-tier publishers with less recognizable names like THQ Inc. and Take-Two Interactive would be likely bidders for the name brand. —Matthew Wurtzel
See story from BBC
See related story about CEO from TheStreet
See 3DO bankruptcy profile from Bankruptcy Insider
See Acclaim bankruptcy profile from Bankruptcy Insider
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