Atari Inc. - Business Is Fun preview released

[martyg]

ATARI INC. – BUSINESS IS FUN

New book commemorates the 40th anniversary of video game industry’s first corporate
titan and the history makers behind the company’s success.

New York, New York - June 27, 2012 -- Today, people ask, “Do you play video games?" but in the 70’s and 80's,
people asked, “Do you play ATARI?" The noted video game historian team of Marty Goldberg and Curt Vendel
answer that question and more in their book, ‘Atari Inc. – Business is Fun’ - a definitive look at the origins and 40
year history of the very first video game industry icon, Atari.

Over seven years in the writing, ‘Atari Inc. – Business Is Fun’ is the TRUE, unvarnished accounting of a brand that
became not just a household name, but a cultural phenomenon. Available now for pre-sale via the book’s web site
(www.ataribook.com), Amazon.com will start fulfilling orders beginning July 27th.

“Our intent was to focus on the behind-the-scenes stories from the people who worked there," said
Goldberg. "’Atari Inc. – Business Is Fun’ goes beyond facts and figures – we wanted to give readers an unparalleled
look into what it was like to work at a place that created fun for a living as told by the people who were responsible
for Atari’s success."

Goldberg and Vendel joined forced to compile hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of original Atari
documents they’d acquired, condensing it all into a 300+ page tribute to the founders and employees who created
the Atari legacy. ‘Atari Inc. – Business Is Fun’ encapsulates every element of what it was like to work at one of the
worlds most influential and innovative electronic entertainment companies of all time.

Vendel elaborates, "Most people associate Atari with the company logo, video games like ‘PONG’ and how
revolutionary the company was by bucking the ‘Big Blue’ mold, letting people show up to work in jeans and
sandals, but the public at large was never exposed to the hearts and souls that created the company. This book will
dispel… and maybe also ‘confirm’ numerous rumors by giving readers that front row, first person experience.”

‘Atari Inc. - Business Is Fun’ also offers an unparalleled look into the inner workings of what it was like to work in
Silicon Valley in the 1970’s and 1980's… and to do that at the most outrageous, innovative company of its time… a
company whose sole intent was to create FUN for a living!

About The Authors:

Martin Goldberg: Video game programmer and industry writer veteran of 13 years, former site director of IGN/
GameSpy's 'ClassicGaming.Com,' freelancer for Retro Gamer magazine, co-founder of the Midwest Gaming Classic
(one of the largest electronic entertainment expos in the United States), co-founder of the Electronic Entertainment
Museum - E2M (a non-profit archive preserving the history and artifacts of the video game and home computer
industries), member of the International Game Development Association's (IGDA) Game Preservation SIG (a
community for those interested in digital game preservation and history).

Curt Vendel: Entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Bidiots! (former online auction site for video game artifacts),
founder and CEO of Awesome Arcades LLC (former manufacturer of home arcades), former IT Systems Engineer,
self-taught Electrical Engineer, historian, founder and curator of the Atari History Museum, valued resource
for Atari insight and archival information by Atari, SA., Atari Interactive, numerous research institutions, trade
publications and entertainment magazines, television networks and movie studios. Vendel holds a BS in Computer
Science.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Book preview: ataribook.com/chapter1preview.pdf
Web: ataribook.com Facebook: facebook.com/syzygycompany
Email: ataribook@gmail.com

EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:
Loni Reeder, Publicist
loni@lonireeder.com
555 Bryant Street, Suite 362
Palo Alto, CA 94301-1704 USA
Ph: 408-594-3312

###

[kiwimike]

Hi, I'm one of your 'backers' and really excited- totally looking forward to this.

Quick question...I've noticed there's been less mention of 'Volume 1'...does that mean this is a stand alone book on the whole Atari history now, or is there a companion Vol 2 still going to come out later on?

[The Laird]

Great stuff Marty!

Will be buying this deffo!

I will share this information on my website / forum

[DreamcastRIP]

@ martyg,

If you would be so kind to clarify price/shipping details for those of us who live outside of the USA it'd be much appreciated.

I clicked on the pre-order link and then on the resultant Amazon.com link and it raised two questions in my mind:

1. Will the book also be available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk?

2. The Amazon.com link, after I'd logged in to Amazon as it required, showed shipping costs of only US $7. Is that the correct price for the book's USA-to-UK shipping as it seems rather low to me (based on having previously purchased several items shipped to here from the USA)?

[martyg]

@ martyg,

If you would be so kind to clarify price/shipping details for those of us who live outside of the USA it'd be much appreciated.

I clicked on the pre-order link and then on the resultant Amazon.com link and it raised two questions in my mind:

1. Will the book also be available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk?

2. The Amazon.com link, after I'd logged in to Amazon as it required, showed shipping costs of only US $7. Is that the correct price for the book's USA-to-UK shipping as it seems rather low to me (based on having previously purchased several items shipped to here from the USA)?

The book will be available on Amazon itself on the publishing date. Pre-orders are being handled manually by us through Amazon Payments. The quote for the shipping is what they auto-generated given a weight of 1.5 lbs and shipped via the USPS.

[DreamcastRIP]

@ martyg,

If you would be so kind to clarify price/shipping details for those of us who live outside of the USA it'd be much appreciated.

I clicked on the pre-order link and then on the resultant Amazon.com link and it raised two questions in my mind:

1. Will the book also be available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk?

2. The Amazon.com link, after I'd logged in to Amazon as it required, showed shipping costs of only US $7. Is that the correct price for the book's USA-to-UK shipping as it seems rather low to me (based on having previously purchased several items shipped to here from the USA)?

The book will be available on Amazon itself on the publishing date. Pre-orders are being handled manually by us through Amazon Payments. The quote for the shipping is what they auto-generated given a weight of 1.5 lbs and shipped via the USPS.

So the US $7 figure I saw stated after I'd logged in (with my UK shipping address details on screen, obviously) is the correct figure?

Great if it is but, as I previously commented, it seems awfully low relative to my prior experiences with the cost of USA-to-UK shipping.

[kiwimike]

...Is it released? Anyone got the book yet?

Was initiially planned for late July release, changed to first week of August...haven't heard it's changed so assuming it's on the way...

[will2097]

i'm looking forward to this too.

[martyg]

We've been posting most of our updates on Facebook, we had submitted just before I left for CGE and got it pushed back by Amazon's Createspace for layout issues and problems with the PDF. Been working with them back and forth to reformat everything and it should be submitted this week and hopefully up for purchase by the end of the week.

Just so people are aware, it's a thick book - about the size of the Steve Jobs biography.

[kiwimike]

We've been posting most of our updates on Facebook, we had submitted just before I left for CGE and got it pushed back by Amazon's Createspace for layout issues and problems with the PDF. Been working with them back and forth to reformat everything and it should be submitted this week and hopefully up for purchase by the end of the week.

Just so people are aware, it's a thick book - about the size of the Steve Jobs biography.

Thanks Marty, all good things and all that
So the 'backers' will have those sent out once it's officially available from Amazon then?
Another quick qestion: I note it doesn't say 'Vol 1' anymore. Is this the Atari history in one book now, or is there a second volume to follow?

[martyg]

We've been posting most of our updates on Facebook, we had submitted just before I left for CGE and got it pushed back by Amazon's Createspace for layout issues and problems with the PDF. Been working with them back and forth to reformat everything and it should be submitted this week and hopefully up for purchase by the end of the week.

Just so people are aware, it's a thick book - about the size of the Steve Jobs biography.

Thanks Marty, all good things and all that
So the 'backers' will have those sent out once it's officially available from Amazon then?
Another quick qestion: I note it doesn't say 'Vol 1' anymore. Is this the Atari history in one book now, or is there a second volume to follow?

Yes, we get our books for the backers from the exact same source since it's print on demand. They'll be a little lead time, as Curt and I have to ship the books between each other first to sign them and them ship them off.

There's three planned volumes, it's just they have names now. This is Atari Inc. - Business is Fun, the next is Atari Corporation - Business is War, and the third is tentatively entitled Atari Games - Last In Fun.

[kiwimike]

We've been posting most of our updates on Facebook, we had submitted just before I left for CGE and got it pushed back by Amazon's Createspace for layout issues and problems with the PDF. Been working with them back and forth to reformat everything and it should be submitted this week and hopefully up for purchase by the end of the week.

Just so people are aware, it's a thick book - about the size of the Steve Jobs biography.

Thanks Marty, all good things and all that
So the 'backers' will have those sent out once it's officially available from Amazon then?
Another quick qestion: I note it doesn't say 'Vol 1' anymore. Is this the Atari history in one book now, or is there a second volume to follow?

Yes, we get our books for the backers from the exact same source since it's print on demand. They'll be a little lead time, as Curt and I have to ship the books between each other first to sign them and them ship them off.

There's three planned volumes, it's just they have names now. This is Atari Inc. - Business is Fun, the next is Atari Corporation - Business is War, and the third is tentatively entitled Atari Games - Last In Fun.

Awesome, thanks for that. This is definately going to be the last word on Atari history! I've made space for the set now

[martyg]

Awesome, thanks for that. This is definately going to be the last word on Atari history! I've made space for the set now

I'm also going to be working on a book on Mattel Electronics and their history (Handheld electronic games, Intellivision, etc.)

[Antiriad2097]

That's one to look forward to. Atari has been covered before (not that I don't expect your books to be the definitives) but Mattel if oft ignored.

[kiwimike]

Awesome, thanks for that. This is definately going to be the last word on Atari history! I've made space for the set now

I'm also going to be working on a book on Mattel Electronics and their history (Handheld electronic games, Intellivision, etc.)

Brilliant! But you shouldn't have said that...you're gonna have eager gamers hassling you for months now! Is it here yet? Is it here yet? Is it...