It’s Time for Atari to be Steamed

Atari has become the latest publisher to announce an agreement with Valve to deliver its catalog of games through Steam. The two groups naturally had nothing but praise to shower upon each other, as the two following quotes illustrate:

“Atari is excited to team up with Steam and deliver great games through a digital platform that our fans have asked for,” said Nizzi Renaud, Vice President of Online Entertainment, Atari, Inc. “We look forward to making an extensive collection of games, across many genres, available to Steam’s extensive, globally-connected community.”

“We’re proud to welcome to Steam a company that has become synonymous with video games,” said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. “Atari cemented video games into the consciousness of modern culture and continues to produce a unique mix of games that appeal to a variety of audiences, as represented by the line-up heading to Steam.”

A handful of Atari’s games can now be found on Steam, including RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Tycoon City: New York, and Indigo Prophecy, with more to come. Fond memories of the original RollerCoast Tycoon have me feeling nostalgic and itching for RCT3.

In the coming weeks, Neverwinter Nights 2 and its expansion, Mask of the Betrayer, will be added to Steam, as will The Witcher. Ron and Shawn have praised the game so much since last year that it’s been slowly eating away at me to the point where I’m going to have to buy it on Steam.

Hit the break for the full list of Atari games currently available on Steam.

Those of you in North America will be able to grab these games from Steam:

• Act of War: Direct Action – a real-time strategy experience that puts players squarely in control of counterterrorist forces and delivers a first look at tomorrow’s war.
• Act of War: High Treason – an ultra-realistic modern military real-time strategy game.
• ArmA: Combat Operations – a first person tactical military shooter with large elements of realism and simulation.
• Atari 80 Classics in 1 – the ultimate collection of the original games that inspired generations of gamers.
• Death to Spies – third-person stealth action game that immerses the player into the atmosphere of World War II military intelligence operations.
• Desperados 2: Cooper’s Revenge – an RTS set in a thrilling Western atmosphere.
• Indigo Prophecy – a thrilling supernatural mystery adventure game.
• RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum – combines the roller coaster theme park fun of the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 with included expansion packs Soaked! and Wild!
• Tycoon City: New York – a tycoon simulation game set in one of America’s most exciting metropolises.