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Game On: Atari Is Opening Themed Hotels in Eight U.S. Cities
By Jake Rossen
Before Nintendo and Sega conquered the home video game market, Atari was king. The company, which was started by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in 1972, brought the arcade experience to living rooms with systems like the Atari 2600 and games like Breakout and Centipede. A video game market crash in 1983 led to the company being splintered off, sold and resold over the years.
All of this has led to the unlikeliest of places—a new Atari-themed hotel.
According to The Verge, the company has licensed its name to real estate developer True North Studio and GSD Group to construct eight hotels in Phoenix, Arizona; Austin, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas, Nevada; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; and Seattle, Washington.
What would an Atari hotel feature? Probably not Pong in every room. The plan is to offer virtual reality and augmented reality playing hubs as well as space in select hotels for e-sports gaming competitions. Guest rooms will have themes based on specific games. Typical hotel amenities like a restaurant, bar, and gym are expected, as well as movie theaters.
In exchange for licensing their brand, Atari will receive 5 percent of revenue. The Verge reports the company also received a $600,000 advance for the deal.
Whether the name and familiar logo will resonate with travelers in the 21st century remains to be seen, but we’ll find out soon enough. Construction on the Phoenix location is scheduled to begin in the middle of the year.
[h/t The Verge]