Atari Signs Namco Bandai European Deal

Officials from Atari Europe have announced that the company has signed a co-publishing deal with Japanese-headquartered publisher Namco Bandai to distribute a number of its handheld titles in Europe, beginning in summer 2006. Included in the deal are Game Boy Advance titles Ace Combat Advance, Atomic Betty, Popeye: Rush for Spinach, Sigma Star Saga and Rebelstar: Tactical Command (a relatively well-known brand from the UK’s 8-bit computer era) – as well as Nintendo DS title Dig Dug: Digging Strike. "Thanks to our efficient European distribution network, European gamers will be able to discover and play these games for the first time this summer," said Jean-Michel Perbet, president of Atari Europe. With only a small marketing division in Europe, Namco does not publish any of their own titles, relying instead on other partners - most commonly Electronic Arts, Sony or Nintendo. Despite occasional rumors to the contrary, neither Namco nor Bandai has recently indicated any plans to self-publish in Europe, either before or after their merger.