Atari UK Signs Ignition/SNK European Deal

Atari UK today announced a new deal that will see the company distribute Ignition Entertainment’s upcoming releases within multiple European territories. The agreement includes Mercury Meltdown for the PSP, the sequel to 2005's Archer Maclean’s Mercury, which is due to ship this September, as well as SCEJ/Hit Maker's 3D multiplayer role-playing game, Blade Dancer. The agreement also extends to releases from SNK Playmore, including portable titles Metal Slug Anthology for the PSP, Metal Slug for the Gameboy Advance, and SNK Vs Capcom Card Fighters Nintendo DS. The deal also encompasses a number of popular PlayStation 2 fighting games, including King of Fighters Neowave, King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, Samurai Shodown 6 and King of Fighters XI. “Ignition are known for publishing games that consumers want, and we believe this to be our strongest line up ever,” said Phu Tien, International Sales Manager, Ignition Entertainment. “With games such as our own internally developed Mercury Meltdown, and the very strong line up of titles from SNK and Hit Maker, we had numerous approaches from various distribution entities across Europe, however we chose Atari as they demonstrated commitment and drive, as well as being able to deliver a strong distribution presence.” Jeremy Wigmore, Managing Director of Atari UK, added: “After the success of the original Mercury we are obviously very pleased to be distributing Mercury Meltdown for the PSP. With the additional titles that will be due throughout the year, we are looking forward to continuing our strong partnership with the guys from Ignition.”