Talking in the conference call following the release of Atari's
slightly improved financial results earlier today, Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell revealed that the company's previously announced next-generation survival horror title,
Alone in the Dark, will not be released until at least mid-2007.
The game, in development by Eden (
Test Drive Unlimited,
Kya: Dark Lineage), was first announced at E3 2005, and is currently slated for released on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as the PC - it is now due during Atari's 2008 fiscal year. Bonnell did not offer a reason for the delay, beyond the fact that Atari was looking for
Alone in the Dark to be the company's flagship title in the next fiscal year. He also added that the game is currently in development for other platforms, though he did not name any specific systems. Atari's fiscal 2008 begins April 1, 2007.
When first announced, Atari and Eden noted that the latest game to carry the
Alone in the Dark would take inspiration from the presentation style and structure of a number of acclaimed and globally popular TV action dramas, and will feature gameplay that is split into distinct episodes in a season-style format. The developer noted originally that each episode would be comprised of approximately 30-40 minutes of gameplay.
Looking to next-generation development in general, Bonnell seemed confident that development on new platforms such as the Xbox 360, as well as the upcoming PlayStation 3 and Wii, would have a marginal effect on Atari's cost structure. Justifying this, the executive noted that Atari plans to make use of the various middleware options currently available in an effort to keep game development costs manageable.
However, Bonnell did note that due to the differences in both power and capabilities separating the next-generation platforms, any porting of titles among the platforms would cost more than in previous generations.
