Atari has just revealed that it is buying AtariAge, one of the oldest Atari and retro gaming fansites on the web (thanks, GI.biz).
Originally launched as Atari 2600 Nexus in 1998 before rebranding as AtariAge in 2001, the site was established by Albert Yarusso, who will continue to oversee operations with his team of staff. Yarusso will also assume the role of Atari's internal historian.
AtariAge is perhaps most famous for its forums, which boast an active user base and 25 years of posts and information. The site has sections devoted to all aspects of Atari history, including hardware profiles, magazine scans and even ROMs.
Atari CEO Wade Rosen had this to say about the news:
For 25 years the AtariAge community has documented Atari games and provided a valuable forum for a large and passionate community of retro game fans, collectors, and homebrew developers. By bringing AtariAge into the Atari family, we can ensure this important resource gets the support it needs to continue to fulfill its mission for years to come.
The news follows hot on the heels of Atari's investment in Polymega maker Playmaji and the retro cloud streaming platform Antstream. Atari also purchased the vast gaming database MobyGames recently, as well as Nightdive Studios, a company famous for its retro remaster work.
The company has also teamed up with Plaion to produce the Atari 2600+, an enhanced version of the console that dominated living rooms back in the late '70s and early '80s.