There's never a dull moment at Atari since Jack Tramiel took over. It savages prices and snarls at the opposition, and now it's sinking its teeth into dodgy software.

Superior Software has agreed to stop selling Zany Kong Junior after Atari protested that it was too close to a well-known Atari original. The same company had earlier withdrawn Wonder Warlords, which bore a close resemblance to Joust.

A month ago Atari laid its course when it moved against MRM Software over Castle Of Gems, which contained 'substantial similarities' to its own Crystal Castles (issue 89).

Both cases have been settled fairly amicably without any court action, and Atari's John Dean commented: "We're not looking to put anybody out of business. It's the principle we're trying to expose, not the software house."

But he confirmed that Atari was going to get tough on offenders. "A blatant rip-off is inexcusable," he said.

Dean dismissed the argument that high prices encourage piracy and said that something had to be done about copyright legislation in the UK. He added that Atari is becoming involved in joint ventures with software producers.