Atari UK has been on and off the air like a pirate radio station since its change of ownership but you should see normal service resumed next week.
It effectively closed down during the period of Jack Tramiel's takeover (issue 69) and opened for business again at the end of July. But within the last two weeks, it has gone into neutral again, preparing for an autumn offensive that should begin on September 1 1984.
"There's always a stock-take when a company's taken over," a spokesman said. "In the last week and a half or so we closed down during a quiet period, mainly to install a new computerised inventory and stock control system to come on stream in time for September 1."
This is the date from which Atari's new prices on the 600XL, 800XL, and peripherals become effective (issue 75). Software prices too are for the chop - from September 1 software for the VCS systems and home micros will come down in price to £9.99. All these moves are aimed at boosting Atari's sales and the software price changes are particularly overdue - in the week of the Tramiel takeover. Thorn-EMI's Creative Sparks announced its intention of leaving the Atari software field on the grounds that the prospects for sales weren't good enough.
Dealers have responded with mixed feelings to the ups and downs at Atari. One commented: "It's not a stock-take, it's a 'let's see what we can get rid of': you won't get anything out of them until September 1 but after that you can have anything." Another more charitable dealer said that, apart from delays during the shut-down periods, there had been no problems. "We have good supplies of spares and service, and good access to those (at Atari) who matter - and they've not been sacked, thank goodness."
One development you might expect from the rejuvenated, cut-price Atari is the 1450XLD business system later this year. The 1450XLD is the double-disk drive version of the 1450XL scuttled by James Morgan, head of Atari prior to the takeover.
Commodore dealers expect Atari's cuts to have little effect on sales of Commodore machines. A spokesman for Gulteronics, in London, said: "We stopped selling Vic 20s about six months ago because there was little demand. But the 64 is going well."
Also there's such an abundance of software for the machine that there's no real compeitition between the Commodore and XL range. Commodore has a strong hold on the low end market."
The manager of Tomorrow's World Today shared the same view, saying: "Let's face it, there's not enough software for the Atari machines."
1st September 1984