Key Takeaways
1. Atari’s CEO, Wade Rosen, wishes to see remastered versions of Panzer Dragoon Saga, Ogre Battle, and Snatcher, despite potential sales risks.
2. Atari is focusing on reviving classic titles, resulting in a significant revenue increase of 63.7% by March 31, 2025.
3. Panzer Dragoon Saga has a cult following but faced serious development issues and limited initial release.
4. The Ogre Battle series rights are now with Square Enix, which has already remastered it as Tactics Ogre: Reborn in 2022.
5. Rosen highlights the need to balance passion and profitability in business, promoting collaboration within the team for project decisions.
Atari’s CEO Wade Rosen has recently shared his personal list of games he’d love to see remastered. He mentioned three titles: Panzer Dragoon Saga, Ogre Battle, and Hideo Kojima’s 1988 creation Snatcher. Despite the potential risks to sales, Rosen expressed his strong desire to see these games refreshed.
A Personal Touch
In a discussion with VGC, Rosen explained his motivation behind these choices:
“Life’s too short, you know? I have my own favorites too, right? If we ever got the chance to dive into Panzer Dragoon Saga, Ogre Battle, or Snatcher, that would be amazing…
Oh, Snatcher is my ultimate wish. Right? I mean. I’m not sure it would succeed, but I would probably push for it and ensure we went ahead with it, just because I’d love to work on something like that.
However, we need to maintain a balance. If Atari turned into ‘what game does Wade want to develop?’ we wouldn’t last very long.”
Atari’s Retro Focus
Lately, Atari has been concentrating on reviving older titles, having acquired studios like Digital Eclipse and Nightdive to enhance and compile classic games. This strategy has proved quite effective for the company. Atari saw a 25% rise in revenue year-over-year in 2024, which spiked to 63.7% by March 31, 2025.
Panzer Dragoon Saga, which hit the shelves in 1998 on the Sega Saturn, marked a major shift for the franchise from rail shooter gameplay to turn-based RPG battles and open-world exploration. Despite only 30,000 copies being released globally, the game has achieved cult status.
Development Challenges
Unfortunately, the game faced serious internal development issues, and two team members sadly passed away due to stress, as noted by Yukio Futatsugi.
The Ogre Battle series started in 1993 with the SNES game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen. This series combined five tactical RPGs with real-time strategy elements. However, the rights to the franchise now belong to Square Enix, which has already remastered it as Tactics Ogre: Reborn in 2022.
Snatcher, a graphic adventure game with a cyberpunk theme, was written by a young Hideo Kojima during his early days at Konami in 1988. It’s clear that his work on this title influenced themes later seen in his successful Metal Gear Solid series. The game has been ported to various systems like MSX2, PC Engine, and Sega CD, yet it hasn’t had a modern remaster despite fan interest and Rosen’s enthusiasm.
Balancing Passion and Business
Rosen emphasized the importance of balancing passion and profitability at Atari. He concluded the interview with some insightful remarks:
“The aim is to achieve both. At the very least, that’s part of the give-and-take in any business. If you lean too far one way—if you are only focused on numbers—it can stifle the company’s spirit. Conversely, if you’re only driven by passion, you may struggle to keep the business afloat.
We’re observing a lot of both extremes in the industry today, and we try to find a middle ground. However, we always encourage the team to choose together… you know, we collaborate to decide what projects to pursue.”
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