('''IESA''') is an international
Holding Company headquartered in
Villeurbanne ,
Lyon ,
France . It owns controlling interest in '''
Atari, Inc. ''', headquartered in
New York, N.Y. ,
USA , and '''Atari Europe'''. It was founded in
1983 by
Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the benefits from an introductory computer book. Through its subsidiaries, Infogrames
Produces ,
Publishes and distributes
Interactive Games for all major
Video Game Console s and computer game platforms.
The founders wanted to chriseten the company ''Zboub Système'', but were disuaded by their juridical consultant
Author excerpt from Daniel Ichbiah, ''La saga des jeux vidéo''. Vuibert. 2004. ISBN 2-7117-4825-1. They then, according to Bonnell in a TV interview, used a mix-and-match computer program to suggest other names, one of which was "Infogramme": a
Portmanteau of the
French words "informatique" (information technology) and "programme" (a computer program). The final choice, "Infogrames", was a slightly modified version of that suggestion, and is properly pronounced "IN-foe-gramz" — it is unrelated to the English word "games". However, in English, it is sometimes misunderstood as a misspelling of ''Infrogames'', and sometimes referred to thereof.
The company logo is an
Armadillo (''tatou'' in French), chosen when the company was moved to
Villeurbanne . Bonnell comented: "This dinosaur (''sic'') is our symbol. The armadillo always survives to the changes of his environment, from the thawing of the ices, to the worst of the heat waves".
. was also the name of the official
North American subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment SA. It was founded in
1993 as '''
GT Interactive ''', and purchased in
1999 by Infogrames. In
2001 , Infogrames, Inc. purchased and absorbed '''
Hasbro Interactive ''', which encompassed
Microprose ,
Atari and
Games.com . In
2003 , Infogrames, Inc. officially changed its name to '''Atari, Inc.'''
In late 1980s Infogrames was noted for its French computer games that featured often original game ideas and occasionally humorous content. Since ,
Gremlin Interactive ,
Accolade , and
Shiny Entertainment .
