Phil Harrison, the former head of development for the PlayStation, was introduced as the new president of Infogrames at a press conference yesterday. Infogrames is the majority shareholder of Atari, and Harrison’s move from a stable company like Sony to one in such upheaval is puzzling at first. At least, it was puzzling until Harrison explained his reasoning:
Harrison described Atari as “the best opportunity that exists in the industry today to redefine, refocus and re-energise an incredible brand, an incredible group of people towards that networked future.”
Harrison is correct, of course. Atari is in dire straits right now. It is the punchline of the industry. The only brand it has active currently is based on the Dragon Ball Z license. If Atari goes under, nobody will blame Harrison for the company’s demise. Analysts will say that his hiring was too little, too late.
On the other hand, should Atari lift itself out of the very deep grave it has dug for itself, Harrison will become an emblem of the power of proper management. Harrison could very well become the savior of a powerful brand in the industry. It was even just inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame. I imagine books will be written about his successes. Assuming he has any.
In this scenario, Phil Harrison is like the hot girl who starts dating the loser guy with pretty eyes and a drug habit. If she gets him cleaned up, all of her friends will be so envious, and then they’ll start trying it themselves. If it doesn’t work out, they’ll pat her on the back and say, “Well, you were too good for him anyway.”
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