AtariLeaks

"First loyalties lie to Atari first!"

ABOUT ATARILEAKS

The adventure started in 2009 when I sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the FBI and asked for their case files on Atari.

When I recently told some friends about this project, Jim Blackler jokingly called it "AtariLeaks". Everyone enjoyed the joke, obviously a play on Atari and WikiLeaks, and the name stuck. In all fairness, this website is just a one-way publishing platform -- not a Wiki. This isn't a leak, either. The information this website is based on was officially provided by the FBI using regular channels.

Thanks to everyone who provided assistance. Fipi Lele was especially helpful with her tips and feedback on website design. A number of Atari fans and former employees, publicly and privately, provided some background information and commentary on the events of the time. Thank you!

After three years, I never finished writing a complete story. This year I finally decided to publish what content I have. There are many interesting things you should be able to pick apart here, especially when you go through the timeline and the PDF document itself. With some outside research, you may be able to find out more things. For example, I was able to find the prime suspect for Mystery Employee "X" who originally came up with the DRAM resell idea.

Grammar Police may notice that the site's slogan in the upper-left corner, "First Loyalties Lie To Atari First", is not grammatically correct. It is a direct quote from page 27 of the FBI document. "Lay with" is probably the correct word choice.

In a strange twist, the quote in its original and literal form may accurately describe at least one employee that continued to conceal their ongoing communication with the FBI. Serving their first loyalties (which are to the United States of America) requires that they lie to Atari first. I assumed that while some may hate an improper word choice, others would enjoy a double entendre.

Atari is a registered trademark of Atari Interactive, Inc. AtariLeaks is in no way connected to Atari, Atari Interactive, or Infogrames. This is a non-commercial website. See the disclaimer at the bottom of the screen for more information.

AtariLeaks was created by Josh McCormick (Reddit: Atari_Historian). I'll be attending the University of Tulsa this spring to obtain a Certificate in Information Security.