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Let me ask you something...if you had been the Boss of Atari in the 70s and 80s, what would you have done different, and do you think that it would have saved Atari as a Hardware Developer? Well, here's how I would have handled it...
DISCLAIMER: This entry is meant for humor (maybe...) and friendly discussion of how things could have been. Try not to take it too seriously. Also, if you happened to notice the time that this was posted, give me a break! It's late at night and I'm bored as hell! 
Right then...The first thing I would do is give credit to anyone who made a game for my company. Atari was notorious for not giving credit to game designers. In fact, Secret Quest's box says it's by Nolan Bushnell (Founder of Atari), but this is incorrect. It was actually programmed by Steve DeFrisco.
The next thing I would have done is allowed more time for games to be developed. This move would have probably made Pac-Man for the 2600 and E.T. into good, or at least decent games. These were just two of several games that were rushed out to my knowledge.
Third, I would have toned down the marketing attitude somewhat. While it's true that a Console and it's games NEED to be advertised in one way or another, why waste money on marketing entirely? Today, it costs over 1 Million US Dollars for 30 Seconds of Airtime during the Super Bowl. That's 1 Million Dollars that could have gone to funding better technology and games. Perhaps this is a minor point, but I still feel that it's relevant.
Next, I wouldn't have been a dick to my employees. This may sound harsh, but it's true. At one point, an employee called The Czar (Ray Kassar) called every Atari Programmer "High-Strung Prima Donnas". What a jerk! Another guy, Jack Tramiel, fired over 1000 Employees, including the CEO. Why he did this, I don't know, but it still seems rather much to me.
FIVE! Kill the idea of "Adult Games" right away! This clearly caused much controversy, and many problems for Atari. Despite being unlicensed, they still happened. I would have used all manner of means at my disposal to prevent them from appearing on my console.
Number Six! I'd make sure games were actually finished. There were plenty of games that were never finished or released for the 2600. Each one for it's own reasons, but if I start something, I expect to finish it one way or another. More on this idea, I'd have also spent a ton less money on that Swordquest Contest. I've read that Atari used REAL Jewels to make the prizes...WHY?! Who thought that was necessary?!
Problem Seven! The Supercharger! Okay...I like the Supercharger. It's cool, but it's short supported life was stupid, in my honest opinion. I feel that if more time was taken to learn it, and it used something OTHER than Cassette Tapes, it might have done so much better. I know options for media were limited back then, but I feel that, given enough time, CDs could have been officially utilized with it.
NUMBER NINE--(Coughs loudly)--...5200 Controllers! These things are pretty junky unless rebuilt. Also, the Number Pad is too much. I'd lose it. I could think of at least a couple ways that the Number Pad could have been made obsolete, but that's a minor issue. The big issue is the build quality of these devices. They're Prototypes were built so much better, and received favorable reception. So why then did Atari change them? I would have actually listened to the customer, and kept it the way it was.
Last, but not least...The Epilogue! Perhaps all this is very much easier said than done, but that certainly doesn't mean it's impossible. I feel that if these steps and more were taken, Atari could still be the Giant that it was back in the 80s today. Still, I could be wrong. Perhaps they were doomed from the start, I don't know. As the Tootsie-Pop Commercials say..."The World may never know."
Well, that's all for now. What are some steps that you would have taken in this matter?
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