Nokia announced last week that Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) will develop and license games for the N-Gage platform. The first Atari titles for the N-Gage are expected to be released in 2005 and will include Civilization, one of the most celebrated strategy games ever created and DRIV3R, the latest installment of Atari’s hugely successful driving adventure franchise. Civilization and DRIV3R for the N-Gage platform will combine familiar storylines and action with N-Gage multiplayer features to create a new spin for the brands.

“Having Atari on board as a developer of N-Gage games is a superb addition to our roster, and Civilization and DRIV3R will expand the N-Gage title line-up with two blockbuster
franchises,” said Pasi Pölönen, Director, Games Publishing, Nokia. “We are looking forward to working with Atari to showcase the power of the N-Gage platform, combined with the fantastic portfolio of Atari titles.”

“As one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software, Atari has a great range of titles like Civilization and DRIV3R that can be developed for the N-Gage platform,” said Wim Stocks, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Atari.
“Creating mobile multiplayer features for a select number of our games is an exciting opportunity for us to give fans of Atari products the value of mobility.”