Everyone’s favorite Pong and Tetris game company has filed for bankruptcy in America. But fear not: Atari has a great reason for doing so.

As was reported by The LA Times, the classic video game company Atari has filed for bankruptcy in the hopes that it will be made a private company by an interested buyer.

Atari’s U.S. operation has been a part of the French video game maker Infogrames ever since Atari’s earlier financial troubles in the early 2000s. By filing for bankruptcy, Atari will be able to operate on its own as a “modest business focused on digital and mobile platforms.”

This means that Atari could be potentially making new iOS and Android games, akin to Angry Birds and Where’s My Water? while also remaking some of its classics, such as Paperboy and Asteroids. Imagine being able to play Pitfall on your daily commute, or challenging you friends to games of Pong, Words With Friends-style.

According to ComputerandVideoGames.com, filing for bankruptcy was a must if the company was to survive.

While profitable for the last two years ($11 million and $4 million), Atari’s revenue slumped 43 per cent in fiscal 2011 and 34 per cent in fiscal 2012.

The original ‘Pong’ advertisement back in the game’s arcade days.

We think that this bankruptcy could be a blessing in disguise for the retro-video game company. We can still remember the times where we played Pong for endless hours on the original Atari system. Imagine being able to finally have that experience with other people online!

This situation is somewhat akin to the recent Hostess bankruptcy, which put a brief end to the existence of Twinkies. However, in Hostess’ case, companies like Wal-Mart and Kroger have expressed interest in continuing on the Twinkies’ legacy.

Do you think that there’s hope for Atari just yet? And would you play games like Pong and Asteroids on your smartphone or tablet? Do you agree with Atari’s reasoning for filing bankruptcy?

Featured image credit: IncGamers.com
Picture credit: Buzznet.com