It always sucks to report shitty news, but word has come down that Atari, publishers of the upcoming Ghostbusters game, have pulled out of E3. The publisher will still be attending the show, but will not be exhibiting any of their new titles.
The guys over at Joystiq got a statement from an Atari PR rep stating: "Atari has made the proactive decision to attend but not exhibit at this year's E3 event. Although we feel E3 benefits the entire games business, we are very focused around other selling and marketing initiatives for our upcoming Ghostbusters, Champions Online and other to be announced titles."
Now there has been a lot of speculation into this shocking announcement. For one, it wouldn't be hard to believe that Atari is currently strapped for cash, and pulling out of E3 will save them a nice chunk of money they can use later down the road on game publishing. It's hard to say exactly how much it costs these publishers for a booth at the show, but it can't be cheap. And if Atari is indeed strapped for cash, the recent announcement of the Ghostbusters game being exclusive to Sony platforms in Europe would help give legs to the legitimacy of that scenario.
But on the flip side of the coin, maybe Atari is being smart, choosing to skip out on exhibiting at E3 because the only games they have to showcase are Ghostbusters and Champions Online--two games that have already had their fair share of exposure.
Whatever the reasons are, I'm sure Atari has a good handle on what they're doing. And if any further details emerge, we will post them here.
