Believe it or not, but Atari is getting into the hotel business. The iconic gaming company has struck a deal with GSD Group to develop a series of video game-themed hotels across America in the very near future. So near, in fact, that plans are currently underway to break ground on the first location in Arizona later this year.
“We’ll build a space that will be much more than just a place to stay,” Atari CEO Fred Chesnais explained in a press release. “Atari is an iconic global brand that resonates with people of all ages, countries, cultures and ethnic backgrounds and we cannot wait for our fans and their families to enjoy this new hotel concept.”
So, what can we expect? Quite a lot. The press release teases “fully immersive experiences for every age and gaming ability, including the latest in VR and AR.” What’s more, certain locations will also include state-of-the-art venues and studios to host esports events. The idea, they insist, is to marry the origins of gaming and the future of the booming industry.
“When creating this brand-new hotel concept, we knew that Atari would be the perfect way to give guests the ‘nostalgic and retro meets modern’ look and feel we were going for. Let’s face it, how cool will it be to stay inside an Atari?!” said GSD Group’s Napoleon Smith III. Very cool, Napoleon, and based on the photo above, also quite stylish.
Don’t worry, though, you won’t have to go all the way to Arizona to boot up this machine. Atari plans to launch hotels in Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose. Sadly, as of press time, there’s no word on whether any of the rooms will come with 2600 machines, chock full of classic games like Pitfall! and Adventure.
Here’s hoping they dig up some of those E.T. Extra-Terrestrial games, and that they don’t forget their slew of horror titles, particularly the ever-macabre adaptations of John Carpenter’s Halloween and Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Get any of those and you can bet your ass this writer and horror hound would stay there every trip.