While news of Atari picking up the rights to the Ghostbusters game was circulating last week, it’s nice to get the official statement from Atari themselves to seal the deal.

Coming to ‘advanced gaming platforms’ next year to coincide with the Ghostbusters movie’s 25th anniversary, the game retains the talent that made the movies such a success… or a cult phenomenon, whichever way you slice it. The original story for the game has been written by Ghostbusters stars Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, while they, as well as Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson, lend their voices and likenesses to the game, set two years after Ghostbusters II.

President of Infogrames Entertainment, Phil Harrison said, “Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a fantastic addition to Atari’s global line-up in 2009. The title has built considerable anticipation and excitement among game fans for its high quality action and all-out mayhem. There’s no more thrilling Ghostbusting experience to be had, short of building your own proton pack.”

It’s been announced that Atari has picked up the publishing and distribution rights for two of the games left in publishing limbo, after Activision Blizzard cut them from their schedule.

Both Ghostbusters and a new Riddick game, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, will be published by Atari. Ghostbusters is set for a release next year (or “early next summer”) to coincide with the Ghostbusters movie 25th anniversary. The Riddick game has a few more revelations, though.

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Atari’s Race Pro for the Xbox 360 will be released in January 2009.

Developers SimBin will use the extra months before the game’s release to put the finishing touches to the “ultra-realistic racing simulation.”

A playable demo will be available on Xbox Live before Christmas. The demo will feature online multiplayer and single player racing.

Head over to the game’s official website for videos and screenshots.

In case you missed this, a demo of Atari’s Alone in the Dark is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace.

The demo of this action survival features selected playable levels from the first and second episodes of the game.

Alone in the Dark is available now for the Xbox 360, PC, Wii and PS2. The PS3 version is scheduled to arrive later this year.

Atari has revealed Race Pro, a racing game heading exclusively to the Xbox 360 this fall.

Developed by SimBin (famed creator of PC racing simulators), Race Pro sees players training before working their way up the leaderboards. The game promises to appeal to players of all levels with the Mini Cooper Challenge as well as challenging tracks and advanced modes.

The game includes different cars ranging from 200 to over 1000 horsepower as well as championships such as WTCC, Formula 3000 and Formula BMW. It will include GT cars such as the Astin Martin and Saleen as well as production cars including the Audi A8 and Dodge Viper SRT10. Racing fans will also approve of the WTCC cars from manufacturers including Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet and Seat debuting on the Xbox 360.

Race Pro will include 13 real life tracks, Macau, Porto and Pau (exclusive to the game) and Laguna Seca and Road America from the US, new to SimBin fans. Up to 12 players can compete online via Xbox Live while the new Hot Seat feature enables players to get behind the wheel for a limited time before passing the controller to the next player.

Atari and Eden Games have announced that action survival game Alone in the Dark has topped the Xbox 360 sales charts across Europe.

Since its release on the 20th of June, Alone in the Dark has secured the number one spot in the UK and Germany, which according to Chart Track and Media Control are two of the largest Xbox 360 markets in Europe. After a seven year hiatus the title debuted at number 3 on the UK’s All Formats Chart.

Alone in the Dark is now available across Europe for the Xbox 360, PC, Wii and PS2. The PS3 version is scheduled to ship later in the year.

According to Variety Paramount Pictures have signed up to make a movie about the history of Atari with none other than Leonardo DiCaprio starring as Nolan Bushnell, creator of Atari.

The movie is being written by Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman, who convinced Bushnell that they could do his story justice. The movie will follow the story of Bushnell and Ted Dabney who co-founded Atari in 1972 and created Pong and the Atari 2600.

Atari was bought by Warner in 1977 for $28 million and Bushnell was forced out of the company in 1978 following a dispute with Warner over the future of Atari and the Atari 2600.

Development on Atari’s action survival horror game Alone in the Dark is complete. The game is scheduled to ship on the 20th of June in Europe and the 24th of June in North America for the Xbox 360, Wii and PS2. The PS3 version of the game is expected to hit shelves in autumn 2008.

The Xbox 360 version was developed by Eden Games while Hydravision were in charge of the Wii and PS2 versions. The Wii version has been developed to make use of the Wii Remote in various game play situations from driving to real-time manipulation of objects. The game features on-character inventory, health recovery system and DVD-style chapter select menu.

Xbox 360 and Wii Limited Editions of the game, including a hero figurine, art book and making of documentary DVD, will also be available at launch from selected European retailers.

“With its genre-busting mix of gameplay, wide-screen presentation style and DVD chapter select feature putting the player in control, Alone in the Dark will thrill all gamers,” said Phil Harrison, President of Infogrames Entertainment.

“It’s a game which will challenge the player but also reward them with a one-of-a-kind video game experience and a huge amount of fun.”

Atari is bringing Namco Bandai Games’ Family Trainer to European Wiis this September.

Family Trainer sees players using their whole body in various fast-paced activities. The game includes the Family Trainer mat controller which encourages “total body game play.”

Players will be able to choose from over a dozen single and multiplayer outdoor challenges. You can expect to jump aboard a river raft or mine kart, test your skills in log jumping and keep up the pace in rope skipping. The game is set in various colourful locations including ruins in jungle forests, a zombie infested haunted mansion and even a fairytale world.

Players can challenge each other on the same mat or play cooperatively. The game allows you to track your progress and records.

The game is known as Active Life: Athletic World in the US and it is currently slated for a 2008 release date there.

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