Editing Imagic (section)

==History==
Imagic was the second third-party publisher for the Atari 2600, formed after [[Activision]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classic Gaming Expo Distinguished Guest: Alan Miller |url=http://www.cgexpo.com/bios/amiller.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208143935/http://www.cgexpo.com/bios/amiller.htm |archive-date=February 8, 2012 |access-date=2006-08-30 |website=Classic Gaming Expo}}</ref> Founders included Bill Grubb, Bob Smith, [[Rob Fulop]], and Denis Koble from [[Atari, Inc.]],<ref name="rfgam">{{Cite web |title=Playing Catch Up: Night Trap's Rob Fulop |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11832 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108225158/http://gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11832 |archive-date=January 8, 2007 |access-date=2007-04-09 |website=[[Gamasutra]] |publisher=CMP}}</ref> Jim Goldberger, Dave Durran and [[Brian P. Dougherty|Brian Dougherty]] from [[Mattel]]<ref name="Atlantis">{{Cite episode |year=1982 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhy0bs_7eGA |title=The Making of Atlantis |series=Enterprise |network=[[PBS]] |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> as well as Pat Ransil<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NbOw1eAbgk&t=17s |title=Just Kidding TV Show - The Making of Imagic's Wing War |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> and Gary Kato.

Grubb previously served as the vice president of sales and marketing for Atari for 18 months.<ref name="nyt1">{{Cite news |last=Hayes |first=Thomas C. |date=22 November 1982 |title=Imagic Scores in Video Games |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/22/business/imagic-scores-in-video-games.html |access-date=29 January 2014 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Before that, he was with the marketing department at [[Black and Decker]] for 11 years.<ref name="atarihq1">{{Cite web |last=Grubb |first=Bill |last2=Koble |first2=Dennis |date=January 1983 |title=Video Games Interview: Bill Grubb and Dennis Koble |url=http://www.atarihq.com/othersec/library/imagic.html |access-date=29 January 2014 |website=Video Games Magazine |publisher=Atari HQ}}</ref> It was Grubb's goal to take Imagic public<ref name="Atlantis" /> and to eventually overtake [[Activision]] as the number one third-party video game publisher.<ref name="atarihq1" /> Fulop, meanwhile, was previously a programmer at Atari, and claimed in a 2019 interview with ''Paleotronic Magazine'' that he left the company in favor of Imagic after being paid for developing the [[Atari 2600]] port of ''[[Missile Command]]'' with a [[Safeway]] coupon for a free turkey rather than the monetary Christmas bonus he had expected.<ref name="Paleotronic 2019">{{Cite web |date=29 March 2019 |title=An Interview with Atari 2600 Developer and Imagic Co-Founder Rob Fulop |url=https://paleotronic.com/2019/03/29/an-interview-with-atari-2600-developer-and-imagic-co-founder-rob-fulop/ |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=Paleotronic Magazine |ref=Paleotronic 2019}}</ref>

Atari sued Imagic over ''Demon Attack'' because of its resemblance to ''[[Phoenix (1980 video game)|Phoenix]]'',<ref name="dareview">{{Cite web |last=Nobles |first=Ethan C. |date=February 19, 2002 |title=Demon Attack: This Game Is Pure Imagic! |url=http://www.ataritimes.com/article.php?showarticle=224 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025043822/http://www.ataritimes.com/article.php?showarticle=224 |archive-date=2006-10-25 |access-date=2007-04-10 |website=Atari Times}}</ref> to which Atari had the exclusive home-version rights. The case was settled out of court.

Despite initial success and sales greater than projections, the company's fortunes reversed after the stock market dumped videogame stocks in late 1982, scuttling Imagic's initial plan to become a publicly traded company.<ref name="Atlantis" />