PARIS — Atari Inc. said Friday that it had sold more than 1 million copies of Enter the Matrix one week after the computer and video game hit shelves in the United States and Europe.
New York-based Atari shares traded up 75 cents (U.S.), or 18 per cent, at $4.98 midday Friday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The heavily indebted company, a subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment SA of France, is counting on blockbuster games such as Enter the Matrix to revive its fortunes.
The game was released May 15, the same day as the movie it is tied to, The Matrix Reloaded. The game includes additional footage and is one of the most expensive ever made.
In early May, the company said it expected to sell 4 million units of the game for a total of $160-million in revenue. Infogrames had total sales of $770-million for the year ended in June and does about 65 per cent of its sales in the United States.
Atari sales expectations, if reached, would put Enter the Matrix on track to be one of the best-selling games of all time.
Atari said the game would be released in Japan on June 19.
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