PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuter) - Atari Corp., which last week acknowledged
that delays in getting software titles to market hurt the company's
third-quarter earnings, said the problem has been rectified and now expects
to have about 20 titles out by Christmas. 
    ``It's absolutely not a problem now. You'll see lots and lots of software
titles coming out soon,'' President Sam Tramiel told Reuters in an interview
at the game maker's headquarters. 
    Last Tuesday Tramiel said in a statement that Atari will report a loss of
about $3.9 million in its third quarter. 
    That compares with a larger $17.6 million loss in the 1993 quarter. He
said the loss in the recent quarter was ``a result of delays in software
releases as well as expenses related to promotional activity'' related to the
company's Jaguar player. 
    Atari will soon formally report its quarterly results. 
    He said Atari, which lost $48.9 million, or 85 cents per share, last
year, ``will not have big profits in 1995.'' 
    Asked if he expects the company to return to profits next year after two
years of losses, Tramiel said, ``I can't predict when we'll make a profit but
we are very close to it already.'' 
    ``Our key target is getting Jaguar more established in the marketplace,''
he said. ``We'll be pumping all we can back into marketing and establishing
Jaguar.'' 
    With a recent $40 million investment from rival Sega Enterprises Ltd for
a 7.4-percent equity stake, on top of Sega's $90 million dollar payment to
Atari in a lawsuit settlement, Tramiel said Atari is equipped to succeed. 
    Time Warner Inc., which is using Jaguar in its forthcoming interactive
television trial in Orlando, Fla., owns another 25 percent of Atari. Tramiel
said Atari is on track to sell some 200,000 Jaguars on about 30 titles by
year-end. 
    Atari just released ``Alien Vs. Predator'' last month and plans to
release five new titles,including the popular ``Doom.'' 
    Analysts say Jaguar, the only 64-bit system on the market, offers better
sound, resolution and faster speed than the predominant 16-bit machines made
by Nintendo Co. Ltd and Sega, and 3DO Co.'s 32-bit multiplayer. 
    ``But software drives sales -- period,'' said Charles Lemonides, an
analyst at Gruntal & Co. ``It doesn't mater how good the hardware is if you
don't have good software.'' 
    He said Atari will be clearly in the game if it can roll out 10 to 15 new
games quickly and keep titles flowing in. 
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