Editing Atari ST (section)

=== Industry reaction ===
''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' stated that Tramiel's poor pre-Atari reputation would likely make computer stores reluctant to deal with the company, hurting its distribution of the ST.<ref name="oxner198605">{{cite magazine | title=Hobby & Industry News | magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] | issue=28 | date=May 1986 | url=https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_28.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_28.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live | access-date=17 April 2016 | last=Oxner | first=Bill | pages=4}}</ref> One retailer said, "If you can believe [[Lucy Van Pelt|Lucy]] when she holds the football for [[Charlie Brown]], you can believe Jack Tramiel";<ref name="steele19850709">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SprPDrQRvM8C&pg=PA34 | title=COMDEX: Nothing New Under the Georgia Sun | work=PC Magazine | date=1985-07-09 | access-date=28 October 2013 | last=Steele | first=William | pages=34}}</ref> another said that because of its experience with Tramiel, "our interest in Atari is zero, zilch".<ref name="maremaa19850603">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8C4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA23 | title=Atari Ships New 520 ST | work=[[InfoWorld]] | volume=7 | issue=22 | department=News | date=1985-06-03 | access-date=26 April 2024 | last=Maremaa | first=Tom | page=23}}</ref> Neither Atari nor Commodore could persuade large chains like [[ComputerLand]] or BusinessLand to sell its products.<ref name="nyt19851216" /> Observers criticized Atari's erratic discussion of its stated plans for the new computer, as it shifted between using [[mass merchandiser]]s, specialty computer stores, and both. When asked at COMDEX, Atari executives could not name any computer stores that would carry the ST. After a meeting with Atari, one analyst said, "We've seen marketing strategies changed before our eyes".<ref name="sanger19850513" />

Tramiel's poor reputation influenced potential software developers. One said, "Dealing with Commodore is like dealing with Attila the Hun. I don't know if Tramiel will be following his old habits ... I don't see a lot of people rushing to get software on the machine."<ref name="chinsoft19850128" /> Large business-software companies like [[Lotus Development|Lotus]], [[Ashton-Tate]], and Microsoft did not promise software for either the ST or Amiga,<ref name="nyt19851216" /> and the majority of software companies were hesitant to support another platform beyond the [[IBM PC]], Apple, and [[Commodore 64]]. [[Philippe Kahn]] of [[Borland]] said, "These days, if I were a consumer, I'd stick with companies [such as Apple and IBM] [[orphaned technology|I know will be around]]".<ref name="mace19851202">{{cite news|last=Mace|first=Scott|title=Christmas Contenders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=My8EAAAAMBAJ&q=mecc&pg=PA28|access-date=2011-01-22|newspaper=InfoWorld|date=1985-12-02}}</ref>

At Las Vegas COMDEX in November 1985, the industry was surprised by more than 30 companies exhibiting ST software while the Amiga had almost none.<ref name="nyt19851216">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/16/business/this-season-s-computer-war.html | title=This Season's Computer War | work=The New York Times | date=1985-12-16 | access-date=31 March 2016}}</ref> After Atlanta COMDEX, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that "more than 100 software titles will be available for the [ST], most written by small software houses that desperately need work",<ref name="sanger19850513" /> and contrasted the "small, little-known companies" at Las Vegas with the larger ones like [[Electronic Arts]] and [[Activision]], which planned Amiga applications.<ref name="nyt19851216" />

[[Trip Hawkins]] of Electronic Arts said, "I don't think Atari understands the software business. I'm still skeptical about its resources and its credibility." Although [[Michael Berlyn]] of [[Infocom]] promised that his company would quickly publish all of its games for the new computer, he doubted many others would soon do so. [[Spinnaker Software|Spinnaker]] and [[Lifetree Software|Lifetree]] were more positive, both promising to release ST software. Spinnaker said that "Atari has a vastly improved attitude toward software developers. They are eager to give us technical support and machines".<ref name="chinsoft19850128" /> Lifetree said, "We are giving Atari high priority".<ref name="chinsoft19850128" /> Some, such as [[Software Publishing Corporation]], were unsure of whether to develop for the ST or the Amiga.<ref name=chinsoft19850128>{{cite news|author=Chin, Kathy|title=Atari Promises Software For ST|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6i4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15
|work=InfoWorld|publisher=IDG|date=1985-01-28|access-date=2011-03-19|page=17}}</ref> [[John C. Dvorak]] wrote that the public saw both Commodore and Atari as selling "cheap disposable" game machines,<ref name="dvorak198509">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_21_1985-09_Ion_International_US#page/n3/mode/2up | title=Image | work=Ahoy! | date=September 1985 | access-date=27 June 2014 | last=Dvorak | first=John C. | pages=5}}</ref> in part because of their computers' sophisticated graphics.<ref name="webster198512">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1985-12/1985_12_BYTE_10-13_Computer_Conferencing#page/n363/mode/2up | title=Microcomputer Color Graphics-Observations | work=BYTE | date=December 1985 | access-date=28 October 2013 | author=Webster, Bruce | pages=405}}</ref>