Sigfox plays nostalgia card with Atari IoT products

Atari is sort of making a comeback. The brand is getting into the Internet of Things business with a new partnership with Sigfox, the French company known for its IoT connectivity standard. There isn't much information available yet for the plan, but the companies intend to put out home, pet, lifestyle and safety products, according to The Verge. The companies will start working on the products sometime this year.

Atari is more of a brand licensing company these days, so Sigfox will likely be in the driver's seat in terms of what is actually produced. The company has done well carving out a space for its own IoT protocol in the market, but it looks like it wants the boost of a well-known brand on its products. Sigfox signals are not designed to transfer large amounts of information or connect devices to the Internet. It is made for small bursts of information to be exchanged infrequently.

This is a critical time for IoT. Many companies are vying for dominance or to at least solidify their place in the market before it matures. IoT was a big theme at Computex 2016.

At the event, Qualcomm and Intel both announced new chips designed for IoT. Qualcomm's new SoC supports dual-band Wi-Fi, low power consumption and enhanced security. Intel focused on media devices like Smart TVs. Some consumer electronics companies like Acer and BenQ announced their own platforms and visions for IoT.

The market is clearly growing, which is good news for Sigfox, but the company might have an uphill battle in the long run. Many small China manufacturers are relying on ZigBee and Z-Wave standards for smart home products. Classic video game nostalgia is an interesting route for Sigfox to take, but its success might ultimately rely on it finding the perfect niche within IoT.