In a story broken by Ben Fritz of the L.A. Times, it was reported late last night that legendary game developer Atari Inc. has filed for bankruptcy.

The initial report suggests that U.S. operations will cease while the company attempts to separate from their parent company, the France-based Atari SA. Fritz’s report also indicates that Atari Inc. is looking for a private buyer.

This is another blow to the once-great developer, who rose to prominence with their Atari 2600 console. The 2600 spend six years on top of the console world until market saturation sunk in. Atari is widely considered to have been the catalyst behind the Video Game Crash of 1983, producing historically notable bombs such as E.T. and their notoriously bad port of Pac Man.

Disney’s big holiday animated project likely hits close to home for many of The Flickcast’s readership. A tale of an 8-Bit villian who tires of his repetitive life of villainy and struggles to find a place for him to be a hero. No it is not the biography of Donkey Kong, it is Wreck-It Ralph.

In the wake of the Pixar merger a few years ago, Disney has had a very successful run of animated films NOT produced by the famed animation studio. While not quite the high water mark of the second golden age, the last handful of years has been a welcome return to quality animation for the mouse house. Hopefully Wreck-It Ralph keeps that newly forged streak alive.

The newest poster for the upcoming film has hit the web today, and its simplistic, 8-Bit design fills us with confidence. Clearly this film knows it’s roots and is being made by people with a genuine love of the video game world. 8-Bit design has found a resurgence in the geek community in recent years, and to see a major motion picture studio plastering the style in theater hallways nationwide is heartening.

You can see the full poster after the jump.

On last week’s episode of The Bitcast I was challenged to put my video game money where my film score loving mouth is. So this week I decided to give you all a special edition of Film Score Friday: a top five rundown of my favorite video game scores of all time.

The music in video games has often been considered an after thought that had little to no bearing on the games themselves. Only a handful of franchises had transcendent music, and everything else was just deemed filler.

Now that video games are growing to near cinematic heights of popularity and quality, the music in these games has also seen a renaissance. High profile film composers are taking on video game projects, marquee games are releasing sound track albums and the film score community is finally accepting video games as source of quality music.

It’s always great when a franchise finally gets a sequel, which is why Donkey Kong Country Returns was one of the most exciting games announced for the Nintendo Wii at this year’s E3. I made my way to Nintendo’s booth at New York Comic Con, where I was able to take DKCR for a spin.

Donkey Kong Country looks great, and it plays great too. Like other Wii games, players can choose to use the Wii-mote and nunchuk, or just hold the Wii-mote sideways as they move Donkey Kong and DK through the side-scrolling levels, collecting bananas and bashing baddies along the way.

I was able to experience the two-player mode of DKCR, which was one of the reasons I was most excited about this game. Multiplayer in DKCR is incredibly fun, especially because either player can contribute as little or as much as they’d like. DK can hop onto Donkey Kong’s back and hurdle bananas at enemies while Donkey Kong runs through the level, or each player can play independently and help eachother complete the level.

This is going to be a great game for kids and adults to play together, because players of all different experience levels can still experience the game fully. Similar to New Super Marios Bros., when players die they are easily brought back to life and can continue

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a fun addition to the Donkey Kong franchise, and a sure hit for both kids and adults alike. The game will be out just in time for the holiday season, since you’ll be able to pick it up on November 21st exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.

To the delight of Nintendo fanboys everywhere, another classic franchise got a sequel at today’s E3 Nintendo press conference. That franchise is Donkey Kong, and your favorite ape along with Diddy Kong will be swinging and jumping their way through a new game, Donkey Kong Country Returns.

The first Donkey Kong adventure game since 2005’s Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Donkey Kong Country Returns is developed by Metroid Prime creators Retro Studios. The game will feature the same familiar 2D gameplay that players have come to expect of the franchise. The trailer shows Donkey and Diddy making their way through levels of mine carts, swinging from vines, and fighting through pirate ships.

Donkey Kong Country Returns will swing its way onto the Nintendo Wii this holiday season. While you wait, enjoy a tasty banana and watch the gameplay trailer after the jump.