START magazine is convinced that 1989 will wind up a big year for Atari and our lead feature will give you a good idea why. In a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere, Sam Tramiel, president and CEO of Atari Corp., chatted with START for almost two hours on his company's past, present and future. He spoke frankly on such topics as the Federated venture and the related problems in penetrating the U.S. market. He also talked at length about some of the new hardware Atari plans to release by the end of this year. I think you'll find what Sam had to say fascinating and revealing.

One of the main topics of the Tramiel interview was, of course, the ST. But Sam doesn't need to tell us what we already know: that Atari's premiere computer can be a very serious machine, in home and business.

The ST's excellent graphics and sound capabilities do, however, lend it to some very nonserious applications. Welcome to START's Second Annual Games & Entertainment issue. Last year's version was so popular that we decided to make it a yearly tradition. Here are some highlights:

It looks like George Lucas' games division is back in the ST market in a big way. START Editor Andrew Reese traveled to Skywalker Ranch where he was treated to a sneak preview of some of the new games coming from Lucasfilm, including two based on the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. If the games are as good as the film, then I believe Lucas has two more hits on his hands.

Then there's Pressing the Fire Button, START's super games extravaganza. The entertainment-software industry is a multimillion dollar business. It's no wonder then that games make up the single most abundant group of software for the ST. This issue, we present reviews of some of the hottest games available.

And finally, there's our controversial report on Computer Game Violence. Since computers are a major part of childrens' lives (and our own), the kinds of games they'll be exposed to should be of great concern to us all. And let's face it: some games may go too far in their graphic depiction of people killing other people. When is enough enough? We hope you find this story as important as we do.

We're particularly excited about this month's disk, It's packed with three entertaining games, including a giant graphic/text adventure. It's called Avecta I: Ebora and it's one of the most ambitious programs ever on a START disk. And do you recall my article in the June 1989 issue called Arcade Addiction, in which I claimed I made it all the way to level 32 in Arkanoid? I now confess that I had a little help in the form of Newspeed. Just remember: it's a utility!

I'm pleased with this issue and I think you will be, too. Now it's time to sit back and relax with a good-reading, good-playing magazine.