As everyone knows, Apple CEO Steve Jobs spent a little time working at/with Atari after leaving college, working with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to design games for the company.

Jobs got Wozniak to design a circuit board for the game, Breakout, infamously giving his friend less than half of what Atari paid for the result....

Indirectly, Jobs has begun working with Atari once again...

Flash forward to today and Atari has introduced the ancestor to that game, SuperBreakout, as a title available through the iPhone App Store - that and Missile Command, and is promising to make more titles available to the iPhone/iPod touch platform in the "near future"..

Atari says the games are "true evolutions of the original hits, with completely revamped visuals taking advantage of the hi spec screen, and innovative gameplay mechanics making full use of the unique MultiTouch interface and features of iPhone and iPod touch for immersive arcade action".

It gets better - Atari management (like everybody else involved in iPhone game development) seem blown-away by the features of the device.

Atari president Phil Harrison says Apple's devices are: "Leading the global charge in innovative handheld technology and changing the way we consume and interact with media. This is the first step in bringing Atari's wonderful heritage of games right up to date for the iPhone generation."

It's not all good, though, Atari has been forcing the removal of unauthorised Breakout clones from the App Store. Meanwhile Apple's treatment of iPhone developers is today's topic-du-jour...

Finally, here's an old (1982) Atari Super Breakout ad we found lying around: