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Nov 1, 2021 · 1. Atari made console design matter. Take a moment and soak in the sadness that is the design of other 2600-era video game consoles.
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Long before the Nintendo Switch or the PlayStation 5, video games took a much simpler form. Atari was a pioneer in American gaming that shaped childhood memories and future gaming consoles alike.
While it may not necessarily have been the “golden age” of gaming, the Atari days helped make what the gaming world is today, experts and former Atari diehards say.
"I don’t know if I’d say it was the golden age, and I might reserve that for when the Nintendo Entertainment System came out and took gaming to the next level, but I‘d definitely say that the Atari days kicked it off," said Chris Spear, the host of the podcast, Chefs Without Restaurants, in an email interview with Lifewire.
The original Atari was founded in 1972 and was known for arcade coin-op games and home video game consoles like the Atari 2600: a console where you could swap out different games to play (an entirely new concept at the time).
Asteroids, Combat (which technically had 27 games in one), Crystal Castles, and Space Invaders all were Atari staples in its hey-day. The people behind these games were always trying to experiment with new ideas and new concepts.
Michael Albaugh worked in the coin-op division at Atari from 1976-2000, where he was involved with games like Pool Shark, Ultra Tank, and Atari Football.
"It was interesting because there were a whole lot of things that we were trying there," he told Lifewire in a phone interview. "We would put games out on a field test to watch players react to gaming."
"I did a bit of work on a game I think should have been produced that was a game called Beat Head that I took over from Bonnie Smithson," he said. "Someone described [the game] as head-to-head Q*bert."
Beat Head was a multiplayer prototype game where players had to jump on all of their specific colored tiles before their opponent did. Ultimately, Atari’s field tests didn’t work out with the game.
For those who only know Atari from the games they played, the mention of “Atari” conjures up memories of playing video games with friends at a young age.
"I have fond memories of sitting on the floor in friends' basements playing Real Sports Baseball," John Frigo, the digital marketing lead at My Supplement Store, wrote to Lifewire in an email. "I enjoyed the simplicity of Atari being able to pick up a controller and instantly know how to play a game and pick it up right away."
Even today, the Atari ways of gaming are still very much alive for some.
I‘d definitely say that the Atari days kicked it off.
"To this day, Raiders of the Lost Ark for the [Atari] 2600 is probably the hardest game to beat," Spear said.
What players miss about Atari games was the old-school gaming style and memories of playing a game surrounded by friends.
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- Space Invaders. One of the first shooting games ever, Space Invaders' lines of lurking aliens appeared in arcades before it became the first arcade game officially licensed for a console.
- Kaboom! Activision's Kaboom! (1981) became another million seller. The game starred a mad bomber who dropped bombs, which the player caught with three buckets at the bottom of the screen.
- Combat. Combat (1976) was one of the first Atari games. It contained 27 games in one, each representing different forms of combat, but all using tanks, jets, or biplanes as vehicles with weapons capability.
- Demon Attack. Imagic—a company that started with an "I" before starting with an "I" was cool—released Demon Attack (1982) for several consoles and computers, including Commodores, TRS-80, and of course, Atari 2600.
- Pitfall! One of the best-selling titles on the seminal console, Activision's Pitfall! put the publisher on the map and showcased just how entertaining these downsized arcade ports could be.
- Combat. A pack-in title that shipped with almost every Atari console released before 1982, most gamers who grew up with the console likely have fond memories of battling friends and siblings in the iconic multiplayer title Combat.
- Kung-Fu Master. Originally released in 1984, the Atari 2600's Kung-Fu Master was a loose adaptation of the Jackie Chan movie Meal On Wheels, which debuted the same year.
- Pole Position. Compared to its arcade counterpart, 1982's Atari 2600 rendition of the hit game Pole Position was pretty lacking. That said, attempting to portray a real-world environment with any sense of depth on the console was ambitious, and the port definitely deserves praise for maintaining the look and feel of the original title given the extremely limited hardware on which it ran.
3 days ago · The Atari Recharged series breathes new life into iconic arcade classics like Breakout, Berzerk, Centipede, and more. This series is a thrilling reimagining of these timeless classics, modernizing their look and feel while keeping the pulse-pounding gameplay that made them legends in the first place.
Dec 13, 2021 · 30 Best Atari Games, Ranked. Long before PlayStation, Xbox, Wii and even the classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the various consoles produced by the Atari Corporation were the undisputed champs of home-based gaming.
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Oct 3, 2023 · What Makes an Atari Game the Best? Atari games are not just about pixels and beeps. They represent the dawn of home gaming, bringing joy to millions. The best Atari games offer engaging gameplay, innovative mechanics, and a dose of nostalgia. 7 Essential Buying Criteria for Atari Games 1. Gameplay. At the heart of any great Atari game is its ...
