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Nov 1, 2021 · Atari released the Atari 5200 in 1986. It was the follow up to its seminal console and right out of the box, with no additional hardware, it played almost every single Atari 2600 game in...
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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.
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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.
Nov 11, 2022 · Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is a playable history lesson spanning five decades of video games, and it’s available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam.
Jan 14, 2022 · There were also a few game releases, mainly in the realm of free-to-play and mobile titles like the licensed Roller Coaster Tycoon Stories, and Atari Combat: Tank Fury. In the media, each...
Sep 30, 2023 · According to Rosen, retro games complement the times and reimagined Atari titles like “ Haunted House,” arriving in October, or new, original games like “ Days of Doom,” available now,...
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Nov 20, 2017 · Amid this evolution, Atari was a key pioneering force, sparking the initial home video game craze that has laid the foundations for a generation of Wii U and Xbox playing fanatics around the...
