The Atari 8-bit Computers Tribute Thread

[NeoZeedeater]

When most people think of Atari, they think of the VCS/2600. Despite the popularity of the 2600, Atari's best gaming machines in the early '80's were their home computers.

The Atari 400 and Atari 800 computers were released in 1979.



The 800 had more RAM than the 400 and it had a proper keyboard instead of a membrane one(like the Odyssey2 console). Various other Atari 8-bit computers were released throughout the '80's such as the XL and XE series. A console version of the 65XE called the XEGS was released in 1987. This was a ridiculous move considering Atari wasn't just competing against the more powerful Nintendo and Sega systems but also its own 7800. Atari's 1982 console, the 5200, was also based on their computer technology.

The Atari 8-bit had an incredible software line-up and shared many of the same games as its competitors, especially the Commodore 64. They shared many of the same third-parties and since Atari made games for non-Atari computers, they shared many of the same first-party games as well.

Some cool Atari 8-bit games:

Berzerk(Atari)


Star Raiders(Atari)


Rescue on Fractalus(Lucasfilm Games)


Donkey Kong(Atari)


Bruce Lee(Datasoft)


B.C.'s Quest for Tires(Sierra)


Missile Command(Atari)


Montezuma's Revenge(Utopia)
http://www.qlam.com/atari/montezuma_p1.gif

M.U.L.E.(Ozark/EA)


Qix(Atari)


World Karate Championship(System 3/Epyx)


Archon(Freefall/EA)


Beamrider(Activision)


Up 'n Down(Sega)


Raid Over Moscow(Access)


Crystal Castles(Atari)


Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory(Datamost)


Spy vs Spy(First Star)


Star Wars


Your thoughts on Atari 8-bit computers?

[sleeve]

Atari 8-bit computers were awesome. One of my first threads at GameGO! was devoted to this topic. Not only were the games great, but the platform was extremely supportive of garage developers. When I was a kid I spent hours designing my own games in BASIC, messing around with Player/Missile graphics (yes, Atari 8-bits were the first computers to utilize "sprite" technology) and such.

What a great platform.

[Zerodash]

If I recall correctly, there was a copyright infringement lawsuit between the makers of World Karate Championship and those of Karate Champ.

It might have been the first major copyright lawsuit in gaming history...

[epmode]

most, if not all, of these games showed up on the c64, though the quality of each port varies. i'm very impressed that you posted a beamrider pic, by the way. i love that game.

edit: i missed where you mentioned the commodore 64 ports. so this post is kind of pointless.) still, beamrider =

[NeoZeedeater]

Yeah, Data East sued System 3 over the game. Data East lost but the outcome helped them years later in the legal battle with Capcom over Fighters History.

[Agent X]

Beamrider was a very cool game, but it was created by Activision, not Lucasfilm Games.

Although I've always loved Atari video games, I was more of a Commodore 64 fan back in the day, myself. I originally asked my mother for an Atari 800XL for Christmas back in 1983, but I changed my mind and asked for the C64 after my school got them in the classroom and I was hooked on some of the educational games (seriously!). Still, I've had a soft spot in my heart for the Atari computers, and hope to eventually add some to my collection.

[gamevet]

Is'nt that a picture of Donkey Kong for the Colecovision? The C-64 version had Donkey Kong on the right side of the screen, like the arcade and it was published by Atari.


I was a C-64 player myself, but my school room mate brought his Atari 800XL, back from Seattle, to show me it's superior hardware over the C-64. I personally could'nt tell the difference, but there was one game he had on the Atari, that I did'nt have on my C-64. It was Mr. Do!. I played that game just about every day for 3 solid weeks. It was an excellent port.

[Blaine]

M.U.L.E. ownz to this day.

And it's not like I'm nostaligic for the game, I only played it within the recent years. It's just a solid, solid fucking game.

I was talking to Chris Klug from EA about it at a conference and he's still impressed by it to this day.

There's just something intangible that Dan Bunten put into it that seems to be awfully hard to duplicate.

Personally I'd love to see a web-based version of it (don't look at me though, I can't program a backend to save my life).

[gameoverDude]

Originally posted by gamevet
Is'nt that a picture of Donkey Kong for the Colecovision? The C-64 version had Donkey Kong on the right side of the screen, like the arcade and it was published by Atari.

That's indeed the Atari version. Like Mr. Do, this one is light years ahead of its Colecovision counterpart IMHO.

Spy Hunter was a reasonably good port at the time. Although not all of the Peter Gunn theme made it in, this one keeps most of the play elements. The controls are somewhat simplified from the arcade (no gear shifting, but the car handles more like the one in Action Fighter on the SMS).

M.U.L.E. is one fine game on this system. There's nothing like cursing those pirates when they come to gank the Smithore. It's interesting how you have to strike a balance between competition and teamwork here. If you concentrate too much on screwing your opponents over, the colony could suffer as a result of your greed.

[skelly]

A hand-me-down 800 (?) was my first video game system. That thing played mean games of Donkey Kong and Robotron.

A friend just got me a new 800XL a few months ago, with a Star Raiders cart. I gotta try it soon.