| Air Raid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Men-A-Vision |
| Publisher(s) | Men-A-Vision |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Air Raid is a 1982 shoot 'em up published for the Atari 2600 by Men-A-Vision, the only game released by the company. [1] The cartridge is a blue T-handle design with a picture of flying saucers attacking a futuristic city. It had extremely limited distribution, [2] making it highly sought after by video game collectors.
The player controls a ship which scrolls side-to side directly above two buildings, with the objective of protecting the buildings from being destroyed by the bombs of enemy ships above. [1]
On April 10, 2010, the only copy at the time known to be complete (cartridge and box) sold for $31,600. [3] The next known copy to surface on the internet was on October 22, 2011. The eBay auction offered an incomplete version of the game (cart only). Air Raid still sold for an impressive amount of $3,575 US. The transaction was completed, having both parties exchange positive feedback making this the second highest confirmed price paid for the game. [4] On October 24, 2012, the first truly complete game (cartridge, instruction manual and box) was listed for auction and eventually sold for $33,433.30. [2] [5] Due to the media attention that this complete copy brought, on October 26, 2012, a third boxed copy (although without the instruction manual) surfaced on eBay. [6] On June 28, 2021, a Goodwill employee in Fort Worth, Texas found and auctioned off a playable copy of the game at eBay for $10,590.79, which was a success for the company to raise more than $10,000. [7] [8]
The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge—initially Combat and later Pac-Man. Sears sold the system as the Tele-Games Video Arcade. Atari rebranded the VCS as the Atari 2600 in November 1982, alongside the release of the Atari 5200.
The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a home video game console officially released by Atari Corporation in 1986 as the successor to both the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200. It can run almost all Atari 2600 cartridges, making it one of the first consoles with backward compatibility. It shipped with a different model of joystick from the 2600-standard CX40 and included Pole Position II as the pack-in game. Most of the announced titles at launch were ports of 1981–1983 arcade video games.
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1982 was the peak year for the golden age of arcade video games as well as the second generation of video game consoles. Many games were released that would spawn franchises, or at least sequels, including Dig Dug, Pole Position, Mr. Do!, Zaxxon, Q*bert, Time Pilot and Pitfall! The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pac-Man, for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home system was the Atari 2600. Additional video game consoles added to a crowded market, notably the ColecoVision and Atari 5200. Troubles at Atari late in the year triggered the video game crash of 1983.
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