Data Age

Last updated
Data Age
Industry Video games
FoundedApril 1982 (1982-04) [1]
Headquarters California
Products Journey Escape
Frankenstein's Monster

Data Age was a California-based video game company that developed and published titles for the Atari 2600 platform in the mid-1980s. Among their more well-known titles were Journey Escape (a tie-in with the band Journey) and Frankenstein's Monster , both published in 1982. The company was founded by Martin Meeker and four other designers. [1] They employed 35 people by December 1982. [1]

Games

Data Age released fewer than a dozen games, generally to mixed reception. Frankenstein's Monster has been cited as a standout among Atari 2600 games by several game reviewers, [2] while Sssnake and Warplock (both 1982) were included on a list of the ten worst games for the 2600. [3] Journey Escape also received poor reviews and weak sales, despite a $4.5 million marketing campaign, [1] which combined with heavy licensing fees helped lead to the company's failure. [4]

Other games released by Data Age are Airlock , Bermuda Triangle, Encounter at L-5, and Bugs–all from 1982. [4] Secret Agent, Mr. Bill's Neighborhood, Smokey Bear, and Mr. T were unreleased. A prototype of Secret Agent has been found. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Saltzman, Joe (December 13, 1982). "The beat goes on". San Francisco Examiner . p. 33. Retrieved November 25, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  2. Agnello, Anthony John (November 19, 2013). "Back from the dead: 9 modern games for obsolete consoles". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  3. Oleniacz, Kevin. "The Worst of the Atari 2600". Digital Press. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  4. 1 2 Yarusso, Albert. "Companies - Data Age". AtariAge. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  5. Yarusso, Albert. "Atari 2600 - Secret Agent (Data Age)". AtariAge. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.