This is a list of games for the Atari Video Computer System, a console renamed to the Atari 2600 in November 1982. Sears licensed the console and many games from Atari, Inc., selling them under different names. 3 cartridges were Sears exclusives.
The final licensed Atari 2600 games released in North America were Ikari Warriors, MotoRodeo, Sentinel, and Xenophobe in early 1991,[1] and the final licensed games released in Europe were Klax and Acid Drop in 1990 and 1992 respectively.
Games published by Atari and Sears
All 130 of the initial era[when?] of Atari 2600 games were developed and manufactured by Atari, Inc. These games were published by Atari, and many were also licensed to Sears, which released these games under its Tele-Games brand, often with different titles.[2] Sears's Tele-Games brand was unrelated to the company Telegames, which also produced cartridges for the Atari 2600 (mostly re-issues of M Network games.)[3]
Three games were also produced by Atari Inc. for Sears as exclusive releases under the Tele-Games brand: Steeplechase, Stellar Track, and Submarine Commander.[2]
Atari title
Sears title
Code
Designer or programmer
Year
Genre
Notes
32 in 1
-
CX-26163
1988
Educational, Sports
A multi-genre cartridge. It is a PAL-only release and is compatible with the Atari 7800.[4] 32 games are included, including games by Atari, Inc., Activision, CommaVid, and U.S. Games.
As the Atari 2600 console grew in popularity, in 1980[9] other game developers, such as Activision and Imagic, entered the market and published more than 380 of their own cartridges for the Atari 2600. Many of the most popular Atari 2600 games, such as Pitfall! and Demon Attack, are third-party games.[10]
Researchers going through the game code in the 2010s have been unable to figure out how the game's maze-generating algorithm managed to consistently generate playable mazes. The original coder says he got it from another programmer who wrote it while drunk.
The Atari 2600 has been a popular platform for homebrew projects, with 84 games publicly released. Unlike later systems, the Atari 2600 does not require a modchip to run cartridges. Many games are clones of existing games written as programming challenges,[20] often borrowing the name of the original.
The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. Branded as the Atari Video Computer System from its release until November 1982, the VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge—initially Combat and later Pac-Man.
Kaboom! is an action video game published in 1981 by Activision for the Atari VCS. It was programmed by Larry Kaplan, and David Crane coded the overlaid sprites. The game was well received and sold over one million cartridges by 1983.
The Starpath Supercharger is an expansion peripheral cartridge created by Starpath, for playing cassette-based proprietary games on the Atari 2600 video game console.
Pitfall! is a platform video game designed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released by Activision in 1982. The player controls Pitfall Harry and is tasked with collecting all the treasures in a jungle within 20 minutes. The world consists of 255 screens which are horizontally connected in a flip screen manner. Each screen has one or more hazards: quicksand, tarpits, rolling logs, crocodiles, snakes, scorpions, campfires, and swinging vines.
The Atari Flashback series are a line of dedicated video game consoles designed, produced, published and marketed by AtGames under license from Atari SA. The Flashback consoles are "plug-and-play" versions of the Atari 2600 console. They contain built-in games rather than using the ROM cartridges utilized by the 2600. Most of the games are classics that were previously released for the 2600, although some Flashback consoles include previously unreleased prototype games as well.
Space War is a video game cartridge released by Atari, Inc. in 1978 for the Atari Video Computer System. The game is a version of Spacewar!, the 1962 computer game by Steve Russell. It was released by Sears as Space Combat, for its Atari compatible Tele-Games system. An Atari Lynx update was planned but never released.
Pac-Man is a 1982 maze video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. under official license by Namco, and an adaptation of the 1980 hit arcade game of the same name. The player controls the title character, who attempts to consume all of the wafers while avoiding four ghosts that pursue him. Eating flashing wafers at the corners of the screen will cause the ghosts to turn temporarily blue and flee, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points.
Activision Anthology is a compilation of most of the Atari 2600 games by Activision for various game systems. It also includes games that were originally released by Absolute Entertainment and Imagic, as well as various homebrew games. The Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X versions are titled Activision Anthology: Remix Edition, and include the most games. The PlayStation Portable version is titled Activision Hits Remixed.
Steeplechase is an sports video game by released in arcades 1975 by Atari, Inc. Developed by Atari subsidiary Kee Games, it simulates a steeplechase-style horse race. It was distributed in Japan by Nakamura Seisakusho (Namco) in 1976.
The Atari 2600 hardware was based on the MOS Technology 6507 chip, offering a maximum resolution of 160 x 192 pixels (NTSC), 128 colors, 128 bytes of RAM with 4 KB on cartridges. The design experienced many makeovers and revisions during its 14-year production history, from the original "heavy sixer" to the Atari 2600 Jr. at the end. The system also has many controllers and third-party peripherals.
AtariAge is a website focusing on classic Atari video games. The site features gaming news, historical archives, discussion forums, and an online store. It was founded in 1998.
Skiing is a video game cartridge for the Atari 2600. It was authored by Bob Whitehead and released by Activision in 1980. It's one of the first video games developed by Activision.
Halo 2600 is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Ed Fries and published by AtariAge for the Atari 2600, a video game console released in 1977 that ended production in 1992. Inspired by the Halo video game series, the game sees players control Master Chief and fight through 64 screens with varied enemies. Completing the game once unlocks a tougher "Legendary" mode.
Surround is a video game programmed by Alan Miller and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. It was one of the nine Atari VCS launch titles released in September 1977. Surround is an unofficial port of the arcade video game Blockade, released the previous year by Gremlin Industries. It is the first home console version of the game that became widely known across many platforms as Snake. Atari licensed it to Sears which released it under the name Chase.
Atari 2600 homebrew is a term describing hobbyist-developed games for the Atari 2600 video game console. The first such game was written in 1995, and more than 100 have been released since then. The majority of games are unlicensed clones of games for other platforms, and many were written for the technical challenge. There are also ROM hacks and some original games. Several games have received attention outside the hobbyist community. Some have been included in a game anthology by Activision.
Oystron is an action game developed for the Atari 2600 by Piero Cavina and released in 1997. It is one of the earliest hobbyist-written games for the console. The game, Cavina's first, was initially made available as a freeware 4 KB binary file designed for use on the Starpath Supercharger and with Atari 2600 emulators. It was later released in cartridge form by XYPE, a group of Atari 2600 homebrew developers.
Street Racer is a racing video game developed for the Atari Video Computer System, later known as the Atari 2600. It was programmed by Larry Kaplan and released by Atari, Inc. in September 1977 as one of the nine Atari VCS launch titles. The game was also published by Sears for their Tele-Games product line as Speedway II.
Yars' Revenge is a video game released for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It was created by Howard Scott Warshaw and is Atari's best-selling original game for the 2600.
M Network was a video game division of Mattel that, in the 1980s, produced games in cartridge format for the Atari 2600 video game system.
Tooth Protectors is a rare video game for the Atari 2600 video game console. It was released exclusively via mail order in 1983 by American pharmaceutical and consumer goods manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.
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