| RealSports Soccer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Programmer(s) | Michael Sierchio Jerome Domurat |
| Series | RealSports |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
RealSports Soccer (also known as Soccer, Football and RealSports Football) is a 1983 sports video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200, concentrating on the sport of association football. [3] [4]
The game was part of a series of games released under the RealSports title for the Atari 2600, including RealSports Football , RealSports Volleyball , and RealSports Baseball . [5] [6] With the launch of the Atari 5200 a new version of the game was also developed for it, originally known simply as Soccer. The game was Atari's second association football-themed game after Pelé's Soccer . [4]
The 2600 version was programmed by Michael Sierchio, [7] with the computer-graphics being designed by Jerome Domurat.[ citation needed ] The 5200 version was programmed by John Seghers. [7] The game was written in machine code. [6] The original cover for the 2600 version was designed by Warren Chang, [8] [ unreliable source ] whilst the cover for the 5200 version was designed by Steve Hendricks. [4] A version for the Atari 8-bit computers was also in development, but was it was cancelled in hope that it would sell more 5200 systems. [7]
The game includes only three players a side, with no human-controlled goal keeper. The gameplay scrolls horizontally over a play-area roughly three screens wide. [6] During play the human player controls the sprite with the ball, whilst the computer AI controls the sprites of the players that are off the ball. To switch player the player selects the player nearest to the ball by pressing a joystick button, though the player is selected automatically by a successful pass. [9] The Atari 5200 version featured computer-controlled goal-keepers. [10]
A review of RealSports Soccer in the March 1983 issue of the UK magazine TV Gamer criticised the high price of the game (nearly £30, or roughly £100 at 2020 prices), [11] and summed up their impression of the game by saying "it's just football". [12] The German magazine Telematch, in an April 1983 review criticised the lack of goalkeepers, the small play-area, and the general lack of realism in the game, ultimately giving the game a score of 4/6. [9] A May 1983 review in the French gaming magazine Tilt also criticised the lack-lustre gameplay, though it praised the improved graphics over Atari's previous game, Pelé's Soccer. Tilt gave the game 4/5 for graphics but only 2/5 for its ability to hold interest. [13] The 1984 Book of Atari Software criticised the lack of realism in RealSports Soccer for the 2600 platform, saying that it "lack[ed] the complexity and players to hold anyone's interest", and gave the game an overall score of "D". [6] A review in the 1984 Software Encyclopedia was broadly positive about the game, particularly in head-to-head mode, giving it 7/10 overall. [10]
An article in the November/December 1992 edition of Digital Press listed the game as one of the worst ever made for the Atari 2600, criticising especially the poor graphics, sound, gameplay, and controls. [14] A review of the Atari 5200 version of the game in the November/December 1997 edition of Digital Press was mildly more positive, praising the improved graphics over the Atari 2600 version, and the impressive (for its day) analog controls, though also criticising the ease of scoring against the computer in the one-player version of the game, and gave it 5/10 overall. [15]
The intellectual property rights for the game passed to Hasbro Interactive and were subsequently bought by Infogrames in 2001, which was subsequently renamed Atari SA. It was then re-released for the Atari Flashback 3 in 2011, which was the first console of the Flashback series made by the AtGames company. [18] As of 2021, the game has been included on all subsequent Flashback consoles, including the Flashback 4, [19] 5, [20] 6, [21] 7, [22] 8, [23] 9, [24] and X. [25]
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 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to the Atari 2600 at the time of the 5200's launch. Created to compete with Mattel's Intellivision, the 5200 wound up a direct competitor of ColecoVision shortly after its release. While the Coleco system shipped with the first home version of Nintendo's Donkey Kong, the 5200 included the 1978 arcade game Super Breakout which had already appeared on the Atari 8-bit computers and Atari VCS in 1979 and 1981 respectively.
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RealSports Football is a 1982 American football sports video game made by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600. Versions for the Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers followed in 1983. It is part of the RealSports series of games.
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RealSports Baseball is a 1982 sports video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. originally for the Atari 2600. It was also launched on the Atari 5200 and 7800 machines. A version for the Atari 8-bit computers was in development, but cancelled.
RealSports is a series of sports video games originally developed and published Atari, Inc. The first games were released in 1982 for the Atari 2600, then the series expanded to the Atari 5200, Atari 7800, and Atari 8-bit computers. By the early 1980s, Atari's initial sports releases for the VCS—Home Run and Football—were dated in terms of visuals and gameplay, and targeted by an Intellivision ad campaign from Mattel. The RealSports series was an attempt by Atari to revitalize the sports game lineup for their consoles.
Nb. the title is "Football", but from the picture and the description this is clearly RealSports Soccer
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