Atari Alumni & Video Game News

The Atari Falcon 030 is the successor of the Atari 520 STe and the Atari TT 30.

It keeps some features these machines : The graphic modes (320 x 200 / 16 colors, 640 x 200 / 4 colors, 640 x 400 / 2 colors, 320 x 480 / 256 colors and 640 x 480 / 16 colors) and the sound chips (the old Yamaha PSG and the two 8 bits PCM channels of the STe).

Two new graphic modes have been added : a “small” 256 colors SVGA (640 x 480) and a true color VGA mode (32768 / 65535 colors in 320 x 480). Also when running on a TV, the resolutions are different: True Color mode is 640×480 in PAL and 640×400 in NTSC. The other TV resolutions also have a difference of vertical resolution between PAL and NTSC: 200 or 400 lines in NTSC, 240 or 480 in PAL.

New interfaces were added too : an ADC 16bit 50 KHz and a DSP I/O port. The videochip has also genlocking features.

The Falcon was sold with the single-task TOS operating system in ROM (4.04). It is the old Atari ST TOS with new functions to handle the DSP and the new graphic modes. The GUI was slightly enhanced with colored icons and 3D windows. Hopefully a multi-task TOS - MultiTOS) was also delivered on disks. This multitasking system uses the MiNT kernel and an enhanced GUI. MiNT (which stands for MiNT is NOT TOS) is a multitasking Operating System with lot of Unix features. It was initially done by Eric Smith. It was bought later by Atari and became then “MiNT is NOW TOS). Atari planned first to put it in ROM, but it was not finished and was shipped on disks.

source: http://www.fact-index.com/a/at/atari_falcon.html

We’ve all heard of the Atari classic Space Invaders, right? Sure, of course, because we’re not a pack of pop-culturally ignorant mother-scratchers. The same can be said about Dig-Dug and Breakout and Asteroids. These are the major titles, the games we all know and love to play.

Then there are the minor titles that only the hard-core geeks like to play, like Yar’s Revenge and Swordquest. If you heard about these, you were (and maybe still are) an Atari Fanatic.

However, the Van Gogh-Goghs have, after decades of research, come up with a third category of games: The Best Atari 2600 Games You Never Heard Of. Through our searches of thrift shops, junk stores, dumpsters and high school time capsules, we’ve found the greatest games you never knew existed.

* Bosom Buddies

* Free the Falklands!

* Peabo Bryson’s Cow Tipper

* Typing Tutor

* Hands Across America

* Kramer vs. Kramer

* Ms. Paul’s Fish Stick Hunter

* Gunther Gebel-Williams’ Cage Cleaner

* Space Cobbler

* Punch Buggy

* Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Motocross

source: http://www.vgg.com/2600/bestgamesmain.html

Most people don’t realize that I didn’t get my start at the San Francisco Chronicle as the universally beloved pop culture critic that you know today. I was actually a Chronicle paperboy in the early-to-mid 1980s.

My best friend Bryan and I had adjoining paper routes in Burlingame, and we would spend most of our profits on movies and video games. Specifically, Atari 2600 cartridges. This was partially during the death throes of the console, so we were able to get games for very cheap — even as a lot of the best games were coming out. Consequently, we played almost everything.

The technology has gotten infinitely more advance, but I’ve still never had as much fun playing a video game as I did with that old Atari system. I’m about to dig out my Atari 2600 so my 4-year-old can check it out — or at least hook up my Atari Flashback 2.0, which is the best of the modern Atari 2600 clones to come out in recent years. Below are the five games I definitely want to play with him — my choices for the best Atari 2600 video games of all time.

Please add your own favorites in the comments. (Or just tell me what an idiot I am for not including Kaboom!, which was totally overrated.)

5. ASTEROIDS

Most of the arcade games that were ported to the Atari 2600 fell into one of two categories: Kind of sucky and really sucky. Take Pac-Man, which was just like real Pac-Man, except it had no fruit, a boring maze, wonky ghosts, dots that looked like dashes and a lead character who for some reason could no longer look up and down. Asteroids was a lot of fun, though. The designers seemed to put a little more effort into this one, which didn’t have the cool vector graphics but otherwise replicated the source material. (One downside: The spaceship looked kind of like a nipple.)

4. COMBAT

The first Atari 2600 video game — and the one that came with the system — was also one of the best. The byplane and jet fighter games tended to indice vertigo, but playing with the tanks was awesome, especially when using the artillery that bounced off walls. (I can’t believe the U.S. military still hasn’t developed something like that.) The audio was also great for the time. I remember turning the TV way up just so we could hear the grinding tank tread sound effects.

3. RIVER RAID

You look at River Raid now, and it’s the type of thing you might download to play on your cell phone. But when this Activision game featuring a jet plane that shot down other planes, helicopters and boats came out in the later days of the Atari 2600, it was visually stunning. Not only were the graphics strong, but the terrain was constantly changing and a ton of action took place on the screen at one time. (Bonus PC points: River Raid was one of the first console video games designed by a woman.)

2. YARS’ REVENGE

I don’t think there was a single game I played more than Yars’ Revenge. Even though there was just one screen featuring a flying-bug-thing versus a cannon-thing-behind-a-fortress, the replayability was excellent. There were all kinds of geeky touches, like a comic book that came with the game, and an Easter Egg that was pretty easy to find. (The designer of Yars’ Revenge, Howard Scott Warshaw, also designed the E.T. video game, which was arguably the worst 2600 game of all time.)

1. PITFALL!

Pitfall! was the peak of the Atari 2600. The console was still selling strongly, and the renegade Atari programmers working at Activision were at their peak, seemingly immune to the pressure to rush out games that helped kill the company. Pitfall! was a groundbreaking game — the first side-scrolling game that many gamers ever played. And it was very colorful and imaginative, featuring an explorer sprinting through the jungle dodging scorpions and crocodiles and other traps. (Bonus Pitfall! trivia: Jack Black was in the original commercial.)

source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/parenting/detail?entry_id=38987

After the release of the Atari 5200 and the great Video game crash 1983. Atari needed to do something and do something fast. So they came up with probably their best game system to date. Reason being it has its own library of games, and can play every Atari 2600 game. So the library for the Atari 7800 can be quite large if you figure in all the 2600 games.

Good news about the 7800 is the controllers actually work. Not like the previous Atari 5200. I personally like the 7800, with apparent better graphics than the 2600, but I feel Atari just couldn’t get the popular arcade titles and game titles to compete with the every popular Nintendo Nes in the mid 80’s

The Atari 7800 - Release Date 1986

* Released to be a superior model with less of the problems from the original Atari 5200.

* The Atari 7800 could play almost any Atari 2600 game with out any sort of modulator or expansion module

* The 7800 was always viewed as a Atari 2600, but with supposedly better graphics and what not.

* The Atari 7800 had the ability to play tons of games, but the development for new games for the system wasn’t their. It has been stated that Atari released on 60 or so titles just for the Atari 7800.

Controllers - And What you Should Know
When released the Atari 7800 included a two button controller. Which Ii guess fit a little more natural in your hand. The reason I’m creating this section is to inform you that not all Atari 7800 Games, will work with the Atari 2600 Controller (1 button controller)

For example when playing Double Dragon on Atari 7800, the original 1 button atari controller will not work with the game. You have to use the 2 button Atari 7800 Controller to enjoy the game.

The Atari 7800 will play all atari 2600 controllers, the 7800 has the same size controller port. So thats good news if you still have all your atari 2600 stuff.

Additional Controllers for The Atari 7800
1. The XE Light Gun is compatible with both the XE Game System and the 7800 ProSystem.
2. Joypad mainly Sold in Europe,and other locations outside North America, the 7800 Joypads are similar to NES joypads with a small, removable stick on the d-pad.

Atari 7800 Games
The Atari 7800 released about 59 games, there were some additional games released aftermarket. During the Atari 7800’s life cycle, Atari found themselves struggling to get developers to create 7800 versions of then-popular arcade titles because of a controversial policy employed by Nintendo. When Nintendo revived the industry, they signed up software development companies to create NES games under a strict license agreement which imposed serious restrictions on what they were allowed to do.

Even though the Atari 7800 can play hundreds of games, due in part it’s compatible with all Atari 2600 games. Which helped sell the unit after the Atari 5200’s downfall.
Best and The Worst of Atari 7800 Games
To Start the Section off, as with many classic systems there were rare games, and their were very common games. Some games can fetch a quality dollar, while others aren’t even worth it. That brings me up to my next point, some games are worth more than other games.

Five Collectible Rare Titles
1. F-18 Hornet
2. Ninja Golf
3. Midnight Mutants
4. Double Dragon
5. Rampage

Very Common Games
1. Jinks
2. Barnyard Blaster
3. Crack’ed
4. Melt Down

source: http://www.squidoo.com/atari7800

In an industry where an obese plumber can become a cultural icon, it’s no wonder that in video games, weird is normal. However nutty they get, these oddities were never as strange as the ones for the Atari 2600. Ironically the most bizarre of these came out around the crash of the video game industry, causing most of them to go unnoticed in the rubble of a once great gaming console. Take a look weirdest Games you’ll ever see, all for the Atari 2600.

1. The A-Team
From Howard Scott Warshaw, the man who brought you Atari 2600 classics such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Yars’ Revenge and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, comes a game that was just too darn weird to release.

Based on the high-octane television series, you play Mr. T’s floating disembodied head and “Pity the Fool” who tries to make any nuclear warheads! Unlike the show where no one ever dies, the goal here is to kill the A-Teams arch-rival Colonel Decker, who has for some reason decided to turn trader to U.S. and is supervising the construction of a nuke. The game was built, but canceled before its release. A few prototype cartridges leaked to the fan community, making this a much sought after cult classic.

2. Chase the Chuck Wagon
Nothing goes together better than video games and kibble, so it was only inevitable that the first and only video game about dog food was inspired by those classic 80s Chuck Wagon commercials. You control a dog dodging flying bones, deadly tumbleweeds and his sinister master, all while racing though a series of mazes to reach a giant Chuck Wagon. Once there you get to grub and gain points. The only way to get this rarity was to send in proof-of-purchases from Check Wagon brand dog chow.

3. Alien
In space no one can hear you go “waka-waka-waka-CHOMP”. The 1979 big budget Ridley Scott motion picture made its video game debut as this cheap Pac-Man rip-off. The ghost monsters have been substituted with the insect-like Aliens, and pellets replaced with Alien eggs. Stomping through a maze filled with Alien eggs you must crush them all as you avoid multiple Alien baddies. With no power pellets in site you are now equipped with a flame thrower.

4. Pepsi Invaders aka Coke Wins!
An in-joke parody game commissioned by the Coca-Cola Company as a gift to employees and to take pot shots at the competition. A reskinned version of Space Invaders, the player ship is shaped like a can with wings and fires at invading letters that spell out Pepsi. Players get a bonus for hitting the Pepsi logo mother ship. The game was never intended to sell with only 125 cartridges manufactured.

5. Sneak ‘n Peek
The first and only virtual hide ‘n seek game designed for kids too lazy to play in real life. Not intended for latchkey kids who have no one else to play with, Sneak ‘n Peak requires two players. The game does feature some innovative approaches, like having the 2nd player or “Seeker” put his controller down and physically leave the room so he can’t see the TV and watch where the “hider” creeps off to. With only three different screens, there aren’t many places for anyone to hide.

6. Tooth Protectors
Deflect tooth rotting food particles from injuring your precious pearly whites in this advergame available only by mailing in proof-of-purchases from Crest toothpaste. On a platform of teeth, you hold a shield of fluoride protection and stop those perfect choppers from getting damaged by the sinister Snack Attacker. If more than three of his cavity causing crusties gets by you, it’s time to bring in the big guns: a giant tooth brush and dental floss.

7. Kool-Aid Man
A perfect match for Tooth Protectors. While one teaches kids how to take care of their teeth, Kool-Aid Man encourages rotting them! In the 80s General Foods Corps marketing team turned the wall-smashing Kool-Aid Man into a pop-culture icon, with his pitcher puss appearing on toys, t-shirts, comic books and, with enough Kool-Aid points, an Atari 2600 game!

You play Kool-Aid man, as your archrivals, the Thirsties, infest his summer pool party. Not only are these dried up pests buzzing around the yard, but they’re drinking up all the pool water. When the Thirsties take a swig from your swimming hole, you’ve got to offer up your refreshing liquid innards. A pretty fun game if you can find it.

8. Communist Mutants From Space
This Space Invaders rip-off is mainly weird for its name and enemies political affiliation. Like Space Invaders you play a horizontally scrolling ship blasting away at an invading enemy fleet of slowly descending aliens. What makes this game unique are that the aliens are all commie bastards, threatening democracy across the universe! Once you shoot an enemy ship down, the mother ship drops an egg with a new “comrade” hatched to take its place. Progressing to the next level requires you blow up the egg spurting mother ship, and reject the teachings of Karl Marx.

9. I Want My Mommy
In a game specifically designed for tots ages eight and under, players control a little teddy bear crybaby who has woken up from a nightmare and needs his mommy’s big hug to make the bad dreams go away. In a design that looks suspiciously like the Popeye game, Teddy must climb up a series of platforms connected by “stardust ladders” and avoid Dream Demons who aim to kill the baby bear. Teddy’s only defenses against these hell spawns are heart kisses Mommy throws to Teddy. This game teaches youngsters everything they’ll need to know about life: Demons, Death, Killing, Magic and having to fight in order to receive a mother’s love.
10. Revenge of The Beefsteak Tomatoes
In a concept stolen…er…”inspired” by the cult classic film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes; as a professional tomato sprayer you must trap the revolting produce by building a wall and sealing them in behind it, but don’t think the tomatoes are goanna take that kind of ketchup! They’ll toss at you exploding tomato bombs and attack from above with flying Beefsteak Tomatoes.

11. Journey Escape
A game starring the hottest rock bands of the 80s…Journey! Now, don’t get ahead of yourself and think nobodies like you will actually get to play band members, instead you lead the exciting life of one of their roadies. You’re put to work getting them safely from the concert to their spaceship, the Scarab Escape Vehicle. Protect them from crazed groupies, crooked promoters and tabloid photographers, but more important than the band members, you’ve gotta keep their concert money safe! What a hero!

The game features only part of a Journey song (Don’t Stop Believin’). The rest of the music is an original score (not by Journey). Could this game be the turning point that caused the band to break up only two years later?

12. Porky’s
While I Want My Mommy is on one end of the weird spectrum, Porky’s is on the other, in a game no mother could love. Based on the raunchy classic teen sex comedy (isn’t that weird enough?) you play the role of Pee Wee on a mission to blow up the Porky’s Bar & Strip Club. Along the way you peek into the girls shower, evade Ms. Balbricker, run though a Frogger-like level, avoiding enemies such as strippers, Cops, a pigmobile, Attack Pigs, etc. and escape the Swamp Pit by pole-vaulting out.

source: http://classicgames.about.com/od/consoleandhandheldgames/tp/WeirdestAtari2600Games.htm

The Atari 5200 ”SuperSystem” was launched in 1982.

It had a futuristic design, and was much larger than its predecessor, the 2600. The game cartridges for the system were also unusually large for a system of the time.

Originally named ”Atari Video System X”, the 5200 was based on the proven hardware of Atari’s 8-bit line of computers.

Like the computers, it used the custom ANTIC and GTIA chips for graphics, and the POKEY chip for sound; the first version followed the computers in having four controller ports, although the later version had only two. The original version was incompatible with games produced for the Atari 2600 console, but the ”two-port” version was sufficiently altered to allow the production of an adaptor which gave the 5200 the ability to play game cartridges designed for the 2600.

Another oddity of the original ”four-port” version was that it had one of the earliest automatic TV switchboxes of any videogame system. For most consoles of the age, a manual switchbox was used, meaning that the user had to flip a switch in order to change from game-playing to watching TV. Unfortunately, the switchbox was also used to provide power input to the console, and this unwieldy configuration meant that spare parts were expensive if there was a problem. The ”two-port” system returned to a more conventional separation between TV output and power input.

Despite being based upon the Atari 400/800 computers, the SuperSystem could not use the computer software directly. This was because of some important differences in internal engineering. The 5200 had only 1K of ROM compared to the 10K of the computers, and the memory addresses of some registers, and of the custom chips, were changed. However, many games that had been successful on Atari home computers were ported to the system.

The 5200 had unique controllers, featuring an analog joystick and numeric keypad, together with Start, Pause and Reset buttons. Unfortunately, the controllers had a remarkable propensity for failure, and many of the controllers that have survived to the present are non-functional. Atari revised the 5200 controller design several times, and had plans to release completely redesigned controllers. However, these did not materialize before the system became defunct. Another problem with the controllers was that the joystick was not self-centering, and this made it very difficult to use with some of the most popular games of the time.

As a commercial game platform, the 5200 had a short lifespan. Because of this, it has a limited game library. This means that it is quite possible to obtain a complete game collection for the system, and many people are attracted to 5200 collecting as a result. Another consequence of this is that the majority of titles available for the system were produced by Atari itself, and most are of high quality. The short-lived availability of the system meant that there was little time for third-party games to be produced, and these games, therefore, had short production runs, and are generally the most difficult to acquire.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Atari 5200 was only produced with NTSC television output; there was no PAL version, let alone SECAM. It was only available in North America. The 5200 has a small but loyal band of enthusiasts and collectors in Canada and the USA, but is little known further afield.

source: http://www.atarimania.com/atari-5200.html

The Atari Lynx was the world’s first color handheld portable videogame system. Released in 1989, the Lynx offered multi-player functionality, 3D graphic capabilities, reversible controls, and a backlit color LCD screen. The Lynx features a strong library of games and technical abilities beyond that of its contemporaries. Unfortunately, the Lynx was ultimately unsuccessful due to Atari’s inability to persuade developers to write enough high profile games for the system.

The Lynx was originally conceived by engineers at Epyx in 1987, where it was called the Handy. Dave Needle and R.J. Mical, two of the Handy’s creators, were also members of the original Amiga design team. Epyx first showed the system to industry insiders at the Winter CES in January of 1989, and the audience was impressed. However, Epyx ran into financial problems and it became apparent that they would not be able to produce the Handy on their own. They needed to find a partner, and sent out invitations to several potential candidates. One of the invitees was Nintendo, who passed on the project. Another invitee was Atari, who was eager to reassert their market dominance of the early 80’s. Atari and Epyx reached an agreement where Atari would handle the production and marketing of the system, and Epyx would handle the software development. Atari subsequently showed the system off to the press at the Summer 1989 CES with the working title Portable Color Entertainment System.
Joust by Williams

Also announced in 1989 was the Nintendo GameBoy. Comparisons were quickly drawn between the two: the Lynx had more powerful hardware and a backlit color screen, but the GameBoy was lighter, smaller, and used less battery power. The Lynx was also set to retail at $199 versus Nintendo’s cheaper $109 GameBoy. Towards the end of the year, Atari finally released the Lynx in limited quantities, but not enough to prevent shortages around the country. The GameBoy was readily available and quickly became the holiday winner. The Lynx would have to wait until next year to challenge the GameBoy.

1990 saw only moderate success for the Lynx. For $199, gamers received a deluxe package that consisted of the system, a carrying case, a ComLynx cable, an AC adaptor, and California Games. Unfortunately Atari didn’t have any killer-app titles to go with their system, and Nintendo continued to gain market share with popular licenses from their NES console. Atari also had a poor reputation with retailers at this point, and some simply declined to carry the Lynx. However Atari stepped up its marketing campaign, and 1991 saw much improved sales over the previous year. Later in the year, Atari offered another package - for $99 gamers could buy a Lynx without accessories. This helped to boost Lynx sales again, but they were still losing badly to Nintendo.

In May of 1991, Sega released the Game Gear to the detriment of Lynx sales. The Lynx was no longer the only color portable on the market, and Sega had more marquee titles scheduled for their system. Eventually the Lynx was squeezed out of the picture and the handheld market was dominated by the Nintendo GameBoy with the Sega Game Gear a distant second.

Although it ultimately failed to reach its commercial goals, the Lynx has some fantastic games in its library. There are accurate arcade translations such as Joust, Rampart, and Klax. Quality original titles such as Chip’s Challenge, Warbirds, and Gates of Zendocon showed what the Lynx was capable of. Unfortunately Atari could not attract enough third party developers to continue supporting the Lynx, and by 1993 they ceased marketing it and focused on their new console, the Jaguar.

Today, there is still a thriving Lynx community. Fans and collectors still play and discuss the system, and developers such as Songbird are releasing new games as well as completing unfinished games from Atari’s past. Most Lynx games and the system can be found for a reasonable price, so if you want to see what you missed out on it won’t set you back too much. For a taste of what the Lynx can do, download the Handy emulator and some game ROMs and play them on your PC.

source: http://www.atariage.com/Lynx/history.html

In 1991, the Sega Genesis was at the cutting edge of videogame technology in America and enjoying strong sales. NEC’s Turbografx-16 was a distant second, and the Super Nintendo was yet to be released. Rumors swirled about various new peripherals and consoles - Genesis and Neo-Geo CD drives, the Sony Playstation, and a CD drive for the forthcoming Super Nintendo. Another rumor to circulate in 1991 was that Atari was back with a new 32-bit console called the Panther that was set to debut against the Super Nintendo later that year. However, after the Summer CES that year, Atari announced that the Panther was cancelled so that they could concentrate on a new machine, the 64-bit Jaguar. Behind the scenes, Atari had actually been developing both systems at the same time, but the Jaguar had progressed at such a rate that it made sense to skip the Panther.

Atari was very tight-lipped about its new machine at first, but then it began sending out press releases announcing the Jaguar with various technical specifications. Atari said they planned to debut the machine in 1993, and that there would definitely be a 64-bit RISC based processor at its core. This was exciting news to gamers, as it would seemingly make it the most technically advanced machine, well beyond the 16-bit Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. Even better, Atari said the price would be between $100 and $150.
Atari Jaguar Controller
Jaguar Controller

Technically, the Jaguar was impressive. Five processors reside in three chips, two of them being proprietary (Tom and Jerry) with a third being a Motorola 68000 coprocessor. The GPU runs at 26.591Mhz and is rated at 26.591 MIPS (Millions of Instructions Per Second). There is a 64-bit data bus for communication and two megabytes of fast-page mode DRAM. Development systems cost between $7,500 and $9,000 and ran on IBM PC or Atari TT030 computers, with art development possible on various other machines.

When Atari finally announced the official launch of the Jaguar, the price tag was $200 and was bundled with a Cybermorph cartridge and one controller. However, when it actually hit store shelves the price had climbed to $250. Even with a higher price tag, sales were brisk. IBM was manufacturing the system for Atari, and things were looking up. Atari was set to market the Jaguar with a $3 million advertising budget, a telephone support line, and promised support from over 20 third party developers. However, retailers and the media were still skeptical that Atari could deliver quality software and keep all of its promises.

When the machine actually hit the streets, the reaction was mixed. Some gamers were excited by the increased power, while some felt that the system fell short of its promises. Some people claimed that the the Jaguar wasn’t actually a true 64-bit system, that it was simply two 32-bit processors working in parallel. However, Atari was pressing forward with their advertising campaign touting its 64-bit power, and an impressive number of third-party titles had been announced in development. Unfortunately for these developers, the Jaguar proved very difficult to program for and Atari did not have sufficient development tools. Many Jaguar games were consequently delayed, and others were rushed out the door and were less than impressive. Ultimately, many announced developers simply did not develop any Jaguar titles.

The Jaguar’s first game was the system pack-in, Cybermorph. Although an impressive polygonal game for its time, Cybermorph still received its share of criticism for design flaws and a weak color palette. The second title, Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy, was criticized by the media and even accused of being a glorified demo. This was followed by Raiden and Dino Dudes, which were also poorly received and gamers remarked that they looked like 16-bit games. Atari’s first hit came in the form of Jeff Minter’s Tempest 2000, an update to the classic game that was almost universally applauded and won several awards. This was followed by Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Alien vs. Predator, the latter being one of the best selling Jaguar games ever. Then Atari won several out-of-court settlements with Nintendo and Sega over patent infringements, totaling around $70 million dollars. Things were looking better, but the damage may have been done.

Christmas of 1994 was very important to Atari, but unfortunately it was a weak holiday season for videogames in general. Lackluster titles such as Checkered Flag, Kasumi Ninja, and Club Drive didn’t help. The Sega Saturn was lurking on the horizon, and gamers seemed content to spend money on their Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo systems instead of buying a Jaguar. In late 1995, the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation were released in the U.S., and fans quickly forgot about Atari’s machine. Even though it claimed to be superior in processing power (64-bit vs. 32-bit), that now seemed either inaccurate or irrelevant given the demonstrations by Sony and Sega’s new consoles. Atari wasn’t giving up however, and they announced the release of their CD-ROM attachment, Pro Controller, and some marquee titles like Primal Rage and NBA Jam Tournament Edition.

After the Christmas 1995 shopping season, it was apparent that Atari would not be able to compete. Sony’s Playstation was the clear winner, and Atari admitted it had sold only $3 million worth of Jaguar merchandise in the last quarter of 1995. Although Atari stated it would continue to support the Jaguar, they began laying off staff and moved to smaller accommodations. Then Atari announced that they would be merging with hardware manufacturer JTS and discontinuing all support of the Jaguar. In early 1996, they released the last Jaguar title, Fight For Life, and almost all remaining Atari employees were laid off.

Before the collapse, Atari had actually been developing the Jaguar II and even assembled some prototypes. It was going to be fully backwards compatible with the Jaguar, and the processing power was said to be two to three times that of the Sony Playstation. There were to be seven processors on three chips, with the fastest processor running at 53Mhz. Unfortunately, the Jaguar II never made it beyond the prototype stage so we’ll never know what it might have been capable of.

Time Warner had also licensed the Jaguar architecture for the arcades, where it was known as the “CoJag”. These systems were basically Jaguar chipsets with extra memory and some other enhancements, and resulted in the arcade games Area 51, Maximum Force, and an unreleased puzzle game called Freeze. Stock Jaguars were also used as controllers for several kiddie ride games such as Skycopter II, Speedster II, and Spaceguy. These kiddie rides were going to be deployed outside of stores such as K-Mart, various supermarkets, and Chuck E. Cheese.

The Jaguar may have been dead to corporate America and the general gaming public, but not to everyone. Texas-based Telegames published several unreleased games beginning in 1996, including Breakout 2000, Towers II, Worms, Zero 5, Iron Soldier II and World Tour Racing. A company called ICD published Air Cars (the first 8-player linkable Jaguar game) and the Cat Box networking device. Carl Forhan’s Songbird Productions continues to program and publish Jaguar games, and has already released Protector, Hyperforce, Skyhammer, and Soccer Kid. 4Play released BattleSphere, a long-awaited and well received polygonal space combat game. Hasbro also dropped the licensing fees for new Jaguar titles, opening up the scene for even more development. There are also dozens of prototype games that were never released and have yet to surface to the public. You haven’t seen the last of the Jaguar yet.

source: http://www.atariage.com/Jaguar/history.html

The Atari gaming console was undoubtedly the most played on gaming console in its time. It had a gaming era of its own. Atari was launched in the year 1977 and became very affectionate within the people. Atari gaming console was known as Atari Video Computer System (VCS). A new gaming era was created the children and kids inside the aged during the late 70s to early 90s.

If one has seen this gaming device or played it, he must have had fun on the much simple and sober game graphics as compared to the new gaming consoles of today.

Atari gaming console was the mother of gaming for quite many years. But, as the time advances, there are advancements. So, with the coming of modern age, Atari became old fashioned. During the 80s, Atari and the gaming cartridges used to sell like hot cakes. In the Christmas season, it was as popular as the other gaming consoles of today.

There was a sudden rush in the production of Atari cartridges for gaming which crashed the video game market. Prior to the success of Atari, there was a decrease in demand in the video game market. Post 1986, almost all the retail shops stopped the marketing of Atari.

All said and done, it is true that even today Atari games are very much fun to play with. Some of the best known games produced by Atari such as Pac-man, Galaxy, missile command, etc. are still produced in the video game industry and loved widely. These games are readily available and played on the internet, which were not available in cartridges at that time.

In today’s gaming world, many PC games are developed under the Atari banner. The newest gaming consoles now try to produce games that could match new standards and find their takers. The today’s generation gaming consoles such as X-box, PS3 and even the PCs make available some of the popular Atari game titles such as Age of Pirates, Test Drive Unlimited etc.

The new gaming consoles develop the games in such a way that they are studded with superb 3D graphics. They have digital sound effects and modern picture quality. The games that were once produced by Atari have the power to relax the mind and body of the person even today.

The Atari games come for everyone in different genres. They have racing games, simulator games, shooting games action games and various games for children of all age groups.

One can always be rest assured that he never gets out of great gaming titles with the many type of games that were made under the Atari banner. If one gets bored of a game, he simply has to head towards his nearest gaming store and grab a different Atari game.

Some of the immortal Atari games such as Pac-man, Battlefield, Asteroids, etc. which have been developed lately by various gaming companies are a great fun. All the gaming fans that have lived through the Atari generation search the gaming titles online to play there.

The famous Atari games could be easily played on the internet by logging on the official Atari’s website http://www.atari.com Even the old Atari gaming Video Computer System is available for sale today which could be purchased. Even today, the people purchase the Atari gaming system and the cartridges.

One could easily re-live his old school days by getting an Atari gaming console from his nearby gaming store. He could enter the period of 80s and entertain himself with several Atari gaming titles that relax both mind and body.

To get himself started, one has to attach the Atari gaming system with his television set and his favorite gaming cartridge. One must also always join his children along to maximize the fun.

The Atari games are easy to download from the Atari’s official website. The famous gaming titles could be easily saved to the computer and played. There is nothing like purchasing the Atari gaming console to relive the old moments which have flown somewhere from life.

source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Atari-Video-Game-Systems—Reliving-the-Best-Games-of-the-80s&id=1388298

Forget Hot Coffee - the 80’s era sexual video game concepts would make Hillary Clinton’s head explode if they were remastered on an Xbox. At best, these crude depictions of LEGO-like adultery are as sexy as the cave-paintings you see on public bathroom walls. The hyperbole of thundering cockasores and Sir Mixalot dancers were necessary due to the low fidelity of the media - ZERO megs of video memory and Atari’s whopping 1.19mhz processor could barely muster a nip slip. Thus, the infamous Mystique programming teams had to illustrate gigantic dongs on small sprite based characters or you couldn’t tell the game was supposed to be sexual. Collectively, they’re crass as they come… but where the massive genetelia failed to be sexy, they succeeded in gaining comedic noteriety. These games were the inside joke of 80’s era gamers, which is why they’re still well known today. Using Wikipedia’s wisdom we tracked down the worst offenders, so without further ado - the top 5 sexual video games of Atari! Starting with…

NUMBER 5 - BURNING DESIRE / JUNGLE FEVER

In Burning Desire, you play a nude man hovering over on a helicopter trying to save a woman from getting consumed by flames while you dodge stones being thrown at you by cannibals. You ejaculate to put out the fire and then have the woman latch onto your penis and air her to safety. In Jungle Fever, the roles are reversed and you play a woman who lactates the fire out.

NUMBER 4 - KNIGHT ON THE TOWN

This one should be renamed to Dragon Warrior Slime Sex, look at the heads of these people! In Knight on the Town, you play a knight who needs to get across the moat to save a buxom princess, but the only way across is for the knight to build a drawbridge, piece by piece. While building the bridge, the knight must dodge a dragon’s fire, an alligator swimming in the moat and a little gremlin with a big mouth to bite the knight. To make matters worse, the gremlin moves faster for every piece of bridge placed. The goal of this game is to get across a completed drawbridge and climb to the top of the tower to get the princess in the least amount of time.

NUMBER 3 - CATHOUSE BLUES / GIGOLO

In Cathouse Blues, you play a MAN-WHORE on a mission to find and score with 7 different women in a large neighborhood, and you get paid after you found the right house. As soon as you get into the house, the screen cuts to a raunchy purple lovemaking couple momentarily. However, there are empty houses with alarms that can stun him temporarily, so this game is a test of your memory, and probably the only really challenging one on the list. Also wandering the streets are police officers ready to capture you. Also on hand is a mugger who steals all your money if you run into him. You run out of lives and the game is over. As Seanbaby put it, the ladies in this game spent so much money on you they couldn’t afford a bed. Plus they live in a giant donut.

NUMBER 2 - BEAT EM AND EAT EM

In this game the player controls a pair of nude women who scuttle back and forth underneath a building as a ridiculously well-endowed man constantly ejaculates from the roof top. The player’s objective is to maneuver these women so that they consume the man’s sem*n before it hits the ground. The game’s objective is supported by an ad hoc explanation that “every [uncaught] sp**m is sacred” and “could have been a famous doctor or lawyer.”

NUMBER 1 - CUSTER’S REVENGE

The mother of all crude Atari sexual games! Also called “Westward Ho!” (get it?) Custer’s Revenge gained notoriety for its particular plot. In the game, the player controls the character of General George Armstrong Custer, depicted as a man wearing nothing but a cavalry hat, boots, a bandana, and sporting a visible erection. Custer has to overcome various (not very difficult) obstacles to achieve his goal, which is to rape a crudely depicted, large-breasted Native American woman who is bound to a post. S_CustersRevenge_1.png The game prompted criticism from women’s rights groups who stated that the simulation of having sex with a tied-up woman was a simulation of rape. Other groups such as Women Against Pornography, Native American spokespersons, and critics of the video game industry in general protested the game. [ wiki ] Trivia:They also made a version of the game called General Retreat. In this game it is the “woman” who has to overcome various obstacles to have sex with “Custer” - who this time is the one tied to the post. Instead of arrows, cannon balls are fired at the woman. General Retreat has often times been hailed as the better of the two versions, featuring slightly less questionable material.

source: http://www.destructoid.com/top-5-sexual-atari-2600-video-games-ever-26016.phtml