Publisher: Atari
Atari made the Atari 2600, which first went on sale in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System, and it also published many of the console’s games. Nine cartridges were available at launch, among them Street Racer, Surround and Video Olympics. Over the next years Atari’s programmers wrote original games and converted arcade hits, both Atari’s own, such as Missile Command, and licensed ones from companies like Taito, Namco and Williams. Sears sold many of the same games under its Tele-Games label, often with different names. The Atari name here also covers the later Atari Corporation, which kept releasing 2600 cartridges until 1990, among them Solaris, Radar Lock and Xenophobe.
This archive includes Atari’s released games as well as prototypes that never reached the shops. Some places to start:
Video Olympics (1977): 50 Pong-style games and variations for paddle controllers.
Video Chess (1979): a full chess opponent squeezed into a machine with 128 bytes of memory.
Warlords (1981): Carla Meninsky’s castle-smashing game for up to four players.
Missile Command (1981): Rob Fulop’s version of the arcade game about defending six cities.
Star Raiders (1982): first-person space combat with a galaxy map.
Solaris (1986): Doug Neubauer’s space combat and exploration game.
The full list is below, and every game on it runs in your browser.
Donkey Kong Junior
Donkey Kong Junior is the Atari 7800 version of Nintendo's 1982 arcade game, published by Atari Corporation in 1988. This time Mario is the villain: he has caged Donkey Kong, and the ape's son must climb vines and…
Play ▸Motor Psycho
Motor Psycho is a motorcycle racing game for the Atari 7800, developed by BlueSky Software and published by Atari Corporation in 1990. You race the clock on four courses, hit ramps to leap over cones, signs and rival…
Play ▸Scrapyard Dog
Scrapyard Dog is a side-scrolling platform game for the Atari 7800, developed by BlueSky Software and published by Atari Corporation in 1990. Junkyard owner Louie must rescue his dog Scraps from Mr. Big's gang, throwing cans, shopping for…
Play ▸Impossible Mission
Impossible Mission is the Atari 7800 version of Epyx's 1984 Commodore 64 game, released by Atari Corporation. As a secret agent you search the robot-guarded rooms of Professor Elvin Atombender's base for pieces of a password, against the…
Play ▸Canyon Bomber
Canyon Bomber is Atari's 1979 Atari 2600 version of its 1977 arcade game, programmed by David Crane. Planes fly across a canyon full of coloured bricks, and all you decide is when to drop a bomb. It is…
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