1982 was the peak of the Atari 2600, and it is one of the biggest years in our archive, with around 150 games. Pac-Man arrived in March and, despite the complaints about it, became the console’s best-selling cartridge. Activision released David Crane’s Pitfall! in September and Carol Shaw’s River Raid, while Atari had Howard Scott Warshaw’s Yars’ Revenge and Raiders of the Lost Ark. E.T. followed in December. In November the console got the name it is known by today: the VCS became the Atari 2600, to sit next to the new Atari 5200.
Other companies poured in. Third-party games made up half of all VCS game sales that year, and the list below includes cartridges from Imagic, Parker Brothers, Coleco, Mattel’s M Network, U.S. Games, 20th Century Fox, Apollo and Starpath, whose Supercharger add-on loaded games from cassette. Atari itself tried new ideas, such as the dark, tense Haunted House. On 7 December, though, Warner warned that Atari would grow far less than expected, and its share price collapsed.
A few games filed under 1982 reached shops later. Tax Avoiders, for example, carries a 1982 date but only went on sale in December 1986.
Scroll down and play your way through 1982 in your browser.
About the Game 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 … Read more
Cosmic Swarm for Atari 2600 Overview: In the vast expanse of space lies WAYPOINT, a major interstellar trading hub operated by a small crew at a strategic crossroads among the stars. It’s a role that promises tranquility but hides unexpected dangers. Lurking within one of its compartments, a colony of giant, alien, mineral-eating termites from … Read more
Communist Mutants from Space Overview Game Development “Communist Mutants from Space” is a classic fixed shooter game, crafted by Stephen H. Landrum for the Atari 2600, utilizing the Starpath Supercharger cassette add-on for enhanced gameplay. Released in 1982 by Starpath (originally known as Arcadia), the game is often compared to “Galaxian,” albeit with more diverse … Read more
Commando Raid is a 1982 Atari 2600 shooting game published by U.S. Games, the video game division of the cereal company Quaker Oats. It was developed by James Wickstead Design Associates and programmed by Wes Trager. Helicopters drop squads of android paratroopers over your city, and a single anti-aircraft gun is all that stands between them and your buildings. This page runs the North American (NTSC) cartridge. You can play it here in your browser.
Atari 2600 Coconuts: A Jungle Adventure Dive into the wild with “Coconuts,” where Coco the mischievous monkey is causing chaos by throwing coconuts at Stanley I. Presume, our fearless jungle explorer. It’s your mission to help Stanley dodge these aerial attacks. Watch out, though; Coco’s antics escalate with your success, making the coconuts come at … Read more
Atari 2600: The Challenge of Nexar Instruction Manual For Atari and Sears Video Game Systems Welcome to a journey beyond the realms of known galaxies and the constraints of time, to the crucible of inner strength and future warriors. In a distant universe corner, candidates are rigorously trained, yet only the elite withstand the Challenge … Read more
In “Cathouse Blues” for the Atari 2600, you play as a character navigating a neighborhood with the goal of remembering the locations of 7 houses with specific occupants. Your objective is to collect money from a teller and visit each of these houses, with each visit costing $20. During the visit, you engage in a … Read more
In “Carnival” for the Atari 2600, players aim to hit moving targets while managing a finite supply of bullets. The game features both a firing button and left/right controls, with the arcade version offering a two-way joystick for movement. Targets move across the screen in three horizontal rows, each scrolling in alternate directions. These targets … Read more
In “Burgertime” for the Atari 2600, you guide a chef through a labyrinth, rushing to assemble hamburgers while dodging enemies. Navigate atop burger parts to make them fall; complete a burger to progress. Earn points by dropping ingredients on foes, squashing them, or catching them on descending parts. Use pepper to freeze enemies momentarily. Avoid … Read more
Beany Bopper is a 1982 Atari 2600 shooter developed by Sirius Software and published by 20th Century Fox. You fly a purple eyeball called the Bopper around a field of blocks, stunning and then catching the Beanies, little creatures with propeller hats. The twist is that shooting is only half the job: a stunned Beany still has to be touched before it counts. You can play it here in your browser.