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Bottom Line up Front - 90 Atari games $40 - developer interviews One of the best logos of all time.

Atari 50: the Anniversary Celebration - Official Atari Video Games

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www.atari.com

Atari 50th – The Anniversary Celebration​

Atari is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and with it, the spark that launched the modern video game industry. It has been five decades since a small team in Silicon Valley first combined their creativity, curiosity and passion into making video games and hardware. The result of their efforts was Atari, one of the most recognizable and enduring entertainment and pop culture brands in the world.
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration takes players on an interactive journey through 50 years of video games via interviews with designers, developers and industry leaders, documentary footage, product design documents, high-resolution original artwork, and a specially-curated list of more than 90 playable games.
At the heart of Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration are the Interactive Timelines, which combine historical trivia, digital artifacts, all-new video interviews, and playable games into one singular experience. When you encounter a game in the Timeline, you can immediately play it without losing your place.
The massive list of games spans six original Atari console and home computer platforms and generations of arcade titles, the most ever included in a collection by the team at Digital Eclipse. For the first time ever, games from the cult favorite Atari Jaguar and Atari Lynx platforms will be playable on modern consoles. Behind every game are the stories of Atari, what was happening at the company, what went into the creation of the games and the hardware on which they ran, all told by the people who were there. It is a rare opportunity to get a rich behind-the-scenes look at the history of video games.
In addition to presenting these Atari classics exactly as they were, the talented team at Digital Eclipse has also created the Reimagined series—six new games that revisit, mash-up and reimagine Atari Classics. Each of these new games is included in Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration.

 

[Methos#1975]

Oh man, Lynx and Jaugaur games as well? I'll kill for Ultra Vortex to be on here.

 

[Northeastmonk]

They use to not credit the actual developers in game. Which is crazy if you think about where we are today with a 10 minute credit roll screen.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Jaguar and Lynx games got my attention.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Never played Atari games as I grew up playing other systems. Only played occasional games at friends' houses back then.

Enduro is an awesome game.

 

[trikster40]

I’m in, especially with games that span their systems. I loved my Lynx!

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Failed to evolve.

 

[AJUMP23]

Failed to evolve.

Essentially a logo now. But I am looking forward to the developer interviews.

 

[ManaByte]

I’m in, especially with games that span their systems. I loved my Lynx!

Lynx II was the best of the handhelds from that era and one of my favorite systems of all time. S.T.U.N. Runner must be included in this collection.

 

[ReBurn]

Lynx II was the best of the handhelds from that era and one of my favorite systems of all time. S.T.U.N. Runner must be included in this collection.

Still play Klax on mine. Love it!

 

[STARSBarry]

Looks like a solid collection, I like how unlike SEGA they don't seem to be charging for DLC to make the menus animated...

Think this will be a day 1 for me.

 

[Vandole]

I have to admit, that's a very slick presentation. I really have no interest in playing Atari games anymore. I've been playing most of them since they came out, but that video is making me think about getting them again.

 

[buenoblue]

Yeah this got me pretty hard. Not rock hard but enough to enjoy it.

 

[HoofHearted]

Wow… memory lane…

Many don’t realize how dominant Atari was back then… then the crash happened…

 

[AJUMP23]

Wow… memory lane…

Many don’t realize how dominant Atari was back then… then the crash happened…

I would think most of the people on here were not alive when Atari crashed.

 

[HoofHearted]

I would think most of the people on here were not alive whe nAtari crashed.

Damn I’m old…

 

[AJUMP23]

Damn I’m old…

Me too. I played a lot of Atari......even E.T.

 

[HoofHearted]

Me too. I played a lot of Atari......even E.T.

Lol … I remember that whole fiasco… even playing that game for the first time it was like.. WTF is this?

 

[STARSBarry]

The first thing I thought when I saw the video was "Will ET be in this collection?"

 

[Alebrije]

For nostalgia and Atari era "lovers". I highly reccomend "Art of Atari" book , not only it has great images of the box covers but also information about the games and the company.

 

[KloetenQuetsche]

Saw the Trailer today.

So great that I can play Tempest 2000 again, without emulator problems.
They promise some Upgrades technically wise. Did someone know what sort of? I hope they gibe an option for playing it like the original game, and with resolution and fps upgrades.
Tempest 2000 with 120fps ist something... Uhhh!

If the deliver quality, the price is ok. I hope they did a good job for the switch port. If not I feed my XBSX with it.
But many games are perfekt for portable use...


Man...hard to decide.

 

[RoboFu]

It’s crazy, you really can’t imagine it with todays hardware but old arcade games and Atari games were programmed using something like this.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

The collection is getting a physical release, here in the UK the Switch version is getting a nice steelbook

https://www.game.co.uk/en/m/atari-50-limited-steelbook-edition-2893803

 

[amigastar]

50 years? Man, thats old.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Saw the Trailer today.

So great that I can play Tempest 2000 again, without emulator problems.
They promise some Upgrades technically wise. Did someone know what sort of? I hope they gibe an option for playing it like the original game, and with resolution and fps upgrades.
Tempest 2000 with 120fps ist something... Uhhh!

If the deliver quality, the price is ok. I hope they did a good job for the switch port. If not I feed my XBSX with it.
But many games are perfekt for portable use...


Man...hard to decide.

I saw an original Tempest cabinet in person a couple months ago. It’s one thing to emulate these, but there’s something special about playing the actual game on a cabinet.

I only took a photo of Lunar Lander.

 

[Agent X]

So great that I can play Tempest 2000 again, without emulator problems.
They promise some Upgrades technically wise. Did someone know what sort of? I hope they gibe an option for playing it like the original game, and with resolution and fps upgrades.

That's what I would guess. A lot of the polygon-based games on the Jaguar had low frame rates. They could surely benefit from boosts in frame rate and resolution. Of course, even with those improvements, it would be good to also have the choice to play an "authentic" emulation, with the resolution and frame rate similar to the original hardware.

I'm also hoping that they have options for other controllers, such as trackball, mouse, spinner, or paddle controls. I'd love to see Atari (or another company) produce replicas of their controllers, with USB plugs so they could be used with current platforms.

 

[KloetenQuetsche]

That's what I would guess. A lot of the polygon-based games on the Jaguar had low frame rates. They could surely benefit from boosts in frame rate and resolution. Of course, even with those improvements, it would be good to also have the choice to play an "authentic" emulation, with the resolution and frame rate similar to the original hardware.

I'm also hoping that they have options for other controllers, such as trackball, mouse, spinner, or paddle controls. I'd love to see Atari (or another company) produce replicas of their controllers, with USB plugs so they could be used with current platforms.

I can't remember well. In my brain Tempest was saved as a smooth experience on the jaguar. Wasn't it?

 

[RAIDEN1]

For me I look at Atari as never being in the game for the last 20 years of their life, Nintendo took their mojo on both the home-front and hand-held front, the ST was nothing compared to the Amiga, and the Jaguar was a debacle.....

 

[Needlecrash]

Looking forward to getting this when it comes out.

 

[nush]

I saw an original Tempest cabinet in person a couple months ago. It’s one thing to emulate these, but there’s something special about playing the actual game on a cabinet.

I only took a photo of Lunar Lander.

You could find these cabinets out in the wild up to the early 90's, the vector graphics look like they have been drawn by hand with light. I did have a Vectrex but the only cabinets I ever got to play were Red Baron, Star Wars and Asteroids, very unique look.

 

[AJUMP23]

You could find these cabinets out in the wild up to the early 90's, the vector graphics look like they have been drawn by hand with light. I did have a Vectrex but the only cabinets I ever got to play were Red Baron, Star Wars and Asteroids, very unique look.

I use to play these in the back of my malls arcade all the time. I miss the arcade.

 

[small_law]

I still have my 2600 Vader. First ever video games I played. Mean looking console.

TBH, as an 80's kid that lived it, Atari was fun, but shit got real when the NES hit.

 

[Agent X]

I can't remember well. In my brain Tempest was saved as a smooth experience on the jaguar. Wasn't it?

Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar was generally smooth on the early levels. However, the difficulty would gradually increase as you progressed, and along with it the number of onscreen enemies also grew. As a result, the frame rate took a serious hit after about 40-50 levels when there was a lot of action on the screen.

You could find these cabinets out in the wild up to the early 90's, the vector graphics look like they have been drawn by hand with light. I did have a Vectrex but the only cabinets I ever got to play were Red Baron, Star Wars and Asteroids, very unique look.

That's a great description of vector graphics. The crisp, glowing lines of vector games still look good even to this day.

Many modern emulators have attempted to replicate the "vector glow" effects on standard TVs and monitors. While the effects have improved in recent years, they still can't match the visual impact of playing on an actual vector monitor.

 

[Krathoon]

Damn I’m old…

I was there man. I bought Yar's Revenge at the Dollar General store. It got that bad. They had a good amount of Atari stuff.

 

[Krathoon]

There is a good Dos version of Tempest. I think it is also in the Switch collection.

 

[Havoc2049]

 

[Krathoon]

Tron is still pretty cool even though it is total bullshit.

 

[KloetenQuetsche]

There is a good Dos version of Tempest. I think it is also in the Switch collection.

Oh, that's forgotten stuff. Can we play the dos version with retroarch, cause the jaguar version is running like shit?

 

[Krathoon]

Oh, that's forgotten stuff. Can we play the dos version with retroarch, cause the jaguar version is running like shit?

There is eXoDOS. It is in kind of a grey area legally. Abandonware.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

For me I look at Atari as never being in the game for the last 20 years of their life, Nintendo took their mojo on both the home-front and hand-held front, the ST was nothing compared to the Amiga, and the Jaguar was a debacle.....

Nintendo didn't really take their mojo on consoles until 1988. Mostly because Atari nor Sega could actually get their consoles in stores at that point.

Lynx would have worked if Atari put more resources in getting it manufactured, it sold well from the start but it was expensive to produce and as far as i am aware, Atari only had one contractor for manufacturing the unit. But the ST was doing well at the time and was brining in a lot more money so i understand why they allocated resources the way they did.

As for the Amiga, the Amiga didn't really do much outside of Europe, in Europe St had an ok start than fizzled, elsewhere the St was either winning, or the Amiga wasn't too far ahead and the St was the only alternative to IBM for non-gaming application (or in the US it was ST vs Apple for second place, Mega ST and Falcon were supposed to be finishing blows while still retaining the media side but it didn't work.)

That's what I would guess. A lot of the polygon-based games on the Jaguar had low frame rates. They could surely benefit from boosts in frame rate and resolution. Of course, even with those improvements, it would be good to also have the choice to play an "authentic" emulation, with the resolution and frame rate similar to the original hardware.

I'm also hoping that they have options for other controllers, such as trackball, mouse, spinner, or paddle controls. I'd love to see Atari (or another company) produce replicas of their controllers, with USB plugs so they could be used with current platforms.

Not really, it was feature-rich polygon games that struggled on the jaguar, if the polygons were flat and shaded the Jaguar could handle them pretty well,

Look at Zero 5


Or Battlemorph


But as soon as you try to improve the tech then you start running into problems. The most impressive 3D games produced by the Jaguar that aren't flat-shaded with minor effects run no greater than 20fps usually at 15fps or less.

Given how these games were designed relative to the jaguars architecture I wouldn't get any hopes up for any collection to have significant frame rate improvements.

It’s crazy, you really can’t imagine it with todays hardware but old arcade games and Atari games were programmed using something like this.

Some Atari VCS games were programmed with 800's or XL's.

 

[Krathoon]

I always found it funny how the guy that made Yar's Revenge and E.T. was on probation when he was hired by Atari. Atari was kind of uppity back then.

 

[Agent X]

Not really, it was feature-rich polygon games that struggled on the jaguar, if the polygons were flat and shaded the Jaguar could handle them pretty well,

Those were among the more impressive polygon games on the Jaguar. I've never played Zero 5 myself, but Battlemorph was one of my favorite games on the system. They would be great games to include in this collection.

 

[Havoc2049]

Those were among the more impressive polygon games on the Jaguar. I've never played Zero 5 myself, but Battlemorph was one of my favorite games on the system. They would be great games to include in this collection.

I don't think Atari owns the Battlemorph IP anymore. I think they sold it to Songbird a while back, along with Iron Soldier. Not having Iron Soldier in this compilation really hurts. Hopefully they didn't sell it and just licensed it. The previous couple of regimes at Atari SA had a bad habit of selling off IP for chump change. That's why we don't have Battlezone in this compilation, because they sold it to Rebellion. Battlezone 2000 on the Lynx would have been great. Breakout 2000 would have also been great, but maybe Telegames owns that game, but not the IP.



At least the current Atari SA regime seems to be reversing the trend and have recently bought IP, like Miner 2049'er and Bounty Bob Strikes Back. The Atari 8-bit version of those games are going to be in this compilation and are still fun to this day.

 

[Agent X]

I don't think Atari owns the Battlemorph IP anymore

I really don't know who owns the rights to Battlemorph. I know that Songbird published a new run of the game, as well as the soundtrack on audio CD. (I bought a copy of the soundtrack myself.) The curiosity here is in the fact that Battlemorph is the sequel to Cybermorph, which is in this package.

Songbird has acquired many old Lynx and Jaguar IPs from Atari. They've shown a willingness to work with other companies. For instance, they licensed many of their Lynx games to Blaze Entertainment for inclusion on Atari Lynx Collection 1 for Evercade. I doubt that Songbird would refuse a similar request from Atari to collaborate with them (Carl Forhan is a longtime Atari fan). The only reason that I could think of for why it might not happen would be if Atari neglected to reach out to Songbird.

I think they sold it to Songbird a while back, along with Iron Soldier. Not having Iron Soldier in this compilation really hurts.

Yes, it does. The Iron Soldier games were among the Jaguar's best.

Atari originally announced 90 games for this package, but the last time I checked, they only revealed approximately 50 of them. There are still many games that have been unannounced, and it's possible Jaguar games might be among them.

Consider that they've only announced one Lynx game so far. I truly believe that the Lynx will get a lot more representation than that.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

Those were among the more impressive polygon games on the Jaguar. I've never played Zero 5 myself, but Battlemorph was one of my favorite games on the system. They would be great games to include in this collection.

Big mistake was not making more, even the N64 has some good looking flat shaded games with limited texturing with walls or some background objects. Real missed opportunity to have more of those games when the system was out, although it wouldn't have changed their fortunes much considering they were too broke to even produce the console but it would have led to less negative responses to their very jank and low frame rate attempts to texture map everything.

I really don't know who owns the rights to Battlemorph. I know that Songbird published a new run of the game, as well as the soundtrack on audio CD. (I bought a copy of the soundtrack myself.) The curiosity here is in the fact that Battlemorph is the sequel to Cybermorph, which is in this package.

Songbird has acquired many old Lynx and Jaguar IPs from Atari. They've shown a willingness to work with other companies. For instance, they licensed many of their Lynx games to Blaze Entertainment for inclusion on Atari Lynx Collection 1 for Evercade. I doubt that Songbird would refuse a similar request from Atari to collaborate with them (Carl Forhan is a longtime Atari fan). The only reason that I could think of for why it might not happen would be if Atari neglected to reach out to Songbird.



Yes, it does. The Iron Soldier games were among the Jaguar's best.

Atari originally announced 90 games for this package, but the last time I checked, they only revealed approximately 50 of them. There are still many games that have been unannounced, and it's possible Jaguar games might be among them.

Consider that they've only announced one Lynx game so far. I truly believe that the Lynx will get a lot more representation than that.

The Lynx Atari Games releases are needed for the Lynx collection.

 

[Bigfroth]

Damn I’m old…

I was a kid through the 83 crash, I remember digging through bins of discounted Atari games

 

[Bigfroth]

For nostalgia and Atari era "lovers". I highly reccomend "Art of Atari" book , not only it has great images of the box covers but also information about the games and the company.

This book is great, Atari box art was fantastic really, on a whole other level.

 

[CobraAB]

I have that book. Good stuff.

 

[Captain Toad]

Atari had the best games before they had competition.

 

[KloetenQuetsche]

And? Somebody own it?

How is the performance in Tempest 2000?
The resolution? Graphical Modes?