Atari 2600/7800 - A visual compendium

During Atari’s early tenure as the video game industry’s leading light, it oversaw seismic change in what was still a very young, still-evolving sector. Not only was Atari’s VCS/2600 system the first piece of gaming equipment to truly dominate the living room, it also played host to some of the most iconic titles of all time, including Asteroids, Space Invaders, Pac-Man Defender, Joust, Pitfall!, River Raid and many, many more.

At its height, Atari’s name became synonymous with video gaming in the same way that Nintendo’s would a few years later, but the company – and the industry – fell just as swiftly, thanks to the infamous North American video game crash of 1983. Even when faced with this catastrophic event, Atari soldiered on and, the following year, produced the powerful 7800 console – a machine that could easily have returned the firm to its former glory, had its launch in 1984 gone to plan.

This book aims to cover the highs and lows of what was a truly tumultuous period in video game history, an era which laid down the foundations for what has today become one of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment.

Atari 2600/7800: a visual compendium aims to showcase the very best pixel art, cover art and product design on each system. Spread over 528 pages, it features over 200 classic games, with articles on the leading third-party developers, interviews with key figures in the industry and features on subjects such as cover art, prototypes and homebrew releases.

Book specifications

Hardback: 528 pages. 170mm × 230mm. 3mm protective board slipcase with “animated” lenticular fascia. Edge-to-edge high quality lithographic print. Sewn binding for enduring quality and the ability to lay flat for ideal double-page image viewing. Spot varnished cover and dust jacket. Two bookmark ribbons. Shrink-wrapped. Free PDF for viewing on the go.

Includes contributions from:

Lee Actor, David Akers, Allan Alcorn, Glenn Axworthy, Dona Bailey, Rex Bradford, Nolan Bushnell, Steve Cartwright, Osman Celimli, John Champeau, Samuel Claiborn, David Crane, Bob DeCrescenzo, Joe Decuir, Alex DeMeo, David Dentt, Michael Feinstein, Hal Finney, Will Freeman, Ed Fries, Rob Fulop, Peter Gaston, David Giltinan, Steve Golson, Craig Grannell, Andrew Hayward, Matt Householder, Larry Kaplan, Ray Kassar, Michael Katz, Sam Kennedy, Dan Kitchen, Garry Kitchen, Sam Kjellman, Dennis Koble, Tim Lapetino, Jamie Lendino, Jon Leupp, David Lubar, Doug Macrae, Alan Miller, Laura Nikolich, Chuck Peavey, Julian Rignall, Warren Robinett, Keith Robinson, Perry Rodgers, Greg Sewart, Carol Shaw, Tom Sloper, Bob Smith, Cliff Spohn, Chris Spry, Dave Staugas, Tony Takoushi, Fred Thompson, John Van Ryzin, Howard Scott Warshaw, Rob Wanenchak, Bob Whitehead, Phil Wiswell, Steve Woita, Robert Workman and Vladimir Zúñiga.

Games featured include:

3-D Tic-Tac-Toe / The A-Team / Adventure / Adventures of Tron / Air Raiders / Air-Sea Battle / Alien / Alien Brigade / Amidar / Armor Ambush / Armor Attack II / Asterix / Asteroids / Astro Blaster / Astroblast / Atlantis / Ballblazer / Bank Heist / Barnstorming / Basketbrawl / Battlezone / Beamrider / Beef Drop / Bentley B.C. Quest / Berzerk / BMX Airmaster / Bobby is Going Home / BonQ / Boulder Dash / Bridge / Bugs Bunny / Bump ’n’ Jump / California Games / Centipede / Choplifter! / Chopper Command / Circus Atari / Combat / Combat 1990 / Commando / Commando Raid / Cosmic Ark / Crackpots / Crack’ed / Crazy Brix / Crossbow / Crystal Castles / Dark Cavern / Dark Chambers / Defender II / Demon Attack / Desert Falcon / Dig Dug / Dodge ’Em / Donald Duck / Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. / Double Dragon / Dragonfire / Dragster / Dukes of Hazzard / Dune / E.T. / Edtris 2600 / Elevator Action / The Empire Strikes Back / Enduro / Fantastic Voyage / Fast Food / Fatal Run / Fathom / Fishing Derby / Food Fight / Freeway / Frenzy / Frogger / Frogger II / Frogs and Flies / Frostbite / G.I. Joe: Cobra Strike / Galaga / Galaxian / Garfield / GATO / Ghostbusters / Glacier Patrol / GORF / Gravitar / H.E.R.O. / Halo 2600 / Hat Trick / Haunted House / Ice Hockey / Ikari Warriors / Impossible Mission / Indy 500 / Jawbreaker / Jinks / Journey Escape / Joust / Jr. Pac-Man / Jungle Hunt / Juno First / Kabobber / Kaboom! / Karateka / Keystone Kannonball / Keystone Kapers / Klax / Krull / Kung-Fu Master / Lady Bug / Laser Blast / Laser Gates / Lock ’n’ Chase / Lord of the Rings / M*A*S*H / Mappy / Mario Bros. / Maze Craze / Mean 18 Ultimate Golf / Medieval Mayhem / Megamania / Meltdown / Midnight Magic / Midnight Mutants / Millipede / Missile Command / Montezuma’s Revenge / Moon Patrol / Moonsweeper / MotorPsycho / Mountain King / Mouse Trap / Mr. Do! / Ms. Pac-Man / My Golf / Night Driver / Ninja Golf / Ninjish Guy / O.O.O. Basketball / Off the Wall / Outlaw / Pac-Man / Pac-Man Collection / Phoenix / Pit Fighter / Pitfall II: Lost Caverns / Pitfall! / Planet of the Apes / Plutos / Polaris / Pole Position / Pole Position II / Polo / Pompeii / Pooyan / Popeye / Pressure Cooker / Princess Rescue / Prototypes / Q*bert / Quadrun / Quick Step / Radar Lock / Raiders of the Lost Ark / Rally-X / Rampage / Reactor / RealSports Boxing / RealSports Tennis / RealSports Volleyball / Rescue on Fractalus! / Return of The Jedi: Death Star Battle / Riddle of the Sphinx / Rikki & Vikki / Rip Off / River Raid / River Raid II / Robot Tank / Robotron: 2084 / Save Mary / Scrapyard Dog / Seaquest / Sentinel / Shootin’ Gallery / Sirius / Skeleton+ / Sky Jinks / Sky Skipper / Snoopy / Solaris / Sorcerer’s Apprentice / Space Invaders / Space Jockey / Space War / Spider Fighter / Spider-Man / Sprint Master / Spy Hunter / Stampede / Star Raiders / Star Wars / Star Wars: Jedi Arena / Subterranea / Summer Games / Super Breakout / Super Skateboardin’ / Superman / Surf’s Up / Surround / Sword Fight / Tapper / Taz / Tempest / Tennis / Thrust / Tower Toppler / Track & Field / Trick Shot / TRON: Deadly Discs / Turbo / Turmoil / Vanguard / Video Chess / Video Olympics / Video Pinball / Warlords / Winter Games / Wizard of Wor / Worm War I / Worm! / Xenophobe / Xevious / Yars’ Revenge / Zaxxon / Zippy the Porcupine

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