Did You Know About The Atari 2600 Garfield Game?

Do you know what today is, friends? It is the 26th of the month. Which of course means that once again it is Atari Day! That fan chosen time every month where we try to take a moment and remember the legacy of Atari. Past as well as present. In addition to celebrating the games that could have been classic but were never released. Of course I am referring to the Atari 2600 Garfield game from back in 1984.

Obviously while the video game crash of ’83 had already taken place. It’s not like Atari was quite ready to throw in the towel yet – attempting to find properties to boost game sales. Which is certainly why popular franchises such as The A-Team, The Pink Panther, and The Incredible Hulk were targeted. In 1984 however, Atari’s parent company was hemorrhaging money thanks to the market saturation of games. Which is sadly how the Atari 2600 Garfield game was cancelled.

Honestly, I had no clue that an Atari 2600 Garfield game had even been developed. A couple of days ago I was attempting to find something to share on the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page. Which is how I came across the game, thanks to AtariProtos in fact.

This, at least to me, looks nothing like a quick cash grab. While the Garfield game was never officially released. Thanks to Garfield’s creator, Jim Davis, the Roms were made available. Of course considering how popular the character was at the time, it is easy to see why Atari was developing the title.

The game itself was programmed by none other than Steve Woita. Who had a in hand in such classic titles as Asterix, Quadrun, Kid Chamelon, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to name a few.

As for the goal of the unfinished Atari 2600 game? The Player must help everyone’s favorite sarcastic feline hop across fences. Devouring flying hamburgers and avoiding thrown potted plants.

As well as contending with the likes of Odie. Thanks to that AtariProtos page, Steve Woita claimed that the hamburgers stage would have taken place in a dream. I say that the whole game would have ended up being a dream as Garfield’s goal was to rescue Nermal!