I am trying something a little different with this episode. I am heading back to 1977 to take a look at the original titles for the Atari VCS. I have been a lifelong Atari fan and collector and while my top games are not from the first year of the console, I am very mich intrigued by the idea of a time when the console only had 9 titles. It would take me a while, but eventually I would get to collect ‘em all.
On the show, I start off by talking about this time in Atari’s history and how I have loved the start of any product line. Variety is great, but a small checklist is very satisfying. In addition to the original games, I talk about the name VCS, Sears, cartridge technology, the art and artists, and the original cast of programmers who made these first few games. These trailblazers would all go onto other things.
Its is amazing that Star Wars and the VCS landed in 1977. Two things among many that helped to define a lot of childhoods.
This episode helped to remind me why I really loved early Atari games. I sat down to play them and tried to put myself into 1977. Other consoles had been trying to do what Atari was doing, but the Atari VCS withs its joysticks and paddles feels so much more intuitive. The color, graphics, and sound might have been simple, but it showed what the future was going to be like. Games would grow by leaps and bounds over the next few years, but most of these games remained very playable.
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Production Notes
This is the 369th episode of the Retroist Podcast and episode 20 of Season 18.
I did a podcast for episode 100. That was a long time ago. At the time I thought it might be my last episode. Atari was that important to me.
If you came to the Atari in the 80s, its amazing to think about a console with just a handful of games.
I almost always refer to the console as the Atari 2600.
A slightlly longer Technical Overview about the size of cartridges at the time. It had been much longer, but it was getting too technical.
Love Atari art. I know a lot it made of it as “misleading,” but I feel strongly about its purpose and try to explain it here.
I got to brush off some Atari bumpers I made over a decade ago. I used to have more of them, but couldn’t find them.
Some fun retro audio here. Lot’s more, but I didn’t want to make the episode longer.
Watching the Olympics is fun, but the argument given to me was about events with judging being not in the spirit of the Olympics. I stand by my Pong-based Olympics.
I will be doing another console podcast soon. I started working on it in the Spring, but got distracted. This has made me want to get back to it.
Combat and Indy 500 are my two of the favorite original games,
Have you ever gotten to play Indy 800? I haven’t seen one since I was a kid. By then it was already pretty old, but when 8 people were playing it was amazing to even watch, which you could do from mirrors that hung over the game.
Star Wars!!
I don’t think I ever have heard of MetricFit, but I am intrigued. Was it true metric or were they just using the name? I am still very pro-Metric system.
I figured out what was in the Bradlees ad. Its a chip in the palm of the hand. Really not easy to tell in an illustration of that size.
The teen who played chess and lost will stick with me.
Bonus clippings will be over on Patreon soon for Supporters.
Music on the show is, as always, by Peachy.
Thanks for listening to the show and I hope you have a great weekend.
