Atari Catalog 1982 Scans

Front Cover

Front Cover: This cover reminds me of a menu at a cheap Italian restaurant.


Introduction

Introduction: "And now there's a network if local ATARI repair centers to help keep your game in good working order." I don't recall ever seeing an "ATARI repair center" but I lived in the middle of nowhere in 1982. I think this says a lot about how much console prices have fallen. If my Gamecube broke I wouldn't bother trying to find someone to fix it.


Skill Gallery

Skill Gallery: The skill gallery section seems to be the catch-all for titles that didn't fit into another category.


Demons to Diamonds

Demons to Diamonds: The first time I played this game was in the mid-90s on an emulator. At the time I thought it was awful, after reading this I now realize that it's meant for "young sharpshooters ages six through ten".


Breakout, Circus Atari, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze, Pac-Man, Sky
        Diver

Breakout, Circus Atari, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze, Pac-Man, Sky Diver: So why didn't Atari give a whole page to their home version of Pac-Man? It was a huge deal to get that Pac-Man license, you'd think they'd want to show off the fine work they did on the home translation.


Super Breakout, Video Pinball, Classics Corner

Super Breakout, Video Pinball, Classics Corner:I'm not writing these poignant comments in order. I kept putting this page off because nothing about it strikes me as noteworthy.


Backgammon, Casino, Othello, Tic-Tac-Toe, Checkers, Chess

Backgammon, Casino, Othello, Tic-Tac-Toe, Checkers, Chess: I've done a pretty good amount of work with artificial intelligence programming. I'd love to know how they coded a chess algorithm on the limited memory of the 2600. I'd also love to know why they decided chess should be a one-player only game.


Space Station

Space Station: Hyperbole alert - "these games are packed with action and imagination that's light years ahead of our time!"


ALT

Berzerk: This was a really great acid-trip of a game.


Star Raiders

I thought that video touch pad controller that was bundled with this game would go for a lot now.. turns out they're about $5 on eBay.


Asteroids, Defender, Missile Command, Space Invaders, Space War, Yars'
        Revenge

Asteroids, Defender, Missile Command, Space Invaders, Space War, Yars' Revenge: Asteroids is one of the better arcade ports for the 2600. Yar's Revenge is still confusing to me, I should read the manual and try again sometime.


Adventure Territory

Adventure Territory: This artwork is straight out of a first edition AD&D manual.


Adventure, Haunted House, Superman

Adventure, Haunted House, Superman: Haunted House and Adenture are two of my favorite 2600 games. Superman, on the other hand, was just plain confusing. I had no idea what I was supposed to do in that game. Has there ever been a good Superman video game?


Dodge 'Em, Indy 500, Night Driver, Slot Racers, Street Racer

Dodge 'Em, Indy 500, Night Driver, Slot Racers, Street Racer: I really like racing games even though I'm terrible at them. The 2600 had a strong racing library at the time even if the graphics weren't so hot.


Sports Arena

Sports Arena: There's absolutely nothing that I like about baseball.


Basketball, Bowling, Football, Golf, Homerun, Pele's Soccer

Basketball, Bowling, Football, Golf, Homerun, Pele's Soccer: Sports games have come a long way since 1982. Although there was a certain fun-factor to these classics that's missing from some modern sports titles.


Video Olympics, Combat Zone

Video Olympics, Combat Zone: I can't figure out which NBA player they're trying to rip-off with this artwork..


Air-Sea Battle, Canyon Bomber, Combat, Outlaw, Warlords

Air-Sea Battle, Canyon Bomber, Combat, Outlaw, Warlords: Outlaw is one of many games that I played 20+ years ago, liked, and then forgot what it was called.


Learning Center

Learning Center: Learning games for console systems always flopped although they weren't all that bad.


Math Gran Prix

Math Gran Prix: I thought it was "Grand" Prix? Maybe I'm an idiot.


BASIC Programming, Brain Games, Codebreaker, Concentration, Hangman

BASIC Programming, Brain Games, Codebreaker, Concentration, Hangman: I sure hope that's supposed to be a tail in the Hangman screenshot.


Accessories

Accessories: This is my favorite page of the catalog, I wish I could find these accessories in good condition. What's polystyrene anyway?


Coming Attractions

Coming Attractions!: "At this very moment, our ATARI engineers are working on challenging and exciting new Game Program cartridges." This page has a reference to the Combat sequel that didn't see daylight until 2001.


Back Cover

Back Cover: This is tagged CO16725 Rev. E. From what I understand there were several different revisions of these catalogs. I can't tell you the difference though.



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