Atari
A game company that made the Atari 2600 console and its Pac-Man port.
Where Atari comes up3 episodes and tests
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testWhat Pac-Man Brought to Game Design | Design Icons
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testHow Space Invaders Birthed Japanese Games
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testControllers Control EverythingAtari's mixed record shows how much execution on a port matters. Its 1980 Space Invaders port doubled 2600 sales to over two million units, while its Pac-Man port was called abysmal. Breakout's two identical levels stalled its escalation. Lesson: a licensed hit can drive hardware sales, but quality of the port and rising difficulty across levels decide whether it holds up.
- Ball sped up at intervals
- Last block hard to hit
- Only two levels, identical
- Escalation stopped there
- Rising difficulty kept going
- Each stage starts one row closer
- Runs for many stages
A stepped baseline turns one ramp into many rounds
From Atari page, Breakout and Space Invaders notes
What was said about Atari
1Breakout and the difficulty ramp Nishikado borrowed
Breakout ramped difficulty with ball speed-ups but stopped after two identical levels. Atari's 1976 Breakout got harder as you played: the last block is hard to hit and the ball sped up at intervals. It had only two levels, and they were identical, so the escalation stopped there.
It inspired Space Invaders designer Nishikado, who took the rising difficulty and extended it across many stages by starting each stage with the aliens one row closer to the bottom. A stepped baseline across levels turns a single ramp into a structure that can run for many rounds. Quote: "Breakout only has two levels, and they're identical."
2The Atari 2600 and the Space Invaders port
The 1980 Space Invaders port doubled Atari 2600 sales to over two million. The home port of Taito's Space Invaders doubled sales of the Atari 2600 to more than two million units.
Shigeru Miyamoto said the game's success led Nintendo into video games. It also spawned imitators such as Galaxian, Defender and Asteroids, and led to the shoot 'em up genre of Galaga, Ikaruga, Star Fox and DoDonPachi.
3The Pac-Man port and the K.C. Munchkin suit
Atari's 2600 port of Pac-Man was pretty abysmal. Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit describes Atari's 2600 version of Pac-Man as pretty abysmal, in a video about what Pac-Man brought to game design.
Atari and Midway won a lawsuit over K.C. Munchkin. Atari and Midway together won a suit over K.C. Munchkin, a game raised in the video about Pac-Man's design.
4Atari's joysticks and pads before the NES
Atari's 2600 joystick and 5200 pad came before the NES pad standard. Atari shipped the 2600 joystick and the phone-style pad of the 5200 before the NES pad set the console standard.
What Pac-Man Brought to Game Design | Design Icons
Its 2600 port of Pac-Man was pretty abysmal. Atari and Midway also won a suit over K.C. Munchkin!
Atari's 2600 port of Pac-Man was pretty abysmal. Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit describes Atari's 2600 version of Pac-Man as pretty abysmal, in a video about what Pac-Man brought to game design.
Atari and Midway won a lawsuit over K.C. Munchkin. Atari and Midway together won a suit over K.C. Munchkin, a game raised in the video about Pac-Man's design.
How Space Invaders Birthed Japanese Games
Its 1976 Breakout inspired Nishikado, speeding up the ball at intervals but with only two identical levels. The 1980 Space Invaders port doubled 2600 sales to more than two million units. It got harder as you played, since the last block is hard to hit and the ball sped up at intervals. It had only two identical levels, so its escalation stopped there. It followed Space Invaders as part of the wave of space shooters, and is part of the lineage leading to the shoot 'em up genre.
Breakout ramped difficulty with ball speed-ups but stopped after two identical levels. Atari's 1976 Breakout got harder as you played: the last block is hard to hit and the ball sped up at intervals. It had only two levels, and they were identical, so the escalation stopped there.
It inspired Space Invaders designer Nishikado, who took the rising difficulty and extended it across many stages by starting each stage with the aliens one row closer to the bottom. A stepped baseline across levels turns a single ramp into a structure that can run for many rounds. Quote: "Breakout only has two levels, and they're identical."
The 1980 Space Invaders port doubled Atari 2600 sales to over two million. The home port of Taito's Space Invaders doubled sales of the Atari 2600 to more than two million units.
Shigeru Miyamoto said the game's success led Nintendo into video games. It also spawned imitators such as Galaxian, Defender and Asteroids, and led to the shoot 'em up genre of Galaga, Ikaruga, Star Fox and DoDonPachi.
Controllers Control Everything
Its 2600 joystick and 5200 phone-style pad came before the NES pad set the console standard.
Atari's 2600 joystick and 5200 pad came before the NES pad standard. Atari shipped the 2600 joystick and the phone-style pad of the 5200 before the NES pad set the console standard.
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