RSS: Atari 2600 Game by Game

The 2600 Game By Game Podcast will delve into the history, gameplay, and personal stories of every game made for the Atari 2600.

Welcome back to the show, glad to finally get this out, which is the episode about Porky's from 20th Century Fox. Did you know it's based on a movie? It's true! I do hope you enjoy the episode, and I always appreciate your continued patience with me. I think from now on I will give a feedback due date and let the episode fall where it falls. If I want to do something seems easier than if I need to do something, if that makes sense. I would love to get back to every 2 weeks, but that just isn't in the cards right now. Thank you all so much for sticking with me through all of this! The next episode will be about Big Bird's Egg Catch from Atari, the final released Children's Television Workshop and Atari joint. But fear not, there's plenty of prototypes from this pairing to talk about. Stop groaning! If you would like to submit written or audio feedback, please send it to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by November 6, EOD. No need to summarize the game, that as always is my job, just tell me what you think of it or if you have a memory associated with it (now or then). Also, if you send an audio file, please put your name in the filename and the game title in the subject line. It makes it easier to find later on. Once again, I love you all and I thank you for listening. Please donate to my Extra Life campaign here! Atari 50 & Recharged Humble Bundle Tarzan Prototype article by Kevin Bunch Porky's on Random Terrain Porky's on Atarimania Porky's Easter Eggs on Atari Compendium Randall Hyde's web site Record World magazine, September 1981 LA Times article about Music Promoters and mob ties, March 1986 Porky's Entry in US Copyright Office 2nd Porky's Entry in USCO Dunhill Electronics Entry on USCO H & L Schwartz Inc., American Videogame Leasing Entry on USCO

I am so sorry it's taking me so long to get episodes out. It seems like it's one step up, two steps back. I am trying to fix it. Despite that, the new episode featuring Dragonstomper by Starpath (formerly Arcadia) is now available. I hope you enjoy it. Coming up next will be Porky's by 20th Century Fox. I have some stuff coming up, so please get me your feedback by June 5th. You can send that to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com. Once again, I am grateful to all of you for sticking with me and being patient. I love you all and I am very lucky to have you! Dragonstomper on Random Terrain Stephen Landrum on Moby Games Stephen Landrum: From Arcadia to Epyx by Sean Wheatley Arcadia Promo Video Arcadia Commercial featuring Andy Breyer Dragonstomper Guide by Grimlick No Swear Gamer complete Dragonstomper game #1 (kills dragon, spoilers) No Swear Gamer Complete Dragonstomper game #2 Stella Gets A New Brain 2.0 on Internet Archive Apologies to Liam Lynch

Hello, once again I apologize for the episode being late. Sarah came up with a new way for me to try doing the podcast that I think will be better, I talk about it in this episode. Which is all about Alpha Beam with Ernie, an Atari and Children's Computer Workshop joint. Thank you once again to Preston Stuart for answering a few questions that I had about this game. Coming up next will be Dragonstomper by Starpath, so if you have any thoughts about this game, please sned them to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by February 13th. Thank you all for being such lovely and supportive friends, and extra special thanks to Sarah, truly without whom this podcast would have been done a long time ago. And as always, thank you for listening. Alpha Beam on Random Terrain Alpha Beam on Atari Protos CCW game series announced in Atari Age magazine 1983 Atari Showcase video Preston Stuart interview, Electronic Fun March 1983 Ernie on Muppet Wiki Sesame Street episode 1, November 1969 Into The Vertical Blank tests Alpha Beam on a 2600+ Atari Age thread with Joystick conversions of SS/CCW games My interview with Papa Pete and Jeff

Happy New Year! Thank you so much for welcoming me back to the podcasting world so warmly, I am very grateful to all of you. The first game for 2024 is Frogger II - Threedeep! by Parker Brothers. What does this game have to do with a barn in Maine? oh, you are gonna find out, believe me. Next up on the show will be Alpha Beam with Ernie by Atari and CTW. If you have any feedback for this game, please send it to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by January 22nd, to be included in the show. Thank you for listening! Frogger II on Random Terrain Mark Lesser's web site Interview with Mark Lesser by Scott Stilphen Article on early handheld games by Glenn Derene NHL '94 article by Eddie Makuch Frogger II on Atari Protos Gamma Attack disassembly by Dennis Debro DOS and Don'ts Newsletter

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoy the episode, thank you for sending your Christmas related feedback to us. I wish you all health, happiness, and love this Christmas and all throughout the year. Thank you so much for your support, love, and understanding, and I thank you for listening.

Hi. I know, it's been awhile. How have you been? Anyway, I hope you are amenable to a new episode of my podcast. It's all about the Gammation game Gamma Attack. Lots of interesting goings-on with this game, I hope you'll give it a chance and enjoy. I am taking submissions for the Christmas episode! I know it's kind of late, I'm sorry about that. In the episode the deadline for submissions is December 16. Right now Sarah is very sick and I have no idea when the actual episode is going to come out. Let's say the 20th is the deadline. If Sarah and I are able to record together or not, I'll do my best to get everyone in the show. Thanks so much everyone, I am grateful to you and your patience, and for sticking around. I love you. Gammation web site on Wayback Machine from 2008 Gamma Attack discovery thread on Atari Age  Gamma Attack eBay Auction article on Joystiq by Griffin McElroy Gamma Attack eBay Auction article on MTV by Jason Cipriano Gamma Attack overview on Racketboy Gamma Attack $500,000 eBay Auction Gamma Attack history video by Retro Game On

AB-035, Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns!  1 Happy New Year! If I can still say that when it's almost Groundhog Day. I hit a snag right out of the gate, which seems to be typical now. But, Pitfall II by Activision is finally available, and it's a doozy. The part about the game and its history etc. is twice as long as it usually is, I had a lot of fun researching this game. And of course, playing it. It's one of my favorites. I hope that you enjoy the episode. Coming up next is the super rare game Gamma Attack, by a tiny company called Gammation. Not as much history on this one, but what I've seen so far is very interesting. if you have any thoughts on this game, or even if you have a copy, I would love to hear about it. Please send them to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by February 7th. Thanks so much for your patience, and thank you as always for listening. Pitfall 2 on Random Terrain Pitfall 2 on Atari Protos David Crane interview by Scott Stilphen DPC Chip patent Explanation of DPC chip by David Crane on Atari Compendium Atari Compendium article about "Super Chips," including the DPC chip UK Activision Fun Club Newsletter Summer 1984 from Atari Compendium Pitfall 2 patch Pitfall 2 patch accompanying letter Get MattBuc's repro Pitfall 2 patch here! Pitfall! Masked Menace Mess Pitfall! Raiders of the Lost Shark Pitfall 2 The Lost Caverns on KLOV Pitfall 2 Arcade playthrough by Old Classic Retrogaming  Super Pitfall 30th Anniversary Edition NES patch Chris and Adam's Pitfall articles on Orphaned Games

Boy oh boy, it's been a rough year. This episode featuring Mean Santa by Tim Duarte and John K. Harvey almost didn't come out for Christmas. I am truly very sorry about how this year has gone, I need to change a lot of behaviors in the coming year. Regardless of what holiday (if any) you celebrate, I hope it is was a joyous and peaceful time. I am grateful to and for all of you and I do not deserve you. I will see you in 2023 where we will start the year with Pitfall II by Activision. Thank you for listening. The Mean Santa Journey on Experienca Odyssey ROM and Source Code for Free on Atari Age 2600 Connection Issue 100 thread 2600 Connection Mean Santa Sales Announcement on the Wayback Machine Original YouTube video of game footage, posted August 10 2009 Tim Duarte's web page John K. Harvey's web page via Wayback Machine Order Mean Santa from Tim Duarte Willie! plays Mean Santa on the Odyssey 2

It's been a bad year for me and podcasting, I'm sorry I haven't put that much out this year. I also have not been looking forward to Christmas, but today with the help of a friend, I got a boost of Christmas spirit! I'm going to try and extend it through next year the best I can. Thank you for sticking with me for so long. I love you all and I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons. Thank you for listening 💗💚  

Welcome to the show! In this episode I will tell you what I know about Gauntlet by Answer Software. Other than how to play, it's not much; although I am very confident in telling you that this is NOT a port of the Atari arcade game Gauntlet. I can also tell you that despite what you read on the internet, the arcade Gauntlet was partially inspired by the 8 bit computer game Dandy, written by John Palevich. It was not inspired by Atari's console game Dark Chambers, which came out 3 years after Gauntlet. Dark Chambers was also inspired by Dandy. With that pedantry out of the way, I do hope you enjoy the episode. Coming up next is the last game for the year, Mean Santa, a homebrew game designed by Tim Duarte (founder of the 2600 Connection newsletter), and programmed by John K Harvey. The rom has been released for free, and you can get it here if you'd like to try it out. If you'd like to send feedback containing your thoughts on the game and not how to play it, which I cover every episode, please send them to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by November 28th. I will post an updated list of upcoming games to your right (if you're not on a phone) very soon. To all who celebrate American Thanksgiving, I wish you a safe and healthy-ish holiday. I am very thankful for all of you, and I thank you for listening. You can donate to my Extra Life campaign until December 31st! Gauntlet on Atari Age Gauntlet on Random Terrain Answer Software catalog on Atarimania April 1983 Video Game Update newsletter on Atari Compendium Al Backiel's writeup on the PGP-1 on Digital Press Gauntlet thread on Atari Age

I am back this week to discuss a Spectravideo game, after 7 years! This game is called Master Builder, and I really hope you enjoy the episode. Coming up next will be Gauntlet by Answer Software. If you have thoughts on Gauntlet, you can send them to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com. Please just tell me your thoughts, I'll take care of the rest. The last game for the year is Mean Santa by John Harvey and Tim Duarte. If you have feedback for Mean Santa, I'll need it by November 28th. Finally, if you have any video game Christmas memories (it doesn't need to be Atari 2600, but please keep it to video games), I will be doing another Christmas show this year, provided I get enough submissions. Please get those to me by December 16th. Tune in to YouTube this weekend at 8 pm on November 4 and 5 to watch me play games badly for Extra Life. I don't know why you would want to watch that, but I'm glad you do. Thank you as always for your kindness, and for listening. Donate to my Extra Life campaign here! Master Builder on Random Terrain Columbia Video Game Club thread on Atari Age Columbia Video Game Club magazines on Digital Press Ace Moon Gaming channel plays Master Builder, very well

Long time no see! Today's episode is about the Atari and Children's Computer Workshop collaboration, Cookie Monster Munch. I loved Cookie Monster when I was a kid (I still do), and I also love cookies, but most cookies actually stay in my mouth, unlike some other monsters I could name. I hope that you enjoy the episode and that it was worth waiting for. Next up will be the very rare Master Builder by Spectravideo. Apparently my episodes covering Spectravideo games are also pretty rare. If you have feedback for Master Builder that does not include its history or how to play it, please send it along to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by October 31st. On November 4th and 5th, I will once again be participating in Extra Life, to benefit the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Hopefully I will have my streaming ability together by then. If you would like to donate to the kids, please see the link below. Thank you once again for your patience, and for listening. Donate to my Extra Life campaign Cookie Monster Munch on Atari Protos Cookie Monster Munch on Random Terrain Gary Stark's web site Gary Stark's YouTube page UPI article on CMM by Kenneth Clark, Feb 1983 Sharon Lerner on MuppetWiki Joystick conversions of Cookie Monster Munch and Big Bird's Egg Catch by Omegamatrix

I say this too much, but I thank you for being patient with me as I navigate through my lovely depression. This long overdue episode features the homebrew game AVCStec Challenge by Simon Quernhorst and Paul Slocum. It's based on the very difficult (to me) Aztec Challenge by Paul Norman, for the Commodore 64. I hope that you enjoy the episode. Next up is Cookie Monster Munch by Atari and the Children's Computer Workshop. Please send any feedback on this or any previous game to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by August 16th. Tell me your thoughts and/or memories of Cookie Monster Munch, I'll take care of the history and gameplay. Take care of yourselves and I thank you so much for listening. Simon Quernhorst's web site A-VCS-tec Challenge development page Announcement thread on Atari Age AA Title in Development page on Wayback Machine AA Project of the Month thread AA Late Development thread Secret screen on Atari Age Simon Quernhorst interview on Good Deal Games Paul Slocum's web site Tree Wave web site And/Or Gallery web site Buy the game on Packrat Video Games Buy the game on Atari Age Atari 50th: The Anniversary Celebration Atari Mania (the game) Yars Recharged Limited Run Adventure and Missile Command (both sold out) Atari 2600 Lego Set New Howard Scott Warshaw interview by W. Amirul Adlan                  

On this episode we take a look at the M Network game Frogs and Flies, which was based on the Intellivision game Frog Bog. We also cover programmer extraordinaire Dave Rolfe for the first time, and we even read one of his interesting essays. I hope you enjoy it! Coming up next is A-VCS-tec Challenge, by Simon Quernhorst with music by Paul Slocum. If you would like to try this game out, you can get the rom at Simon's web page. Please send me your feedback for A-VCS-tec Challenge by May 30th, to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com. Thanks so much for listening! Van Mai story on Video Game History Foundation Frogs and Flies on Random Terrain Frogs and Flies on Blue Sky Rangers Intellivision Frog Bog on Blue Sky Rangers  Frogs by Gremlin on KLOV Willie! plays Frogs on Arcade USA Dave Rolfe's website on Wayback Machine Dave Rolfe interview by Valter Prette Dave Rolfe interview by Scott Stilphen Dave Rolfe interview by Michael Thomasson Star Fire on KLOV Fire One! on KLOV Kreepy Krawlers on KLOV Star Fire 2 prototype on KLOV

Hello my friends, thank you once again for your patience for this new episode featuring Laser Gates by Imagic. A fun time was had by almost all! Coming up next is Frogs and Flies by M Network. If you have any feedback for Frogs and Flies, please send it to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by end of the day on May 17th. I should be able to get it out on time despite this episode being late. Upcoming games include A-VCS-tec Challenge by Simon Quernhorst and Paul Slocum; Cookie Monster Munch by Atari; Master Builder by Spectravideo, and Gauntlet by Answer Software. Thanks so much for listening! Atari XP preorders Limited Run Atari preorders (only 1000 of each will be made, I said 1500 in the show because I can no longer read) Laser Gates on Random Terrain Laser Gates (Innerspace) on Atari Protos Innerspace on Atarimania My email interview with Dan Oliver Is Laser Gates Inner Space? Atari Age thread Dan Oliver's Waterbug Design site on Wayback Machine Just Kidding Imagic segment, 1983 Laser Gates review by Phil Wiswell Jan 1 1984

Hello my friends, I was not feeling well last night so I went back to bed. The Laser Gates episode won't be out today, but I wanted to let you know the winners of the contest that my buddy Richard so kindly sponsored. Please give a listen to see if you won a set of Sesame Street carts, and congrats to the winners. Thanks to everyone who entered, and I thank you all for listening.

In this episode I look at the Activision game Private Eye, by Bob Whitehead. I hadn't put any time into this game before, and I couldn't put enough time into it for the podcast, but I did enjoy it and hope to come back to it. Next up will be Laser Gates by Imagic. If you have feedback for the game that you'd like to hear on the show, please send it to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by May 2nd. Thank you all very much for your kind words about my return, it means a lot to me. i appreciate you all hanging in there. and as always, thank you for listening. Sesame Street games contest! Private Eye on Random Terrain Interview with Bob Whitehead by Scott Stilphen Private Eye patch Rawson Stovall review Feb 10 1984 Michael Blanchet review Oct 24 1984 Private Eye maps by Stan on Electric Frankfurter

Welcome back to the podcast everyone! I hope you all are well, and I very much appreciate all the kind words and patience. Today we start the 5 digit Atari part numbers with Oscar's Trash Race, a product of Atari and the Children's Computer Workshop, a tiny little division of Sesame Street. This is the first in a series, so there's lots to talk about. I hope that you enjoy it. Coming up in 2 weeks is Private Eye by Activision. If you have feedback for Private Eye that does not include the Hall and Oates song, please send it to me at 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by April 18th. Please make sure you listen to the end of the podcast for a very special Sesame Street game related contest, sponsored by friend of the podcast Richard Grounds. Thanks Richard! I'll post a separate entry for the contest in a few days, but you can send your entry as soon as you hear the episode. Once again, thank you for your patience, your kindness, and of course, for listening. Extra special thanks to my beautiful wife Sarah for getting this ball rolling again. 💖 Oscar's Trash Race on Random Terrain Oscar's Trash Race on Atari Protos Oscar's Trash Race on Atarimania Children's Computer Workshop on Muppet Wiki CGE 2012 Atari Programmers panel Preston Stuart interview, Electronic Fun with Computers and Games March 1983, page 40 Atari Age "Loaner Cartridge" thread, shows perhaps final version of Oscar AA OTR 10-20-82 WIP thread OMGWTFBBQ AA OTR 3-30-83 WIP thread 1983 CES Atari 2600 Video OTR Prototype pictures on Atari Compendium Unreleased static screen version pictures on Atari Compendium Posts from Guy Hutchinson's Big Bird Bridge blog about Sesame Place: The Computer Gallery Games at the Computer Gallery Computer Gallery game photos Computer Campus Detail from Computer Gallery computers Closeup of Computer Gallery age logo Sesame Place (Images of Modern America) by Guy Hutchinson on Amazon  

  I'm sorry this is so late, time got away from me this year. Sarah and I wish you peace, health, and happiness this holiday season. I love each and every one of you and I am eternally grateful to you all. A better group of friends I could not have asked for. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, have a safe and happy 2022. We will see you very soon. As always, thank you so much for listening.   Photo courtesy of Dan Beicke (R)

Hello there, thanks for joining me today to talk about the final released Telesys game, Demolition Herby. There's also a few interesting tidbits about the end of Telesys, as well as a few prototypes that we'll cover in a future show. I hope that you enjoy it. Coming up next, the first of many Sesame Street character games from Atari, Oscar's Trash Race. If you have any feedback for the Grouch, please send it to 2600gamebygame@comcast.net by November 14th.  My Extra Life stream is coming up this weekend, Friday and Saturday from 8PM to 8AM EST. Fingers crossed. if you'd like to donate, you can do that here. Thank you so much! As always, I thank you very much for listening. Demolition Herby on Random Terrain Telesys Prototype thread on Atari Age Short Is'Action entry on GDRI Impossible Game article by Leonard Herman Telesys article March 16 1983, Arizona Republic The Store (Kandyman Sales) Atari ad, July 16 1983 Wichita Eagle