The Atarisoft FAQ V0.34, 17-Dez-07
About this FAQ
What the hell is Atarisoft?
Why and when did they start Atarisoft?
For which systems are Atarisoft titles available?
How did the boxes look like?
Why are there different sizes of the boxes?
What about the colours of the boxes?
In which countries have Atarisoft titles been sold?
Can Atarisoft titles be found easily today?
Numbering system
Complete list of Atarisoft titles
System requirements
Picture gallery
Specials
Trivia
To do in further releases
History of this FAQ
Credits
This FAQ is an evolving document. Please help make it better. If you have any additions, suggestions or corrections, please email us at ccc (at) dieterkoenig (dot) at. Replace (at) with "@" and (dot) with "."
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| What the hell is Atarisoft? |
Atarisoft is a label of ... bingo, Atari! Under the Atarisoft label they produced software (mainly games) for many computers and video game systems of their competitors.
| Why and when did they start Atarisoft? |
In 1983 Atari announced the formation of Atarisoft, a division to make games for competing video game and computer systems.
Atari had licensed many of the best arcade games for their 2600, 5200, 7800 and 8-bit computer systems, no doubt. So why only making them available for their own video game consoles and computers? Much more money could be made if those titles could also be played on all the other systems out there. It was obvious to make all those arcade hits also available for the competing video game and computer systems.
So Atari founded a label called Atarisoft and converted their greatest hits for the most popular systems of their competitors.
More to come soon ... I still need help and contributions here! If you know more about the formation or history of Atarisoft, please contact us!
| For which systems are Atarisoft titles available? |
Atarisoft titles are available for almost every popular computer and video game system from the early Eighties:
- Cartridges for the home
computers Texas Instruments TI 99/4A, Commodore VIC 20 and Commodore 64
- Cartridges for the video game systems CBS Colecovision and Mattel
Intellivision
- Floppy discs (5.25 inches) for the personal computers IBM PC, Apple II and IBM
PC Jr
- Cassette tapes for the home computers Sinclair ZX Spectrum and BBC Micro
So Atarisoft produced software for ten different systems! Though it is not sure yet if the titles for IBM PC Jr ever have been released. They are stated on the Atari Master List but up to now I do not own any and I do not know any collectors that own them. And there is also rumour that Atari worked on some titles for the British Acorn home computers.
Not every Atarisoft title is available for every of the above systems. The more popular the system, the more titles are available. Please refer to the list lower down for further details.
Latest news as of April 2004: Atari released also at least one game title under the Atarisoft label for their own 400/800/XL/XE 8-bit computer series. Please check the "Specials" section for more info.
| How did the boxes look like? |
The styling of the boxes is pretty different from the 2600, 5200, 7800 and 8-bit computer titles.
The major part on the front of the Atarisoft boxes is plain, with the title written in big letters diagonal (upper left corner to lower right corner) over the whole surface. In the upper right corner it looks like the plain surface is drawn of a bit and beneath it is the original artwork of the Atari title. The system name is written on the "backside" of the "drawn of" corner.
The backside of the boxes contains a big artwork of the respective game, surrounded by lots of text: a short description of Atarisoft and the game, the titles of the games that are currently offered for this system and copyright notes.
| Why are there different sizes of the boxes? |
I do not know exactly. The first titles were sold in those clumsy biiig boxes, measuring approximately 19 x 26 cm, that is 7.5 x 10.3 inches! This format had also been used for Atari's early 400/800 titles. Then they switched to handy small boxes, measuring approximately 14 x 19 cm, that is 5.5 x 7.5 inches. This is the same size they used for most of their 2600, 5200, 7800, XL/XE etc software.
Probably it was just cheaper to produce those smaller boxes ...
| What about the colours of the boxes? |
An interesting fact is that each system had its own box colour. This makes it easy to separate the games for the different systems with a first view and also makes a nice picture on the book shelf ;-)
|
System |
Box colour |
|
Texas Instruments TI 99/4A |
orange with black title and black text |
|
Commodore VIC 20 |
magenta with white title and white text |
|
Commodore 64 |
green with white title and white text |
|
CBS Colecovision |
yellow with black title and black text? |
|
Mattel Intellivision |
pink with black title and black text? |
|
IBM PC |
blue (what else ;-) with white title and white text |
|
Apple II |
red with white title and white text |
|
Atari 400/800/XL/XE |
silver with black title and black text |
|
IBM PC Jr |
(Not known yet) |
|
Sinclair ZX Spectrum |
turquoise with white title and black text |
|
BBC Micro |
(Not known yet) |
| In which countries have Atarisoft titles been sold? |
For sure in the USA, Canada and Germany. Most likely also in some other European countries.
If you can confirm more countries in which Atarisoft titles have been sold, please contact us!
| Can Atarisoft titles be found easily today? |
Many of them yes, I would say. Of course these titles are no longer produced, but it seems that many of them have been found in warehouses and other places. A collector friend and myself were lucky enough to find 72 copies of Centipede and 72 copies of Ms. Pac-Man for the Commodore 64 in the Atari central Europe warehouse in Rotterdam back in 1995!
Most of the Atarisoft titles I own are still shrinkwrapped, or at least complete with box and instructions. So it seems that Atari was far away from selling all the produced Atarisoft titles and many of them stayed left on hand, until they were found by engaged collectors. Today it is not very hard to find Atarisoft titles for example on ebay. Almost every day they turn up there.
Titles for TI 99/4A and VIC 20 seem to be easiest to find and titles for Apple II and C-64 are also pretty easy to get. Titles for Colecovision and Intellivision are quite rare and titles for IBM PC and ZX Spectrum are very hard to come by. It is not known yet if the titles for IBM PC Jr ever have been released. Best prices are paid for Atarisoft games for Colecovision and Intellivision.
But the above is only a general guideline. There are also titles for TI 99/4A and VIC 20 which are very hard to find! Please refer to the list lower down for the rarity grade of each game.
| Numbering system |
Atari had an interesting numbering system within the Atarisoft range. They didn't number the games ascending for every system, but they mixed the systems in their model number system. So for example model numbers RX8500, RX8501 and RX8502 are all Pac-Man versions, for TI 99/4A, VIC 20 and C-64. So to get a complete collection you don't have to collect for a specific system, but you have to collect "Atarisoft" ;-)
Games on cartridges have model numbers like RX85nn, where nn stands for an ascending 2-digit number. I do not know what the X means, but the R probably stands for "ROM cartridge". (Note: The game cartridges for the 400/800/XL/XE computers had model numbers like RX8nnn, where the highest known number is RX8114.) Games on diskettes have model numbers like DX55nn, where the D probably stands for "Diskette". The games on tapes for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum have model numbers like TSM953n, which probably stands for "Tape Spectrum".
The games for CBS Colecovision and Mattel Intellivision do not have the RX in the model number, they are just 5-digit numbers, Colecovision games starting at 70001, Intellivision games starting at 702551.
| Complete list of Atarisoft titles |
Help needed! There are some titles where it is not sure if they ever have been released or not. If you know more, please contact us. Thank you!
R(arity): C = Common, U = Uncommon, R = Rare, ER = Extremely rare, UR = Ultra rare, PR = Prototype, NR = Never released.
Have (Atarisoft titles that I own): C = Cartridge, F = Floppy disc, T = Tape, B = Box, I = Instructions.
For our Atarisoft reference collection we still need all of the titles we do not have. These are marked with "/" in the "Have" column. So if you want to trade or sell yours, please contact us. Only complete titles with box and instructions please.
Click on a column header to sort by that column.
|
|
|
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70001 |
[Do not assign] |
NR |
Original title cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70002 |
Defender |
ER |
Production 11-Nov-83. |
CBI |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70003 |
[Do not assign] |
NR |
Original title cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70004 |
Centipede |
ER |
Production 25-Oct-83. |
CBI |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70005 |
[Do not assign] |
NR |
Original title cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70006 |
Galaxian |
UR |
Production 22-Dec-83. |
/ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70007 |
Jungle Hunt |
UR |
Production 25-Jan-83. |
/ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70008 |
Joust |
UR |
Production 11-Mar-83? CGE 2k1 release. |
C |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70009 |
Moon Patrol |
UR |
Production 11-Mar-83. |
/ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70010 |
Pole Position |
UR |
Production 11-Mar-83. |
/ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70011 |
Missile Command |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70012 |
Dig Dug |
NR |
Cancelled. CGE 2k1 release. |
C |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70013 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70014 |
Battlezone |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70015 |
Vanguard |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
CBS Colecovision |
70016 |
Pac-Man |
NR |
Cancelled. CGE 2k1 release. |
C |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70251 |
Pac-Man |
R |
Small box. Box little worn. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70252 |
Defender |
R |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70253 |
[Do not assign] |
NR |
Original title cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70254 |
Centipede |
R |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70255 |
Jungle Hunt |
NR |
Cancelled. Unfinished. 85% complete. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70256 |
Joust |
NR |
Cancelled. Unfinished. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70257 |
Moon Patrol |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70258 |
Pole Position |
NR |
Cancelled. Unfinished. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70259 |
Missile Command |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70260 |
Galaxian |
NR |
Cancelled. Unfinished. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70261 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70262 |
Battlezone |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70263 |
Vanguard |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Mattel Intellivision |
70264 |
Dig Dug |
NR |
Cancelled. Rel by INTV Corp in 1987. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5500 |
Pac-Man |
ER |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5501 |
Pac-Man |
C |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5502 |
Centipede |
ER |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5503 |
Centipede |
C |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5504 |
Defender |
U |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5505 |
Defender |
C |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5506 |
Dig Dug |
ER |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5507 |
Dig Dug |
C |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5508 |
Donkey Kong |
ER |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5509 |
Donkey Kong |
C |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5510 |
Robotron: 2084 |
U |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5511 |
Robotron: 2084 |
C |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5512 |
Stargate |
U |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5513 |
Stargate |
C |
Big box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5514 |
Joust |
C |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5515 |
Joust |
UR |
Small box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5516 |
Jungle Hunt |
C |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5517 |
Jungle Hunt |
U |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5518 |
Moon Patrol |
C |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5519 |
Moon Patrol |
UR |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5520 |
Pole Position |
R |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5521 |
Pole Position |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5522 |
Missile Command |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5523 |
Missile Command |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5524 |
Galaxian |
C |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5525 |
Galaxian |
U |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5526 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
C |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5527 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5528 |
Battlezone |
C |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5529 |
Battlezone |
U |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5530 |
Vanguard |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5531 |
Vanguard |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5532 |
Typo Attack |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5533 |
Typo Attack |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5534 |
Donkey Kong Jr |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5535 |
Donkey Kong Jr |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5536 |
Crystal Castles |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5537 |
Crystal Castles |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5538 |
Mario Bros. |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5539 |
Mario Bros. |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5540 |
Track & Field |
C |
Small box. |
HFBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5541 |
Track & Field |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC Jr |
DX5542 |
Centipede |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC Jr |
DX5543 |
Pac-Man |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC Jr |
DX5544 |
Donkey Kong |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC Jr |
DX5545 |
Moon Patrol |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC Jr |
DX5546 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
IBM PC Jr |
DX5547 |
Typo Attack |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
DX5548 |
Gremlins |
R |
Small box. |
FBI |
|
|
|
Apple II |
DX5549 |
Gremlins |
C |
Small box. Atari Master List says DX5550. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5550 |
Gremlins |
U |
Small box. Atari Master List says DX5549. |
FBI |
|
|
|
IBM PC |
DX5551 |
Tempest 2000 |
NR |
Atari Master List says release date 9/94!!! |
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
DX5552 |
Track & Field |
R |
Small box. Not on Atari Master List. |
HFBI |
|
|
|
Atari XE |
DXF54013 |
Nostradamus |
UR |
Small box. Not on AML. Cards missing. |
FBI* |
|
|
|
Atari XE |
DXF54015 |
Enigme du triangle |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Atari XE |
DXF54016 |
Cameleon |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Atari XE |
DXF54017 |
Promoteur |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Sinclair ZX Spectr. |
ES2501 |
Pac-Man |
ER |
|
TBI |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8500 |
Pac-Man |
U |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8501 |
Pac-Man |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8502 |
Pac-Man |
C |
Big box. Euro release also in small box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8503 |
Centipede |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8504 |
Centipede |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8505 |
Centipede |
C |
Big box. Euro release also in small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8506 |
Defender |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8507 |
Defender |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8508 |
Defender |
R |
Big box. |
C/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8509 |
Dig Dug |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8510 |
Dig Dug |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8511 |
Dig Dug |
C |
Big box. |
C/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8512 |
Donkey Kong |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8513 |
Donkey Kong |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8514 |
Donkey Kong |
U |
Big box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8515 |
Super Storm |
NR |
Former titled as Slime. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8516 |
Protector II |
R |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8517 |
Picnic Paranoia |
R |
Big box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8518 |
Shamus |
R |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8519 |
Robotron: 2084 |
NR |
Big box. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8520 |
Robotron: 2084 |
C |
Big box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8521 |
Robotron: 2084 |
U |
Big box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8522 |
Stargate |
NR |
|
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8523 |
Stargate |
NR |
Title listed in earlier ads. Release unsure. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8524 |
Stargate |
PR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8525 |
Joust |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8526 |
Joust |
NR |
Title listed in later ads. Release unsure. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8527 |
Joust |
NR |
|
~~~ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8528 |
Jungle Hunt |
U |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8529 |
Jungle Hunt |
C |
Small box. |
CB/ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8530 |
Jungle Hunt |
U |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8531 |
Moon Patrol |
U |
Small box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8532 |
Moon Patrol |
C |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8533 |
Moon Patrol |
U |
Small box. |
CI/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8534 |
Pole Position |
U |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8535 |
Pole Position |
C |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8536 |
Pole Position |
U |
Small box. |
CI/ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8537 |
Missile Command |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8538 |
Missile Command |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8539 |
Missile Command |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8540 |
Galaxian |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8541 |
Galaxian |
ER |
Small box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8542 |
Galaxian |
U |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8543 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
R |
Small box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8544 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
U |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8545 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
C |
Small box. Re Atari Master List cancell.! |
CBI |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8546 |
Battlezone |
NR |
Small box. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8547 |
Battlezone |
U |
Small box. |
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8548 |
Battlezone |
U |
Small box. |
CBI |
|
|
|
Texas Instr. TI 99 |
RX8549 |
Vanguard |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8550 |
Vanguard |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8551 |
Vanguard |
NR |
Cancelled. |
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8552 |
Typo Attack |
UR |
Seen in Compute 9/84, p 31. Rel unsure. |
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8553 |
Typo Attack |
NR |
|
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8554 |
Donkey Kong Jr |
NR |
|
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8555 |
Donkey Kong Jr |
NR |
|
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8556 |
Crystal Castles |
NR |
|
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8557 |
Crystal Castles |
PR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8558 |
Mario Bros. |
UR |
J Huey said it was in developm. Rel unsure. |
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8559 |
Mario Bros. |
PR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Commodore VC20 |
RX8560 |
Track & Field |
NR |
|
~~~ |
|
|
|
Commodore C-64 |
RX8561 |
Track & Field |
NR |
|
~~~ |
|
|
|
BBC Micro |
TBM9542 |
Robotron: 2084 |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
BBC Micro |
TBM9543 |
Pole Position |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Sinclair ZX Spectr. |
TSM9531 |
Galaxian |
ER |
|
TBI |
|
|
|
Sinclair ZX Spectr. |
TSM9532 |
Pole Position |
ER |
|
TBI |
|
|
|
Sinclair ZX Spectr. |
TSM9533 |
Ms. Pac-Man |
ER |
|
TBI |
|
|
|
Sinclair ZX Spectr. |
TSM953x |
Donkey Kong Jr |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Sinclair ZX Spectr. |
TSM953x |
Moon Patrol |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
Sinclair ZX Spectr. |
TSM953x |
Robotron: 2084 |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
BBC Micro |
|
Crystal Castles |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
BBC Micro |
|
Dig Dug |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
BBC Micro |
|
Donkey Kong |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
BBC Micro |
|
Ms. Pac-Man |
UR |
|
/ |
|
|
|
BBC Micro |
|
Pac-Man |
UR |
|
/ |
163 Atarisoft titles currently in the database.
| System requirements |
IBM PC - Joust
One thing to note about Joust ... It won't work on anything newer than a 286
(due most likely to some odd undocumented opcode). On a 386 or 486 it either
crashes or reboots the system when you try to run it. Also, on a 286, you
actually have to use MoSlo to be able to play it, otherwise it runs way too fast
:-). Pretty decent version actually. It looks and feels like it might have been
a port of the Apple II version.
Thanks to Otter
| Picture gallery |
My Atarisoft collection as of 27-Jul-01, about 1/3 of all released Atarisoft
cartridges, so not really a "reference" collection yet ... :-(
| Specials |
IBM PC - Tempest 2000
Tempest 2000 is a hand-written addition to the Atari Master List. So it was probably the last title that has been added to the list. Regarding to the Atari Master List this game should have had catalog number DX5551 and should have been released 9/94.
In November 2001 Anthony Chapman from United Kingdom told us that he owns Tempest 2000 for the PC, but the box looks completely different from the other Atarisoft titles. In fact Atari had changed the label name from Atarisoft to Atari Interactive in the meantime.
Thanks to Anthony Chapman
Atari 400/800/XL/XE - Nostradamus
My
surprise was big when I found an Atarisoft game for the Atari XL/XE on ebay
France in April 2004. Fortunately I won the auction. The title of the game is "Nostradamus
- Les Tarots D'Atari", and it is the simulation of a Tarot game, written by
Gérard Nach, released by Atarisoft in 1985. The instructions and the box text
are in French and English. So the game was at least available in France, but
maybe also in other parts of Europe.
I have no idea why they released this game under the Atarisoft label. In the mid-80s there were also a couple of game and application software titles released by Atari Germany, but those were released by Atari, not by Atarisoft.
If anyone has more info, please let us know. Also: Are there more games for the XL/XE that have been released under the Atarisoft label?
Edit: I *think* that this game was sold with 22 tarot cards, but those were unfortunately not included in my copy.
Texas Instruments TI 99/4A - Some notes from a TI 99 collector
The interesting thing is that systems were being pulled from the 3rd batch like crazy. By the time the ads from Atarisoft came out, the VIC-20 was said to only be getting "Typo Attack", but as we all know, more were planned and programmed. I luckily was able to talk with the programmer of "Donkey Kong Jr." and "Track & Field" of the VIC, and they programmed them all in 1983! The fact that Atarisoft mentioned the TI and the 3rd batch release after the programming was done for other systems is good news for me at least, since I'm a TI collector. Since the 3rd batch was started in 1983, it is very possible many were completed for almost all the systems originally in the mix. Another interesting note is that the 2nd batch was started in early 1983, since the Coleco version of "Joust", "Moon Patrol", and other 2nd batch releases on other systems were planned for release March 1983. So, the licencing for these games had already been obtained by Atarisoft and I can only assume they expanded the games to the other systems at some point in the first half of 1983. One more thing of interest, is on a July 1983 issue of "Enthusiast '99" magazine, beta copies of 4 TI Atarisoft games (the first 4) were shown (since it was a July issue, the picture must have been from June 1983, making these games at least completed in 2Q/1983). I was able to contact Charles LaFara who ran the magazine, he said that those manuals were from fully debugged, beta versions of the cartridges. Programming was done pretty early on these cartridges.
Another fact you may want to note: The reason "Galaxian" and "Battlezone" were cancelled (did the list say cancelled for both?) was because of Sega. I found a TI employee named John Phillips who told me TI got Sega to do the ports for the TI-99/4A. John was so certain, he said I could quote him on that! Since I am making a TI cartridge page, can you confirm from the list that Battlezone and Galaxian were planned through Atarisoft on the TI, up until they got word Sega was doing them? What would really be neat is if both versions (Sega and Atarisoft) were programmed, then we could compare the two! My bet is Sega would come out on top, nothing against Atarisoft (they put out GREAT games actually), but Sega really made all their games with high quality for the TI, so I could only assume Battlezone and Galaxian from them would have been the same.
Thanks to Bryan Roppolo Boulder
Commodore 64 - Centipede in small box found
Collector
Peter Eikenboom informed us that via an Ebay deal he got a C64 Centipede in a
small box. Very interesting ... and confusing! If anyone has more info about
that, please let us know. Thanks for the info, Peter!
Update 13-Dec-05: Some time ago we got info from Mayhem in the UK. He writes: "Have a good look at the top left hand corner here. Note the languages being used. I have been reliably informed (but by whom I can't recall) that a number of European releases of Atarisoft games came in small boxes where the original US release was a big one, though I have never come across one until seeing that picture. So that probably explains that. Why change the box size... probably a space issue.
Update 14-Jul-06: Peter informed us that he also found a C64 Pac-Man in the small Euro box.
| To do in further releases |
- Brush up my English ;-)
- Include pictures
- Comparing the screenshots of
the same game for different systems
- System requirements of the different systems
If you have any other ideas, please contact us! Any suggestions welcome!
|
|
|
|
|
V0.33 |
23-Jan-06 |
Added BBC Robotron 2084 (Thanks to Peter Eikenboom). |
|
V0.32 |
13-Dec-05 |
New release status for C64 Mario Bros, Stargate, Track & Field (Thanks to Mayhem). |
|
V0.31 |
01-Aug-05 |
Added C64 Centipede photos. Added BBC PP cat. no. (Thanks to Peter Eikenboom). |
|
V0.30 |
13-Jul-05 |
Added C64 Centipede in small box to Trivia section (Thanks to Peter Eikenboom). |
|
V0.29 |
16-Oct-04 |
Added three games for Atari XL/XE to the list (Thanks to Atari Frog). |
|
V0.28 |
14-Oct-04 |
Changed some rarity ratings for VIC 20 and Commodore 64 (Thanks to Mayhem). |
|
V0.27 |
07-Jul-04 |
Added four games for BBC Micro (Thanks to Matt Reichert). |
|
V0.26 |
03-May-04 |
Added Nostradamus for Atari XL/XE in "Specials" section. |
|
V0.25 |
13-Apr-04 |
Added TI-99 videogamehouse link. |
|
V0.24 |
14-Aug-02 |
Added "In which countries have Atarisoft titles been sold" section. |
|
V0.23 |
10-Aug-02 |
Added "Trivia" section. Added Pole Position for BBC Micro. |
|
V0.22 |
23-Feb-02 |
Added Tempest 2000 for IBM PC in "Specials" section (Thanks to Anthony Chapman). |
|
V0.21 |
28-Nov-01 |
Added section "Numbering system". |
|
V0.20 |
20-Nov-01 |
Added titles for computers from Atari Master List (Thanks to John Hardie). |
|
V0.17 |
17-Nov-01 |
Added titles for Coleco and Intellivision from Atari Master List (Thanks to John Hardie). |
|
V0.16 |
28-Jul-01 |
Added system requirements for Joust on IBM PC (Thanks to Otter). |
|
V0.15 |
21-Jul-01 |
Added sections "Picture gallery" and "System requirements". |
|
V0.13 |
06-Jul-01 |
Added 12 titles for IBM PC. Added Donkey Kong Jr for Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
|
V0.12 |
04-Jun-01 |
Fixed some typos. Some minor changes. |
|
V0.11 |
01-Jun-01 |
Added "History of this FAQ". Added Joust for IBM PC (Thanks to Otter). |
|
V0.10 |
01-Jun-01 |
First release.
|
| Credits |
VERY SPECIAL EXTRA
THANKS!!!
John Hardie for helping me out with his Atari Master List
CBS Colecovision
section
Thanks to all
the guys involved in the Colecovision
FAQ
Commodore 64 section
Thanks to all
the guys involved in the Commodore
64 Cartridge Rarity List
Commodore VIC 20
section
Thanks to the Commodore
8-bit file area
Mattel Intellivision
section
Thanks
to Michael
Lünzer and The
Blue Sky Rangers
Sinclair ZX Spectrum
section
Thanks
to The
World Of Spectrum
Texas Instruments TI
99/4A section
Thanks to the TI
99/4A Home Computer Page
Thanks
to Videogame
House (Great
info and pictures on TI-99 Atarisoft games there!)
