Atari Archives : The Retro Network

Atari: The Rise and Fall of the Company That Built Home Gaming

Atari built the home video game industry from the ground up, rose to unprecedented dominance, and then collapsed under market saturation, corporate missteps, and shifting competition, leaving a legacy that continues to shape modern gaming.

The Lost Treasures of Atari’s Swordquest

Mickey Yarber

Atari’s Swordquest series promised real‑world treasure and a quest unlike anything the arcade world had seen. Blending comics, puzzles, and high‑stakes competition, it became one of gaming’s most fascinating lost legends.

Atari Is Relaunching Missile Command With a New Twist

Walter King

Atari is once again bringing back it’s classic game, Missile Command, but with an exciting new twist thrown in. Missile Command Delta is a brand new, turn-based tactical take on the series which blends strategic gameplay

The Legacy of Pole Position and Its Impact on Arcade History

Mickey Yarber

Pole Position brought real speed to the arcade, turning simple controls and a single qualifying lap into a rush of Formula 1 excitement. It set the standard for racing games and became an unforgettable golden‑age favorite.

Atari Acquires Intellivision

Walter King

Atari has announced that it has acquired the Intellivision brand along with the rights to over 200 games in a move that, according to Digital Eclipse’s studio head Mike Mika, “ends the longest-running console war in

Pitfall Harry and the Christmas Road Trip

Pitfall Gary

It was a green box with gold bars hiding behind trees, crocodiles swimming in a lake, underground tunnels and the best adventurer ever. That’s right Christmas 1982 I got the one present I wanted…PITFALL!

Arcade All-Stars: Joust

Mickey Yarber

You have to wonder whether the programmers at Williams Electronics didn’t have a bit of a sadistic streak in them. It’s one thing to pit best friends against one another—Gun Fight, Warlords, and others had already taken

Arcade All-Stars: Moon Patrol

Mickey Yarber

It wasn’t easy patrolling the rocky terrain of Moon Patrol, but if it was any consolation, they gave you a really cool car. The purple, six-wheeled, high-jumping, laser-blasting vehicle at the center of Moon Patrol was a dream

Retro Commercials: E.T. video game for Atari 2600 in 1982

OldSchool80s

I don’t know about you, but commercials can often take me back to my formative years as quickly as any song or movie can. That is why we will continue this semi-regular feature on ’80s commercials

Missile Command: Recharged – A Modern Remake of a Classic Game

Pitfall Gary

In Missile Command, the 1980 arcade hit, you play a missile base commander fighting to save your cities against an onslaught of incoming ballistic missiles. I never played the arcade version of Missile Command. My