atari

A few days ago, we discussed the greatest game console of all time. Some would say the NES, some would say the Super Nintendo, some would say the Playstation, some would say the Playstation 2. It really depends on your standards, and what system you grew up with. Naturally, this now begs the question: What was the worst console of all time?

One CNET blogger wrote the Sega Saturn was the worst major console of all time. However, the Saturn's relative failure pales in comparison with several other systems' atrocious critical and commercial receptions. The Saturn certainly wasn't … Read more

Last month, some of Silicon Valley's biggest names showed up at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., for the 25th anniversary of the Commodore 64.

What no one I heard mentioned, despite the presence of Pong designer Al Alcorn, was that October marked the 30th anniversary of what may have been an even more influential video game machine, the Atari 2600.

Now, over at GameSpy, Marty Goldberg has spun for us the story of the creation of that iconic console.

And when I say iconic, I do mean it. After all, who doesn't recognize the 2600'… Read more

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that video game company Atari received a notice from Nasdaq that it has until March 20 to regain compliance with the stock market's minimum-market-value rule.

The report follows an announcement from the company last month that it had regained compliance with Nasdaq's periodic reporting requirements in response to an earlier letter.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "Atari receives notice from Nasdaq"

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--I don't want to date myself, but when I was in high school, one of the things I remember was that, among the geeks like myself who hung out in the computer lab, a bit of a culture war was under way.

No, it wasn't Macs versus Windows. But Apple was a player in this battle.

In fact, it was the Commodore 64 versus the Apple IIe, and while the school had a collection of Apples in the lab that all of us had to use, those of us who had C64s felt like we … Read more

As hard as it might be to imagine today, a simple game like Pong once required a machine as big as phone booth to play (which may or may not make sense, depending on whether you remember what a phone booth looks like). Even more amazing is that there's at least one of still around for sale.

Up for auction on eBay is a 1970s-vintage Atari original, which was made by SYZYGY, as every schoolboy knows. It even has fairly low miles--around 12,000 plays--considering its age, according to Technabob.

The bidding, which opened at $1.20, stood … Read more

In case you missed it--or don't own an Xbox 360--Missile Command is now available for download as an Xbox Live Arcade game (the full version is $5). The game includes both the old-school and the modern, "completely restylized version featuring evolved graphics and the newly introduced Throttle Monkey mode." If that Monkey Mode isn't enough for you, there's always a little wide-screen HD and Dolby Digital surround sound to amp up the action.

If you happen to be in New York today and are a fan of old video game memorabilia, then you'd better get down to Sotheby's pronto.

That's because the auction house is selling off a huge collection of vintage Atari marketing materials.

According to Gizmodo, there are "135 large file folders stuffed full of original sketches, early designs and proofs of games" like Dig Dug, Asteroids, Pong and others.

But apparently, the price is steep: somewhere in the $150,000 to $250,000 range.

Dim the lights, chill the Courvoisier, and blow the dust off that Asteroids cartridge. It's time to give your vintage video-game system the affection it deserves. What better way to show you really care than lighting up a romantic display of candles sitting in ceramic replicas of the Atari 2600 joystick. The design is by Mixko and was spotted at this week's New York ICFF showcase.

(via BoingBoing)

Just ignore those Jedi wannabes and their toy Lightsabers, not to mention the irritating cubicle-mate who wants to show off his Darth Vader umbrella every chance he gets. The true Star Wars aficionado will reveal himself with this, to the awe of all: Atari's original arcade cockpit.

Voyager Arcade, a U.K. company that specializes in retro arcade machines (obviously), is offering this vintage 1983 cockpit refurbished to its former glory. (We didn't know there was such a thing as an arcade refurb.) And the price on this machine has even been slashed to 3,995 pounds, or … Read more