AtariHero

In case you missed news about this one last year and earlier this year, Sega has remastered/rebooted Daytona USA for arcades. They had the "definitive version" of the game at IAAPA 2017 last month in Orlando. This meant that the software had been fine tuned to what it should have been when released and it also now ships with a 4-speed shifter. I might be getting a pair of these cabinets for my arcade in 2018...been having many requests for something with a shifter since Cruis'n Blast has none.

Haha, yeah I don't have much of a personal use for one but it would still be cool to have. That said, I'm going to hold out to see what the commercial or bar version looks like and see if it's worth grabbing for the arcade

I've always thought that the Jag could have done more with Wolf 3D style raycasted games like this. Looking good! Just wonder if he could get the same frame rate full screen

This isn't a scientifically verified list so feel free to correct it if wrong. Just from observation or reading about it elsewhere. Official Games running in 320 resolution mode (or using it in some form such text/UI/status): Dark Chambers? Desert Falcon ? Food Fight (text) Meltdown One-On-One Planet Smashers Pole Position II (just text?) Sentinel Touchdown Football (just text?) Tower Toppler (text & water?) Homebrews: Berzerk / Frenzy Dungeon Explorer Frogger Moon Cresta Pac-Man 320 Anything else or errors?

These are awesome efforts, furthering my envy of anyone who can code as I never have been able to wrap my head around that Laser Blast is the first 2600 game I remember playing so that hits me in the nostalgia zone right there. Always had a soft sport for Venture as well. I really need to fix the power button on my 7800 so I can play these games again and be ready for new ones.

In case you hadn't heard already, TMNT is coming back to arcades thanks to Raw Thrills. I spoke with the producer of the game last week who talked about playing "every arcade brawler ever made" in preparation for making this. I'm seeing some people complain about the art style but that is due to the license. Wouldn't make sense for RT to pay Nickelodeon for the license from the recently finished TV show only to not use the assets from it (and they probably require that the design and sounds be used). Links & videos for details http://arcadeheroes.com/2017/11/14/iaapa-2017-raw-thrills-booth-with-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-injustice-arcade-x-games-snow-boarder/

I was down at IAAPA 2017 last week where I had the opportunity to experience the new Atari PONG EM coffee table. This was Kickstarted but a Chinese manufacturer by the name of UNIS has picked it up for worldwide manufacture and distribution. What's seen in the video is the home coffee table version; it was impressive to watch (albeit not perfect and surprisingly small). I hope to get a chance to see the commercial edition next year that they say is the size of a typical air hockey table as well as a "bar edition" that is apparently the same width & depth as the version seen here but is taller so you can sit at one on a barstool.

That's really awesome. Thanks for sharing the story. I came across a QWAK back in 2009 at an arcade that was in the process of opening. We went through each game one by one to see what it's status was - there was A LOT of Atari history in there: Space Race (non-fiberglass version; was missing the joysticks), Gran Trak 10, Sprint 2, SteepleChase (this was one of the few that worked), Indy 400, Tank cocktail, Airborne Avenger and a few others that I can't recall at the moment. The QWAK powered up but only just; you could hear the electronic duck call weakly trying to make a noise but that was it. Unfortunately I never saw the game working to see it in action. The gun was impressive and I had wondered since where those had come from as I had assumed Atari had re-purposed old BB guns or something. Good to hear the story set straight Also surprising was the size of the cabinet - very short, great for kids.

That is one 70s arcade machine I wouldn't mind getting my hands on. I came across it once but it wasn't for sale. Very cool to find something like an EE in a game from this time.

That shows the Sega Saturn symbol, not the Genesis nice comparison of the two. Although that said, no one really remembers Street Racer or any of these others as all these years later it's just Mario Kart. There are a lot of gameplay elements that Atari/Miracle could have done to make it a better game but part of playing on nostalgia is using the characters/IP you've got to keep them in mind:

As some of the later posts mentioned, there are a few more characters in the Atari world than usually come to mind but it's really hard to put any Atari character in the world recognition category anymore. But those areas where you didn't have a lot of character to pull from, the themed worlds certainly could have been done and made the game much more interesting, especially if hazards from the themes were used as you suggest. Now that you mention it, I wonder if the track length was a technical issue (not enough RAM), development time or something else.

http://arcadeheroes.com/2017/02/24/atari-pong-coffee-table-project-looks-to-manufacturing/ Very cool 'homebrew' development that is looking into mass production. I'm tempted to shell out the cash for one of these to put into my arcade, I just don't know if it has been thoroughly tested in an arcade environment yet (you want stuff like this to hold up)

In terms of features and theming, Mario Kart certainly is a more complete game although graphically I think that Atari Karts stands strong in that regard thanks to full screen, hills, color, animations and frame rate. I also don't mind the more arcade-like focus on racing although when I first grabbed the game I had an odd expectation of there being a battle mode. That said, I really haven't found battle mode on MK to be very fun any more, maybe it's just age. Power-ups apart from having more offensive items and Atari related items could have been more visible as you mention. I can't imagine having the symbol floating above the track as a sprite would have affected the engine that much although I'm a backseat driver when it comes to coding. One place that AK was odd too was the music. Too melancholy at times, particularly on the scores/ranking scene. It could have used something a little more upbeat (YaK's TxK has this problem - too many 'smooth' tracks that feel out of place with what the gameplay was trying to do). That said, it is quite distinctive whether you like it or hate it, easy to remember which cannot be said for so many other games.

I can't believe it's been almost three years since I blogged about this but it seems appropriate to share as I'd like to hear your thoughts. From a side blog that I haven't updated in a while: https://arcryphongames.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/redesigning-atari-karts-atari-jaguar/ (Yes, I am aware that many images in the post are broken, I'll have to fix that) I always liked Atari Karts but there were aspects of it that felt off - particularly that it only used Bentley Bear as an Atari character and didn't feature a roster based off Atari's rich history from the early 80s. Driving as Yar, Major Havoc, Charley Chuck, Berthilda The Witch, Robot 1984, Louie (Scrapyard Dog), Commander Champion and others. On top of that I think the game could have better fulfilled its name by featuring levels & items based on Atari universe scenes. I don't really have any issues with how the game plays (maybe except for an improvement on getting stuck on the sides in certain levels...I've seen kids get frustrated with that), it's more that the game doesn't really feel "Atari" when it barely references the company otherwise. Agree or disagree? Any changes you would make if you could?

I'd love to have one of these for my own arcade although it would have to be fully coin-op It is great to see this finally happen...Kaboom coming full circle since it really was an adaptation of Atari's Avalanche that most gamers aren't familiar with. Kind of weird that Atari never "responded" to Kaboom! with an Avalanche port. And that Yars Revenge cabinet above looks beautiful

Very nice project, as mentioned it does fill in a void in the Atari library. I am surprised by how fast it moves though - I'm used to seeing these style of games on hardware of the era move along at a snails pace I imagine this probably isn't in the cards (mainly due to the lack of a keyboard) but has there been any consideration for porting this to other systems like the 7800?

Got a link for us busy but lazy people? I've never owned or really played a CV but I like the prospect of resurrecting old hardware

Sorry to "ONE OF US" about this but DragonStomper for me too It gets the closest to an RPG or D&D game and is just very satisfying. Bonus points that one of the enemies are monkeys Followed by Adventure then SwordQuest: Fireworld. I just can't get into Dark Chambers on the 2600 with the 7800 version right there. My son and I have spent a few hours playing DC together on the ProSystem, so there's that bond going on too for that version. I would put Secret Quest on there if I had spent more time with it. I get what they were trying to do but not a huge fan of the symbol system. Still, Zelda in space was kind of a cool idea (once again, wish they would have done a 7800 version too)

I published this interview with industry legend Eugene Jarvis this morning. We discuss the growth of his company (Raw Thrills), his return to the Cruis'n series with Cruis'n Blast, his favorite sports car and he reveals new arcade plans for Defender! http://arcadeheroes.com/2017/02/17/qa-eugene-jarvis-cruisn-blast-modern-arcade-industry/

I believe those are the ones with the black keypad buttons. Unfortunately I don't have one of those - mine was one of the last generation that I received with my "64-Bit Power Kit" that had Wolf 3D as a pack-in instead of CyberMorph (not complaining - that was a great idea for a pack-in)

Here's a comparison video in case you need some reference. I didn't know there was a DOS version of this. It also makes me long for a 7800 version...I think it would have been great to see more 2600 titles make their way over to the Pro system and take advantage of the power. Anyways, my vote is for the TI version. The graphics are really good for the system, only lacking that interlaced warp-in effect. The sound does leave something to be desired (unless you find that speech version) but otherwise it really stands out in the TI library and the enemy design is great. I liked the game on the 2600 but never was crazy about it as it just felt a little too shallow compared to other single screen shooters like Spider Fighter or Phoenix. It did have cool effects (your ship going up in a pixel nuke cloud is cool) and memorable sounds but other than that, it just didn't keep my attention like Phoenix did. Phoenix spoiled me here as that was an excellent port, in some ways a little more enjoyable than the arcade version (which I do own. Not a fan of the sound). I love the gradient enemies and the boss battle is intact.

I don't believe so. The time where "stuff" started happening with 10p6 was about the time I kind of stopped following Atari news for a while so not sure what became of it all. It's too bad, especially where that Dark Knight Games joystick around '98 or so at least made it into limited production.

The ProControllers are nice - they aren't as thick and the extra buttons, particularly the shoulders, are very nice. But after what I compared today, I would have preferred that they kept the original D-Pad at least.

This is pretty cool. I have a soft spot for for classic helicopter games...something that these days is rare to find in modern gaming.

I decided to blow off some steam with some JagDoom and Iron Soldier today and in the process switched out my ProController for an original Jag pad. I haven't played anything with the original controller in many years...there just wasn't any reason to with the Pro. But alas, my ProControllers (all three of them) seem to have an issue in one way or another, usually with the Option button or one of the shoulder buttons not working right. So I found myself surprised while using the original as to how nice the D-Pad works and feels. I had forgotten about it after all this time. Perhaps it was more responsive because it hasn't been abused for so long while my Pros are not always 'crisp' as far as that goes. I also like the Lynx style buttons. I guess this means a ProController mod with original D-Pad and red buttons in in order (No, I'm no Ben Heck so, just a dream) Anyone else feel the same way?