Bentley Bear : The Unspoken Atari Mascot

Entry posted by doctorclu in Bentley Bear Atari Mascot September 13, 2023

1,241 views

https://www.atarilegend.com/games/bentley-bears-magical-anagramsIt has been asked over the years, if you have Sonic for Sega, and Mario for Nintendo, who is the mascot for Atari?

And while this has been debated, and other mascots concepts were made, one has managed to sneakily remain just out of the lime light, but just in sight. A cute friendly looking bear that just likes to collect gems. Why? Who knows!? Because... gems! But he has a cool unlimited bag to hold the gems. A cool hat that he only gets for a few seconds to be invulnerable, and best of all, a big "B" belt buckle.

I think Bentley Bear IS the unspoken mascot for Atari. At least over time he has gotten a lot of screen time and fairly well represented over the various Atari platforms.

Check this out, I was actually quite amazed!

Aracde - Crystal Castles (1983)

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Atari 2600 - Crystal Castles (1984) Download

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Atari (5200?) - Crystal Castles. Download

400/800, XL (Unreleased) (1984) Download

XE (1988) manual and Download

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Atari 7800 - Bentley Bear Crystal Quest (homebrew). Download

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Atari Lynx - Bentley Bear-Honey Hunt (proto). Download

Atari ST -

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Crystal Castle.

ST, STE, TT version (1988) Manual and download

Atari Falcon version. Download

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Bentley Bear's Alphabet Tutor. Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's Equation Builder Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's General Store Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's Magical Anagrams Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's Magical Math 1. Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's Magical Math 2. Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's Magical Math 3. Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's Memory Master Download

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Bentley Bear's Memory Master II. Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's Spelling Bee. Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear's Typing Tutor. Manual and Download

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Atari Jaguar - Atari Karts. Manual and Download

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Bentley Bear apparently made an appearance in Wreck-It-Ralph. Not a great likeness, but the basics are there...

Other appearances:

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And I like how Bentley Bear is the main character shown on the Atari Mania cover art. Bentley plays a big part in the game where you as the Caretaker are solving a mystery during a night shift at the Atari Museum.

Three appearances in 50th Anniversary with the arcade Crystal Castles, 2600 Crystal Castles, and Atari Karts.

All this to say, I think Bentley Bear is already the unspoken mascot for Atari, or someone that Atari will at least feature on a re-occurring basis.

And you know what, I'm ok with that. He's kinda cute, and I like how there is still a lot to know about the character.

Some mystery left there for this somewhat greedy and yet friendly bear.

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