first and last 7800 game?

[AtariKen64]

same as the others? what were the first and last 7800 game?

 

for this i know that 11 games were planned, 3 orginaly relasedn in 1986 and came with pole position 2

 

there were a few 1990 games but i cant find nothing past that. what came last?

[Atari 7800.com]

The first games came in 1984 actually, not 1986. Centipede would be officially known as the first release as it's designation is CX-7801, the 01 being the first title for the 7800.

[Room 34]

The first games came in 1984 actually, not 1986. Centipede would be officially known as the first release as it's designation is CX-7801, the 01 being the first title for the 7800.

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

 

We can probably assume that the 7800 model numbers were assigned in sequential order. Although this was not done initially with the 2600, by about '82 they were basically handing out the numbers in order... but that was the order of development, not release.

 

So I would be confident in guessing that Centipede was the first planned game for the 7800, but that doesn't mean it was the first release.

 

It is a pretty cool game though!

[Atari 7800.com]

The 7800 was originally released in the spring of 1984 (mid May I believe) with a small library of tested & true classic arcade titles to support it. (This was only a month or so before the Tramiels took control and canned the 7800 until 1986)

 

The original 1984 launch titles, according to the documentation that I have, are as followes:

 

Centipede

Joust

Ms. Pac Man

Dig Dug

Asteroids

Robotron: 2084

Food Fight

Dentipede

Galaga

Pole Position II

 

I'm fairly sure that other titles such as BallBlazer, Desert Falcon, Impossible Mission, and unreleased games such as SkyFox and Rescue on Fractalus would have been 1985 releases had Atari remained under Warner control.

 

As far as Centipede not being the first released 7800 game, it was definately the first official 7800 working development title, and was released right along with the other original titles. Lance @ Video61 can back this up. If you have something to back up the idea that Centipede was indeed *not* the first developed and released 7800 title, id love to see it.

 

The *LAST* official Atari game release is debatable. Some would say that it was the 7800 High Score Cartridge which was released by the AHS in 2000. However that was not an officially licensed item for the 7800. The last officially released licensed cartridge for the 7800 was the Monitor Cartridge in 1992 or 1993. ...but that didnt come directly out of Atari, nor is it really a game, but more of a computer program.

 

I cant say for sure which was the last released 7800 game cartridge. I want to say it was Midnight Mutants but im pretty sure that there was one or two more after that, and I cant find the paperwork regarding the last released games. But again, the official last licensed 7800 title was the Monitor cartridge.

 

Hope this helps...

 

Justin

Atari 7800.com / TurboGrafx-16.com

[Room 34]

If you have something to back up the idea that Centipede was indeed *not* the first developed and released 7800 title, id love to see it.

I never said Centipede was not the first released title for the 7800. All I said was that it is not safe to assume, merely because it is CX7801 that it therefore definitely was the first game released.

 

If in fact there was a set of multiple games released simultaneously with the system, then there's no value to saying what was the "first released game" anyway. And in that case, then I'd be comfortable calling Centipede the "first" 7800 game (but not the "first released" game).

 

I have no evidence to back up anything related to the 7800. My knowledge of the system is far more limited than my knowledge of the 2600. I am just trying to discourage potentially inaccurate assumptions being made by people who, like me, have no actual evidence.

[Atari 7800.com]

This sounds like a good thing to document on our 7800 History page at Atari 7800.com. If anybody has knowledge of any definate factual release dates and development dates for any of the games in the 7800 library that they wish to share, please contact me at AtariSuperhero@aol.com, or on our 24-hour customer assistance line at 941.598.1862. I would love to get a database of this stuff together. This way we will not have to rely on heresay and speculation any longer.

 

Thanks

 

Justin J. Scott

Atari 7800.com / Turbo Grafx-16.com

[+Mitch]

I always thought that Pole Position II was the first released game. (It was the pack in game after all) And that Sentinel was the last.

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[Tempest]

I always thought that Pole Position II was the first released game. (It was the pack in game after all) And that Sentinel was the last.  

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Tempest

[Room 34]

I always thought that Pole Position II was the first released game. (It was the pack in game after all) And that Sentinel was the last.  

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Tempest

 

Of course, during the course of its run, the 2600 shipped at various times with Combat, Pac-Man AND Combat, just Pac-Man, and Space Invaders. (And I think I saw once that the Sears Video Arcade shipped with Target Fun, a.k.a. Air-Sea Battle.)

 

All I'm getting at is that there are a lot of different ways of pointing at various facts as "evidence" of which game was released first, but they may be erroneous assumptions.

 

Why exactly did they choose Pole Position II as the pack-in anyway? I guess they had to try to find a balance between a game that people would actually want to play, but not one that they'd definitely go out and pay money for.

 

However, one need only look at the Intellivision and ColecoVision philosophies on pack-ins to see the value of putting a killer game inside the box. A good enough pack-in game will sell the system!

[Atari 7800.com]

Im not sure about Sentinel... it could have been the last game released in Europe but it was never officially released in the United States, although cartridges are available. Pit Fighter was the last game in development to make its way to light. I dont know about the European market, but if your talking about the US, and official licensing doesnt matter, then the last 7800 title would be Save Mary! which will be comming out soon from another Atari vendor. The last licensed US 7800 cartridge was the Monitor cartridge, and I am still not positive of the last 7800 game title to come directly out of Atari to be released in the States.

[+Mitch]

That's true, Sentinel didn't quite make it out the door in the US. If you are talking about modern 7800 releases, then there are several proto releases as well.

Also, I don't think Pitfighter is the newest proto find. The CGE guys were planning on releasing three unreleased 7800 games this year but were unable to get them completed in time. Hopefully, by next year we'll see them.

What's the deal with 7800 Save Mary? I hadn't heard of a proto find on that one. Is it the same as the 2600 version with souped up graphics?

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[Atari 7800.com]

Actually they are pretty much one and the same. Save Mary! was one of the last games designed for the 2600 and used a new kind of cartridge which utilized an Atari proprietary chip known as the Janice chip. This doubled the resolution capability of the 2600, and basically was the 2600 equivalent of the 7800's Super Game Cartridge.

 

What has happened is that somebody (I'm not at liberty to say who) who has been working on this game for some time, was not able to get it to work appropriately on the 2600, but was able to beef it up and put it on a 7800 cartridge board and it plays beautifully in 2600 mode.

 

Again I'm not allowed to say anything more about this game but if and when it is released, you will be sure to find it on Atari 7800.com.

 

BTW - I know there have been some recent 7800 prototypes uncovered, including the Chuck Norris game.... but have there been any found that were in development after 7800 Pit Fighter? I do know that Pit Fighter was pretty late in the game... Jack supposedly got frustrated that he couldn't get a Mortal Kombat type game on the 7800 and then basically canned the whole 7800 line to focus on the Panther / Jaguar.

[Agent X]

I do know that Pit Fighter was pretty late in the game... Jack supposedly got frustrated that he couldn't get a Mortal Kombat type game on the 7800 and then basically canned the whole 7800 line to focus on the Panther / Jaguar.

 

That would be a neat trick on Jack's part. I'm almost certain that the original Mortal Kombat arcade game came out after the 7800 was officially discontinued.

 

I wonder what a 7800 version of Mortal Kombat would be like? I suppose it would look somewhat like the Sega Game Gear version (or the Sega Master System version that was released in Europe).

[Atari 7800.com]

I did not mean to say that Jack was trying to compete directly with Mortal Kombat.... all I'm saying is that he was trying to squeeze blood from a stone, looking for a game that could do what Mortal Kombat ended up doing a year or two later. Would have been cool to see something like that though.