The Atari 2600 is a home video game console released in September 1977. Sears licensed the console and many games from Atari, Inc., selling them under different names. Three cartridges were Sears exclusives.
The list contains 517games, divided into three sections:
Games published by Atari and Sears
Games published by third parties
Hobbyist-developed games after the system was discontinued.
The final licensed Atari 2600 games released in North America were Ikari Warriors, MotoRodeo, Sentinel, and Xenophobe in early 1991,[1] and the final licensed games released in Europe were Klax and Acid Drop in 1990 and 1992 respectively.
Games published by Atari and Sears
All 127 of the initial era of Atari 2600 games (between the console's launch in 1977 and the summer of 1980) were developed and manufactured by Atari, Inc. These games were published by Atari, and many were also licensed to Sears, which released these games under its Tele-Games brand, often with different titles.[2] Sears's Tele-Games brand was unrelated to the company Telegames, which also produced cartridges for the Atari 2600 (mostly re-issues of M Network games.)[3]
Three games were also produced by Atari Inc. for Sears as exclusive releases under the Tele-Games brand: Steeplechase, Stellar Track, and Submarine Commander.[2]
Games published by third parties
As the Atari 2600 console grew in popularity, in 1980[8] other game developers, such as Activision and Imagic, entered the market and published more than 380 of their own cartridges for the Atari 2600. Many of the most popular Atari 2600 games, such as Pitfall! and Demon Attack, are third-party games.[9]
Homebrew games
The Atari 2600 has been a popular platform for homebrew projects, with 88 games publicly released. Unlike later systems, the Atari 2600 does not require a modchip to run cartridges. Many games are clones of existing games written as programming challenges,[23] often borrowing the name of the original.
^Yarusso, Albert. "Catalog: Telegames". Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
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^"Acid Drop Media for Atari 2600 - GameFAQs". gamefaqs.gamespot.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012.
^"Base Attack". Videogiochi. No. 22. January 1985. p. 34. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
^ a b c d e f g hYarusso, Albert. "Companies: Zellers". AtariAge. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
^ a b cYarusso, Albert. "Companies: Action Hi-Tech". AtariAge. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
^ a b"2 Pak Special: Dungeon Master / Creature Strike". IGN. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
^Talbot, David, ed. (April 1983). "Pac-Man Kills Kids, Self: Video Horrors". Mother Jones. VIII (III). San Francisco: Foundation for National Progress: 7.
^ a b c d eYarusso, Albert. "Companies: Video Gems". AtariAge. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
^Goldfarb, Andrew (2021-09-10). "'Holy Grail of Atari Games' Sells for $10,000". IGN. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
^"The Smurfs Save The Day Release Information for Atari 2600". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^Yarusso, Albert. "Companies: Universal Gamex". AtariAge. Archived from the original on August 18, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
^Bogost & Montfort 2009.
^ a b c d e f g hCarless 2005, p. 22;
Kohler 2005, p. 378
^Doctorow, Cory (July 10, 2006). "New Atari 2600 game cartridge released". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
^Yarusso, Albert. "Bee-Ball (Self-Published)". AtariAge. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
^"Bell Hopper by Tjoppen". pouet.net. July 24, 2011. Retrieved Mar 19, 2012.
^Yarusso, Albert. "BoulderDash (Self-Published)". AtariAge. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
^"Retro Game Publisher Audacity Games announces its flagship products". Retrieved 2023-08-09.
^"Conquest of Mars - Atari 2600". www.atariage.com.
^McGinnis, Jeff (August 4, 2010). "Tech-savvy fans programming, developing on classic console". Toledo Free Press. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
^Herman 1997, p. 251.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r sWeiss 2007, p. 283–284
^Beschizza, Rob (August 3, 2010). "Former Microsoft VP brings Halo to the Atari 2600". Boing Boing. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
^"Jataí: The Bee (Edição de Luxo)". Bitnamic Software (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-08-05.
^Yarusso, Albert. "AtariAge at CGE2010". AtariAge. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
^Allen, Mat (2007). "Medieval Mayhem: Let the multiplayer mayhem commence". Retro Gamer (39): 14.
^Mihai, Sebastian. "Atari 2600 development - Snappy (batari basic)". Retrieved January 15, 2012.
^Yarusso, Albert. "Squish 'Em (Self-Published)". AtariAge. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
^Yarusso, Albert. "Vong (Self-Published)". AtariAge. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
^"The Official Game List for the AtGames Atari Flashback 9 Gold (2018) - Armchair Arcade". armchairarcade.com. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
^Loguidice, Bill (27 September 2018). "The Official Game List for the AtGames Atari Flashback 9 (2018) - Armchair Arcade". Armchair Arcade. Retrieved 2022-03-31.