Tag: Mike Peace
March 1981 introduced a pair of novelties to the VCS library, in that they are first-party Atari games that are also retailer-exclusives. Steeplechase and Stellar Track are the first two of four games that had some kind of exclusivity to Sears, then one of the largest retailers in the United States and a partner of Atari’s in the home gaming space since it stocked Atari’s dedicated Pong console in 1975 under its own branding.
Atari has once again returned to the pool of arcade conversions for its second of three fall 1980 releases, Dodge ‘Em. Like Circus Atari or Space Invaders, it’s an excellent home version of a fairly popular game from the 1970s, Head-On, meaning that just like those two, it’s a classic home version of a classic game… albeit not an official one. Much as was the case with Circus Atari, Dodge ‘Em – or Dodger Cars, under the Sears branding – is another unlicensed clone of someone else’s game.