Summary
TheAtari 50: The Anniversary Celebrationcollection is returning later this year with a new Extended Edition that will add 39 more classicAtarititles. Atari was a pioneer in the early days of home video game consoles, releasing a host of titles that paved the way for the gaming landscape as we see it today. While it may not be the industry juggernaut it once was,Atarihas continued to move forward by gaining the publishing rights to games likeRollercoaster Tycoon 3, reviving the classicYars Risingfranchise, and even acquiring its former competitor Intellivision.
Atari has also been celebrating its long and storied gaming history over the past couple of years, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022. In honor of this milestone, AtarireleasedAtari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, containing over 90 retro games stretching from the Atari 2600 to the Atari Jaguar and including remasters ofYar’s Revenge,Quadratank, andHaunted House. The collection also features a five-part interactive timeline that tells the story of Atari through design documents, game manuals, and video interviews with creators.
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebrationis growing on October 25, when an Extended Edition will launch on all major consoles, as well as the Atari VCS. This update will add 39 games toAtari 50’s already hefty library, as well as two new timelines titled “The Wider World of Atari” and “The First Console War.” The first will consist of 19 playable games and eight video segments chronicling how Atari has continued to influence gamers over the decades, complete with new interviews, vintage ads, and historical artifacts that were all researched and compiled by Digital Eclipse.
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Extended Edition Release Date
As its name suggests, “The First Console War” will tell the story of the famousfeud between the Atari 2600 and Mattel’s Intellivisionthroughout the early 1980s through 20 playable games and six video segments. This rivalry eventually saw Atari emerge as the victor, though this would be short-lived in the face of the video game crash of 1983.
It isn’t clear what new games will be included in theupcomingAtari 50: The Anniversary Celebrationexpansion, though the two aforementioned timelines will reportedly include a deep dive into the classic 1980 shooterBerzerk, as well as some lesser-known titles from the late 80s and fan favorites from Mattel’s M Network division.Atariis also releasing a physical release of the title for Nintendo Switch and PS5, with the former including a Steelbook with special bonus features like Atari 2600 art cards, miniature arcade marquee signs, and an Al Alcorn Replica Syzygy Co. business card. This will cost $49.99, while the standard edition will retail for $39.99.
Atari
Originally founded in 1972, Atari began as a company that created arcade games, home video game consoles, and computers. The brand was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s, producing games like Pong and consoles like the Atari 2600. The video game crash of 1983 tanked the company, selling the computer and game console divisions to Jack Tramiel, and split the company into Atari Games and Atari Corporation.Since then, Atari has changed hands numerous times before eventually merging with IESA in 2008 and eventually filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013. However, the company announced the new corporate strategy, releasing new products, software, developing hotels, as well as a new console named the Atari VCS.
