Could Skate or Die have been ported to the XE line?

[BoatofCar]

I was playing Skate or Die for the C64, and I was kind of blown away at how good that game looks compared to so many titles on the Atari 8 bits. I'm a complete novice when it comes to how graphics are drawn on screen and how sprites move and things like that, but is there a reason why this particular title looks so good on the C64? Is it just because it's a later release for the system and by that time the devs really knew how to code for it? I realize that by 1988 the Atari 8 bit scene had all but disappeared from a commercial software point of view, but would a port have been possible, and would it have looked the same?

[Rybags]

Possibly but sacrifices in colour for the competitors and playfield (scrolling parts at least) would be needed. Some parts might be pretty straightforward but this section has 2 sprites and scrolling multicolour playfield.

 

https://youtu.be/vJLFDNG2uhs?t=506

 

Looks like © 1987 Electronic Arts - they'd prettywell abandoned the A8 by then. Latest published games I can see on Atarimania from them were in 1986

[Sugarland]

would a port have been possible, and would it have looked the same?

 

Yes of course possible. Not the same no. There are differences in abilities between the two platforms. Generally speaking a game made natively on each will look better than the other can do in that same style. Depends on the skill of the programmer(s) as well as budget and time allowed for porting, etc.

[DracIsBack]

 

Looks like © 1987 Electronic Arts - they'd prettywell abandoned the A8 by then. Latest published games I can see on Atarimania from them were in 1986

 

1986 was the year most software publishers walked away from the A8. Atari hoped that releasing the XEGS in 1987 would reignite both distribution and platform support