+Random Terrain Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 Atari 2600 Games Released in 1981(Earliest mention in newspapers that I've found so far.)Stellar Track: March 4, 1981Othello: March 20, 1981Laser Blast: March 20, 1981Tennis: March 20, 1981Video Pinball: April 9, 1981 (first real mention, without orders being taken)Warlords: May 7, 1981Asteroids: May 7, 1981 if you can believe it or August 7, 1981 if you can'tMissile Command: May 8, 1981Freeway: July 16, 1981Kaboom!: July 16, 1981Steeplechase: August 7, 1981Ice Hockey: December 11, 1981 (coming soon), December 13, 1981 (ad by itself), December 19, 1981 (in stock)Stampede: December 11, 1981 (coming soon), December 19, 1981 (in stock)Skeet Shoot: January 26, 1982Trivia Atari CX2600A: November 26, 1981 (no mention of it in 1980 newspapers that I can find, so this page might be wrong.)The name Championship Soccer was changed to Pelé’s Soccer and the first mention of the new name that I can find in a newspaper is May 13, 1981.1981y_03m_04d Kannapolis Daily Independent Wednesday, March 4, 1981, Kannapolis, North Carolina(Stellar Track and more with prices. [sears])1981y_03m_08d Chicago Heights Star Sunday, March 8, 1981, Chicago Heights, Illinois(Be the first to receive these new cartridges. Orders being taken. Asteroids, Warlords, Video Pinball, and Missile Command. [American Sales])The ad above is kind of useless since it's talking about orders being taken, but many of the ads below mention games that are in stock, so those ads are very useful.1981y_03m_20d Yuma Sun Friday, March 20, 1981, Yuma, Arizona(We have the NEW Activision Games to fit your Atari game - Dragster, Laser Blast, skiing, boxing, checkers & more. [Tomarhaland Sound & Video])1981y_03m_20d Frederick News Post Friday, March 20, 1981, Frederick, Maryland(Othello, Laser Blast, Tennis, and other games. [shipley's])1981y_03m_31d Anderson Daily Bulletin Tuesday, March 31, 1981, Anderson, Indiana(Now in stock: Laser Blast & Tennis. [Allan's Jewelry & Loan Co.])1981y_04m_09d Anderson Daily Bulletin Thursday, April 9, 1981, Anderson, Indiana(Now in stock: Video Pinball & Tennis. [Allan's Jewelry & Loan Co.])1981y_04m_16d Doylestown Intelligencer Thursday, April 16, 1981, Doylestown, Pennsylvania(Video Pinball, Tennis, Skiing, Bridge, Othello. [brunswick])1981y_04m_19d Elyria Chronicle Telegram Sunday, April 19, 1981, Elyria, Ohio(Video Pinball and Othello. [big Town Super Mart]) Asteroids was due in July, but it's in this ad from May 7, 1981, two months early:1981y_05m_07d Madison Wisconsin State Journal Thursday, May 7, 1981, Madison, Wisconsin(Many games are listed including Warlords, Asteroids, and Video Pinball. [American's Video Arcade])Does that mean Asteroids was released in May 1981 instead of July? 1981y_05m_07d Fort Madison Daily Democrat Thursday, May 7, 1981, Fort Madison, Iowa(Just received Video Pinball. [Ellis TV & Stereo])1981y_05m_08d Anderson Daily Bulletin Friday, May 8, 1981, Anderson, Indiana(Now in stock: Missile Command. [Allan's Jewelry & Loan Co.])1981y_05m_13d Westport News Wednesday, May 13, 1981, Westport, Connecticut(Adventure, Space Invaders and Pele Soccer [Pelé’s Soccer]. [Child World])1981y_05m_16d Clearfield Progress Saturday, May 16, 1981, Clearfield, Pennsylvania(Just received at J.C. Penney: Missile Command. [JCPenney])1981y_07m_16d Doylestown Intelligencer Thursday, July 16, 1981, Doylestown, Pennsylvania(We have Ka-Boom [Kaboom!], Freeway, and Superman cartridges. [World Wide Stereo])1981y_07m_25d Anderson Daily Bulletin Saturday, July 25, 1981, Anderson, Indiana(Now in stock: Kaboom & Missile Command. [Allan's Jewelry & Loan Co.])1981y_08m_07d Daily Herald Suburban Chicago Friday, August 7, 1981, Arlington Heights, Illinois(Atari Asteroids in stock, Warlords too. [Home Star])1981y_08m_07d Fort Madison Evening Democrat Friday, August 7, 1981, Fort Madison, Iowa(Just received Asteroids. [Ellis TV & Stereo])1981y_08m_07d Elyria Chronicle Telegram Friday, August 7, 1981, Elyria, Ohio(Steeple Chase a.k.a. Steeplechase. [sears])1981y_08m_13d Alton Telegraph Thursday, August 13, 1981, Alton, Illinois(Asteroid [Asteroids], Missile Command, Laser Blast, Pele' Soccer [Pelé’s Soccer], Video Pinball, Indy 500, Slot Racers. [JCPenney])1981y_08m_18d Yuma Sun Tuesday, August 18, 1981, Yuma, Arizona(Missile Command, Warlords, Kaboom, Freeway and more. [Tomarhaland])1981y-08m-30d Frederick News Post Sunday, August 30, 1981, Frederick, Maryland(Asteroids. [Toytown])1981y_12m_11s Santa Ana Orange County Register Friday, December 11, 1981, Santa Ana, California(Coming soon! Stampede and Ice Hockey. Tennis available at . . .)1981y-12m-13d Santa Ana Orange County Register Sunday, December 13, 1981, Santa Ana, California(Really Rough Stuff: Ice Hockey available at . . .)1981y-12m-13d Anderson Daily Bulletin Saturday, December 19, 1981, Anderson, Indiana(Now in stock: Stampede, Ice Hockey, and Asteroids. [Allan's Jewelry & Loan Co.]) 1981y-12m-28d Annapolis Capital Monday, December 28, 1981, Annapolis, Maryland(Stampede, Ice Hockey, and others listed with prices. [Murphey's Mart])1982y-01m-26d Anderson Daily Bulletin Tuesday, January 26, 1982, Anderson, Indiana(New Skeet Shoot. [Allan's Jewelry & Loan Co.])1981y_12m_16d Syracuse Herald Journal Wednesday, December 16, 1981, Syracuse, New York(For those interested, this ad says "27. Atari CX 2600 A: The brand new model of the world famous Atari home video game opens up even more horizons for your whole family." This new model wasn't mentioned the month before in their ad. [Gordon])This one is just for fun:1981y_09m_23d Daily Herald Suburban Chicago Wednesday, September 23, 1981, Arlington Heights, Illinois(Hottest new tapes from Atari: Missile Command & Asteroids. [TOYS “Я” US]) The 1981 history page has been updated. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt2d2 Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Thanks! Love seeing these old ads. $159.99 for VCS at Shipley's! That's about $500 in 2019 money, and games that were $30 then would be $90 dollars today. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I see that there are many advertisements from small retailers in small communities (rather than National or Regional chains). Were the new games available nationally at the same time, or were they first available in larger centres before trickling down to smaller retailers? I love that Allan's Jewelry & Loan Co. was selling "preowned" games as early as 1981. I wonder how large the selection was. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Thanks! Love seeing these old ads. $159.99 for VCS at Shipley's! That's about $500 in 2019 money, and games that were $30 then would be $90 dollars today. And those Intellivision prices are particularly shocking!!! $279 in 1981 is like $780 today. I always envied the kids with those fancy toys. I love how tech is priced so way more people can afford it nowadays. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I never know the defunct American TV appliance stores sold Atari carts. Although in the 1980 and 90's Milwaukee TV was bombarded by "Crazy TV Lennie commercials." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Funny to see "coming soon" advertisements, then followed up with "in stock" a week or two later. Ahh yes, the way things used to be. Today's way of doing things defines the phrase "coming soon" much, much differently. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygy1 Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 All I can think of is a The New Teen Titans issue (#13) where Cyborg tells Robotman he's the "1981-style Cyborg." My goodness, disco being played at its very death knell, Cyborg exemplifying what Donna Summer thought when she wrote "I Feel Love," and these games. How I long to live in 1981! You could play outside until dark! Also, one of those games is called "Stampede." Cyborg saying "It's a STAMPEDE!" anyone? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreeB Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 On 3/30/2019 at 10:36 AM, Syzygy1 said: All I can think of is a The New Teen Titans issue (#13) where Cyborg tells Robotman he's the "1981-style Cyborg." My goodness, disco being played at its very death knell, Cyborg exemplifying what Donna Summer thought when she wrote "I Feel Love," and these games. How I long to live in 1981! You could play outside until dark! Also, one of those games is called "Stampede." Cyborg saying "It's a STAMPEDE!" anyone? I was around during that time, and I agree with you 100% on what it was like. 2020 is stupid compared to 1980! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 On 3/20/2019 at 12:27 PM, frankodragon said: I never know the defunct American TV appliance stores sold Atari carts. Although in the 1980 and 90's Milwaukee TV was bombarded by "Crazy TV Lennie commercials." Did you know he's still around? Not sure you would get his commercials being out in Milwaukee. Sells e-Bikes in Madison and still goes by Crazy Lenny. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 No wonder he pitched free bikes back then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Pat Brady Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 3 hours ago, save2600 said: Did you know he's still around? Not sure you would get his commercials being out in Milwaukee. Sells e-Bikes in Madison and still goes by Crazy Lenny. Does he run commercials in Madison? I guess I don’t watch much TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 26 minutes ago, bizarrostormy said: Does he run commercials in Madison? I guess I don’t watch much TV. Oh yeah, see them all the time... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 He better get some of that Flex Seal Paste from that crazy Phil Swift to repair that bike, LOL. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.