What is your very fondest Atari 2600 memory?

[Mind Master]

...whether it be from 25 years ago or 25 minutes ago - what's your fondest Atari memory?

[CPUWIZ]

Holding a boxed mint Video Life for the first time.

 

[Rob Mitchell]

Battling Dad at Tank Plus and Target Fun the very first night in fall 1977 that we had the Sears Video Arcade (VCS).

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[sku_u]

Ripping open the box and playing the system for the very first time when I first got an Atari all those years ago. I was so excited that the silly blocky graphics looked better than any arcade coin-op I'd ever played.

[Pixellated Ghost]

Mine was finding the mystery object in Adventure, and finding the secret message with it for the first time.

[liquidcross]

Mine would be playing my uncle's Atari 2600 when I was a kid. I remember playing Target Fun, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pitfall!, Berzerk, Asteroids, Cosmic Ark, Space Invaders...and I'm trying to get them all back now.

[The MilkMan]

I happen to have a horrible story and a great one all in one week. Our house was broke into one time, my Atari was among some of the things missing. (Least of my parents worries of course) Devastated, my folks took me out to replace it. This is the great part.

I believe we were at K-Mart talking with an employee. You know.."Yes, could you help us with getting one of those Ataris please."

As the employee started to get a box down, some guy shopping had overheard my parents. This guy approches my dad and said "I've got one at home I'll sell you, alot cheaper than buying from here." My Dad agreed, and we to this guys house. He wanted to show us it was complete and in perfect working order. He fires it up and ask me if I wanted to play Combat with him..."I'm pretty good at this, so don't get mad if I beat you" he said smiling.

If he only knew what was about to happen...about 5 minutes and a couple of tank games later, the poor fellow didn't score once. "Well you see that it works great!" He blasted out. I'm sure he was pissed that an 10 year old just kicked his butt! They exchanged money, and I went home a champion and owner of a new-to-me replacement Atari!

[Witchfynde]

Oh man, I'll have to think this one over through and through. I can't think of the "fondest" one right now, but at least "one of the best": a buddy of mine down the street called me one day saying he had gotten a new Atari game, which he was all excited, which I excitedly asked which one. He said Laser Blast. Sorry, been there, done that, made enough points to join the club/got the patch already...but then he said that, when he got home and opened it up, PITFALL 2 was inside!! Then he said his mom wanted to talk to my mom, and upon giving her the phone and I started to walk out of the room, the doorbell rang...and it was him with P2! That was fast!

 

Oh! Oh! I know: gettin' Asteroids. Another friend on the opposite side of the street was showing me her pet duck one day (really!), and I spotted something shiny partially concealed in the dirt. I dug it out, and it was a diamond, which her mom jumped for joy, since it was the stone of her wedding ring, and she had thought it was lost for good. She gave me some money for it, and I bought Asteroids.

 

I then called my best friend to brag about it, but he wasn't home, so I left a message with his sister, telling her to tell him I got it. A while later, he called back, asking "hey, you want to spend the night?" and I said "hah! I KNEW you'd do that once your sister told you I got Asteroids!" "YOU GOT ASTEROIDS?!"

 

That was a most excellent night, since his next door neighbor came over, and we were trying out several of the game variations, but the saucers were never coming out...and then one of us geniuses (not ME) read the instructions to the point where if you put the difficulty switch on A, THEN they'll come out...and wow, they looked and sounded really cool!! Great night, that was...

[Witchfynde]

I happen to have a horrible story and a great one all in one week. Our house was broke into one time, my Atari was among some of the things missing. (Least of my parents worries of course) Devastated, my folks took me out to replace it. This is the great part.

I believe we were at K-Mart talking with an employee. You know.."Yes, could you help us with getting one of those Ataris please."

As the employee started to get a box down, some guy shopping had overheard my parents. This guy approches my dad and said "I've got one at home I'll sell you, alot cheaper than buying from here." My Dad agreed, and we to this guys house. He wanted to show us it was complete and in perfect working order. He fires it up and ask me if I wanted to play Combat with him..."I'm pretty good at this, so don't get mad if I beat you" he said smiling.

If he only knew what was about to happen...about 5 minutes and a couple of tank games later, the poor fellow didn't score once. "Well you see that it works great!" He blasted out. I'm sure he was pissed that an 10 year old just kicked his butt! They exchanged money, and I went home a champion and owner of a new-to-me replacement Atari!

 

Hey, great story!

[The MilkMan]

Witchfynde, I love your line! "You're hurting my elbow!"

LOL, my friend and I use that line all the time to each other! Glad to see some else out there gets it!

[Garak]

My fondest Atari 2600 memory? Hmm, I'd have to say the Christmas day when I actually got an Atari 2600!

 

Garak

[Witchfynde]

Witchfynde, I love your line! "You're hurting my elbow!"

LOL, my friend and I use that line all the time to each other! Glad to see some else out there gets it!

 

heh heh

 

Funny video game commercials are the best!

[+DamonicFury]

Christmas morning, 1981

 

I was amazed beyond belief to get an Atari and the following 8 carts: Combat (of course), Asteroids, Space Invaders, Missile Command, Video Pinball, Video Olympics, Air-Sea Battle, and Night Driver. I was instantly (and apparently permanently!) addicted. :-) My early favorite was Missile Command, and it still ranks very high with me 300 carts later. :-)

[Zach]

Well since you asked,

 

Play testing Worm War I at the Sirius Software Lab here in Sacramento.

 

My uncle worked there. (Yes, I already asked him if he has any prototypes.) I seem to remember that the game was called Frenzy at that time, but that name was obviously taken for an arcade game.

 

Anyone else here who played a classic game before it was available to the public?

 

Zach

[dwh]

Paying for my copy of Berzerk with loose change;There was one pissed off store clerk and one happy atari fan.

also

When my father bought my brother and I a copy of pac-man,and we did not have the heart to tell him the game was crap.(what was the price then? $60?)

[Mind Master]

Having a weekly "Video Blowout" every friday night in my neighbor's basement. We'd turn all the lights off and play atari until our brains were boggled and all the week's stress dissipated.

 

That was followed by my playing atari solo early Saturday mornings in my own basement. It was pure Zen. It was there that I found Adventure's magic dot, saw the Warren Robinett screen and literally fell backwards out of my chair. I hadn't heard anything about the dot prior to discovering it.

[Godzilla]

The Electrionic Fun convention in New York in the 80s, I got to play Donald Duck's Speed Boat, and lots of other 2600 stuff I wish I could remember, as well as coleco, vectrex, etc. It was a really cool show. I loved the posted with the New York skyline turned into joysticks (they had a contest where you had to count the # of joysticks.) Kinda sad, the two biggest joysticks in that poster are gone now :-(

[joeybastard]

Opening up the gift from my brothers on Xmas morning of '81.. My mom couldn't afford the VCS but my brothers saved and chipped in and got me one. I'm the youngest so I think it was to pay me back for all of the beatings I took from them I only had Combat and Surround for like a year after getting it but I didn't care one bit.

[A2600]

My fondest memory was playing chopper commander for the first time this game became the first game I ever played on my dads VCS!! Back in '89

[Stein]

my fondest memories are of playing combat, air sea battle and raiders of the lost ark with my best buddy Eric (rip my friend) back in the day when the carts were new.

 

Stein

[Pixellated Ghost]

Anyone else here who played a classic game before it was available to the public?

 

I remember playing Tac Scan and Depthcharge (now called Sub Scan I think) for the Atari and the arcade Star Trek machine before public release.

[MrsMegaManFan]

Watching the look of sheer excitement on my husband's face the day we went over to my mother's house to pick up my old wood-grain Atari 2600. It had been in her basement for over 10-12 years, secured in a plastic bin with an old dust cover on it. It's in such good condition - looked like it came right out of the box!

 

It's almost as old as I am, and it still plays beautifully - better than any other classic system in our house!

[Joe Siegler]

One of my favorites was going to the local department store with my brother before we had an Atari and standing in the store and playing Combat for hours.

[Ed Siegler]

I have to agree. We'd spend the afternoon there, go home and inhale dinner, only to go back and play again.

[Video]

Well, obviously getting an Atari in 77 was awesome (only combat that came with it though, but it was a great party game) But for fondest memories, I'd have to say that goes to Decathalon. Me and my friends would play that for hours (well into the mid nineties too) And we went through a lot of joystics playing it also. What a great game. Got summer olympics sometime in the nineties, and played that a lot too.