Order of Third-Party Publishers

[NovaXpress]

We still need to sort out the history of what games were released when. I've been trying to sort out when various companies hit the shelves as a starting point.

 

Activision began in 1980.

Apollo released Skeet Shoot for Xmas 81

Parker Bros released Empire Strikes back in early 1982 (approx April/May?)

CommaVid was on the shelves sometime in summer 82.

Imagic and Coleco released 2600 games in early fall of 1982

In late 82 the floodgates opened: I saw Fox, Data Age, SpectraVideo, M Network, and Mystique.

 

I can't figure out where it went from there or who I might be leaving out.

[+Omegamatrix]

Looking at my CBS carts I think that they came out in '82. A lot of them have two dates as they are liscensed games.

 

Edit: I forgot about Konami. They are an important company as they went on to be so prominent afterwards. My Strategy X is from ‘81, which is the earliest cart.

Edited January 12, 2006 by Omegamatrix

[+Random Terrain]

The sad thing is that I'm starting not to care.

[NovaXpress]

Isn't 1981 the copyright for the arcade Strategy X? Im sure it wasn't out for home in 81.

 

CBS would have been out for fall 82 as well.

[+Omegamatrix]

Isn't 1981 the copyright for the arcade Strategy X? Im sure it wasn't out for home in 81.

 

CBS would have been out for fall 82 as well.

998612[/snapback]

What I'm going by is just the copyright my 2600 cart. It only has the one date. Pooyan has '82 on its label, and Marine Wars '83. I hope that helps in any way, Nova.

[NovaXpress]

We've learned in the past that copyright dates do not equal release dates, so it's hard to tell when games were released without documentation or from memory. I hope that there are more memories than mine available. It seems that I'm usually the only one around who remembers that stuff in detail. I must have really been Atari obsessed. I remember the order in which I acquired my games. I can remember the stores I first saw games in, pictures burned into my mind more vividly than last weekend is.

 

But we all know that memory isn't perfect, we can have entirely fictional experiences which we remember as if they were real. Wires can get crossed. There's got to be more people who were as obsessed back then as I was. I still can't believe that we haven't found relase date records. I saw that these things existed, in great detail down to the day of release. I saw them at Sears and at Circus World (the retro version of KB) and someone had to have grabbed a couple. I remember the one I saw in the Spring of 82, which told me about the Hot Rox/Graves Manor name changes and the license of ROTLA months before the game magazines were able to report it.

 

So you futrure archivists of classic-systems-to-come, grab the release dates while you can, or you'll never catch up. It's probably too late for the NES people already.

 

Anyway . . .

US Games had Space Jockey out by Spring 82, followed by their next 4 games in the fall.

 

I have no recall of seeing Konami games until 83, but that might have just been the case in Ohio.

[Rom Hunter]

Check my ROM list:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=80985

 

You won't get a better reference anywhere.

 

If you can proof that the info on this list is incorrect, please do!

 

Edited January 12, 2006 by Rom Hunter

[NovaXpress]

Sorry, RH. You're using copyright dates which have nothing to do with release dates.

 

Example: you have Pac-Man as 1981 when we know it was released in 82.

 

Add Arcadia and Sega to the list of 82 companies. Sega got Tac-Scan and Sub-Scan out right before Xmas.

[NovaXpress]

I'm now thinking this way, in probable order:

 

Activision (what month? 80) with Dragster

Apollo (late 81) with Skeet Shoot

Mystique (what month? 82) with Custer's Revenge

US Games (what month? 82) with Space Jockey

Parker Bros (April 82) with Empire Strikes Back

Comma-Vid (what month? 82) with Cosmic Swarm *Im not counting mail order now*

Imagic (July 82) with Demon Attack/Trick Shot/Star Voyager (first multiple launch!)

Coleco (August 82) with Donkey Kong

Spectravideo (what month? 82) with five titles

Arcadia (what month? 82) with five titles

M Network (what month? 82) with 12 titles

Fox (what month? 82) with Beany Bopper/Fast Eddie/Deadly Duck/Worm War I

Data Age (December 82) with five titles

Sega (December 1982) with Tac-Scan/Sub-Scan

 

At least twelve new publishers debut in one year? More than I expected.

Edited January 12, 2006 by NovaXpress

[Rom Hunter]

Sorry, RH. You're using copyright dates which have nothing to do with release dates.

 

Example: you have Pac-Man as 1981 when we know it was released in 82.

 

Add Arcadia and Sega to the list of 82 companies. Sega got Tac-Scan and Sub-Scan out right before Xmas.

998847[/snapback]

As a matter of fact, I do use release dates.

 

The five Atari games, I'm still uncertain of are:

 

Defender

Haunted House

Pac-Man

Super Breakout

Yars' Revenge

 

That's because of this 1981 catalog:

 

http://www.atarimania.com/det_cat.php?EDIT...&CATALOGUE_ID=3

 

Although in the introduction is stated that some (not what) games in this catalog are available in the first half of 1982, you will understand my doubt now.

 

Didn't knew about SEGA's Sub-Scan and Tac-Scan, though.

 

[NovaXpress]

As a matter of fact, I do use release dates.

It looks like you use copyright dates unless there is evidence otherwise, which is the way to go. Here's those missing pieces:

 

Defender - June 82

Haunted House - July/August 82

Pac-Man - March 82

Super Breakout - released by Sears September 81/by Atari January 82

Yars' Revenge - May 82

 

As far as Konami goes, no way did they release Strategy X in 1981. That would have been news in the three big magazines. I can find no mention of Konami as even a potential developer until 1983 magazines.

[Rom Hunter]

As a matter of fact, I do use release dates.

It looks like you use copyright dates unless there is evidence otherwise, which is the way to go. Here's those missing pieces:

 

Defender - June 82

Haunted House - July/August 82

Pac-Man - March 82

Super Breakout - released by Sears September 81/by Atari January 82

Yars' Revenge - May 82

 

As far as Konami goes, no way did they release Strategy X in 1981. That would have been news in the three big magazines. I can find no mention of Konami as even a potential developer until 1983 magazines.

998865[/snapback]

Thanks for the info, NovaXpress.

I will correct this.

 

It's funny you mention Konami, because I too don't believe that their three games were spread over three (!) years of release.

 

What about Gakken?

 

[NovaXpress]

I don't know what really happened on the 2600 front after 1982 because I was very into my Atari 800 at that point.

[+Omegamatrix]

What is Gakken? I see the PAL cart for Strategy X has Gakken instead of Konami. Is that just Konami's name in Europe?

[NovaXpress]

Haunted House would actually be February 82. We had a huge thread about a year ago in which we sorted out all the 1982 Atari releases.

Edited January 12, 2006 by NovaXpress

[Rom Hunter]

What is Gakken? I see the PAL cart for Strategy X has Gakken instead of Konami. Is that just Konami's name in Europe?

998873[/snapback]

Yep.

 

[Foxsolo2000]

Gakken released their three titles close together. I am sure they all came out in late 83, at least in the UK

[DanBoris]

We've learned in the past that copyright dates do not equal release dates, so it's hard to tell when games were released without documentation or from memory. I hope that there are more memories than mine available. It seems that I'm usually the only one around who remembers that stuff in detail. I must have really been Atari obsessed. I remember the order in which I acquired my games. I can remember the stores I first saw games in, pictures burned into my mind more vividly than last weekend is.

 

I was thinking about the problem of figuring out release dates recently. I think the only way to really figure this out is to create a database of "evidence" for the release date of each game. This evidence could include:

 

- Copyright dates

- Year of a catalog that it first appeared in

- Info from old videogame magazine (e.g. "Activision plans to release a new game called Pitfall this Summer")

- Apperences of ads in magazines

etc.

 

No one of these items can truely determine the date, but taken as a group it would allow you to narrow the date range down.

 

Dan

[+Random Terrain]

As I say on this page, June was the official release date for Defender, but it was in stores where I lived by May 17, 1982. It was early.

Edited December 17, 2007 by Random Terrain

[Rom Hunter]

We've learned in the past that copyright dates do not equal release dates, so it's hard to tell when games were released without documentation or from memory. I hope that there are more memories than mine available. It seems that I'm usually the only one around who remembers that stuff in detail. I must have really been Atari obsessed. I remember the order in which I acquired my games. I can remember the stores I first saw games in, pictures burned into my mind more vividly than last weekend is.

 

I was thinking about the problem of figuring out release dates recently. I think the only way to really figure this out is to create a database of "evidence" for the release date of each game. This evidence could include:

 

- Copyright dates

- Year of a catalog that it first appeared in

- Info from old videogame magazine (e.g. "Activision plans to release a new game called Pitfall this Summer")

- Apperences of ads in magazines

etc.

 

No one of these items can truely determine the date, but taken as a group it would allow you to narrow the date range down.

 

Dan

That's exactly what I've been doing, Dan.

But there are still some gaps.

 

For example: I still don't know in which year Telegames (not Sears) started with releasing 'their' Atari 2600 range of games.

I contacted them several times, but they don't even know what I'm talking about.