Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is getting an expanded edition
Atari has announced a new expanded edition of Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, adding 39 new games to the collection.
Developed along with Digital Eclipse, the 2022 release is going to be called Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Expanded Edition, and will add those 39 new games along with two new timelines. It’ll be coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, PS4, PlayStation 5, and the Atari VCS on October 25th.
There will also be a physical release for Nintendo Switch and PS5 which will “include a Steelbook version for Nintendo Switch, which will come with Atari 2600 art cards, miniature arcade marquee signs, an Al Alcorn Replica Syzygy Co. business card and a Steelbook case. The standard version will retail for $39.99 USD and the steelbook will retail for $49.99 USD.”
The Wider World of Atari timeline, which includes 19 playable games and eight video segments, takes a series of deep dives into stories from Atari history, showing how Atari continued to influence creators and fans over the decades. New interviews, vintage ads, historical artifacts, and more have all been researched and presented with Digital Eclipse’s signature style. Highlights from the new timeline include a deep dive into Stern Electronics’ robot-blasting Berzerk; unusual and underappreciated innovations and hidden gems from the late 1980s; a spotlight on the artist Evelyn Seto, who helped create the iconic “Fuji” Atari logo; Pong creator Al Alcorn explaining the birth of Breakout; and an exploration of the fan base’s role in discovering unreleased prototypes, creating “homebrew” games, and preserving Atari history.
The First Console War timeline, which includes 20 playable games and half-dozen video segments, tells the story of the first major console war in the gaming industry between the Atari 2600 and Mattel’s Intellivision. The team at Digital Eclipse curates an exploration of the rivalry, including Mattel’s quixotic decision to create games for the competing Atari 2600. Highlights include a selection of M Network games, including some fan-favorites; a mix of Atari and M Network sports games, and some rare Atari 2600 and 5200 prototypes. New interview features include former Intellivision game director Don Daglow, M Network programmer Jane Terjung, Activision’s David Crane and Garry Kitchen, homebrew programmer Dennis Debro, and historians Leonard Herman and Mike Mika.
The new timelines and games will also be offered to owners of the original collection as downloadable content “later this year”, says Atari.
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Expanded Edition is coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, PS4, PlayStation 5, and the Atari VCS on October 25th.
