 |
4,673 Videogames: 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Manufacturers | Top 100 Videogames | See All 18,098 International Arcade Museum coin-operated listings
|
| Do you happen to be in Las Vegas this weekend, August 1-2, 2010, and do you like classic games? Check out the Classic Gaming Expo 2010 show. Also in Vegas (permenantly) is the Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame. |
|
Manufacturer:
Atari Year: 1979 Class: Wide Release Genre: Space Type: Videogame Monitor:
Number of Simultaneous Players: 1 Maximum number of Players: 2 Gameplay: Alternating Control Panel Layout: Single Player Controls:
Sound: Unamplified Mono (requires one-channel amp) |
|
Asteroids DescriptionYour space craft is dangerously situated among fast moving asteroids in an asteroid belt that can destroy your ship on contact. Armed with a front mounted weapon and the ability to hyperspace, you fly through the debris, destroying each rock one piece at a time. Alien saucers visit the playfield from time to time with an eye towards destroying your ship!Cabinet InformationThe first Asteroids cabinets used a different coin-door. The quarters were placed through one of two round openings (large enough for the quarter to fit through). The quarter is placed flat against a wall just inside the opening and released. The quarter drops down for a credit. The display showing the cost of a credit is labeled between the two coin openings. The lettering describing the game play is also in yellow (instead of white) on the monitor overlay. The picture of the Asteroids cabinet at the top of this page is one of these first machines.Cheats, Tricks and BugsThe original version of the game had a feature that allowed the player to hide their ship in the score field indefinitely without being hit by flying asteroids.Game PlayThe most famous play tactic for Asteroids is the "hunting" strategy. The player destroys all asteroids except for one that almost clears the playfield and makes it relatively safe. This allows the player to hunt for alien saucers without worrying about being smashed by a lot of flying debris.MiscellaneousPlay a free version of Asteroids at the official Atari site: http://www.atari.com/arcade/asteroids.CAPS/VAPS Arcade CensusThere are 6,862 members of the Classic Arcade Preservation Society / Video Arcade Preservation Society, 3,937 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 64,459 machines (3,753 unique titles).Very Common - There are 423 known instances of this machine owned by Asteroids collectors. Of these, 391 of them are original dedicated machines, 3 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet, and 29 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired. This game ranks a 96 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records. Wanted - Popular - There are 19 VAPS members currently looking for Asteroids. There is one VAPS member looking for a Asteroids circuit board set. This game ranks a 53 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records. For Sale - There are 21 VAPS members with Asteroids machines for sale. There is one VAPS member with an extra Asteroids circuit board for sale. VAPS members are totally independent of VAPS and the International Arcade Museum, and we are unable to recommend, endorce, or guarantee any person or company selling games or game parts.
TechnicalThe Wells-Gardner 19V2000 black and white vector monitor is a direct plug-in replacement monitor for an Asteroids machine. The pinout is almost identical to Asteroids Deluxe.TriviaAfter its release in the US, many arcade operators had to make larger coin boxes for the games so they could hold all of the quarters that these machines collected.LegacyManuals
Foto-Finder™ (books)
|
© 1995-2010 by The International Arcade Museum®. All rights reserved. Portions © 2009-2010 by The International Arcade Museum Library, Inc.
If you wish to use material from our web sites, please take a look at our Acceptable Use, Copyright, and Trademark Page.
Except as described on that page, any use of the information found here may not be copied or reprinted on any medium, either physical or electronic, without the express written
permission of The International Arcade Museum.
