Asteroids - Videogame by Atari

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Asteroids

Name: Asteroids
Developer: Atari

Year: 1979
Type: Videogame

Class: Wide Release
Genre: Space
Monitor:

Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Vector
CRT: Black and White
19-inch Electrohome G05-802/805

Conversion Class: unique
Game Specific: Asteroids Pinout
Settings: Asteroids Dipswitch Settings

Number of Simultaneous Players: 1
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Alternating
Control Panel Layout: Single Player
Controls:

Buttons: Rotational (left, right)
Buttons: 3 [FireThrustHyperspace]

Sound: Unamplified Mono (requires one-channel amp)

Cabinet Styles:

Upright/Standard (262 Pounds - TNT Amusements)
Cocktail
Cabaret/Mini

Click here to contribute another image.

Asteroids 3-D Model (QuickTime (TM))
Asteroids Bezel ImageAsteroids Control Panel ImageAsteroids PCB Image

Asteroids Description

Your 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!

Asteroids was produced by Atari in 1979.

Atari released 139 different machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1972.

Other machines made by Atari during the time period Asteroids was produced include Hercules, Superman, Atari Basketball, Atari Soccer, Atari Baseball, Sky Raider, Fire Truck, Avalanche, Orbit, and Skydiver.

Asteroids - KLOV/IAM 5 Point User Score: 3.96 (35 votes)

Personal Impressions Score: 4.15

     Overall 'Like': 4.33
     Fun (Social): 3.64
     Fun (Solo): 4.12
     Collector Desire: 4.21

Technical Impressions Score: 3.94

     Gameplay: 4.35
     Graphics: 3.88
     Originality: 4.48
     Sound/Music: 3.44

Personal Impressions and Technical Impressions each account for half of the total score. Within the Personal Impressions category, "Like" carries a little more weight than the other factors.

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Cabinet Information

The 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.

Cabinet Style Weights and Measures

Type
Upright/Standard (262 Pounds - TNT Amusements)
Cocktail
Cabaret/Mini

Cheats, Tricks, Bugs, and Easter Eggs

The 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 Play

The 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.

Miscellaneous

Play a free version of Asteroids at the official Atari site: http://www.atari.com/arcade/asteroids.

Asteroids is available on the iPad and iPhone via Atari's Greatest Hits application.

VAPS Arcade/Coin-Op Asteroids Census

There are 12,007 members of the Video Arcade Preservation Society / Vintage Arcade Preservation Society, 9,523 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 161,736 machines (6,804 unique titles).

Very Common - There are approximately 1152 known instances of this machine presumably owned by our current and past members. More are likely owned by non-members. 476 of these machines are owned by our active Asteroids collectors. And of these, 433 are original dedicated machines, 2 are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet, and 41 are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

For Sale - There are 17 active VAPS members with Asteroids machines for sale. There are 2 active VAPS members with extra Asteroids circuit boards for sale.

Wanted - Popular - There are 16 active VAPS members currently looking for Asteroids.

At any given time, our active members are listing on VAPS on average of 4,400 games they are looking for, and 3,600 games for sale.

This game ranks a 96 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.

This game ranks a 53 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often wanted, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records.

Rarity and Popularity independently are NOT necessarily indications of value. [More Information]

Technical

The 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.

Trivia

After 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.

Legacy

Asteroids (1979)
Asteroids Deluxe (1980)
Space Duel (1982)
Blasteroids (1987)

Manuals

Asteroids - Atari Service Bulletin B-0063 1 Pages, 110 kB File.
German Manual 36 Pages, 10 MB File.
Operation, Maintenance and Service Manual with illustrated parts lists 47 Pages, 4.1 MB File.
Operation, Maintenance and Service Manual with illustrated parts lists (2) 42 Pages, 3.9 MB File.
Drawing Package Supplement 8 Pages, 638 kB File.
Schematics 8 Pages, 611 kB File.
Schematics (2) 8 Pages, 842 kB File.
Schematics (3) 8 Pages, 739 kB File.
Schematics (4) 8 Pages, 2.7 MB File.

Foto-Finder® (books)

Arcade Treasures, Kurtz (ISBN 088740619X): Page: 103; Color photo; Price guide: 1994
The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games, Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256): Page: 75; Color photo;
Arcade Fever, Sellers (ISBN 0762409371): Page: 38; Color photo; Price guide:
Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games, Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256): Page: 75; Color photo; Price guide:

Video Clips

Asteroids

VINTAGE 1980 ATARI ASTEROIDS DELUXE COCKTAIL arcade game

See Recent Video Links Added to Other Records

Additional References
(logged in members often see more)

The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #66
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #67
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #1381
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #2845
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #3558
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #5113
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #4384
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #5021
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #5967
The Arcade Flyer Archive (TAFA): Asteroids Flyer #2273

eBay Listings

Click to search eBay for Asteroids Videogame machines and related items.

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*TODAY'S PICKS FOR:
Asteroids

	1. asteroids arcade machine Auction ends in: 3 weeks, 1 day
	FixedPrice	$250.00
	2. asteroids deluxe arcade Game, Atari 1980 Auction ends in: 3 weeks, 4 days
	FixedPrice	$1,400.00
	3. Atari Asteroids Deluxe PCB. *Untested* Auction ends in: 2 days, 9 hours
	Auction	$55.00
	4. 1979 original asteroids arcade machine Atari Classic Vintage Nostalgia Game Auction ends in: 3 weeks, 5 days
	FixedPrice	$1,200.00
	5. New Wave Toys Replicade Asteroids SOLD OUT LIMITED NEW SEALED Auction ends in: 10 hours, 52 minutes
	Auction	$300.00
	6. Asteroids Deluxe Orginal Control Panel Auction ends in: 2 weeks, 5 days
	FixedPrice	$50.00
	7. NEW ARCADE 1UP ASTEROIDS PARTY - CADE 8-In-1 RETRO NEW FREE SHIPPING FAMILY FUN Auction ends in: 3 weeks, 3 days
	FixedPrice	$319.99
	8. asteroids arcade shelf display (show it off ) gameroom decor Auction ends in: 2 weeks, 2 days
	FixedPrice	$32.99
	9. RARE WORKING 1979 ATARI ASTEROIDS ARCADE GAME - LOCAL PICK UP ONLY Auction ends in: 3 days, 7 hours
	FixedPrice	$1,500.00
	10. Asteroids Arcade1up PCB and control deck Auction ends in: 13 hours, 29 minutes
	Auction	$49.00
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