It’s Christmas Day! Merry Christmas! (If you’re listening to this in, like, June, then, um, happy Tuesday or whatever.) Here’s a brand new, shiny yuletide package of pod-goodness from me to you. And maybe, just maybe, if I’ve been a good little podcaster, there’ll be a new game under my audio tree. But what game will it be….? It’s a Chrismystery! So ignore your relatives for thirty-eight minutes or so and come find out! My thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Reformat”, “Take a Chance”... Read More

This week, episode 48 of the podcast is going to the dark side. In fairness, it wasn’t a long journey given life in late 2016. But it’s all good because we’re celebrating the release of STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE by playing the 1983 Parker Brothers game STAR WARS: JEDI ARENA.  You versus a fellow Jedi in a fast-moving battle of light saber on light saber action. If this is not the droid game you’re looking for…moving along. But not until after you listen to this episode. My thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Pinball Spring”,... Read More

CHRISTMASTIME IS HERE…HAPPINESS AND CHEER! Well, here it is. Episode 8 has dropped faster than Santa coming down your chimney. For many, it’s not Christmas until “A Charlie Brown Christmas” appears on their screens. Here at the podcast, we feel the same. We do a deep dive into the 1965 classic that almost didn’t happen. Is the special more of a spectacle like a great, big, shiny aluminum Christmas tree, or is it more of an unassuming little twig of a tree that, with a little love, becomes a full, proud, symbol of the season? The Peanuts shorts airing on Cartoon Network... Read More

This week on the show, we plummet into the abyss and hope the parachute opens. It’s like life, really. Our focus is Atari’s 1979 port of the class arcade game SKY DIVER. As you plummet to the ground from a zooming plane hoping to hit the tiny landing pad, you’ll wish you had that golden parachute. That’s dumb, of course, since a gold parachute would be way too heavy and you’d crash to the ground like a bag of wet sand. Maybe it’s best if you just stay in the plane and order another drink. My thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use... Read More

You know how sometimes people say “this isn’t your father’s…whatever” to imply that the version of that thing YOU have is way cooler than what YOUR DAD had? Well, this week on the show, we talk about your father’s whatever. That sounds weird. I’ll explain. The focus this week is Atari’s 1980 port of the 1978 arcade classic SPACE INVADERS. When pong clones (soon to be a BBC series starring Tatiana Maslany) killed the video game market in 1977, an invasion of aliens marched in lock-step to bring the market back. SPACE INVADERS became so closely identified... Read More

This week on Atari Bytes, we’re burnin’ down the house! Well, burnin’ down a skyscraper anyway. Also, technically, we’re supposed to be saving the building. Would have been nice to know that sooner. Our focus is the 1982 U.S. Games production TOWERING INFERNO, which may or may not be based on the 1974 classic disaster film “The Towering Inferno”. (Pick whichever enhances your enjoyment of the experience.) In the game, you are a firefighter braving relentless flames, going floor-by-floor searching for survivors. I don’t want to brag about my firefighting... Read More

A funny thing happened on the way to the podcast, this week… We intended to do Codebreaker, as announced on the last episode. Turns out, though, that you need keypads to play it. This is a problem inasmuch as I didn’t know Atari keypads existed. Fear not! Armed with this knowledge, Codebreaker will appear in a future episode. Instead, we’ve got one of the original nine Atari games: 1977’s AIR SEA BATTLE. This is a good time for a game based on conflict given that November 2016 has seen SO LITTLE conflict in American life. Oh well. It’s play time! My thanks to Kevin... Read More

November! America is busy gorging itself on turkey gravy while celebrating/mourning the recent U.S. elections (you might have heard about that) and, of course, giving thanks for all that we have, even if that’s a little harder these days. This month, we’re watching YOU’RE NOT ELECTED, CHARLIE BROWN from 1972 and THIS IS AMERICA, CHARLIE BROWN: THE MAYFLOWER VOYAGERS from 1988. Grab another slice of pumpkin pie and give us a listen, won’t you? My thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Mining by Moonlight” and “Bass... Read More

Adventure has one name and that name is…James Bond. Wait. That’s not it. What is it again? *Whip cracks* Oh, right. Adventure has one name and that name is INDIANA JONES. This week, we’re off to Cairo as we race Nazis to get to the fabled lost ark first in Atari’s 1982 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK adaptation. Also, Henry has a snack. So there’s that. Join us if you dare. But fair warning: there will be snakes. Bonus points if you can hear my dog snoring on the audio. (Sorry ’bout that.) My thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs... Read More

Mega! Mega-mania! it’s gonna drive you insane! Not really. if it does, maybe you should dial it back a bit. BUT…the 1982 Activision (we love us some Activision!) game MEGAMANI is tons of crazy fun. (Spoiler: I really like this game.) It’s our focus on this meaning-of-life-defining episode 42 (That’s for you Douglas Adams fans) and we are crazy excited to get to it. Maniacal even! Join us, won’t you? My thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Reformat”, “Pinball Spring” and “Take a Chance”. Atari... Read More