Atari; Game Over: Impressions

I just finished watching the Videogame documentary: Atari: Game Ovef, which was was a little over an hour in length, and was chock full of information for such a short amount of time. It did in some ways follow King iof Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, although it was based more on the company,rather than the hindsight of the E.T. cartridge, which was supposedly what was buried in the landfill in New Mexico. 

   Still, it was fun to watch, and although not much to go on,MIT was really on an hour in length,and it did pretty much repeat a good portion of information that most gamers, especially the hardcore brand,would know already about Atari, and it's inevitable downfall, especially with the burial of cartridges being almost symbolic burial site of the company itself, that faltered realit very fast after the release of the E.T. game in 1983. Still, with-that faltering,MIT gave rise to so many major companies to come upward for the garages of the Midwest. Apple computers would come from out of the rubble of Atari's demise, challenging another contender in the computer industry: Microsoft. Nintendo would eventually take the American market in 1985, Sega following in the late eighties, early nineties, and of course the rest is history still be written today with the great console wars today, which will continue this June with E 3. It's amazing to see thwt Atari was a billion dollar industry, holding over 80% of the market share unchallenged by legitmate competition, and that may have also been a major part of it's downfall, as today all companies seem to stay stable in this wretched market. Still, we can go over the reasons behind Atwri's downfall, it wasn't because of one game, bad, good, or legendary. I must admit thought for this document Gary,the ending was a bit of a letdown, and I'd hsve loved to hsve seen a true rebutle from the seizure of all the findings from out of the NM dump, which a paper fly was not just filled with E.T. Cartridges, but had many of the top-selling content from the Atsri 2600. Atari didn't bury their company, nor hide Warshaw's game, sometimes labeled as the worst game ever made. The company's biggest urban legend is rather mundane, and sadly so, because the legend was far more exciting than the actual reasons behind the major dumping of so many cartridges. Did I like the film, as a gaming fan? Maybe it was a bit over dramatized, like every honest documentary made these days, but I found it a rather enjoyable story, and a major part of our history, and many people still seem to care about our entertainment, and many still question why we care so much about technology, entertainment, or otherwise. Yet we host courses on the history of television, radio, and even higher-functioning computer technology. Video game history is still given a bit of the rub, even though it is perhaps one of the hardest things to design, code, and implement, especially in today's growing technological monstrosities, where even V.R. is being utilized to the point of fully immersing the senses into a whole other world. 

      I don't care much about the utilization of this technology, nor how we can all write volumes on these topics of video game importance, and hold enough symposiums to fill every major and minor football stadium in America ten times over. The point is Atari was one of the first to utilize gaming into the home, they wre definitely the most successful video game console specifically designed for video games, (the Commodore 64 was the flagship, no pun intended, computer to make PCs fashionable and mains am in the modern American home.) and prove that engineers and developers could create AAA title games before the concept of AAA was even invented. Atari was a company thwt worked, played, even vacationed harder than any other, and it was the story of both their success, and their inevitable downfall. Atari did however taste or to come back in the late 90s with the creation of the Atari Jaguar, but this was sort of a poor time for gaming, as the Saturn, a Sega CD, and the awaiting development of the new Nintendo console were creating a drought in the gaming market. Only when Sony with their Playstation console did the actual competition for gaming begin again with a birth of a fifth console war, and a precursor to PC gaming becoming a marker for competing with the consoles once again. Also this was the era in-which arcades declined with the introduction of online gaming via the Sega Dreamcasf, and the Playstation 2 to shortly follow. Still, technology-wise, all these systems hold Atari in favor of being the reason why gaming exploded, and the irony of it all is we without Atari crashing and burning so majestically as it had,mew would probably not have the immense competition in the market,including games on iPads and even our phones as we do today. I do find it incredible though, thwt we now have the ability to play games like Centipede, Frogger, Space Invaders, and even Asteroids on nearly any device, and it's seen as an historical experience, not even nostalgic.

       I admired this documentary, and I recommend to all of you out there who see hardcore gaming fans, and even those who see E.T. The Extraterrestrial fans to even tune in and see it, because I was absolutely enjoying every minute, up to the end, and even so, it's not a whole waste of one's time, so enjoy! 

   One last thing: my co-host for the EntroPhenom Show, Edgar Holves and I are thinking of making some huge improvements to the show, where it will be run weekly, not some randomly done show at some randomly done time. I'm hoping to see some great improvements on it from all sides, so you, the listeners,will get a better experience every time. Up until now, we have been testing the waters,getting the timing down,and learning the craft of what it takes to make this show better. Both myself and Edgar are big proponents of making sure that you, the fans are acknowledge, and appreciated for every listen you give to us, and we want nothing less than to make sure you are given the highest caliber of quality and enjoyment for every minute you stream our show, or listen live. 

  So within a few weeks I'll be making an announcement here on the Malacast Editorial, and both of us will be making announcements all across Twitter as well about just what will be happening on the show, the changes we will be making, and assuring that those who tuned In already would not be losing out on what they like, rather gaining even more content than ever before. 

    So please stay updated here every Monday (Friday if I miss out on Monday Blogs) for more posts, more information on the show, and a host of more reviews, previews, and just plain old let-downs in the Digital Age here on the Malacast Editorial. 

Twitter: Malacast Agent: twitter.com/mcasteditorial or @mcasteditorial

            Edgar Holves: Twitter.com/FunNYFisherman or @FunNYFisherman

Or you can e-mail me directly: mcasteditorial@yahoo.com. 

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