Atari Games
Arcade division
Atari Games continued Atari's arcade legacy after the company split, creating classics like Gauntlet, Paperboy, and the Hard Drivin' series throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.
When Atari split in 1984, the arcade division became Atari Games (later Midway Games West). Free from the home console market’s collapse, they continued innovating in arcades—pioneering polygon graphics, creating genre-defining titles, and maintaining Atari’s reputation for technical excellence well into the 3D era.
Fast facts
- Founded: 1984 (Atari split).
- Location: Milpitas, California.
- Later name: Midway Games West.
- Closure: 2003.
Notable arcade releases
| Title | Year | Innovation |
|---|---|---|
| Marble Madness | 1984 | Trackball, FM sound |
| Gauntlet | 1985 | Four-player co-op |
| Paperboy | 1985 | Unique gameplay |
| Hard Drivin’ | 1989 | Polygon racing |
| S.T.U.N. Runner | 1989 | Tube racing |
Technical firsts
| Game | Achievement |
|---|---|
| Marble Madness | Yamaha FM synthesis |
| I, Robot | Filled polygon graphics |
| Hard Drivin’ | Realistic driving physics |
Gauntlet legacy
| Feature | Influence |
|---|---|
| Four players | Multiplayer standard |
| Character classes | Role variety |
| Coin-per-health | Continuous payment model |
| Voice synthesis | “Elf needs food badly” |
Hard Drivin’ series
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Hard Drivin’ | 1989 |
| Race Drivin’ | 1990 |
| Steel Talons | 1991 |
Tengen controversy
| Issue | Details |
|---|---|
| NES publishing | Unlicensed cartridges |
| Legal battles | Nintendo lawsuit |
| Tengen brand | Atari Games subsidiary |
Tengen, dated
The section above describes the Tengen dispute. The period press carried it as it resolved, and the dates and figures are worth fixing in place.
ACE, January 1990:
Nintendo has just won its long court battle with Tengen over [Tetris]. Nintendo now has exclusive rights to this addictive game — after some confusion over what company had what rights. Although this Nintendo vs Tengen court battle is over, there is still another $100 million lawsuit between the two companies — this time over alleged patent infringement. The final judgment in this case will be in the New Year.
Two separate actions, then: the Tetris rights, lost by the turn of 1990, and a $100 million patent suit over the lockout hardware still outstanding. See Nintendo for the platform-control regime both were fought over.
The shape of it is worth stating plainly. Atari Games was suing, and being sued by, the company whose console had displaced its parent. The arcade division that survived the 1984 split spent the end of the decade in court against Nintendo over the right to publish on Nintendo’s machine at all.
Keeping the Lynx alive
A footnote that complicates the antagonism, and it is in the same magazine nine months later.
ACE, October 1990, surveying the console market, on Atari’s handheld: software “is very scarce — Tengen is the only software developer really supporting the Lynx. Conversions of Paperboy, Klax and Vindicators are on their way before Christmas.”
So while Tengen and Nintendo were in litigation, Tengen was also the only publisher keeping the Atari Lynx supplied — with conversions of Atari Games’ own coin-ops. The arcade division was, by 1990, simultaneously the console division’s last software partner and the industry’s most persistent litigant.