I can't remember any Atari commercials on German television back then. This one at least gives some information about what Yar's Revenge is all about. I loved the game for its video and audio effects, but I never knew "the story behind" it.
This commercial still holds up well, especially in a post indie retro game age. This makes the aging 2600 (pushing 5 years old at the time) seem much more advanced than it actually was. This was produced by Abel and Associates and specialized in 3D animation. They also did special effects for Tron. This is easily one of the best videogame ads ever made and Atari was smart to hire them to make it. Absolutely genius in production.
Star Raiders came out in 1979. It was an amazing game for its day. The 3D graphics were the first of its kind I ever saw. I saw a guy playing this in a shop in the early 80's. My jaw was on the floor.
i'm surprised how amazing those graphics are from the early eighties!! awesome commercial for Atari!! even though i was a kid from the nineties, i can really appreciate the awesome-ish culture from the seventies and eighties!! and i wonder why my parents thought it was strange...oh well, excuse me while i play some Yar's Revenge on my mobile phone!! :3
Star Raiders on the Atari 800 - astonishing! It was SO FAR ahead of everything else. I'm amazed that Atari could create something so sophisticated and complex, back when the VCS was still state-of-the-art. The 2600 version never really could compete. The Atari 800 version was the true Star Raiders. Atari Interactive really ought to re-release it on PC.
When I bought Atari cartridges back in the day, Yars' Revenge was the one that I had to read up on the most. It's one of the more unusual games for the old Atari system, but it always gives the player a good challenge; and with the threatening qotile, plus a programmed destroyer missile following you around, you must utilize the vertical wraparound feature on the screen in order to survive. I long for the day when this, Star Raiders, and other Atari classics become available for PCs.
I saw a different version of this on TV some years ago, and have the audio on cassette tape. Different voice. Pacific Data did the CGI for this spot shown in movie theaters at the time.
Hard to believe how far technology has came in 15 years... Isn't the sound effect when the galactic map is coming up on the screen from the Star Trek movie transporter?
You're quite right. The version of Star Raiders I saw was on an Atari 8 bit computer. It wouldn't have been an 800. They weren't out when I saw it. I should have made that clear in my comment. The version I saw was on an Atari computer, not the 2600. Before that day, I had only seen console games like Space Invaders, often not very good version at that. Star Raiders was the first ever game I saw that you could buy for a machine at home that kicked ass. There was nothing else even close.
No question I spent more time on Star Raiders than probably any other cartridge game, that one was quite fun, I think I'd play it today actually it was so good ;)
One thing I never understood... is Yar the fly who runs around and 'eats' the shield and then fires the cannon thing, or is Yar the skull thing inside the shield who you're up against?
Was this the same computer programmer who was planting vegetables and saw a centipede scurrying through his garden, inspiring him to design another game?
This commercial played before RETURN OF THE JEDI in theaters.... I saw it when I was 13.... and it proves everyone who played Atari used their imagination. Games aren't about framerates or graphics or music..... they are about challenges.... which Atari has. Have you played one today???
Hey! Sound effects from Wrath of Khan! Heh heh. This is an interesting film. They really romanticized the game developer in the early 80s. People of all ages were enchanted by Atari and the new computer revolution. It was all so alien and new, like something out of Star Trek. I don't know if a younger person today can understand how revolutionary computers were in the early '80s. Ah, the good ol' days, when videogames were for everyone, young and old. Everyone was a gamer.
My Stelladaptor is F'ing awesome! Best money I ever spent, considering how much I play retro games. I LOVE emulators! I have every one, up to like, Sega Saturn (and ALL the software). That's as modern as I want. I have ALL the Atari's. I like Intellivision too. Oh, MESS is an AWESOME emulator, It emulates 100's of different systems. And I could never live without MAME (strictly arcade games). I totally love retro-gaming!!!
@fubukifangirl Well, see that's the problem. You've never played Atari, so you won't know how fun it all is. Yars' Revenge, Missile Command, Pitfall, Kaboom, Centipede, etc. These games are fantastic, and are simple and addicting. Sad to think you'll never know.
What do you mean you long for the day they become available for PCs? You must mean in modified, modernized graphics? Remakes? If not, haven't you heard of "Emulation"? I have EVERY game ever made for the Atari 2600,5200, 7800, & 400/80o PCs. Plus every computer and game console ever made between 1976 & 1996 with ALL software. I have Atari, Intellivision, Amiga, Commodore, Coleco, Nintendo, etc. Even emulators for the old hand held battery powered LCD game & watch games. They work fine.
@fubukifangirl Oh trust me, my friend, while I think Wii is awesome, I think you don't understand why people play Atari. The reason the system's games looked so crappy is because this was back in the 1980's, not the 2000's. Also, most games on the Atari, if you understood them, was madly addictive, and really fun to play over and over again. And Pong thinks ATARI was unoriginal??? Pong Consoles only had one game or variations of that! The Atari 2600 has about 800 original games! Maybe even more!
I just finished playing yars revenge a minute ago! and at 1:23, it looks more like Pac-man rather than Galactic-man. (pac-man for the atari 2600 at least)
The use of CGI to make the "2600" graphics look better was probably quite cool at the time, but isn't it (intentionally) misleading? A large proportion of the target audience will have been kids. I know that in the UK there are strict rules governing advertising aimed at children, so (for example) they can't make excessive use of techniques and fantasy sequences to make products seem more impressive than they actually are in real life.
@chillitscape You don't know what you are talking about. I have all the systems, from Atari 2600 to the PS3 and XBOX, I still get more out of my Atari than the others. I mean seriously, you need imagination to play the older games. Nowadays not so much. All you really get is a 3D perspective game, one after the other. Nice grafix, but overall it's the same game. 3D 3D 3D 3D, yawn...all the same game really, just minor differences, some are RPG's some shooters, big deal...
@wildsmiley I've played several Atari emulator games and I am not impressed. As for those games you mentioned, I played many of them or games similar to them in arcades and I still didn't like them.
They matched the lighting of the man on set with what was happening in the animation. It works so well. I just love that.
That commercial is the first clear explanation I've heard of what Yars' Revenge is all about.
It came with a comic book that explained the entire story.
I can't remember any Atari commercials on German television back then. This one at least gives some information about what Yar's Revenge is all about. I loved the game for its video and audio effects, but I never knew "the story behind" it.
Best videogame commercial ever, it describes the games so perfectly in a way that i never saw in any type of media.
This commercial still holds up well, especially in a post indie retro game age. This makes the aging 2600 (pushing 5 years old at the time) seem much more advanced than it actually was.
This was produced by Abel and Associates and specialized in 3D animation. They also did special effects for Tron. This is easily one of the best videogame ads ever made and Atari was smart to hire them to make it. Absolutely genius in production.
You are so right this is the best Atari commercial I have ever seen!!
I watched TRON too.... had a crush on Sark...
this commercial could hold up today
Holy hell...these are incredible special effects for 1982...
That's some damn good 3D graphics!
Yeah, nothing like a guy hallucinating playing Atari games with motion controls and holographic 3D projection in the early 80s!
Made in 1981 now 30 years ago, how innovative the programmers were back in those pioneer years and without money profit in the first place.
Beautiful comercial 😃
One of the coolest Atari commercials.
Star Raiders came out in 1979. It was an amazing game for its day. The 3D graphics were the first of its kind I ever saw.
I saw a guy playing this in a shop in the early 80's. My jaw was on the floor.
Damn!! For 1982, this was a damn good looking commercial LOL. I never saw this one
This has to be the best console commercial ever. The only flaw is that he keeps calling Yars Yar, for some reason.
The best comercial ever!!!
cant wait for this to come out XD
i'm surprised how amazing those graphics are from the early eighties!!
awesome commercial for Atari!! even though i was a kid from the nineties, i can really appreciate the awesome-ish culture from the seventies and eighties!!
and i wonder why my parents thought it was strange...oh well, excuse me while i play some Yar's Revenge on my mobile phone!! :3
Awesome
I saw this commercial in the movies-----I wanted to watch it again!!
Star Raiders on the Atari 800 - astonishing! It was SO FAR ahead of everything else. I'm amazed that Atari could create something so sophisticated and complex, back when the VCS was still state-of-the-art.
The 2600 version never really could compete. The Atari 800 version was the true Star Raiders. Atari Interactive really ought to re-release it on PC.
I loved my Atari 2600 when I was a kid....
3D cube-rendered, 2600 style Asteroids?
I'd buy that. :D
The Asteroids part really hooked me up as it brings me back nice souvenirs.
I now have this as my desktop. I am so happy
i miss wakeing up on saturday mornings and all my brothers be sitting in front of the tv playing the atari such good times ...
Still by far my favorite commercial of all time
I can't take credit for it, but it is an amazing commercial. Thanks for taking the time to leave a nice comment and I hope you're doing well.
Oh course! Though frankly I need to thank YOU! For uploading this amazing piece of history
@@Grimmations You're welcome :)
When I bought Atari cartridges back in the day, Yars' Revenge was the one that I had to read up on the most.
It's one of the more unusual games for the old Atari system, but it always gives the player a good challenge; and with the threatening qotile, plus a programmed destroyer missile following you around, you must utilize the vertical wraparound feature on the screen in order to survive.
I long for the day when this, Star Raiders, and other Atari classics become available for PCs.
I absolutely loved Yar's Revenge back in the day.
Background sound at 1:21 sounds like Star Trek's transporter.
I remember this - it did indeed play in theaters.
I saw a different version of this on TV some years ago, and have the audio on cassette tape. Different voice. Pacific Data did the CGI for this spot shown in movie theaters at the time.
I like that advert. Very clever for the time.
Hard to believe how far technology has came in 15 years...
Isn't the sound effect when the galactic map is coming up on the screen from the Star Trek movie transporter?
You're quite right. The version of Star Raiders I saw was on an Atari 8 bit computer. It wouldn't have been an 800. They weren't out when I saw it.
I should have made that clear in my comment. The version I saw was on an Atari computer, not the 2600. Before that day, I had only seen console games like Space Invaders, often not very good version at that. Star Raiders was the first ever game I saw that you could buy for a machine at home that kicked ass. There was nothing else even close.
No question I spent more time on Star Raiders than probably any other cartridge game, that one was quite fun, I think I'd play it today actually it was so good ;)
I wonder if this was shown before screenings of Tron. That would be very appropriate.
Man the marketing that they put into this system and their games is EPIC!
The animations in this commercial were almost exclusively rendered the old-fashioned way, by hand.
That was awesome.
Very impressive and expensive advert for its day!
The Yar is the Fly. Interesting bit of Trivia: Yar was named after Ray Kassar who was the CEO of Atari at the time - Yar is Ray backwards :)
When I went to see Return of The Jedi, we arrived late, and didn't see the opening
ads, now I can see them.
this commercial is wicked epic
the best console Atari made... such a pity the newer ones weren't so good :(
Dudes this is future gaming right here retro gaming style. Plus this should have came out in arcades because of vector graphics!!!!!
One thing I never understood... is Yar the fly who runs around and 'eats' the shield and then fires the cannon thing, or is Yar the skull thing inside the shield who you're up against?
This is me when I get bored! I have an imagination!
Was this the same computer programmer who was planting vegetables and saw a centipede scurrying through his garden, inspiring him to design another game?
It sure does!
I saw it in a theater. No supposedly about it
THE FUN IS BACK .....
GODLY!
@fubukifangirl I'm sorry that you feel that way. Do you play any classic systems, like NES, Master System, Genesis, SNES?
I think you should watch this on a 3D telvevision to get the best effect.
"Lets see what we can come up next"-Atari -Next Release: ET
This commercial played before RETURN OF THE JEDI in theaters.... I saw it when I was 13.... and it proves everyone who played Atari used their imagination. Games aren't about framerates or graphics or music..... they are about challenges.... which Atari has. Have you played one today???
Hey! Sound effects from Wrath of Khan! Heh heh.
This is an interesting film. They really romanticized the game developer in the early 80s. People of all ages were enchanted by Atari and the new computer revolution. It was all so alien and new, like something out of Star Trek. I don't know if a younger person today can understand how revolutionary computers were in the early '80s.
Ah, the good ol' days, when videogames were for everyone, young and old. Everyone was a gamer.
la mejor consola de games, lejos !
look at those 80's graphics
@bryceguy72
He said shift drone.
It reminded me of "Tron" a few times.
0:26 Missingno is that you?
It played in theaters? Wow, seeing the part at 1:45 on the big screen would probably cause seizures.
My Stelladaptor is F'ing awesome! Best money I ever spent, considering how much I play retro games. I LOVE emulators! I have every one, up to like, Sega Saturn (and ALL the software). That's as modern as I want. I have ALL the Atari's. I like Intellivision too. Oh, MESS is an AWESOME emulator, It emulates 100's of different systems. And I could never live without MAME (strictly arcade games). I totally love retro-gaming!!!
This guy is tripping on some heavy shit.
Very,very children don't sleeped because this commercial.
@fubukifangirl Well, see that's the problem. You've never played Atari, so you won't know how fun it all is. Yars' Revenge, Missile Command, Pitfall, Kaboom, Centipede, etc. These games are fantastic, and are simple and addicting. Sad to think you'll never know.
neat!
@memphiselle I've never understood that game
@marvinchannel123 Should have said Advanced for an Atari game. This commercial makes me want to buy it now. And I already have it!
@memphiselle even though one game and one game only tops that *coughs* ocarina of time
Star Raiders looks similar to the original Star Wars arcade game in this commercial, lol.
(Yes, Atari made that too...)
What do you mean you long for the day they become available for PCs? You must mean in modified, modernized graphics? Remakes? If not, haven't you heard of "Emulation"? I have EVERY game ever made for the Atari 2600,5200, 7800, & 400/80o PCs. Plus every computer and game console ever made between 1976 & 1996 with ALL software. I have Atari, Intellivision, Amiga, Commodore, Coleco, Nintendo, etc. Even emulators for the old hand held battery powered LCD game & watch games. They work fine.
@TwinCityKillaz And Jack Tramiel!
Look at the huge that fly is!!! Then just think the size the poop is? Lol lol lol
I hope this was the inspiration for iron man's Jarvice hologram
@HIGH777ROLLER Don't you even DARE compare that unoriginal piece of hardware to the awesomeness that is Atari!
Wow! It's like minority report and playing the Nintendo Wii!
This commercial seemed way ahead of it's time!
@fubukifangirl Oh trust me, my friend, while I think Wii is awesome, I think you don't understand why people play Atari. The reason the system's games looked so crappy is because this was back in the 1980's, not the 2000's. Also, most games on the Atari, if you understood them, was madly addictive, and really fun to play over and over again. And Pong thinks ATARI was unoriginal??? Pong Consoles only had one game or variations of that! The Atari 2600 has about 800 original games! Maybe even more!
I just finished playing yars revenge a minute ago! and at 1:23, it looks more like Pac-man rather than Galactic-man. (pac-man for the atari 2600 at least)
if you wanna become galactic, you have to embrace PEACE not war !!!
This is what it's like to have Attention Deficit Disorder.
Seek treatment for your ADD so that you can enjoy this commercial like the rest of us!
Carl Sagan?
He must be really high...
very impressive, esp. YARS REVENGE.
#k.
In the beginning there was there was darkness then Atari said let there be light then we all played black ops
CPTJDM
@HIGH777ROLLER The Kinect wishes it were that good! :)
@MrPibi
lol i thought the same thing
The use of CGI to make the "2600" graphics look better was probably quite cool at the time, but isn't it (intentionally) misleading? A large proportion of the target audience will have been kids.
I know that in the UK there are strict rules governing advertising aimed at children, so (for example) they can't make excessive use of techniques and fantasy sequences to make products seem more impressive than they actually are in real life.
@chillitscape You don't know what you are talking about. I have all the systems, from Atari 2600 to the PS3 and XBOX, I still get more out of my Atari than the others. I mean seriously, you need imagination to play the older games. Nowadays not so much. All you really get is a 3D perspective game, one after the other. Nice grafix, but overall it's the same game. 3D 3D 3D 3D, yawn...all the same game really, just minor differences, some are RPG's some shooters, big deal...
I have one ;)
That's how we sorted out the weak back in the day. ;)
Too bad that the commercial was far more state of the art than the game system itself.
@wildsmiley I've played several Atari emulator games and I am not impressed. As for those games you mentioned, I played many of them or games similar to them in arcades and I still didn't like them.
1:16 DISINTEGRATE *BOOM*
Do you hear the pac man sound in the end.
not stupid as other commercials...
The whole time it sounds like the guy is directing a porn film.
somebody on drugs if they see floating sqares and flys that can shoot.
This guy's on drugs. But hey, it's a great game. Probably my favorite 2600 game.
Well, it was true they did copious amounts of weed at Atari back then.
What distinguishes the sound of a regular director from a porn director?