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14 – Atari Stunt Cycle

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Atari Stunt Cycle CC Image – Wikipedia – Marty Goldberg

Developer: Atari

Release Date: 1977

Origin: U.S.A.

CPU: None (Discreet – runs on logic)

In-Built Games: 4

Ah, good ol' Atari. You guys did so much right in the video game industry, but you sure did also make some very odd decisions. I am not saying that the Atari Stunt Cycle is terrible, but it is certainly rather odd. Stunt Cycle was actually an arcade game and one of the guys at Atari decided that they wanted to bring it into people's homes. The Atari Stunt Cycle console is regarded as one of the coolest consoles that Atari ever produced.

The Atari Stunt Cycle was first released in 1975 in the arcades. The idea was that they would cash in on the popularity of stuntman Evel Knievel. The arcade machine was a moderate success and Atari decided that they wanted to bring the same experience to home gamers.

It would take until 1977 for the Atari Stunt Cycle to make its way into the home and unfortunately for Atari they could not have released it at a worse time. 1977 would be the death of the dedicated video game console, as the Fairchild Channel F video game system was released that was able to play games off cartridges. After this it was really hard to sell someone a dedicated video game system. As well as this, Atari had released multiple Pong consoles in this year along with their Atari 2600. Perhaps if Atari had released it just a year earlier it would have done so much better. Or maybe even if they had delayed the release and produced it as an add-on for the Atari 2600 (which was actually planned at one point.)

Sears did release their own version of the Atari Stunt Cycle. Theirs was called the Sears Telegame Motocross. Sears knew the writing was on the wall for the demise of this type of video game system, so they threw in some add-on paddles and some Pong games, but this was all in vain as the system did not really sell that well.

Anyway, let's take a closer look at . . .

The Atari Stunt Cycle – 1977

From a looks point of view this thing is simply awesome. It has a really cool black plastic case with some very sturdy motorcycle style handles. Near the bottom of the Atari Stunt Cycle were a bunch of game switches that could be used to change the various settings that the game had to offer. The best way to use the Atari Stunt Cycle was with the console on a table, but I am sure many people ended up playing with it on their knees.

As far as the games go, the box with the Atari Stunt Cycle makes the claim that you can jump buses in your living room. The idea of the game is that you need to pick up enough speed in order jump a number of buses which will increase with each turn.

Atari Stunt Cycle was actually a very fun and addictive game. The handle on the left would be pulled back to control your speed. You can pull the thing back to pull off some awesome wheelies. It may sound basic, but it was a ton of fun and was a blast to play with your friends and family, trying to see who could jump the most buses.

The Ultimate Guide to Classic Game Consoles

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