RealSports Soccer
Cover art for Atari 2600 cartridge
Developer(s)Atari
Publisher(s)Atari
Programmer(s)Michael Sierchio
Jerome Domurat
SeriesRealSports
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

RealSports Soccer (also known as Soccer, Football and RealSports Football) is a 1983 sports video game developed and published by Atari for the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200 platforms, concentrating on the sport of association football.[3][4]

Development

The game was part of a series of games released under the RealSports title for the Atari 2600, including RealSports Football, RealSports Volleyball, and RealSports Baseball.[5][6] With the launch of the Atari 5200 a new version of the game was also developed for it, originally known simply as Soccer. The game was Atari's second association football-themed game after Pelé's Soccer.[4]

The 2600 version was programmed by Michael Sierchio,[7] with the computer-graphics being designed by Jerome Domurat. The 5200 version was programmed by John Seghers.[7] The game was written in machine code.[6] The original cover for the 2600 version was designed by Warren Chang,[8] whilst the cover for the 5200 version was designed by Steve Hendricks.[4] A version for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers was also in development, but was it was cancelled in hope that it would sell more 5200 systems.[7]

Gameplay

The game includes only three players a side, with no human-controlled goal keeper. The gameplay scrolls horizontally over a play-area roughly three screens wide.[6] During play the human player controls the sprite with the ball, whilst the computer AI controls the sprites of the players that are off the ball. To switch player the player selects the player nearest to the ball by pressing a joystick button, though the player is selected automatically by a successful pass.[9] The Atari 5200 version featured computer-controlled goal-keepers.[10]

Reception

A review of RealSports Soccer in the March 1983 issue of the UK magazine TV Gamer criticised the high price of the game (nearly £30, or roughly £100 at 2020 prices),[11] and summed up their impression of the game by saying "it's just football".[12] The German magazine Telematch, in an April 1983 review criticised the lack of goalkeepers, the small play-area, and the general lack of realism in the game, ultimately giving the game a score of 4/6.[9] A May 1983 review in the French gaming magazine Tilt also criticised the lack-lustre gameplay, though it praised the improved graphics over Atari's previous game, Pelé's Soccer. Tilt gave the game 4/5 for graphics but only 2/5 for its ability to hold interest.[13] The 1984 Book of Atari Software criticised the lack of realism in RealSports Soccer for the 2600 platform, saying that it "lack[ed] the complexity and players to hold anyone's interest", and gave the game an overall score of "D".[6] A review in the 1984 Software Encyclopedia was broadly positive about the game, particularly in head-to-head mode, giving it 7/10 overall.[10]

An article in the November/December 1992 edition of Digital Press listed the game as one of the worst ever made for the Atari 2600, criticising especially the poor graphics, sound, gameplay, and controls.[14] A review of the Atari 5200 version of the game in the November/December 1997 edition of Digital Press was mildly more positive, praising the improved graphics over the Atari 2600 version, and the impressive (for its day) analog controls, though also criticising the ease of scoring against the computer in the one-player version of the game, and gave it 5/10 overall.[15]

Reviews

Legacy

The intellectual property rights for the game passed to Hasbro Interactive and were subsequently bought by Infogrames in 2001, which was subsequently renamed Atari SA. It was then re-released for the Atari Flashback 3 in 2011, which was the first console of the Flashback series made by the AtGames company.[18] As of 2021, the game has been included on all subsequent Flashback consoles, including the Flashback 4,[19] 5,[20] 6,[21] 7,[22] 8,[23] 9,[24] and X.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Sneek Peeks". Atari Age. Atari Club. 1 (4): 10. December 1982. ISSN 0731-5686. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Join the RealSports Team!". Atari Age. Atari Club. 1 (6): 10–11. April 1983. ISSN 0731-5686. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Weiss, Bret (December 20, 2011). Classic Home Video Games, 1972–1984 A Complete Reference Guide. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. pp. 98, 147. ISBN 9780786487554. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Lapetino, Tim (October 26, 2016). Art of Atari (Deluxe ed.). Dynamite Entertainment. pp. 250–251. ISBN 9781524101060. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Best 2600 Sports". Videogaming Illustrated. April 1983. p. 60. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Stanton, Jeffrey; Wells, Robert P.; Rochowansky, Sandra; Mellin, Michael (1984). The Book of Atari Software 1984. The Book Company. p. 383. ISBN 0912003049. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Jainschigg, John (August 2018). "The History of RealSports". Retro Gamer (183): 44–49.
  8. ↑ "RealSports Soccer Credits (Atari 2600)". Moby Games. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  9. 1 2 "RealSports Soccer: Ansatsweise Mini-Fussball". Telematch (in German). April 1983. p. 18. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Kunkel, Bill, ed. (1984). 1984 Software Encyclopedia. Reese Communications Inc. p. 105. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Bank of England Inflation Calculator". bankofengland.co.uk. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  12. ↑ "RealSports Soccer: New!". TV Gamer. February 1983. p. 32. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Football". Tilt (in French). No. 5. May 1983. p. 17. Retrieved February 25, 2021. Nb. the title is "Football", but from the picture and the description this is clearly RealSports Soccer
  14. ↑ Oleniacz, Kevin (November–December 1992). "The worst of the Atari 2600, part 2 of 3" (PDF). Digital Press. p. 4. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  15. ↑ Cooper, Jeff (November–December 1997). "RealSports Soccer" (PDF). Digital Press. No. 34. p. 18. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  16. ↑ https://archive.org/details/games-41-1983-july/page/n53/mode/2up
  17. ↑ https://archive.org/details/games-44-1983-october/page/n63/mode/2up
  18. ↑ Purchese, Robert (September 7, 2011). "Atari Flashback 3 console: 60 games, £50 – Two pads, looks like Atari 2600". Eurogamer. Gamer Network Limited. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  19. ↑ Pescovitz, David (December 3, 2012). "Atari Flashback 4 console". Boing Boing. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  20. ↑ Atgames Atari Flashback 5 User Guide. AtGames Digital Media Inc. 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  21. ↑ Atgames Atari Flashback 6 User Guide. AtGames Digital Media Inc. 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  22. ↑ Fenech, Steven (February 15, 2017). "Play classic games like Space Invaders, Frogger and Pong on your TV with Atari Flashback 7". Tech Guide. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  23. ↑ Falcone, John (July 17, 2017). "Flashback 8 Gold is Atari fans' SNES Classic alternative". CNET. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Atari Flashback 9 User Guide". ATGames. 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  25. ↑ Adcock, Dan (2020). "Atari Flashback X Review". Pixelated Gamer. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
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