The History of Asteroids -Arcade Console documentary

The history of the Revolutionary vector-based space shooter from Atari..
Special thanks to Arcade Galactic For allowing the use of their video
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[@LeShark75]

Have to agree Patman, this game needs to been seen in the wild to fully appreciate it. The way the vectors pop on the original screen is still amazing.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It is a sight to behold :-)

[@cjh0751]

Just what the doctor ordered. A Patman QC documentary. Thanks Patman

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks buddy

[@kellychuang8373]

Also can still say thanks though sorry about the messages but really can't find any on Missile Command and Defender as it's own videos of the arcades really think you mixed it up with Centipede or this other one that seems like it's sequel Stargate. Anyway may want to have a look into that or as they say now Google and KZbin it.

[@socialistprofessor3206]

I'll never forget what a hero my brother (17 years older) was to me when he brought the 2600 home with this and other classic games. Those were good days.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That is awesome

[@midnightkitty8172]

I'm a big fan of the Vector games. That special glow they gave off lured my quarters out of my pocket rather easily.

[@herbcraven7146]

Vectors were the best. Space War, Asteroids, Tempest and Tail Gunner rocked the early eighties!

[@midnightkitty8172]

@@herbcraven7146 I forgot to mention Gravitar , that one was special in the way that, once you've decided where you're going to go next, the screen zooms in on that area. Venture used raster graphics, but the same style of gameplay where, as an adventurer, you would approach which area you want next, and the screen zooms in. The one I simply couldn't resist playing? - BATTLEZONE!

[@christhompson2006]

The 7-11 down the hill from my childhood home had a vector game called Star Castle for a year or so. It was a pretty simple game but since I was only 10 at the time I thought it was pretty awesome.

[@midnightkitty8172]

@@christhompson2006 I remember Star Castle vividly; I saw it in Arcades here and there around town. Solid game, good challenge, and those damned mosquitos!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Yes, I love the glowing phosphors :-)

[@exidy-yt]

How could ANYONE not enjoy the history of one of the true legends of the industry?? This game gives me one of my strongest memories of 1981 as our local shopping mall participated in a nation (Canada) wide Atari sponsored VCS Asteroids challenge, and after your attempt you were given a nice waxed certificate of participation with the Asteroids artwork and your score written in place. I collected a literal sheaf of these as I re-entered again and again all day long, going to the back of the huge lineup of others doing the same as you compete against 7 other people on the podium. Only a few times did I win my tourney and advance to the second round, and never made it to the 3rd. I believe the winners of the 3rd round went to a regional tournament then a final national one but I was just happy with my sheaf of papers, the best score of which hung on my wall for a couple of years. ;-) Great memories! Thanks for this one, Pat!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Hey that is really cool. Thank you for sharing

[@robertskitch]

One version of Asteroids I'd like to play again, but doubt I ever will, is 'Asteroids Online'. It was a version of Asteroids that was only playable online in your web browser via Facebook. I think it was a decent version of the game, but given that it was only around back in 2010/2011 after which the service ended I doubt I'll ever be able to really confirm that for myself, and because of the age of it there are only two or three videos of any gameplay footage up on KZbin. It did get an 80% in the one online review I found of it.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I never even knew that Existed so that is pretty cool. Thanks

[@justafanofnerdculture7602]

The very first video game that I ever played, at 7 years old, was Asteroids for the Atari 2600. I was already a sci fi geek at that point, and was blown away by the cover art. I was beyond amazed that I was interacting with the objects on my lil' tiny black and white 📺 screen. It's the game that kickstarted my passion for video games forty three years ago. Asteroids will always have a very, very special place in my heart.

[@vintagecapgunsatyourmomshouse]

When you bought video games based on box art.....

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That is pretty sweet, thanks for sharing

[@kevinkingslayer2450]

Asteroids was my game!! The motion dynamics always amazed me!! Shout out to Patman QC!!✌🙏🇹🇹

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks buddy

[@chrisprescott2273]

I loved Asteroids, but Blasteroids was my jam. I really liked the way that game used a knob to turn the ship instead of buttons and you could combine your ship with another player. It almost deserves its own episode. I played it at the local pool instead of swimming.

[@exidy-yt]

Gotta agree. LOVED Blasteroids! It got a pretty decent Amiga port as well, but the arcade original was a true quarter-sucker for me. It was everything I loved about Asteroids plus everything I wished had been added to it. Perfect sequel imo.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It came and went pretty quick in my arcade but I played it a lot more on the Amiga

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

I grew up playing this on the 2600. The controls were so precise that I could pretty much play indefinitely. My personal best was turning over the score 4 times before I finally stopped. It's very humbling to play the arcade version now with its button controls and only last a couple minutes.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That's pretty awesome

[@storiedworlds6261]

Golfland in Sunnyvale?! That was my local arcade growing up. Lots of good memories there.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I always wanted to visit there

[@storiedworlds6261]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries It was such a cool place to grow up in the 80s. (Silicon Valley before it was Silicon Valley.) We had the first Chuck E Cheese's, another arcade/pizza place called Bullwinkle's, and down the street from the Golfland was the "haunted" Toys R Us. Lots of good games at the Golfland. I don't know if it ever got widespread release, but "Rampart" was a game me and my friends had a lot of fun with. And I remember some shoot 'em up with bunny characters. A lot of the classics, too, of course. (The mini-golf was great fun as well.) I wonder what it's like there today. It's been decades since I've gone, but I just looked it up and it looks like it's still around. Hope you get a chance to visit.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I recall seeing that haunted Toys "R" Us on the TV show that's incredible I believe. Very, very cool

[@tripdefect87]

I fell in love the look of old Atari Vector games from a very early age. Asteroids and Battlezone still look great today

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Absolutely :-)

[@Jolt7800]

I have seen that Halloween costume before. More frightening than a real asteroid heading to the earth.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

My jaw dropped when I saw it for the first time LOL

[@Looneytune2]

Yes I am the first to witness this video!!! Oh happy days especially before I goto the galloping ghost tomorrow!!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Galloping ghost was so much fun. I'm going back next month

[@xethnyrrow]

Great video Pat. I knew this game was a legend and loved playing it but $10 million a WEEK in quarters? Circa 1980?! That's just insane. I loved these vector games like Asteroids, Star Wars, and Star Trek. Ed Logg is a genius, having made so many great games. Speaking of other Ed Logg games, Xybots would be a cool one to do a video on. It wasn't very popular because of its controls but was so much fun. You already covered his other big hits: Gauntlet and Centipede so what's one more!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I was flabbergasted when I read that. I would assume Pong and Pac-Man did something similar back in the day.

[@carm3d]

When you boot up the new Atari VCS computer/console it starts up with a little animated homage to Asteroids.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Very cool, did not know that

[@justinwilliam6534]

I hope you do a history video on Street Fighter 3 it’s such an underrated arcade game.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

At some point I will, but I have to cover the second game first

[@stephens4175]

I'm in my 50's and this is my absolute favorite game ever, when I was a kid, every time I went to the arcade or saw it at a store or pizza place I played it and made sure I had top score, I also had it as one of my first games when I got my 2600 in the late 70s , and in 1985 I sat for 5 hours in one sitting and flipped the score 57 times on the hardest level, a memory I'll never forget. I also went to a vintage shop this past year and rebought a very nice original copy complete in box as a memento since I let go of my original system and games many years ago but have the Atari flashback 10 and go back once in a long while and play it even now. awesome video, thank you for your hard work on this.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Holy cow, that is awesome. Thanks a lot

[@OneColdMonkey]

I love Asteroids, it's one of my top 3 from that era of gaming along with Pac-Man and Qix. Not enough people talk about Qix. 😛

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Excellent arcade game. I might have to venture into QIX territory at some point

[@robspot101]

My Dad's got asteroids. He can't even sit on the toilet some days.

[@williamwilson6499]

Your mom had one, too.

[@robspot101]

I don't have a Mom. Me and my Dad share yours.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL good call

[@gustyko8668]

There's a reference to Asteroids in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, during Isaac Clarke's level 3 super.

[@slopesgameroom]

This was a great video. currently having a Patman binge... AND THIS WAS GREAT :)

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks a bunch, how have you been?

[@mikestansbury2510]

first video game i ever played was pong... that was either 1977,78 and it was the radio shack set my cousin had. from there, it was space invaders and asteroids. discovery of the local golfland in castro valley, ca. i found a variety of wonderful games i was able to spend 8 tokens per visit unless i found some on the floor, which happened a lot. i wasn't able to get my grandmother to buy me the 2600 until 1982 and i still have it along with my first zenith color tv. these histories bring back a lot of good memories!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That is awesome, thanks for sharing

[@Clownboy15]

There was a restaurant we’d go to when I was a kid that had the cabaret style cabinet. Loved playing it! I had no idea how important this game would come to be in my life until forty years later. My fiancée had been hospitalized fighting a nasty infection after a routine surgery. She had been in the hospital since June and here it was August. I found someone selling an Asteroids Arcade1Up cab on Facebook and made plans to buy it. As I was leaving work to get the cab I got the phone call saying my fiancée had had a massive stroke and was declared brain dead. We decided to pull the plug the next day. When leaving the hospital I wasn’t ready to go home to an empty house (apartment actually), so I stopped by and picked up the cab. Working on that and getting it all out together and playing the games really got me through that first night! I don’t know what I would have done without those distractions!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Oh my God, I'm so sorry to hear that. To be honest, I find my kids and making videos a healthy distraction from other issues in my life so I understand totally. Thank you for watching

[@Clownboy15]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries it definitely helped. I became a regular at our local barcade called Pixels. Though I don’t go there very much anymore. Main,y because I have more games than they do! I’ve got the Arcade1Up Star Wars, Asteroids, Mortal Kombat II, Pacman 40th Anniversary, and Tron. On top of that I have New Wave Toys’ Missile Command, Q*Bert, 1942 and Dragon’s Lair. And the cherry on top, At Games’ Addams Family 4K virtual pinball with Star Trek TNG, Twilight Zone, Attack From Mars and a slew of others. It’s a wonder I have any sort of life at all 🤣

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I don't have any of those arcade machines but I'm extremely jealous about the Addams family virtual pinball

[@FNHot]

Always hated this game, so i watched because I wanted to know why people liked it. Now I realize it's because Im too young, by the time I played this, I had played games like Contra, so it by comparison just seemed boring and frustrating. Thats why I never miss a patman video, even if its on a game I dont like.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

You are awesome, and I appreciate you watching even though you don't know anything about it. Thanks so much

[@jbeattie1244]

How about robotron 2084 or defender or joust or any other retro classic

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I have already covered all those games

[@Lauren_Tyler]

I remember my parents got me the Atari 2600 cartridge as a way to motivate me to do better in school. To this day it's still a solid port, plus the variety of game variations add massive replay value. The Atari 7800 version was great too. The Atari 8-bit version was planned for conversion to the Atari 5200 but it was scrapped. It's rumored this was done due to the non-centering joysticks.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I thought it was pretty good as well

[@JRod-zr8qk]

PatMan is the hero we all needed!! Another gem!! 🔥

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks buddy

[@Darkuni]

I am sad that Super Stardust didn't get a nod here ... To me? That's Asteroids .. perfected.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

As I mentioned there were so many clones there was no way I could get to all of them

[@Darkuni]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries I know I know ... I wish Arcade1Up would release a REAL vector cab...

[@tarstarkusz]

I know it isn't official, but I wish you would have covered Space Rocks for the 2600. It is vastly superior to the original Asteroids 2600 port. It's by Champ Games and is available for purchase today. The default variation of Asteroids for the 2600 is lame. All the asteroids more or less go up and down on either side of the ship. You can sit in the middle and play it almost forever. I forget which set of variations it is, but one of them plays much more like asteroids than the default one, but it still pales in comparison to the Space Rocks which has an ARM chip in it running all the logic. The 2600 is fairly unique in that it is a real time computer. All of the logic of the game has to be done in the time it takes to move the scanline from bottom to top. IIRC, it's like 40% of the clock cycles, all of the rest draw the screen. This really limits what the 2600 can do. But having that 40% actually running on a MUCH faster ARM processor, the logic can be so much better.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

With so many clones out there it's hard to cover everything. Champ games are the absolute MVPs of Atari 2600 development. Space rocks was really good

[@davypi2]

23:45 - Some added history here if you are going to include Asteroids Recharged. That game was developed by Adamvision Studios, formerly Nickervision. One of the reasons that Adamvision was hired by Atari for the Recharged series was because of a game he made called Super Bit Blaster which was his homage to the original Asteroids. While Recharged has many more features that Bit Blaster, Recharged is arguably an updated version of the latter title.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Excellent, I hope to have some Atari news here pretty quick

[@ChantingInTheDark]

I'm watching this, but if I turn to my left, there is a playable, 1/6th scale, perfect replica of Asteroids from New Wave Toys.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I never got one of those but it looked pretty sweet

[@johnhermann762]

One day I decided to write my own Asteroids game using the same graphics as the original, but make it where there were principal differences to make it "better". After finishing the first version, I started making changes to create the 2nd version. And this continued for a few years going thru more than 10 major revisions. This link showcases a higher version, but is not the latest; you can watch the many youtube videos to see how it progressed. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ml7ZkHukjcibabc

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That is pretty sweet

[@dashdeception]

Thanks for all your work man I love it.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Hello, thank you so much for your generous donation. I really do appreciate it! Thanks again

[@Mr_Oggie]

Asteroids was always a favorite... it was the first arcade game I was actually good at 😁😆😃

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Always one of my favorites as well

[@meltysquirrel2919]

I was never super good but just good enough that I felt like I was getting my money's worth! My friend and I spent hours putting quarters into Asteroids back when it was new! 😃

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Getting our money's worth was all we could ask for back in the day

[@Captain-Cosmo]

I was in junior high when Space Invaders, Asteroids, Centipede, Defender and Pac Man came out. I loved all of these, but Asteroids was my favorite. It was my roller rink/ pizza place/ arcade standby, and remains a great game today, requiring speed and skill. When I play on MAME or my Arcade1up Tempest machine, , I play for real; I never "farm for saucers", but rather keep shooting the rocks. I can reliably get 50K+, but only play a game or two every month or so. Thanks for the retrospective.

[@bobdobalina2931]

At the age of seventeen I became so addicted Asteroids that I bought my very own Cocktail Table. I wasn't rich, I wasn't pampered, I just worked long and hard over the school holidays, stacking shelves and on a building site. My economics teacher at school had got in at the very beginning of the video game boom and had dozens of machines sited around southeast London. He was a nice guy and in 1981 he sold me a 6 month old machine for £500. I recently bought another one for £565 off of eBay, it was an auction lot but I don't know why it was so cheap, I've seen real basket cases going for a lot more. Good working examples have gone for £1500 to £2000 and this one works perfectly. In fact, it's virtually new looking, there's no rust or paint chips on the coin box, the circuit boards look pristine and the inside and outside are mint. There's not even any screen burn. Like my Mr and Mrs Pac-Man pinball I will be keeping this until the day I die. I've been very lucky.

[@bland9876]

This isn't as strange a Gyruss from Konami but I'm still shocked asteroids doesn't have a spinner to turn your ship.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That would be pretty cool

[@pez334]

I’m surprised that cinematronics didn’t sue Atari because I remember playing space wars by cinematronics a year or 2 before asteroids came out and the asteroids ship is almost identical to the space wars ship and it even had a small indestructible asteroid floating around the screen and was kinda hoping that you would show the similarities between the two games but hey still a great and informative video

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

You're right I should have, thanks

[@nahumgardner]

I was a hair too young to really appreciate this era, DK Jr was more my time, so videos of these games are very interesting to me. You do for arcade games with Jeremy Parrish does for video you do for arcade games what Jeremy Parrish does for console games.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks a ton :-)

[@Roger-fs5yo]

Hey cool😎

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks

[@vashstampede5933]

I will fire this and Asteroids Deluxe up on the ole Arcade1up Atari Deluxe cab today in your honor Patman! Thanks as always for an entertaining and awesome stroll down memory lane brother, be blessed.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks buddy, hope you have fun

[@kriskeilman2087]

My ringtone is Asteroids.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Nice

[@351cleavland]

Now that you covered asteroids i'd appreciate it if you could cover the history of hemorrhoids next.

[@stevenwheat3621]

Star-castle was the first arcade I've ever played.. Phoenix was the second.. Asteroids was the third.. All three at the same store..

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

How cool is that?

[@Over_Sky]

Another great video. 10/10.

[@erneststackhouse1133]

That Halloween Mask i saw it before but the kid didn't have the rest of the costume just dressed in all Black & the mask! it gave me nightmares! Did not know until this video that it was an Asteroids Costume! i would have never guessed, thought it was some kind of made up mask you buy from some crazy underground costume place. i literally had to stop watching & come back to finish off your video because of that little flash back! This video will BE the Video i remember you by for the rest of my life! Asteroid Costume who'd have thunk it?

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, that is pretty funny. Sorry I triggered that flashback LOL

[@RubyJones-zj4fu]

😂 that's the funniest thing I've heard all month . Sorry it caused you trauma

[@SteveCrew925]

Time to get the 🍿 ready and enjoy another great video done by the legend himself ! Great work Patman

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks again!

[@kbramlett6877]

The original coin slots for Asteroids were called "Owl Eyes." These coin slots were completely circular, and you would place your quarter/token flat in the slot. These would get jammed a lot, so arcade owners would swap out the coin doors for those with traditional coin slots.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I had never heard of this, good info

[@Realriggs09]

Just watching again out of support... Get well soon budy 💙

[@Soule6]

It's really basically like you're the Millennium Falcon pursued by the empire in the asteroid field in SW ESB.

[@cliff7641]

Your videos are a true highlight on this platform! Your comprehensive coverage, humor, and the way you organize the information is just perfect! Asteroids is such an amazing game, and I was so happy to see you cover it!

[@MrKanjidude]

Maybe it's just nostalgia talking here, but I love the cover illustration used on the Atari 2600 version of Asteroids. One of the best pieces of videogame art ever. EDIT: Great documentary! The thumbnail was a bit dark and empty feeling, but I hope this video does well!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

The thumbnails are typically something I put a lot of thought into. I struggled with this one because I wanted to make sure people knew exactly what asteroids was. I could have used some of the production art but then that may have confused people. It's not doing great but will see. Thanks

[@jamesnoble3502]

The 2600 box & cartridge art was always really detailed and professional looking. They always fooled young me into thinking the game graphics would look even remotely close to them which they never did, not even remotely😅

[@MrKanjidude]

@@jamesnoble3502 Yeah, early official videogame artwork was genuinely amazing. Pure works of art. The game graphics themselves... abstract. 😆

[@jamesmoss3424]

I remember playing Asteroids on the game boy when I was a kid it's still a classic today and I will play the arcade version next. 😀👍🎮

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Excellent, have fun

[@jamesmoss3424]

​@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentariesok I will. 😀👍🎮

[@yumann]

¡Gracias!

[@charles2241]

From what I heard of Asteroids here of the "music," if you ever played the Space Invaders pinball machine, it makes the same beat. Now I used to think that beat came from the Space Invaders arcade game itself, but from this clip here I can tell Asteroids was using that same music, to which gets me to wondering how many Atari machines were using that music which gets faster the longer it plays. The Space Invaders/Alien pinball game was excellent BTW. (12:00 hear the music?)

[@AndrasMihalyi]

I played Asteroids first around 1984 on my Atari 2600 "heavy sixer" when I was just 5... 40 years ago...

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Excellent, I still have mine

[@AndrasMihalyi]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Good for you... When I moved on to the C64, my parents gave the Atari away 🙄 Of course, I have Stella on my PC, but it's not the same.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I agree

[@SpaghettiGodUltra]

Quite possibly your best episode, Patman!!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks a lot!

[@BB-ij6ro]

All love and 2nd channel sub but no new upload for long time fan. I asked about Heavy Barrel upload. Asking because joystick controller was niche and your in depth uploads are to me proof of your passion and for me kinder spirits on subject matter makes those who know understand. Ty Pat ! Sorry if it sounds aggressive. I ask because your channel are the few that for me keeps the golden arcade era history alive!

[@jeffr23817]

I had this game on the 2600 and I could play the hell out of it! I could stay in the middle and just rotate left and right while shooting at the asteroids and play for a very long time! lol I also have a PC version from 1998 that looks a LOT like the N64 version you mentioned in the video.

[@josephbullaro4560]

You didn't mention the Playstation version, and why didn't Atari 5200 get an Asteroids port?

[@chrisnizer]

2 years later in '81 it wasn't unusual to see a few quarters lined up on the bezel for players waiting their turn to play Asteroids. Definitely one of the arcade golden era original gangsters. Thanks for another awesome review!

[@schmitty1944]

Fabulous review with great history, I think Space Dual was the last of the Asteroids trilogy. Blasteroids....bleh. All those modern raster graphic versions.... ugh. Just play the original, you'll never get better.

[@iankempster7007]

A timeless classic !! Great video as per usual.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks again!

[@MrEd20901]

Seeing the early ports of a lot of these games...seeing how "bad" they look by today's standards, but yet we thought they were the greatest thing ever back then. Another great video down memory lane.

[@EricPenn1147]

In the 80s I pumped hundreds of quarts into Space Duel. In the late 80s I saved up and bought the actual game for my home... Awesome game! Thanks for the memories!

[@beatrixwickson8477]

Wow, I love that Lunar Lander was a part of the Asteroids DNA. Great video!

[@kokovec1200]

You can play the Asteroids ROM on a Vectrex using the Vecfever cart.

[@Barcrest]

Blasteroids was fun when you docked the small ship with the big one on a 2 player game.

[@tarstarkusz]

I'm pretty sure asteroids for the 7800 shipped in 1984 in the test market.

[@Retroman8000]

Donna must of had a migraine hearing bout this every night. The only cure would be to help him make it

[@kellychuang8373]

Also if you haven't done this may look into Space Invaders too maybe do a part on that history as well.

[@RyanRead]

Asteroids seem to always be at my local movie theaters. So I play after the movies or before they started.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

They ended up selling 75,000 cabinets so it was pretty much everywhere

[@F1ghtGam3r]

History of the Sega arcade game Ocean Hunter, during shark week

[@Reality_Checkmate]

There's only one thing worse than hemorrhoids ... Asteroids.

[@feralstorm]

Some of my favorite Asteroids clones came from the Amiga, including 'Cabaret' Asteroids, which copied the arcade game closely (even a "(c) 1979 ATARI" on the screen if you hit "a" on the keyboard), and "Stardust" / "Super Stardust", which had stunning graphics and power-ups, bosses, and other extras, like a spiritual successor to "Blasteroids".

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Very cool. There were so many clones in the video was already over 30 minutes so there was a lot I couldn't include

[@rickycole4061]

Hi PMQC I did have an 2600 BUT only had 3 games centipede double Dragon & Spider-Man but I did have a speccy aswell❤❤😢😢😢😢

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Hi Ricky, sounds like my NES which I only had one game for which was Mario :-)

[@nickpalance3622]

I never knew the 400/800 version was so … blue! 🤢 bleh. When we got an 800XL for Christmas’84, the local Sears where Santa shopped had the hardware on display but I don’t recall seeing software - not even Atari’s own boxed carts. So I had no idea. That’s when I switched to EA and Infocom and Datasoft. Gotta love construction/destruction set games from EA. Let me be clear , the worst Infocom game on the 400/800 looks better than Asteroids for 400/800.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I never realized it was so blue either

[@nickpalance3622]

I still vaguely remember my first coin-op video game and I think it was Space Wars by Cinematronics. That’s based on descriptions on the web. In the vein of Asteroids but 2-3 years earlier (October 1977 ?). I can’t say it was brand new but if it was I’d’ve been in preschool. The location was perhaps odd. A cocktail lounge (restaurant too?) with an upstairs hall for rent for gatherings after weddings and funerals. I remember there also being a player piano being there. So not an arcade. I’d soon be frequenting those by 1st-2nd grade. Time existed before Pac Man and Donkey Kong (that mustachioed one in the overalls.. he’s not significant is he? Naw.. never) .. amazing!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

This game I can recall playing in the arcades was a fire truck game as well as a robot bowling game. That had to be the mid-70s I would assume.

[@jayhays8267]

Nice video! With all the alternate versions, I was surprised you didn't mention the Atari 2600 Home Brew game "Space Rocks" an excellent upgrade from the original Asteroids.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

With so many clones and variations I just decided to cherry pick. Thanks

[@c1ph3rpunk]

1980, 10 years old, Pizza Hut, Asteroids and Empire Strike Back. Go ahead, try and tell me we didn’t live in one of the most awesome periods ever. We had it good. Well, except for the whole global-thermonuclear war part, but in retrospect I think that had a lot to do with our “live for the day” attitude.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

"Would you like to play a game?" Yes indeed, the Golden age of arcades is truly something special

[@roberthunter479]

Would Super Stardust HD count as an Astroids-like game? I loved this game back in the day and I still love the vector graphics. Something magical about those games. I still have my Atari 2600 copy and still love the artwork some Atari games had on them. Astroids, Defender, and Yar's Revenge all looked cool to me.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I would say so

[@FreihEitner]

From my years as an IBM OS/2 Warp enthusiast in the late 1990s, I recall an unofficial Asteroids-like game, I think named Roids, which had pretty solid graphics and a few enhancements over the arcade classic.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Excellent, never heard of

[@luismoura477]

Greetings from Portugal. Awesome video. Asteroids... It was my true love affair with the golden age❤ 1:43

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Greetings from the USA, it was mine as well

[@SyntheToonz]

Asteroids on the Atari 8-bits was not visually wonderful. But, on an Atari 800, with four joysticks, the competitive version games was like four player Space War. This was easily the most popular party game on my dormitory floor when I was in college.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I mentioned that but never had a chance to experience it. Sounds really cool

[@nickpalance3622]

I think I now know why Asteroids was not released by Atari for the 5200 (I had one) - it might have been a blemish on the system since 400/800 games are simply ported over to the nearly identical platform. Normally it’d be a no brainer instead of a know-brainer (gotta know how to rewrite it to look good). Turns out someone brought forth an Asteroids knock-off to the 5200: Meteorites. And I saw a boxed copy 2y ago. Why wasn’t this gem mentioned amongst the other obscurities?

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Because there were clones upon clones upon clones and there is no way I could include all of them. I left out a lot of good ones especially on the Amiga

[@Joe-Exit]

When I would play Asteroids on the Atari when it was new I would pretend I was controlling the Millennium Falcon on The Empire Strikes Back.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That is awesome

[@nickpalance3622]

I played the heck out of the 2600 version on our Sears Tele-Games Video Arcade (6,lite). I obviously knew it had a different look than the Arcade but I was okay with that. It wasn’t like the PacMan home conversion disaster. The vectors looked cool in the arcade and the color blocks looked cool on our home RCA tv.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It was one of my favorites on the 2600 as well

[@richfutrell753]

No mention of Gravitar or Solar JetMan? The 7800 version is by far my favorite. Any other 8-bit or 16-bit games like Asteroids?

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

There are tons of clones out there in no way I could mention all of them.

[@FreihEitner]

On the Atari 2600 / VCS, many games had variations which could be selected when you inserted the cartridge. Asteroids thus included both hyperspace and shield modes, as well as (I believe) with and without momentum.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

There were 60+ different variations

[@presidentsnow7315]

I remember back in the '80's arcades thinking that Blasteroids was the coolest arcade game ever! MUKOR's intro., and his boast that he ruled all galaxies was so cool when I was little. But in retrospect, I do prefer the vector graphics.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

So do I, it's all personal preference

[@SunSailor]

Great video, thank you. Only additional thing I would have hoped for was MineStorm, as an unofficial port, but being built in the Vectrex console, which made it kind of important to vector gaming.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks a lot

[@ArcadeCited]

Holy crap I gotta play the asteroids recharged arcade!!!

[@jyesucevitz]

I'd line my quarters up on that cabinet at my local King's Department Store. I've even got it on my Switch now. even with The Witcher 3 on there we still have room for the "simplicity" of Asteroids.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That's awesome, I did the same thing especially with Pac-Man and donkey Kong….And don't forget lining them up on the pool table

[@absmustang]

Ahh, phosphor glow!! …stupid LEDs

[@forcedfeedbackclassicgamer5499]

Asteroids is also called out in E.T. as well, at the beginning of the scene where Elliot introduces E.T. to his brother Mike... Asteroids Recharged on modern platforms is a siiiick modernization of the original. Highly recommend to fans of the original.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Good call

[@ConsoleCleric]

There is one more title I would like to mention. It was definitely inspired by Asteroids and was played in a similar manner. That game was Operation: Inner Space (1994).

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Very cool, thanks

[@viperjay1]

I always appreciate your hard work on these videos! You bring back great memories of Arcades. If possible sometime do a review of arcade technology over the years from 1970's on.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Great suggestion!

[@striderskorpion]

I thought I played Asteroids on a friend's Vectrex, but it must have been Mine Storm. On a side note, someone donated that system to them when their family moved to Montana in the early 90s. It's crazy to think about how the Vectrex didn't appear to have much value back then and compare that to how much it goes for now.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That's pretty wild, yes he goes for insane money

[@davess61]

Just goes to show that photorealistic graphics and a fantastic soundtrack are surplus to requirements when the fundamental gameplay is so solid. I was lucky enough to own the VCS version as a child but I was so young I don't have a particularly strong memory of it.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I couldn't agree more, gameplay trumps everything else