Activision Anthology comes to iOS

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Activision is revisiting its roots with the release of Activision Anthology, an iOS collection of video games originally made for the Atari 2600. It’s a free download (unlockable using In-App Purchase).

Today’s gamers know Activision as one of the modern era’s most popular video game publishers: the Call of Duty series, Guitar Hero, and many others have come from Activision. But 30 years ago, Activision was the first third-party publisher of video games for consoles, making titles for the legendary Atari 2600.

Forty-five of those cartridge games made for the Atari 2600 are available in Activision Anthology, unlockable using in-app purchases either in “game packs” or complete for $6.99.

You can play the original Pitfall, for example (recently resurrected as a rather disappointing run-and-jump game in the vein of ‘Temple Run’); River Raid, Barnstorming, Demon Attack and many others.

Admittedly, this may only appeal to a segment of retro-gaming enthusiasts who remember the Atari 2600 with fondness, but for those of us who cut our first teeth in home console gaming on systems like this, it’s a lot of fun.



  • adrianoconnor

    Got to love pitfall and river-raid. I was born a bit later (’79), and though we did have a 2600 for a while, I much prefered the C64 versions.

  • http://www.facebook.com/craiggrannell Craig Grannell

    Downloaded but on seeing the dev logo, I’m reminded of the disaster that was Atari’s Greatest Hits. These guys seem to nail the emulation angle, but the controls they create for iOS are so often awful. Only tried the built-in game so far, and that seems OK, but concerned that I’ll pay five quid only to end up with a collection of uncontrollable classics. (Also, leaving the bright blue Options tab on the screen when using an iCade is maddeningly stupid from a user-experience standpoint.)

    grumblyoldgitface