הpp0¢הhd0¢הju1¢הlm1¢הrm38¢¢ o=o=o=o=o=¢¢Next-Generation Online: World of Atari Report¢¢Who was there, what was shown, and is Jaguar BattleSphere for real?¢These questions and more answered in Next Generation Online's report on World of Atari '98.¢¢August 24, 1998¢¢It was an intriguing idea. To put on a show that centered around the company that started the video game craze some twenty years after it began. Set over three nights and two days, the World of Atari 1998 show took place at the Holiday Inn Casino Boardwalk in Las Vegas. And the gaming world may never be the same.¢¢The show was primarily organized by three individuals, Richard Tsukiji, Keita Iida, and John Hardie. These three gentlemen have been long time Atari supporters. At the height of Atari popularity during the Trameil Era, Tsukiji organized several World of Atari shows which met with great success. Iida published a newsletter called the Atari Zone and helped launch the Atari Gaming Headquarters (www.atarihq.com) web site with John Hardie. Hardie has been a staunch supporter of all things Atari for many years including working on previous World of Atari Shows and serving as Vice President of the Alamo Area Atari Users Association. But, even after the demise of the Atari Corporation, they still saw the power that the company had instilled throughout the world. Relying on this knowledge, they decided to put together another show.¢¢Even though the show was titled "World of Atari," there was a much larger sense of community present at the show. Most of the classic gaming systems were represented. The Intellivision, the Colecovision, and the 8-bit home computers stood aside the 2600, 5200,7800, and Atari XE/ST computers. It was quite impressive to see such a strong showing from a gaming era that has passed us by for perspective correcting texture mapping and "well endowed polygons named Lara," according to Don Thomas, who was worked for Atari during the Tramiel days.¢¢On Friday night, an informal party was thrown to kick off the show. The idea was simple, to get as many attendees, guests, and dealers together to set the mood for the weekend. And it did a fabulous job. Food, drink, and music kept the atmosphere light while everyone got to know one another. The party was toped off with a set of quick opening comments from Don Thomas.¢¢At 10 a.m. Saturday, the doors opened and the crowd made its way into the show. There were three different rooms for the showgoers to explore. First was the dealer room which was sponsored by Nyko (www.nyko.com). At the Nyko booth one could try its new trackball controller for the PlayStation. Running Missile Command through the Williams Arcade Classics CD showed just how much thought the R&D department had put into the trackball. They also displayed their remote RF signal adapters for the Playstation and Nintendo 64. No more cables running from your system to the tv. Just plug in one adapter to the TV and the other to your system of choice.¢¢Undeniably, the most anticipated developer at the show was 4Play. (http://www.best.com/~sebab/dvidgames/dsphere/sphere.shtml) The company's Scott LeGrand and Stephanie Wukovitz were in attendance to show off their recently completed game, BattleSphere. In many circles, BattleSphere is generally considered to be the best Atari Jaguar game. Developed over four and a half years while additionally holding down steady jobs, BattleSphere became the light at the end of the tunnel for the hardcore Jaguar user - and it did not disappoint. The astounded crowd huddled around the consoles as it booted up. Showgoer Doug Childs remarked, "It was definitely worth the wait." World of Atari sponsored both a Networked BattleSphere and a Warlords elimination contest. Winners were given copies of Hasbro's Frogger, Star Wars Monopoly, and the Namco Museum compliation for PlayStation.¢¢Other developers at the show included Wizztronics, Inc.(www.wiztronics.com) which had its Lynx-to-TV adapter on display. This small modification board will allow a Lynx player to use his television as a display unit. The image was sharp and stable. Another developer was Emulators, Inc.(www.emulators.com) which had it's Atari/Mac emulation boards for the PC up and running. It was strange to see the Atari and Mac Desktops running on the PC, but they were there and they were fast.¢¢A multitude of exhibitors were strategically placed throughout the dealer room. Companies including Best Electronics(best-electronics-ca.com), B&C Computer Visions(myatari.com), and Steve's Computer Technology(www.atarionline.com). These dealers featured any game or game system that one wanted to add to their collection, and dealers kept their prices to a very respectable level.¢¢Also placed throughout the dealer room were some classic arcade machines that were open for all to play. Star Wars, Asteroids, Wizard of War, Gauntlet 2, Centipede, and several other classics made appearances. Even with machines of this size, there were rare and prototypes available for play. Jerry Jessop brought along the first Computer Space cabinet, the fiberglass gaming console that started it all. Long before Pong, this was the game of choice. And it was in mint condition using 95% of its original parts. Also included were a prototype Atari pinball machine called Neutron Star from 1981, an Atari Games machine that never saw release called Freeze from 1995, (which was excellent and should have been released), and even the venerable old Pong itself.¢¢Namco, creators of the classic games Pac-Man, Pole Position, and Dig Dug, sponsored the Museum Exhibit. The museum featured systems dating back as far as 1972 with the Magnavox Odyssey. Notable items in the museum included the Graduate Computer Keyboard adapter for the Atari 2600, the prototype of the remote controlled Atari 2600 titled the 2700, the Atari Mindlink Controller, the Atari Cosmos which was a holographic game system, the Atari Mirai which is rumored to be the design for the game system based on the Atari ST computer lines, and the original Virtual Light Machine - the Atari Video Music (1976). Over sixty items were present in the museum while even more rare items were found at the Atari Historical Society (http://www.atari.nu/).¢¢The third room at the show was designated for the Keynote Speakers and the Sunday Evening auction. Speakers included Don Thomas, Rob Fulop (2600 Missile Command and co-founder of Imagic), Dan Kramer (5200 trackball), Jerry Jessop (member of the Atari R&D team/Atari 2000 project), Scott LeGrand and Stephanie Wukovitz (4Play), John Harris (designer of Jawbreaker and Frogger for the Atari 8bit Computers), Dave Staugus (Millipede and Krull for the Atari 2600), and Arnie Katz, Joyce Worley, and Bill Kunkel (founders of the first videogame magazine, Electronic Games).¢¢Said Dan Kramer of his time at Atari: "I can tell you it was a fabulous place to work. And it wasn't our imagination that we were doing some of the coolest, funest, neatest stuff we've ever encountered. It was a circus all day long, but we did the work and turned out product." And while most of the speakers used their time to discuss their experiences with or involving Atari, Don Thomas struck a cord about the future of the gaming, "This weekend's World of Atari 98 Show is indicative of an old trend that is re-emerging. It is one that explores the value of updating and republishing classic videogames."¢¢But after each day ended, the group of show goers continued to enjoy themselves in the Vegas nightlife. Either gambling, going across the street to Sega Gameworks, or heading over to the Hilton to ride the Star Trek Experience, there were more than enough activities to take up whatever time was left over from the show.¢¢Over all, the show seemed a resounding success. It took the remnants of the first generation of video gaming and gave them a place to stand. The speakers, the museum, and the dealer rooms provided some very interesting sites and buys. ¢¢And while some players may look back and scoff at the 2600 or other similar systems, there were more than enough people of all age groups enjoying themselves and proving that there is life in any platform -- even after it has been discontinued.¢¢And while this year's show may be over, there is still a way experience the event. A two-hour video is currently in production detailing the events of the past weekend. Professionally shot, edited, and duplicated, this tape will feature direct feeds from games at the show, all the speakers, the dealer room, the Namco Museum, and much more.¢¢For more information, go to this address (http://home.earthlink.net/%7Esantora/woav.htm).¢ o=o=o=o=o=¢¢¢
