The long-awaited “Atari Vault” officially launched on Steam this week. Users now have the freedom to purchase over 100 classic Atari games from Asteroids to Centipede. Currently, these classics are being sold in a bundle for a price of $16.99 (15% off). However, at the beginning of April, the price of this bundle will increase to $19.99.
By partnering with Steam, Atari hopes to have some exclusive added features that will give players a more integrated playing experience. For instance, Atari designed the user interface for each game to be similar to that of an actual arcade where the games were first played — mimicking the styles and art design that was used widely during the 1970s and 1980s.
Also, for those who like competition, Atari has made these games playable online — against thousands of players. Players can play with each other, against each other, or try to get the highest score. The gameplay is far more sleek as the mouse and keyboard makes movements more fluid and reactionary than it was when the 2600 was originally played with a joystick — which often got stuck.
Currently, the games are only compatible with Windows, so those with OSX or Linux are out of luck. Also, many classics such as Frogger and Pitfall aren’t available in this bundle. However, is is possible that Atari will release more bundles with more fan favorites in the future. Whatever happens, fans of retro games have to be stoked for this release. Sure, emulators have helped bring these games back into the fold in the past, but now these games can be played as they were truly intended to be.
