There are many rumours in the U.S. at the moment that Atari have dropped the 1400XL and the 1450XLD from their range to concentrate on the 600XL and 800XL. One reliable source states however that Atari have NOT changed their plans and that the 1450XLD should be out in the Spring. This would seem to be borne out by a recent report that U.K. Marketing Director Eric Salaman has recently been to the States to finalise plans for the U.K. release and to agree the U.K. specification.
Atari has plenty of software lined up for release in the first quarter of this year. January was due to see MS PACMAN, JUNGLE HUNT and JOUST with ROBOTRON due in February. MOON PATROL, MARIO BROTHERS and PENGO are due in March with MILLIPEDE and DONKEY KONG JR in April. Play on, you arcade freaks!
Great news if you have an XL model that won't boot your software. Atari have a Translator program that boots in the old 400/800 operating system. See the XL column for further details.
Adventure International have signed an agreement with Marvel Entertainment Group for a series of at least 12 graphic adventures based on the great Comic heroes such as The Hulk, Spiderman and Captain America. Adventure International UK are working hard to bring the series to the U.K. as soon as possible but with conversions to all U.K. machines involved there is a great deal of work to do before The Hulk can burst upon your screen or Spiderman can cast his web over you.
English Software Co continues to increase its range of Atari software with six new titles to be
released in mid-March. SOLDIER OF FORTUNE is an underground adventure 'with a windmill
theme'. TARROID features perspective scrolling and is written by Manuel Caballero of FIREFLEET
fame. The sequel to DIAMONDS is DAN STRIKES BACK which features vertical scrolling. Also due
are NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER, ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and CITADEL WARRIOR. All
except Citadel Warrior are 16K and will retail at £9.95 on disk or cassette. Also due for release are
the first two foreign language learning programs - GERMAN and FRENCH and a multi-utility to
follow A.C.E. which features a Player Editor, a Multi-Character Editor and a Single Character
Editor all in one program.
Saddest news of the year is the closure of Efficient Chips who last year
began to provide Atari owners with a valuable alternative source of software and Atari support. Many PAGE 6 readers had found their mail order service to be excellent and their advice and support invaluable. The closure is due to 'the pressures of the computer
jungle' and as a retailer who had Atari at heart, they will be sadly missed. The bulletin board ECABBS has also closed down but there are rumours that a couple of new Atari boards will spring up in its place.
New from Adventure International are RALLY SPEEDWAY, which is excellent, on ROM at
£29.95 and S.A.G.E., the Scott Adams Graphics Editor which was used to create the SAGA series.
S.A.G.E. will enable you to mix highly complex graphics with your own BASIC program. A very
powerful utility at £35.99. Also Adventure No.13 - THE SORCEROR OF CLAYMORGUE CASTLE
should be available at £9.95 and there are rumours of Adventure 14 on its way.
THE PRICE REVOLUTION
Allrian Data Services have introduced their FIRST GAME SERIES which is a re-release of
some of the early titles from the Artworx catalog. The games were originally full priced
titles and have been re-introduced at only £7.50 to give new owners an introduction to Atari at a modest cost. All games in the series will run in 16K and are
available on cassette only.
Starcade have converted UP, UP and AWAY and SAVAGE POND to the Commodore 64 and have reduced the price for the Atari versions to only £8.95 to fall in line. They are available direct from Starcade and must now be two of the best value programs available for Atari anywhere.
Adventure International UK have announced price reductions virtually across their entire range. The Scott Adams Adventure series are now £9.95 with the graphics versions at £19.95. Arcade titles, including classics such as Preppie, Sea Dragon and Stratos, are down to £14.95. The company are also working on 16K versions of the adventures.
Who says Atari software is expensive!
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