''Super Breakout'' is a sequel to the 1976 video game ''
Breakout'' released in
arcades in September 1978 by
Atari, Inc.
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry.
Based primarily around the Sunny ...
[ It was written by Ed Rotberg.][ The game uses the same mechanics as ''Breakout'', but allows the selection of three distinct game modes via a knob on the cabinet—two of which involve multiple, simultaneous balls in play.] Both the original and sequel are in black and white with monitor overlays to add color. It was distributed in Japan by Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
and Esco Trading.
The arcade game was commercially successful in Japan and the United States. Atari published home versions–in color–for most of its consoles and computers, including as the pack-in game for the 1982 Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to the Atari 2600 at the time of the 5200' ...
.
Gameplay
The fundamental gameplay—use a paddle to bounce a ball into a wall of destructible bricks—is the same as ''Breakout'', but ''Super Breakout'' contains three different game modes:
Double gives the player control of two paddles at the same time—one placed above the other—with two balls in-play simultaneously.
Cavity also has two paddles, but initially only one ball. Two others are contained in pockets inside the wall and can be freed.
Progressive advances the entire wall downward step by step, gaining in speed the longer the ball is in play.
Development
The game was written by Ed Rotberg, who later designed '' Battlezone'' (1980) for Atari.[ Rotberg developed ''Super Breakout'' after hearing that Atari founder ]Nolan Bushnell
Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consume ...
wanted ''Breakout'' updated.
While the original was constructed with discrete logic instead of a microprocessor, ''Super Breakout'' uses a MOS Technology 6502
The MOS Technology 6502 (typically pronounced "sixty-five-oh-two" or "six-five-oh-two") William Mensch and the moderator both pronounce the 6502 microprocessor as ''"sixty-five-oh-two"''. is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by a small t ...
CPU. Like ''Breakout'', ''Super Breakout'' uses a black and white display with overlays to simulate color.[
]
Ports
''Super Breakout'' appeared as a cartridge for the Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...
in 1979 with support for up to 8 players taking turns.[ A port for the Atari VCS (later renamed the ]Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
) was available at the end of 1981, initially as a Sears exclusive release under the Tele-Games branding. An Atari branded version was then released in January of 1982. The VCS port includes two "Children's Version" games that require less skill to play. Four years after release, ''Super Breakout'' became the pack-in game for the then-new Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to the Atari 2600 at the time of the 5200' ...
console in 1982. Prior home versions use paddle controllers; the 5200 port uses the system's analog joysticks.
An Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...
version developed by Pardox was published by Atari UK in 1987. Majesco released ''Super Breakout'' for the Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
in 1998 and Game Boy Color
The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
in 1999. Both the Atari ST and Game Boy versions have sculpted bricks similar to those of the ''Breakout''-inspired ''Arkanoid
is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflect ...
''.
All of the home ports also include a version of the original game simply as ''Breakout''.
Reception
In Japan, it was the ninth highest-earning arcade video game of 1978. In the United States, it was the eighth highest-earning arcade video game of 1979. Atari sold a total of 4,805 ''Super Breakout'' arcade cabinet
An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...
s.
In regard to ''Super Breakout'' being included with every Atari 5200, David H. Ahl
David H. Ahl (born May 17, 1939) is an American author who is the founder of ''Creative Computing (magazine), Creative Computing'' magazine. He is also the author of many how-to books, including ''BASIC Computer Games'', the first computer book t ...
of ''Creative Computing
''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format th ...
Video & Arcade Games'', wrote in 1983:In 1995, Flux
Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...
magazine ranked Super Breakout 93rd on their "Top 100 Video Games."
Legacy
For Kid Stuff Records
Kid Stuff Records, also known originally as The Kid Stuff Repertory Company, was a record label founded in 1975, by Bob McAllister, Artie Kaplin, and Dick Mullen, as a children's music label. It was headquartered and located in Hollywood, Flori ...
, John Braden recorded a 7-in 33 RPM record telling the story of ''Super Breakout''. This science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
story dealt with NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
astronaut Captain John Stewart Chang returning from a routine mission transporting titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
from Io to space station New California. He encounters a rainbow barrier, presumably a force of nature, that seems to have no end on either side. He has three lobbing missiles of white light that he can bounce off the hull of his shuttle, and they prove able to break through the layers of the force field. With his life support systems failing, what follows is a test of endurance turned game as he strives to break through the barrier in space.
Glu Mobile
Glu Mobile LLC is an American developer and publisher of video games for mobile phones and tablet computers. Founded in San Francisco, California, in 2004, Glu offers products to multiple platforms including Java ME-based devices, Android, Wind ...
released a licensed cellular phone version. In 2008, Atari released the game for the iPhone and iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
via Apple's App Store
An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the co ...
.
References
External links
*
''Super Breakout''
for the Atari 2600 at Atari Mania
for the Atari 8-bit family at Atari Mania
for the Atari 5200 at Atari Mania
{{1970s Atari arcade games
1978 video games
Arcade video games
Atari arcade games
Atari 2600 games
Atari 5200 games
Atari 8-bit family games
Atari ST games
Game Boy Color games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Paddle-and-ball video games
Video games developed in the United States