Kee Games was an American

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade vi ...

manufacturer that released arcade and video games from 1973 to 1978.

History

Kee was formed by Joe Keenan, a friend and neighbor of

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, Ca ...

co-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 Consu ...

, in September 1973. In reality, Bushnell had worked with Keenan to create Kee Games in response to the pinball and arcade distributors of the time who demanded exclusivity deals; Bushnell believed that Kee Games could offer similar but renamed arcade games, or " clones", to distributors, which would greatly expand Atari's distribution beyond the limits of these deals. Bushnell assigned several of Atari's staff to work at Kee Games, including Steve Bristow, Bill White, and Gil Williams, and discreetly supplied them the parts for which they could make their games. To the public, Kee Games advertized itself as a competitor to Atari and that it was hiring defectors from Atari. Through 1973 and 1974, Kee's games were slight modifications of Atari games already released or games that had been left in development at Atari. These included ''Elimination'' which was based on Bristow's ''

Quadrapong ''Pong'' is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcor ...

'' that he had left unfinished at Atari, while ''Spike'' was based on Atari's '' Rebound'' but with an added move. Kee wanted to avoid the stigma of simply being a follower of Atari and started developing its own games, its first own game being ''

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful ...

'' that was released in November 1974. Ahead of ''Tank''s release, Atari itself was having financial and management problems. Among other measures, Atari opted to formally merge Kee Games into Atari in September 1974, with Keenan named to president of Atari and the Kee Games kept as a separate operating division. ''Tank'' became a popular arcade game, and helped Atari recover from the financial downturn. Kee continued to produce arcade games through 1978, when the division was closed down by

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

, which had acquired Atari in 1976. After Bushnell left Atari in December 1978, Keenan departed the company a few months later, joining Bushnell to help manage his

Pizza Time Theatre Chuck E. Cheese (formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza and simply Chuck E. Cheese's) is an American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Atari's co-founder Nolan B ...

restaurant/arcade franchise.

Games

* ''Elimination'' (October 1973) — cloned by Atari's ''

'' * ''Spike'' (March 1974) — a clone of Atari's '' Rebound'', with an extra button labeled "spike" * ''Formula K'' (April 1974) — a clone of Atari's ''

Gran Trak 10 ''Gran Trak 10'' is an arcade driving video game developed by Atari through its subsidiary Cyan Engineering, and released by Atari in May 1974. In the game, a single player drives a car along a race track, viewed from above, avoiding walls of py ...

'' * ''Twin Racer'' (July 1974) — a clone of Atari's ''Gran Trak 20'' * ''

'' (November 1974) — an original game that became very popular * '' Pursuit'' (January 1975) * ''

Indy 800 ''Indy 800'' is an arcade game, arcade racing video game released in 1975 by Atari Inc. It was distributed in Japan by Nakamura Seisakusho (Namco). Technology The game is housed in a large custom rectangular cabinet that takes up . Each side of ...

'' (April 1975) * ''Tank II'' (May 1975) — the first game sold under the "Kee" label with the Atari disclosure * ''

Quiz Show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, s ...

'' (April 1976) * ''

Tank 8 ''Tank'' is an arcade game developed by Kee Games, a subsidiary of Atari, and released in November 1974. It was the only original title not based on an existing Atari property developed by Kee Games, which was founded to sell clones of Atari ga ...

'' (April 1976) * '' Indy 4'' (May 1976) * '' Sprint 2'' (November 1976) * ''

Drag Race Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most ...

'' (June 1977) * '' Super Bug'' (September 1977) * ''

Sprint 1 ''Sprint 2'' is a two player overhead-view arcade racing video game released in 1976 by Kee Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atari, and distributed by Namco in Japan. While earlier driving games had computer-controlled cars that moved along a ...

'' (January 1978) * ''

Ultra Tank ''Tank'' is an arcade game developed by Kee Games, a subsidiary of Atari, and released in November 1974. It was the only original title not based on an existing Atari property developed by Kee Games, which was founded to sell clones of Atari ga ...

'' (February 1978)

References

Sources

Arcade history in 1974

External links

Entry
at Killer List of Videogames
Entry
at Arcade Flyers {{Atari Atari Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game development companies