Atari Age Magazine

Atari Age Volume 1 No. 1

Atari Age Volume 1 No. 2

Atari Age Volume 1 No. 4

Atari Age Volume 1 No. 6

Atari Age Volume 2 No. 2

Atari Age Volume 2 No. 4

Atari Age Gear

Atari Age Gear 2

Atari Age Article: Steven Spielberg

Recently, while tooling around the internet in search of Computer Magazine cover art, I was blindsided by this tidal wave of nostalgia: Atari Age Magazine.

Like any self-respecting child of the early 80’s, I was the proud owner of an Atari 2600 (thanks mom & dad). I spent hours playing kick-ass 8-bit games like Pitfall, Chopper Command, Commando Raid, River Raid, Vanguard, and The Empire Strikes Back. Atari was it for a few years and every kid I knew wanted one of those wicked faux-wooden consoles. For the die-hard fans, you could become an exclusive member of the prestigious Atari Club for the outrageous price of $1.

Atari Age debuted in 1982 as a perk given to all Atari Club members. The magazine regularly featured exclusive looks at new products, interviews, technical articles, exclusive offers to Atari Club members, and a truckload of Atari-related swag. Just check out those slick Atari jackets, man what I would give for one of those suckers now.

Atari Age ended its publication run in 1984, after Warner Communications sold the consumer division of Atari to Commodore International founder Jack Tramiel. For more on the magazine itself and everything else Atari, head over to atariage.com.


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4 responses to “Atari Age Magazine”

  1. David Johnston Avatar

    So good, so right. Thanks for posting, Jim. Still have 3 different Atari machines plus lots of related merch, mags and boxes…hoping to house a small public museum in the near future. Atari rules!!

  2. Dave (Spaceman Design) Avatar

    Amazing! I love the style of illustration, the vibrant colors, and the spacey presentation…. I remember similar stuff gracing the covers of books and toy packaging as well. I could be wrong, but I suspect the box art is half of what sold this stuff.

    What a great decade to be a kid!

  3. Leukocyt Avatar

    Man, nostalgia attack :)
    I personally never had a 2600, I was a Commodore 64 kid (was born too late I guess ;) ) but those were some good times, easier times.

    I remember writing simple programs when I was 9… and then having nightmares about being chased by giant, pixelated flies because I was spending too much time with my C64 :D

    On a side note – my friend got his hands on about 20 episodes of Computer Chronicles and we ended up watching them together with my wife :D So awesome.

  4. Olga R. Avatar

    What memories!!! What kid our age didn’t dream about having an Atari.

    It was so interesting that when my brother was one of the first ones to get an Atari in our neighborhood, all of a sudden he become one of the most popular kids in the area.

    If I have to choose one game, it will have to be the Empire Strikes Back just because the trilogy defined our childhood and that is why it has been so good to see kids enjoying the same movies twenty years later

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