Nostalgia lovers are in luck. Atari opened reservations for Save Marya game developed in 1983 for the Atari 2600 that never made it to the market. Yes, you read that right. A 40-year-old title will be available for the first time through a limited edition of 500 cartridges.
Those interested in keeping one of the copies will have to pay $59.99. A price that is not cheap and is close to that of any AAA game available on latest generation consoles, certainly. However, the story behind Save Mary It will surely be the delight of Atari fans.
As we already mentioned, this video game dates back to 1983, a catastrophic year for the Atari 2600 and the industry in general in the United States. Your Creator, Todd Fryewas never able to launch it due to the collapse that hit the sector until 1985 due to the excess of console offers and low-quality titles.
But with the growing interest in the proposals of that time, Atari has not missed the possibility of give it a chance 4 decades later. The premise behind the title is quite striking. Players must use a crane to move blocks and assemble a platform that allows Mary, the protagonist, to escape from a flooding canyon.
The Atari 2600 receives an original game after 40 years
It is evident that the limited edition launch of Save Mary It is a proposal that Atari focuses on collectors. More than 40 years may have passed since the golden age of the Atari 2600, but it is a reality that there are still many units of the console that are preserved and in good working order.
In addition, the cartridge is compatible with other company systems, such as Atari 2600 Jr. of 1985, and the Atari 7800 from 1984-1986; the latter, the first backwards compatible console in history.
It is worth clarifying, in any case, that those who wish to buy Save Mary You don’t necessarily have to go looking for an old Atari 2600 to play it. In August, the company launched the Atari 2600+a new version of the device that works with virtually all of its original cartridges.
Will this be Atari’s first step to revive several launches cut short by the 1983 crisis? Let’s not forget that the collapse of the industry was such that the company buried some 700,000 unsold game cartridges—many of them from E.T.— along with a large number of Atari 2600 units and other hardware.
Although over the years a sort of myth or urban legend was created regarding this, its veracity was finally confirmed. It was in 2014, after the excavation of the site located in New Mexico for a documentary.
In the event that copies of Save Mary sell out and the new Atari 2600+ is a success, it wouldn’t be strange if Atari begins to take economic advantage of one of its most difficult times40 years later.