Asteroids
![Asteroids - Japanese Logo - Katakana / Kanji]()
Description
Your space craft is dangerously situated among fast moving asteroids in an asteroid belt that can destroy your ship on contact. Armed with a front mounted weapon and the ability to hyperspace, you fly through the debris, destroying each rock one piece at a time. Alien saucers visit the playfield from time to time with an eye towards destroying your ship!
Asteroids was produced by Atari in 1979.
Atari released 139 machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1972. Atari was based in United States.
Other machines made by Atari during the time period Asteroids was produced include: Sky Raider, Fire Truck, Avalanche, Orbit, Skydiver, Hercules, Superman, Lunar Lander, Atari Soccer, and Atari Baseball
Specs
| Name | Asteroids |
|---|---|
| Developer | Atari (United States) |
| Year | 1979 |
| Type | Videogame |
| KLOV/MOG # | 6939 |
| Class | Wide Release |
| Genre | Space |
| Development Team |
|
| Monitor |
|
| Conversion Class | unique |
| Game Specific | Asteroids Pinout |
| Dipswitch Settings |
Asteroids Dipswitch Settings (user contributed) Asteroids (rev 4) Dipswitch Settings (MAME) |
| # Simultaneous Players | 1 |
| # Maximum Players | 2 |
| Game Play | Alternating |
| Control Panel Layout | Single Player |
| Controls |
|
| Sound | Unamplified Mono (requires one-channel amp) |
| Cabinet Styles |
|
| Bezel | Asteroids Bezel Image |
| Control Panel | Asteroids Control Panel Image |
| PCB | Asteroids PCB Image |
Game Play
The most famous play tactic for Asteroids is the "hunting" strategy. The player destroys all asteroids except for one that almost clears the playfield and makes it relatively safe. This allows the player to hunt for alien saucers without worrying about being smashed by a lot of flying debris.
Asteroids KLOV/IAM 5 Point User Score: 3.98 (36 votes)
Fun Factor: 4.17
Overall Like |
4.35 |
|---|---|
| Fun (Social) | 3.65 |
| Fun (Solo) | 4.15 |
| Collector Desire | 4.21 |
Technical Rating: 3.96
| Gameplay | 4.37 |
|---|---|
| Graphics | 3.89 |
| Originality | 4.50 |
| Sound/Music | 3.48 |
Personal Impressions and Technical Impressions each account for half of the total score.
Within the Personal Impressions category, Like
carries a little more weight than the other factors.
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Cheats, Tricks, Bugs, and Easter Eggs
The original version of the game had a feature that allowed the player to hide their ship in the score field indefinitely without being hit by flying asteroids.
Images
Trivia
After its release in the US, many arcade operators had to make larger coin boxes for the games so they could hold all of the quarters that these machines collected.
Cabinet Information
The first Asteroids cabinets used a different coin-door. The quarters were placed through one of two round openings large enough for the quarter to fit through. The quarter is placed flat against a wall just inside the opening and released. The quarter drops down for a credit. The display showing the cost of a credit is labeled between the two coin openings. The lettering describing the game play is also in yellow instead of white on the monitor overlay. The picture of the Asteroids cabinet at the top of this page is one of these first machines.
Miscellaneous
VAPS Arcade/Coin-Op Asteroids Census
There are 15,268 members of the Video Arcade Preservation Society / Vintage Arcade Preservation Society, 9,671 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 166,977 machines (7,000 unique titles).
Very Common - There are 1,199 known instances of this machine owned by Asteroids collectors who are active members. Of these, 1,108 of them are original dedicated machines. 7 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet. 80 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.
For Sale - There are 48 active VAPS members with a Asteroids machines for sale. There are 5 active VAPS members with a Asteroids circuit boards for sale.
Wanted - Very Popular - There are 35 active VAPS members currently looking for Asteroids. There is one active VAPS member looking for a Asteroids circuit board set.
This game ranks a 96 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.
This game ranks a 53 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records.
Rarity and Popularity independently are not necessarily indications of value. [More Information]
Flyers
1979
/ 2 Pages
1979
1979
1979
/ 2 Pages
Technical
The Wells-Gardner 19V2000 black and white vector monitor is a direct plug-in replacement monitor for an Asteroids machine. The pinout is almost identical to Asteroids Deluxe.
Legacy
- Asteroids
- Asteroids Deluxe
- Space Duel
- Blasteroids
Manuals
Foto-Finder® (Books)
- Arcade Treasures Kurtz (ISBN 088740619X) Page: 103; Color photo
- The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256) Page: 75; Color photo Price guide: No
- Arcade Fever Sellers (ISBN 0762409371) Page: 38; Color photo
- Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256) Page: 75; Color photo
Additional References (logged in members often see more)
- 3D Model (External): Cocktail (568b862dde32bc4871d096a6914e7333)
- 3D Model (External): Upright (20e31a473cdb7bf46a5d107220298174)
Arcade Map - Play This Game
Our members have reported that Asteroids is playable at 3 locations:
| Name | Location | State | Country | Details | Check-ins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8-Bit Beans | 100 Brock St South, Whitby | Ontario | Canada | Unknown | 0 |
| Level One Bar + Arcade | 130 Hutchinson Ave, Columbus | Ohio | United States | Unknown | 0 |
| The Very Best Arcade (The Very Best Weiner Shop) | 252 E High St, Pottstown | Pennsylvania | United States | Arcade | 1 |
eBay Listings
Click to search eBay for Asteroids Videogame machines and related items.
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TOP WATCHED LISTINGS FOR: Asteroids
ATARI ASTEROIDS DELUXE Arcade Game PLEXI Marquee Bezel Artwork Graphic.
Auction ends in: 4 weeks, 1 day
Asteroids Arcade Bezel And Cocktail Instructions
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#2 Atari Arcade CONE Volcano LICON Start BUTTON Switch Asteroids Missile Tempest
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ASTROIDS 1979 ATARI COIN OP ARCADE VIDEO GAME MAIN BOARD COMPLETE UNTESTED
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Asteroids High Score Save Kit from Braze Arcade
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VINTAGE ATARI Interactive Asteroids Mini Arcade Handheld Game WORKS GREAT!
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Atari Arcade Red LED CONE Volcano Start BUTTON Switch Asteroids Missile Tempest
Auction ends in: 2 days, 17 hours
Atari Asteroids Coin-op Arcade PCB board repair and refurbish service
Auction ends in: 6 days, 20 hours
Asteroids Deluxe Screen Printed cpo from the best!
Auction ends in: 1 week, 6 days
Auction Results
Logged in members can see all related auctions.
Auctions Recap
| Year | Count | Median $ | Average $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5 | 575.00 | 601.50 |
| 2016 | 5 | 460.00 | 448.50 |
| 2017 | 3 | 632.50 | 661.25 |
| 2018 | 5 | 354.00 | 519.20 |
| 2019 | 1 | 472.00 | 472.00 |
| 2020 | 6 | 1,194.50 | 1,088.17 |
| 2021 | 5 | 1,265.00 | 1,570.60 |
| 2022 | 3 | 1,265.00 | 1,380.00 |
| All Years | 33 | 690.00 | 873.45 |
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