RealSports Soccer
{{short description|1983 video game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{distinguish|RealSports Football}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = RealSports Soccer
|image = RealSport_Soccer_cartridge_cover.png
|caption =
|programmer = Michael Sierchio
Jerome Domurat
|series = RealSports
|developer = Atari, Inc.
|publisher = Atari, Inc.
|platforms = Atari 2600, Atari 5200
|released = {{vgrelease|US|April 1983{{cite journal |journal=Atari Age |title=Sneek Peeks |date=December 1982 |volume=1 |issue=4 |page=10 |publisher=Atari Club |issn=0731-5686 |url= https://www.atariage.com/magazines/magazine_page.php?MagazineID=4&CurrentPage=8 |accessdate=February 28, 2021}}{{cite journal |journal=Atari Age |title=Join the RealSports Team! |date=April 1983 |volume=1 |issue=6 |pages=10–11 |publisher=Atari Club |issn=0731-5686 |url= https://www.atariage.com/magazines/magazine_page.php?MagazineID=6&CurrentPage=11 |accessdate=February 28, 2021}}|EU|1983}}
|genre = Sports
|modes = Single-player, multiplayer
}}
RealSports Soccer (also known as Soccer, Football and RealSports Football) is a 1983 sports video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200, concentrating on the sport of association football.{{cite book |last1=Weiss |first1=Bret |title=Classic Home Video Games, 1972–1984 A Complete Reference Guide |date=December 20, 2011 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |isbn=9780786487554 |pages=98, 147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzxTtml8Jq4C&q=%22Realsports+Baseball%22&pg=PA147 |access-date=February 25, 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Lapetino |first1=Tim |title=Art of Atari |date=October 26, 2016 |publisher=Dynamite Entertainment |isbn=9781524101060 |pages=250–251 |url=https://archive.org/details/book_art_of_atari/page/250/mode/2up?q=%22Realsports+soccer%22 |access-date=February 25, 2021|edition=Deluxe}}
Development
The game was part of a series of games released under the RealSports title for the Atari 2600, including RealSports Football, RealSports Volleyball, and RealSports Baseball.{{cite news |title=Best 2600 Sports |url=https://archive.org/details/Videogaming_Illustrated_1983-04_Ion_International_US/page/n59/mode/2up?q=%22Realsports%22 |access-date=February 24, 2021 |work=Videogaming Illustrated |date=April 1983 |page=60}} With the launch of the Atari 5200 a new version of the game was also developed for it, originally known simply as Soccer. The game was Atari's second association football-themed game after Pelé's Soccer.
The 2600 version was programmed by Michael Sierchio, with the computer-graphics being designed by Jerome Domurat. The 5200 version was programmed by John Seghers. The game was written in machine code. The original cover for the 2600 version was designed by Warren Chang,{{cite web |title=RealSports Soccer Credits (Atari 2600) |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/atari-2600/realsports-soccer/credits |website=Moby Games |access-date=February 25, 2021}}{{Unreliable source?|sure=y|reason=WP:VG/RS|date=September 2021}} whilst the cover for the 5200 version was designed by Steve Hendricks. A version for the Atari 8-bit computers was also in development, but was cancelled in hope that it would sell more 5200 systems.{{cite journal |last=Jainschigg |first=John |title=The History of RealSports |journal=Retro Gamer |issue=183 |date=August 2018 |pages=44–49}}
Gameplay
The game includes only three players a side, with no human-controlled goal keeper. The gameplay scrolls horizontally over a play-area roughly three screens wide. During play the human player controls the sprite with the ball, whilst the computer AI controls the sprites of the players that are off the ball. To switch player the user selects the player nearest to the ball by pressing a joystick button, though the player is selected automatically by a successful pass. The Atari 5200 version featured computer-controlled goal-keepers.{{cite book |editor1-last=Kunkel |editor1-first=Bill |editor1-link=Bill Kunkel (journalist) |title=1984 Software Encyclopedia |date=1984 |publisher=Reese Communications Inc. |pages=105 |url=https://archive.org/details/1984_Software_Encyclopedia_Number_2_1983_Reese_Communications_US/page/n103/mode/2up?q=Soccer |access-date=February 25, 2021}}
Reception
A review of RealSports Soccer in the March 1983 issue of the UK magazine TV Gamer criticized the high price of the game (nearly £30, or roughly £100 at 2020 prices),{{cite web |title=Bank of England Inflation Calculator |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator |website=bankofengland.co.uk |access-date=February 25, 2021}} and summed up their impression of the game by saying "it's just football".{{cite news |title=RealSports Soccer: New! |url=https://archive.org/details/tv-gamer-magazine-1983-02/page/n33/mode/2up?q=realsports |access-date=February 25, 2021 |work=TV Gamer |date=February 1983 |page=32}} The German magazine Telematch, in an April 1983 review criticized the lack of goalkeepers, the small play-area, and the general lack of realism in the game, ultimately giving the game a score of 4/6.{{cite news |title=RealSports Soccer: Ansatsweise Mini-Fussball |url=https://www.kultpower.de/archiv/heft_telematch_1983-04_seite19 |access-date=February 25, 2021 |work=Telematch |date=April 1983 |page=18 |language=German}} A May 1983 review in the French gaming magazine Tilt also criticized the lack-lustre gameplay, though it praised the improved graphics over Atari's previous game, Pelé's Soccer. Tilt gave the game 4/5 for graphics but only 2/5 for its ability to hold interest.{{cite news |title=Football |url=http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Tilt/tilt_numero005/Tilt%20005%20-%20Page%20017%20(1983-05-06).jpg |access-date=February 25, 2021 |work=Tilt |issue=5 |date=May 1983 |page=17 |language=French |quote=Nb. the title is "Football", but from the picture and the description this is clearly RealSports Soccer.}} The 1984 Book of Atari Software criticized the lack of realism in RealSports Soccer for the 2600 platform, saying that it "lack[ed] the complexity and players to hold anyone's interest", and gave the game an overall score of "D".{{cite book |last1=Stanton |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Wells |first2=Robert P. |last3=Rochowansky |first3=Sandra |last4=Mellin |first4=Michael |title=The Book of Atari Software 1984 |date=1984 |publisher=The Book Company |isbn=0912003049 |page=383 |url=https://archive.org/details/the-book-of-atari-software-1984/page/n383/mode/2up |access-date=February 20, 2021}} A review in the 1984 Software Encyclopedia was broadly positive about the game, particularly in head-to-head mode, giving it 7/10 overall.
An article in the November/December 1992 edition of Digital Press listed the game as one of the worst ever made for the Atari 2600, criticizing especially the poor graphics, sound, gameplay, and controls.{{cite news |last1=Oleniacz |first1=Kevin |title=The worst of the Atari 2600, part 2 of 3 |url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/newsletters/digitalpress/dp2.pdf |access-date=February 25, 2021 |work=Digital Press |date=November–December 1992 |page=4}} A review of the Atari 5200 version of the game in the November/December 1997 edition of Digital Press was mildly more positive, praising the improved graphics over the Atari 2600 version, and the impressive (for its day) analog controls, though also criticizing the ease of scoring against the computer in the one-player version of the game, and gave it 5/10 overall.{{cite news |last1=Cooper |first1=Jeff |title=RealSports Soccer |url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/newsletters/digitalpress/dp34.pdf |access-date=February 25, 2021 |work=Digital Press |issue=34 |date=November–December 1997 |page=18}}
Reviews
Legacy
The intellectual property rights for the game passed to Hasbro Interactive and were subsequently bought by Infogrames in 2001, which was subsequently renamed Atari SA. It was then re-released for the Atari Flashback 3 in 2011, which was the first console of the Flashback series made by the AtGames company.{{cite news |last1=Purchese |first1=Robert |title=Atari Flashback 3 console: 60 games, £50 – Two pads, looks like Atari 2600 |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-09-07-atari-flashback-3-console-60-games-GBP50 |access-date=February 28, 2021 |work=Eurogamer |publisher=Gamer Network Limited |date=September 7, 2011}} As of 2021, the game has been included on all subsequent Flashback consoles, including the Flashback 4,{{cite news |last1=Pescovitz |first1=David |title=Atari Flashback 4 console |url=https://boingboing.net/2012/12/03/atari-flashback-4-console.html |access-date=March 2, 2021 |work=Boing Boing |date=December 3, 2012}} 5,{{cite book |title=Atgames Atari Flashback 5 User Guide |date=2014 |publisher=AtGames Digital Media Inc |url=https://archive.org/stream/atgames-atari-flashback-5/atgames-atari-flashback-5_djvu.txt |access-date=March 2, 2021}} 6,{{cite book |title=Atgames Atari Flashback 6 User Guide |date=2015 |publisher=AtGames Digital Media Inc. |url=https://archive.org/stream/atgames-atari-flashback-6/atgames-atari-flashback-6_djvu.txt |access-date=March 2, 2021}} 7,{{cite news |last1=Fenech |first1=Steven |title=Play classic games like Space Invaders, Frogger and Pong on your TV with Atari Flashback 7 |url=https://www.techguide.com.au/news/play-classic-games-like-space-invaders-frogger-pong-tv-atari-flashback-7/ |access-date=March 1, 2021 |work=Tech Guide |date=February 15, 2017}} 8,{{cite news |last1=Falcone |first1=John |title=Flashback 8 Gold is Atari fans' SNES Classic alternative |url=https://www.cnet.com/reviews/atari-flashback-8-gold-preview/ |access-date=March 1, 2021 |publisher=CNET |date=July 17, 2017}} 9,{{cite news |title=Atari Flashback 9 User Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/atgames-atari-flashback-9-user-guide/mode/1up?q=Baseball |access-date=March 2, 2021 |agency=ATGames |year=2019}} and X.{{cite news |last1=Adcock |first1=Dan |title=Atari Flashback X Review |url=https://pixelatedgamer.com/atari-flashback-x-review/ |access-date=March 2, 2021 |work=Pixelated Gamer |year=2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{RealSports series}}
Category:Association football video games
Category:Cancelled Atari 8-bit computer games