###################################################
# #
# AtariNews: On The Prowl #
# January 31, 2000 #
# #
###################################################

If you want to be removed from this list, please send a blank email to
atari-unsubscribe@onelist.com. Send questions to atarian@....

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

AtariNews is back! There's been a lot of news since the last issue, from
new Lynx games to the progress of BattleSphere. There's even some new
Atari 2600 ROMs available free of charge and new classic game remakes to
look out for. New Jaguar games have shipped as well. Keep watching your
email, because AtariNews is back to stay.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

SOCCER KID FOR THE ATARI JAGUAR IS NOW AVAILABLE

On Monday, January 24, Atari Jaguar Soccer Kid pre-orders began shipping
to USA customers. This is the second of four Songbird Productions Jaguar
games, the first one being Protector. Hyper Force and the very anticipated
Skyhammer are still to come. The international orders for Soccer Kid will
be shipping soon. For information about these and other Songbird games,
please visit Songbird Productions at its new address.

http://songbird.atari.net

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

WHAT DOES 2000 BRING FOR THE JAGUAR?

Many people are asking this. What games will we see? Well, here's what
we expect to see this year. Songbird Productions will be releasing two
more Jaguar games, Hyper Force and Skyhammer. 4Play will be releasing
BattleSphere later this year. OMC Games should have The Assassin, an RPG
for the Jaguar CD this year as well. More games may be announced later
this year, although companies such as Telegames have yet to release any
news of more Jaguar development. For more information, check out the links
below:

Songbird Productions:
http://songbird.atari.net

BattleSphere Update Page, part of Thunderbirds Garage:
http://home.sprynet.com/~thunderbird/bsphere.html

OMC Games:
http://www.omcgames.com

Telegames:
http://www.telegames.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

LYNX LIBRARY EXPANDS IN 2000

Many more Lynx games are coming this year! Songbird has four software
titles coming our way. The first of which is Crystal Mines II: Buried
Treasure, an expansion for your existing Crystal Mines 2 cartridge.
Songbird also recently acquired full rights and source code to three
unreleased Lynx games from Beyond Games. The games are Cybervirus, Ultra
Vortex, and Mechtiles. Cybervirus is expected to be competed and
published later in 2000. The other two are not yet scheduled for release.
Harry Dodgson will be releasing Othello in February through Video 61. This
port of the classic board game includes multiple play modes plus excellent
graphics and audio.

Songbird Productions:
http://songbird.atari.net

Video 61
http://www.atarisales.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

THE ALL NEW ATARI

Atari, now under the ownership of Hasbro Interactive, is back developing
games again. Although not the same as in the past, where they were only
Atari systems. Today they develop on the PC and other console systems.
They have been mostly developing classic game remakes from Atari's past,
as well as other developers. These games include Atari Arcade Hits,
Missile Command, Q*bert, The Next Tetris, and even Pong! They are also
developing original games like Nerf Arena Blast. Some of the games
in development are Star Raiders and Galaga. Atari is far from gone,
more is on the way.

www.atari.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

PROTOTYPE ATARI 2600 GAMES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

Two proto 2600 games were recently released for free distribution over the
internet. The first is Garfield, based on the popular comic strip. It
was developed by Steve Woita, who also developed Taz and Quadrun. The
second game is Sky Patrol by Brad Johnson, who was more than happy to pass
along this game to classic gamers. Both games can be downloaded from the
Classic Gaming Expo website

http://www.cgexpo.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

BATTLESPHERE ALMOST READY FOR ENCRYPTION

The BattleSphere encryption process is almost done. If all goes as 4Play
plans, BattleSphere will be ready for the next step in a few weeks.
Thunderbird of 4Play has set up a series of Jaguars to try every
possible encryption code for BattleSphere, and they are just about out of
possibilities. Once this is complete, BattleSphere can go into
production.

http://home.sprynet.com/~thunderbird/bsphere.html

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

CLASSIC GAMING EXPO 1999 VIDEO STILL AVAILABLE

The Classic Gaming Expo '99 video is still available if you haven't got a
copy yet. You can purchase it from Mark Santora, the producer of the video
for $30 including shipping to anywhere in the USA. Outside of the US is
$27 US dollars plus shipping. You can order it at the address below.

http://home.earthlink.net/~santora/cgevideo.html

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

ATARI 2600/7800 MONITOR CART HAS GONE BACK INTO PRODUCTION

The monitor cart, a low end development system, has gone back into
production. The cart has 6KB of RAM battery backed up for any 2600 game
you develop, and 16KB of RAM for the 7800. This cart was produced under
license from Atari. Video 61 now has the rights to this cart, please visit
them at the address below for more information.

http://www.atarisales.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

CLASSIC GAMING HITS THE GAME BOY COLOR

Although it's not an Atari system, you can play many classic Atari games
on Nintendo's Game Boy Color. These include excellent classics such as
Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Pitfall, Pong, and Yars' Revenge.
Game Boy Color also features classics by other companies like Bubble
Bobble, Frogger, and Space Invaders. Check these games out at Nintendo's
home page.

http://www.nintendo.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

ATARINEWS NEEDS YOUR HELP

Do you know of any news related to Atari in any way? Send the news to
atarian@.... We plan to get an issue of AtariNews out at least
once a month, so if you know any news that you think other Atarians should
know, send it in today!

atarian@...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Send any comments or submissions for "AtariNews: On The Prowl" to:
Brian Gudzevich (Editor) at: Atarian@...