NES Works #23: Ballblazer & Winter Games (Atari 7800)

Before we continue with the Sega and Nintendo stuff, Atari deserves a brief stopover to see what the 7800 was up to for the first half of 1988. As it turns out, the answer is "not a whole heck of a lot." Happily, the one game to ship during this period—Lucasfilm Games' Ballblazer—has more than enough history and content behind it to support most of this episode before we jump into summer '88 and, ironically, Winter Games from Epyx. You'll notice a change in the hosting segments here, as I've begun recording them on period-appropriate media (VHS tape) for authenticity, or something. Clearly I need to iron out some bugs and get my playback head cleaned, but I'm working on it... And yes, I made some generalizations about the relationship between Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers, but I'll be going into more detail on that one of these days, when I tackle the XEGS (which technically counts as a console that debuted post-crash, sort of, making it arguably eligible for inclusion in Video Works). Video Works is a patron-funded project. For early video access, exclusive podcasts and mini-zines, and more, please support my work at patreon.com/gamespite — thank you!