For the 2600: Activision vs. Imagic

[kirin jensen]

You've played 'em both, they were kings in those days, but - head-to-head - who wins?

Sure, go for a third party write-in if you must, but who wins the face-off?

[ubikuberalles]

It's a close one but I selected Activision. Activision has a large number of really good games and I love the artwork on the packaging and the labels.

On the Imagic side, Demon Attack is the best shmup on the 2600 ever.

[Jibbajaba]

It would be a close one, except that it's not. Acivision was, in my opinion, the best developer for the Atari 2600. Especially their later titles. The first few were not so hot, but once they got into the groove, they made games that were better than anyone elses.

Chris

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

:( No love for Games By Apollo......?


;) LOL

I've got to go with Activision, though I loved Imagic's stuff at the same time. But when you have a roster that includes Pitfall, Pitfall II, H.E.R.O., Enduro, Frostbite, Sky Jinks, Keystone Kapers, Robot Tank, Kaboom, Megamania, River Raid, Chopper Command...need I go on?

At the same time, Imagic turned out favorites of mine like Moonsweeper, Cosmic Ark, Quick Step, Demon Attack, Atlantis, Laser Gates, Dragonfire...it's really hard to choose. I would've chosen "both" given the chance.

[atari_wizard]

activision all the way. i really loved shootin' gallery, but activision made so many really good games. pitfall II - lost caverns is my absolute favorite of all time (any game on any system). river raid, h.e.r.o., keystone kapers(awesome) & private eye to name a few that i still play to this day.

[NoahsMyBro]

I've never understood the love for Imagic. Even back when the games were new, I remember Imagic being praised in the mags and by videogaming friends. It always seemed to me that while the Imagic games looked very nice, they were almost all universally boring to play.

Activision games, otoh, were a blast.

On an aside - I'm using a Mac right now, which is a very rare thing for me. The keyboard navigation is different, of all things! CTRL-arrow doesn't jump around a word at a time, there's no 'END' key, etc... Would somebody stop the madness, please???

[AtariBuff]

I enjoyed playing Pitfall! and Spider Fighter and remember when the boxes were beautifully displayed in a shop in my hometown and I wasn't able to buy them all.
I also bought Demon Attack back then (the only Imagic title I bought) and it was great - I just wanted a little bit more "Phoenix" in the gameplay like the mothership (Intellivision version) but ir just didn't happen.

So, it goes to...... Activision all the way.

[Dr. Morbis]

Activision, no contest. I mean, Imagic had some drop-dead gorgeous graphics that seemed impossible on the VCS, but gameplay is where it's at and I continually go back to all of my Activision favourites. In fact, 8 of my Top 10 games on the system are by Activision.

[MattyXB]

O_O
So I am the only one yet, who voted for Imagic.
Yes, Activision has many great games. But one from my favourite games is from Imagic.
Dragonfire is one from the best Atari 2600 VCS games. And this is the reason I voted for Imagic.
Quick Step, Wing War are too great.

Keystone Kapers from Activision is too great, so Activision is too a great company.

[chrisbid]

since imagic isnt getting much love, ill vote for them. not only did they have outstanding VCS games, they also had unique games on the Intellivision, which were easily the best on the system :)

[esquire]

Activision had more titles, including some of the bigger blockbusters like Megamania, but I always liked Imagic better. I thought the games had better graphics, and loved their games, especially Demon Attack, Atlantis, Cosmic Ark and Star Voyager. Plus they had cool looking boxes.

[le geek]

Activision for me! Then its a tie between Imagic and Parker Bros... Seaquest, Pitfall! and River Riad are near perfect games to me...

Cheers,
Ben

[NeoZeedeater]

Activision was the better of the two on 2600. If this had been an Intellivision poll I would have picked Imagic though.

[Ze_ro]

I chose Imagic. They had fewer games overall, but I felt that the quality was higher on them. Imagic has some really great games that no one seems to hear about since they're rare enough that they slip under the radar, like Moonsweeper.

--Zero

[l_lamb]

Activision was the better of the two on 2600. If this had been an Intellivision poll I would have picked Imagic though.

Ditto. MIcrosurgeon and Swords & Serpents were and still are amazing fun.

[l_lamb]

Activision was the better of the two on 2600. If this had been an Intellivision poll I would have picked Imagic though.

Ditto. Microsurgeon and Swords & Serpents were and still are amazing fun.

[diskoboy]

Activision, without a doubt.

Pitfall II = The best 2600 game ever made.

Megamania comes in at a distant second.

[kainemaxwell]

Hard choice but Activision. they put out a large variety of titles ranging from shooting to sports titles that appealed to many audiences.

[chrisbid]

Ditto. Microsurgeon and Swords & Serpents were and still are amazing fun.

dont forget Beauty and the Beast (beats every home port of donkey kong), and the enhanced versions of Demon Attack and Atlantis

[Mattiekrome]

Activision for me. Something about the way activision games look that is just appealing, plus they have river raid :)

[Yago]

Activision here. Robot Tank was one of my all time favorites as well as Pitfall 1-2. Activision did all types of games as mentioned before and did them well. They really took pride in thier releases with very cool box art. My only complaint with Activision is the crappy glue they used on the cart labels that bleeds through with time making the label look as if someone poured oil oll over it. All of my Imagic cart labels are still perfect.

[kirin jensen]

Wow. I expected more love for Imagic.

I go for Imagic, the games on the 2600 were surprisingly deep - Demon Attack (I'm always amazed people like the Intellivision version better), Fathom, Riddle of the Sphinx, Subterranea, Cosmic Ark... the games keep me playing to see what's next.

And, sure, let's give it up for Apollo! :D

[swlovinist]

I would expect this outcome, even on this board. I prefer Imagic over Activision just for the sake of how Imagic really customized most of their games to each video game system they ported their games too. Heck even their Odyssey 2 games rocked and were customized! Long live Imagic!

[GrandAmChandler]

Bump. Due to recent discussion in #vbender, I'd like to resurrect this topic.

Activision for 4 great games that push the limit of the 2600.

Keystone Kapers
Pressure Cooker
Decathlon
and
Robot Tank

[Keir]

It's close, but Activision gets the vote. They both have awesome games which I consider my favorites of all time, not just for the 2600, but Activision just has a few more.

If we were to look at their releases on other systems, Activision would have a much greater lead, IMO. (Pastfinder, anyone?)

[Pantechnicon]

Can't believe I didn't vote on this the 1st time around.

Activision easily.

-Starmaster was the 1st 2600 game I bought on my own. Superior to Star Raiders in every way.
-Robot Tank was a better 2600 port of Battlezone than Battlezone.
-Ice Hockey is 2-player hella fun.
-Space Shuttle - one of the most ambitious titles in the whole 2600 library.
-I never cared much for Pitfall, but Pitfall II was my date many a Saturday night back in 10th grade. Still one of my top 5 favorite titles ever, for any system (and if you haven't played the 5200 version you're veritably missing out on a whole new world).

But a vote for Activision is not a vote against Imagic. They were great, too. Demon Attack and Cosmic Ark are my Imagic standouts. But in the end Activision has the superior overall catalog.

[MarioMania]

I voted for Activision..they had the best games on the VCS

[rick weis]

ACTIVISION all the way BABY!! 8-)

Rick

[Ze_ro]

Activision had a few really good games, but they also had a bunch of crap that I really never understood the appeal of (ie, Barnstorming, Bridge, Spider Fighter, etc). I'm still confused as to how Megamania is such a popular game.

Then again, I'm also one of the few people that things Demon Attack sucks... but I still love Imagic.

--Zero

[j_factor]

Looking strictly at the 2600, I'd have to give Activision the edge. But if you had asked which was better overall in the early 80s, I would've voted for Imagic. Activision had this tendency to make their games for other systems exactly the same as their 2600 games. Annoying.

I really liked the ColecoVision version of Dragonfire. I thought the CV version of Pitfall was very weaksauce (although Pitfall is a great game itself).

[bangtango]

Having played several games from both Imagic and Activision, I will say Activision.