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''Home Run'' is a 1978
sports video game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport (s ...
developed and published by
Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...
for the Atari Video Computer System (later renamed to the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocess ...
). It was the first
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
-themed game released for an Atari platform. The game received mostly negative critical reception due to its unrealistic portrayal of the sport. It was one of the games used by console competitor
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
to show the quality improvement of
Intellivision The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. In 1984, ...
sports games over the Atari VCS. Atari replaced ''Home Run'' with '' RealSports Baseball'' in 1982.


Gameplay

The game only vaguely resembles actual
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
as it lacks fly balls or independent fielders. Teams have only one to three players, and the fielders must run with the ball to tag players out, with throwing of the ball to force players out not being possible. There is no
pitcher's mound A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...
, with the pitcher instead standing at second base. Depending on the selected game mode, only zero to two
infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
s are present in the game, and when either the pitcher or one of the infielders catches the ball everyone but the
baserunner In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat. Base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home base ( home plate) to score a run. Batters strive ...
s and the ball-catcher instantly disappears from view. The home team has to bat at the bottom of the 9th inning regardless of whether they are winning or not, and there is no extra innings if the game is tied.


Development and marketing

''Home Run'' was designed and programmed by
Bob Whitehead Robert A. Whitehead (born November 1, 1953) is an American video game designer and programmer. While working for Atari, Inc. he wrote two of the nine Atari Video Computer System launch titles: '' Blackjack'' and '' Star Ship''. After leaving Ata ...
, who went on to found
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...
, and David Rolfe. The cover art was designed by Cliff Spohn. According to a 1978 ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' interview with
Nolan Bushnell Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consum ...
, the engineer who was first assigned to develop the game didn't know the rules of the sport of baseball. As a result, in an initial version of the game if the player failed to hit the ball they were awarded a ball rather than a strike. A television advertising campaign for the game (and the Atari VCS as a whole) was fronted by
Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...
. The game was one of the games used in advertisements by console competitor Mattel to show the quality improvement of
Intellivision The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. In 1984, ...
sports games over the Atari VCS.


Reception

A review in the December 1982 issue of ''JoyStik'' magazine was heavily critical of the game, stating that it was "nothing like real baseball", and describing the graphics as "primitive". The 1984 Software Encyclopedia published by ''
Electronic Games An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...
'' magazine was similarly critical of the game, saying that it lacks "the "feel" of real sports action", and giving it an overall rating of 4/10. Writing in ''The Player's Strategy Guide to Atari VCS Home Video Games'', ''Electronic Games'' editors Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel called the game, "so pared down from the original sport that it only barely qualifies as a baseball simulation," stating that, "it might more accurately be called 'Video Stickball'." A December 2000 review by Patrick Wong in ''Classic Gamer'' magazine panned the game, describing it as (together with Atari's ''
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
'') "two of the worst games ever made". Wong criticised the "boring" graphics, the small number of fielders deployable in the game, and the unrealistic gameplay, and summed the game up by saying "Gamers looking for a real baseball experience will have to look elsewhere". A review in the January/February 2003 issue of ''Digital Press'' was overwhelmingly negative, describing it as "a big stinker", "one of the worst games ever designed" with graphics that are "inexcusably bad". Bret Weiss writing in ''Classic Home Video Games, 1972–1984: A Complete Reference Guide'' praised the variety of the options for pitching but found the graphics and gameplay lack-lustre. Kieren Hawken writing in ''The A–Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 2'' criticised the excessively basic game-play and graphics and compared it negatively to later baseball games developed for the Atari 2600 where the developers had better utilised the platform's resources.


Legacy

In an aggressive marketing campaign by Mattel Electronics, the game was compared to its graphically and gameplay-wise more advanced
Intellivision The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. In 1984, ...
counterpart ''
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
'', sparking off the first
console war In the video game industry, a console war describes the competition between two or more video game console manufacturers in trying to achieve better consumer sales through more advanced console technology, an improved selection of video games, and ...
.


References


External links

* {{Cite book, url=https://archive.org/details/Home_Run_1978_Atari/mode/2up?view=theater, title=Home Run: Game Program Instructions, publisher=Atari, year=1978, via=the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...
1978 video games Atari 2600 games Baseball video games Video games developed in the United States