ULTIMATE GUIDE: MARBLE MADNESS

The saturated American market had driven its profits down, and it was forced into a split during the latter half of the year, with its home electronics business sold to Commodore as the arcade department rebranded to Atari Games Inc. The arcade division had still been profitable, despite Atari’s overall woes, and Marble Madness, released in the same year as the sell-off to Commodore, firmly continued that tradition. Despite the similarity in concept and genre of its many arcade games, originality was in demand at Atari, a principle that produced unique methods of control that could be utilised within a bespoke coin-operated unit. Designer Mark Cerny, a 17-year-old arcade game fan, freshly installed at his