Megalextoria

Gremlins (Atari 5200, 1986)

http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/160234992351/mastersofthe80s-gremlins-atari-5200-1986

There have been a number of games based on the Gremlins movie over the years. The first was for the Atari 2600. An Atari 5200 version was developed but it was a substantially different game. This version also appeared on the Commodore 64, Apple II and DOS based computers. All of these were released in 1984, the same year as the movie, except for the Atari 5200 version. At first this seems a bit surprising given that Atari was the one who developed the game, but…

It turns out that Gremlins for the Atari 5200 was in fact finished in June 1984 and ready for production. However, Jack Tramiel was hired as CEO of Atari around the same time and put a freeze on all new video game related products to concentrate on computer products. By the time Atari decided to continue in the home video game market (largely because of the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System) it was 1986 and some old stock, including copies of Gremlins for the Atari 5200, was finally released. Because of the delay, Gremlins was the last official release for the Atari 5200. Incidentally, the Atari 7800 was also ready in 1984 but was delayed for the same reason.

Screen shots are from atariage.com.