Atari Football Arcade Game

Atari Football is notable for popularizing the use of the trackball controller and using the first scrolling playfield. Released in 1978, Atari Football is also considered by some to be the first true sports video game. By combining video games with a popular American pastime, Atari brought video games closer to mainstream culture.
The game consists of teams of Xs and Os faced off against each other for a game of football. The objective of the Atari Football is similar to actual football: score a touchdown and defend against the opponent. The players each control the quarterback of their team. By selecting one of four defensive or offensive plays with a button, the players control their other team members. Mastery of the game required skillful maneuvering and aggressive rolling of the trackball. Atari Football was a physically-demanding video game.
Both two and four person cabinets were produced for Atari Football. The waist-high tabletop cabinets feature a screen in the middle that players look down upon. Players face one another on either side of the cabinet. The cabinets were abused by players jamming into the machine to work the trackball. As the players hit the trackball and run their teams down the field, the screen scrolls from one end of the field to the other. The innovative scrolling screen became an integral feature in the video game industry.
Atari Football was briefly the best-selling game in the U.S. Its release during the 1978 football season was a strategic marketing device that resulted in instant popularity. One quarter allowed for only 90 seconds of play. Therefore, players had to constantly feed the machine money to continue on with their game. This led to Atari Football breaking coin-op sales records. By the end of the football season, the game waned in popularity and was soon surpassed by Midway's Space Invaders. Atari Football not only helped to revive the arcade game business, but also proved that video games deserved a place in American culture.