Centipede (video game)

Centipede
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Atari, Inc.
Publisher(s)
  • NA: Atari, Inc.
  • JP: Sanritsu/Kiwako[3]
Designer(s)Dona Bailey
Ed Logg
Programmer(s)
Dona Bailey
Ed Logg
  • Atari 8-bit
    Dave Getreu[10]
SeriesCentipede
Platform(s)
Release
August 1981
  • Arcade
    Atari 8-bit
    • 1982
    2600, 5200
    C64, ColecoVision, TI-99/4A
    • November 1983[5]
    Intellivision
    • December 1983[6]
    IBM PC
    7800
    • May 15, 1986[8]
    Game Boy
    Game Boy Color
    Game.com
Genre(s)Fixed shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Centipede is a 1981 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for arcades.[11] Designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, it was one of the most commercially successful games from the golden age of arcade video games, and one of the first with a significant female player base. The primary objective is to shoot all the segments of a centipede that winds down the playing field.

Centipede was ported to Atari's own 2600, 5200, 7800, and 8-bit computers. Under the Atarisoft label, the game was sold for the Apple II, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, VIC-20, IBM PC (as a self-booting disk), Intellivision, and TI-99/4A.[12] Superior Software published the port for the BBC Micro. Versions for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color were also produced, as well as a version for the short-lived Game.com. There were over twenty-five Centipede clones released for home computers. It was followed by the arcade sequel Millipede in 1982. Much later, in 1998, a 3D remake for Windows, Mac, PlayStation, and Dreamcast was published by Hasbro Interactive.

  1. ^ "Video Game Flyers: Centipede, Atari, Inc. (Germany)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Games". Orlando Sentinel. June 28, 1981. p. 308. Retrieved March 22, 2024. "Centipede is supposed to be better than Missile Command," Kubicki said, adding that the real test will come when Centipede is released in four to six weeks.
  3. ^ a b "Sentipido". Media Arts Database. Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  4. ^ "Atari 2600 Video Game Release Dates for 1983".
  5. ^ "Availability Update" (PDF). The Video Game Update. Vol. 2, no. 8. November 1983. p. 16.
  6. ^ "Availability Update" (PDF). The Video Game Update. Vol. 2, no. 9. December 1983. p. 16.
  7. ^ "Availability Update" (PDF). Computer Entertainer. Vol. 3, no. 4. July 1984. p. 16.
  8. ^ "Atari Corp Dealer Price List Fall 1986" (PDF). AtariMania. p. 11.
  9. ^ "Game Boy (original) Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2016.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference giantlist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "TI-99/4A-Pedia: Centipede". Retrieved June 6, 2020.