Cops'n Robbers

Arcade Video game published 48 years ago:

Cops n' Robbers (c) 1976 Atari.

From 1 to 4 people can play at once, with the computer adding in a player as needed to keep the number of players at either 2 or 4. Players number 1 and 2 play the part of the cops, while players 3 and 4 are the robbers.

The screen is an overhead view of a city street, with the cops on one side, and the robbers on the other. Each car is in it's own lane, and an extra wide lane marks the area between the cop and robber side. Each player can move up and down in their own lane, the object is to shoot down the cars of the opposite side. A beer truck moves randomly up and down the center lane, generally getting in the way.

- TECHNICAL -

This game was sold in an upright format only. The machine was rather unique looking as it was about twice the width of a standard arcade game, but all the other dimensions were normal (kind of like they just stuck two machines together). Later four player games would instead use a control panel that was wider than the screen. The bulk of the machine was white, with the front being painted black for durability. Classic 'Gangster' cars from the 30's filled out the sideart. There were 2 distinct monitor bezels, each with its own art. The outer one was decorated with several of the 'Gangster' cars, and a design that looks similar to a stylized Japanese sunset. The inner monitor bezel had a street scene that was meant to extend the scene that appeared on the monitor itself (and to help fill in that 4 foot wide playing area). The monitor also had a color overlay to give different colors to the different sides of the game (it used a black and white monitor). The joystick was a special design. It only has an up down axis, but has seven different positions on that axis, which makes for pseudo-analog action.

Game ID : 005625

Main CPU : MOS Technology M6502 (@ 894.886 Khz)

Screen orientation : Horizontal
Video resolution : 256 x 208 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.00 Hz
Palette Colors : 2

Players : 4
Control : 2-way joystick (vertical)
Buttons : 2

- TRIVIA -

Released in July 1976, selling at an MSRP of $1395.

Cops'n Robbers was one of the first 4-Player upright arcade games ever made. All 4 players played side by side on a single cabinet (most previous four player titles were done on cocktail tables).

- STAFF -