Shark JAWS

Arcade Video game published 50 years ago:

Shark JAWS (c) 1975 Atari.

The game is exceptionally simple. It is just a little man on a screen, the only other graphics are a shark and a fish (oh, and the score). You simply try and catch the fish, without getting eaten by the shark. Then the score counter increments by one, and the fish respawns somewhere else. The graphics are black and white monochrome, and the game is controlled by a single joystick (no buttons).

- TECHNICAL -

The PCB to this game is very simple, no processor, no RAM, only off the shelf electronic components, and three rom chips that hold the images of the fish, shark, and man respectively. The game has a single dip switch, which selects one play per credit, or 2 plays per credit (default is two). The only other option is a knob that controls the length of the game. Most really old games played on time limits, not lives, and this was no exception.

- TRIVIA -

Released in September 1975, selling at an MSRP of $1045.

Shark JAWS is the first game featuring animated characters, it's a conversion using the "Tank" hardware. The manufacturer is 'Horror Games', created by Atari to avoid any possible legal hassles from the producers of the obvious inspiration for the game : Universal Studios' smash-hit movie 'Jaws'.

- CONTRIBUTE -

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