In a stacked year, Activision's Pitfall! stands out as one of the most popular and among the most well-designed titles to debut. Reaching stores at the very end of August (and most advertising its availability Sept. 1, admittedly), Pitfall! set a new high for what an adventure game could be on a console. It also proved to be one of the most durable console-exclusive games of its era, won all kinds of awards, and sold more than 3 million copies. There's a ton to say here, so by all means sit back and learn all about it!
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Sources include:
David Crane, correspondence with the author, August 2017
Mike Lorenzen, interview with the author, Dec. 15 2023
Pitfall!, Atariprotos.com
Video Game Update, September 1982, November 1982
Electronic Games, December 1982, January 1983, May 1983, June 1983
Logical Gamer, November 1982
Billboard, May 7 1983
Score! 1983
Antic, June 1984
TV Games Influences chart, Kate Willaert
Video Games, December 1982
Video Games Player, November 1983
Videogaming Illustrated, April 1983
The Monitor, March 27 1983
Odessa American, Feb. 20 1983
Salisbury Post, Feb. 26 1983
Fort Worth Star Telegram, Oct. 9 1982
The Kentucky Advocate Messenger, Aug. 29 1982
Electronic Fun with Computers and Games, December 1982
Pitfall's Secret Sequel, IGN.com, Sept. 23 2023
SG-1000 Works, Jeremy Parish, 2023
Pro File interview with David Crane, The Black Box, Sept. 5 2013
The Lost Tarzan Preserved, gamehistory.org, 2024