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Elevator Action (1983)

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Elevator Action is a prototype video game for the Atari 2600 that was never officially released. It is based on the arcade game of the same name, which was released by Taito in 1983. The prototype was developed by Atari to have been created in 1983.
Surprisingly the 2600 was able to simulate the look and feel of the arcade version fairly well. The graphics are bright and well done and the gameplay (bugs aside) is almost an exact copy of the arcade. The programmer was even able to get multiple enemy agents on the screen at the same time (if only in one color) without much flicker. This is far better than most thought the 2600 was capable of. Unfortunately this version is still has a long way to go before being a final product, and is riddled with multiple bugs. The most obvious sign that the prototype is incomplete is the complete lack of sound and music, although this doesn't hurt the game as much as you'd think.

Its obvious Atari had a winner on its hands, but like so many 2600 arcade to home translations it was left unfinished. Had Atari held all its games to high standards like Elevator Action they might have been able to stave off the crash a bit longer.

Dan Hitchens was a programmer and video game designer who worked on a variety of Atari 2600 games, including Elevator Action. Elevator Action is a prototype game that was never officially released, but it was shown at the Philly Classic in 2001.
The game was developed by Hitchens in 1983, and it is considered to be one of the best unreleased Atari 2600 games.

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