Atari 2600 Decathlon [Glitch]

[Cam102899]

If my dad hears that running sound he'll think im jerking off

[BlaineC1972]

The trick for me was using the original colecovision controller... man you could run fast with it.

[KundoKun]

why the man disappear behind the blue bar?

[redd7188]

i had a blister and broke a joystick but once i got the trackball It was smooth sailing

[roadbowler74]

The real trick to this game was to use the trac-ball controller....you could kick ass in any event. The toughest one became this event because you went too fast

[AndreSSJ5]

i remember this bug =P

[rencro123]

The trick to this game was to remove the black protective cover on the joystick, leaving just the white sick, allowing you to run extremely fast with minor left/right movements..

[xMazingerZ]

Je me rappelle ce jeu. Il fallait faire avancer le plus vite possible le joueur en brassant notre manette avec notre main. Les ampoules que j'ai eu, ce n'est pas possible

[georgef551]

Someone taught me this trick. You just keep pressing the launch button repeatedly at about 35 degrees from peak height.

ptsptsptspts points was the highest score. After that, you're wasting your time.

(I know, as I played all the scores.)

The variable-height heights are the best.

[barba79]

how u do it?

[bazem]

having paranormal powers does not help in olympics, you still miss.

[enigmaohawaii]

you can go as high as you want just keep pressing the button and you will make it all the time i think i got over 14M then got bored

[firebat2000]

you just do this jumping again and again ??

[Draxis32]

Man, video-games of the past, people can have an atari on a clock today,

Your toaster can beat atari now.

Well, that's how things go isnt it?

[ChainsawGenie]

Still, when you consider the amount of fun that was squeezed into those 4-8K cartridges and 5 1/4" floppy disks, you have to wonder what's powering the multi-CD 'monster games' on today's consoles.

That's not to say that every game on the shelf is an un(der)optimized and overrated pile of crap - titles like Fire Pro Wrestling and 3rd Strike had to start somewhere - but, bells and whistles aside, how different are, say, Kroz and Heavenly Sword or Dandy and Gauntlet?

I'm just saying, that's all.

[wingnut4427]

The Atari was clearly over heating. All that raw graphical goodness was just too much for the Atari 2600. I'm just thankful this wasn't an ET video..

[wingnut4427]

uh huh .. Blame it on the game :P lol

[VassGore]

1983 hahaha XD

[scorpionatthepc]

I have just started at collect atari 2600 games again. This is one game I WON'T be buying after breaking my joystick playing it back in the 80's.

[mrrjenkims]

The blister and broken joystick game.

[vigilante76]

@mrrjenkims Haha. + Purple bruises in the palm of your hands! Fuck that hurt.

[Katagiri]

I broke the 2 originals joysticks. XD

[Mainsail76]

I'd always get blisters playing Decathlon.

This was my favorite Atari game by far. Whenever the Olympics start, I think about this game. I was crushed when I found out my mom threw out my Atari including my Decathlon cartridge.

[ChainsawGenie]

Well, for what it's worth, after I eventually outgrew my Atari VCS, I sold it and several cartridges to my cousin (who was living nearby) for $100.

I'm not sure what happened to it but I'm sure that he had some fun with it as well.

*remembers trading some of the cartridges he had with friends*

Good times. ^_^

[stickdeathbr]

Activision gave a lot of money to the joystick re-sellers after releasing this addictive game. Ahaha, we broke almost one joystick per week playing this.

[tracyK039]

aw man this game was so great.. I remember the really long race would kill your wrist

[hungrybeetle]

Hey is that Pitfall Harry doing the pole vault?

[nanduxxpro]

hauhuah quebrei tanto joystick com esse jogo!!

[Groynkikt]

Button mash for extra height. Yessss I remember.

[jesusismysavior1987]

You know what's funny is the athlete looks just like Pitfall Harry with shorts!! LOL Otherwise, this was a great game for the Atari.

[grandplans]

I found this bug too when I was playing this game. My dad hated this game. This game alone caused to go through so many joysticks because we would move them back and forth so fast, we'd break the little plastic washers inside. LOL!! ah, the memories!!

[jeffw1267]

I burned out a few joysticks on this game too. I would go to the flea market to get replacements for a dollar or two each.

I found this game to be easier if I removed the rubber cap from the joystick, and then turned the stick sideways so the little plastic rod was sticking out to the right side. I could wiggle the stick faster that way, and kick butt on the sprints. It helped a lot on the long jump and high jump too.

[grandplans]

yup, I'd do the same thing. turn the joystick sideways and go for it. I never did remove the rubber cap though.  I would turn it sideways for all the games and could actually keep the meter at full speed. Even for the 1500 meter.

[OnTheRun167]

I remember spending many, many hours playing this game with a friend of mine. I don't know how many joysticks we broke. Then we found the Atari controller with the rolling ball. It never broke, and you could run with the meter pegged out the whole time. We used to plug the joystick in to do the pole vault because this glitch wouldn't work too well with the ball controller.

[grandplans]

We never did have the controller with the rolling ball. we just kept breaking one joystick after another and driving dad nuts!!

[232Paulo]

E de pensar que agente deixava de brincar com as Primas pra jogar essa merda

[otaviouo]

chato pa kacete

[thebig1]

Very good graphics for an early 80's game also.

[kklmjk]

A true joystick braker game!: )

[topgun57572000]

PITFALL in my opinion...was the best atari 2600 game!

[IGORzMUSIC]

I too have found this fun bug, but only the button part that THRUSTS you over the bar (not the COOL levitation part like this)!

Be sure to see my Atari 2600 Video Circuit Bent Bending (BESTEST How To) Video!

[jase01472]

David Crane was a legend for programing a game like this, Pitfall and many other games he made for Activision.

[eolsunder]

This is actually the 2nd bug for this game. A later version. The origional bug in the origional release was that if you used the polevault and while going up kept hitting the joystick button real fast, you would continue up and up. You could jump dozens of feet over any height of the bar.

[SPINNYFUCK]

THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR CHEATING

[hardgayramen4ever]

as we all know pole vaulters always land on their feet

[jb68025]

this game WAS NOT from 1987. somewhere around 82 or 83.

[jase01472]

Yep ya right 82 or 83, i played this game for months David Crane was a legend he also made pitfall and many other Activision Classics

[jonaslmborges1977]

Ok,ok I understood: 1983

[jonaslmborges1977]

I dunno how old you are, but... this game is from 1987. It was before Mario Bros saga (Nintendo 8 bit).

The impact of Decathlon... it was like... Counter Strike, nowadays...

[savyisjosho]

According to the copyright writing when you turn on the game It says "Copyright 1983"

[jonaslmborges1977]

Ok,ok I understood: 1983

[ignaciojork]

Tentando quebrar o record acabei quebrando uns 8 joystiks nesse game :D

[diaenoite8]

Muuuito bom relembrar este jogo...