Space Race (video game)

Space Race
Advertising flyer
Developer(s)	Atari
Publisher(s)	Atari
Designer(s)	Ted Dabney
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release	July 16, 1973
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
Cabinet	Upright
CPU	Discrete
Sound	Monaural
Display	Vertical orientation, black and white raster display

Space Race is an arcade game developed by Atari and released on July 16, 1973. It was the second game by the company after Pong (1972), which marked the beginning of the commercial video game industry. In the game, two players each control a rocket ship, with the goal of being the first to move their ship from the bottom of the screen to the top. Along the way are asteroids, which the players must avoid, and behind the action is a starfield. The game also displays the players' scores. Each game lasts a set amount of time, represented by a line at the bottom of the screen that shortens over time.

Development of Space Race began in Summer 1972 under the name Asteroid by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, based on ideas by him and co-founder Ted Dabney during the development of the 1971 Computer Space, the first commercial video game and first arcade video game. The project was suspended after a few days and was resumed in Spring 1973. The final design was done by Dabney, possibly with assistance by Bushnell and Pong designer Allan Alcorn. The game was planned to be quick to create and was intended to fulfill an earlier contract with Bally Midway. The engineering and prototyping was done by Alcorn; after it was completed and the design given to Midway to be released as Asteroid, Atari produced its own nearly identical version as Space Race. Fifty Space Race cabinets were produced using a fiberglass design by George Faraco before the rest of the production was switched to a cheaper standard cabinet.

Space Race was not commercially successful; Bushnell has stated that it was much less popular than Pong. At least one clone game was produced, the 1973 Astro Race by Taito. Midway held that the release of Space Race violated Atari's contract with them for Asteroid, and the companies agreed for Atari to forfeit royalty payments for the game. Space Race was the first racing arcade video game and the first game with a goal of crossing the screen while avoiding obstacles. An enhanced remake of the game for the Atari 8-bit family of computers was published by ANALOG Software in 1981 as Race in Space.