Astrosmash
Also released as Astroblast (Atari 2600, M Network)
Astrosmash — frequently asked questions
- Is Astrosmash on Steam?
- No. Astrosmash is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
- What platforms is Astrosmash on?
- Astrosmash is available on Intellivision, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox 360, Legacy Mobile Device, Atari 2600, Aquarius, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5.
- When did Astrosmash release?
- Astrosmash was first released on October 15, 1981.
About Astrosmash
In Astrosmash you control a laser canon at the bottom of the screen; your goal is to earn as many points as possible by destroying the various incoming meteors, bombs, and other objects. Points are earned for destroying objects, while points are lost for letting them get past you. Meteors are the most common item you need to defend yourself against. They come in various sizes and colors, and some even split into two smaller meteors when shot. Mixed in with the meteors are white spinning bombs. While letting a meteor get past you will only lower your score, you have to shoot the spinners. If one gets past, you will lose a life. On the more difficult levels, ufo's and guided missiles will also appear occasionally and attempt to destroy your canon.
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- Intellivision, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox 360, Legacy Mobile Device, Atari 2600, Aquarius, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S(s), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Developer
- Mattel Electronics
- Publisher
- Sears
- Game modes
- Single player
- Themes
- Action, Science fiction
Details via IGDB.
Reception
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Built by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari 2600Details ↓ | 1982 | $7 | $10 | $17 | 3 reviews | APh (designed by Hal Finney) |
| IntellivisionDetails ↓ | 1981 | $4 | $12 | $17 | Rating PG · Graphics 6 · Game Play 7 · Longevity 6 | John Sohl |
Also released on: PC (Microsoft Windows) · Xbox 360 · Legacy Mobile Device · Aquarius · Android · iOS · Windows · macOS · Nintendo Switch · Xbox One · Xbox Series X/S · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.
Prices are per version and are not interchangeable, and neither are the reviews: conversions in this era were often built by a different studio than the original, so a score earned on one machine says nothing about how another plays.
Collector value & authenticity
Atari 2600 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-06
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a week
- Complete: about 2 times a month
- Sealed: about once a month
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-19.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $7.00 in Oct 2008, $1.67 five years ago, and $6.92 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2009 | $3.00 | — |
| Jan 2010 | $1.00 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $0.49 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $0.87 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.88 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $2.94 | $5.25 |
| Jan 2015 | $2.36 | $8.99 |
| Jan 2016 | $2.49 | $8.50 |
| Jan 2017 | $3.94 | $7.94 |
| Jan 2018 | $2.22 | $7.24 |
| Jan 2019 | $2.70 | $7.15 |
| Jan 2020 | $2.25 | $7.44 |
| Jan 2021 | $2.03 | $8.35 |
| Jan 2022 | $3.81 | $10.22 |
| Jan 2023 | $4.09 | $11.55 |
| Jan 2024 | $2.99 | $8.11 |
| Jan 2025 | $6.05 | $13.89 |
| Jan 2026 | $4.22 | $11.99 |
| Oct 2026 | $6.92 | $10.24 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Label | Catalog # | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America M Network | Black | MT5666 | Common+ |
| North America Telegames | Silver | — | Scarce |
Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 2600 software database
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1982
- Controller
- Atari Paddles, Atari Joystick
- Players
- 1
- Authenticity
- Low
The Atari 2600 version
M Network's 2600 port of the Intellivision hit Astrosmash, cheap and on Atari 50.
Astrosmash was a 1981 Intellivision fixed shooter by John Sohl in which a laser cannon blasts falling meteors and bombs. It sold more than a million copies on the Intellivision.
The Atari 2600 port came out in July 1982 under Mattel's M Network label as Astroblast, with Hal Finney credited as designer and APh as developer. Telegames is also listed as a publisher. It is on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration under the Astroblast name.
How it was made
Developed by APh for Mattel's M Network label, with Hal Finney credited as designer. Released in July 1982.
What the press said at the time
| Computer Entertainer Vol. 1 No. 5 | August 1982 | Graphics ★★★ · Play-Action ★★★½ |
| Electronic Fun with Computers & Games Vol. 1 No. 1 | November 1982 | 3 joysticks |
| JoyStik Vol. 1 No. 3 | January 1983 | ★★★ |
“For those who have played Astrosmash, this will immediately strike you as a much faster game with greater requirements for accuracy. … Basically, this is an entertaining shoot-em-up that will appeal to all the space cadets among you.”
“Astroblast is a decent enough adaptation of Astrosmash but there are flaws. Even the slower variation starts too fast and sets a hard-to-keep-up-with pace.”
“The graphics are good, and the game is actually more fun than Mattel's Intellivision original, Astrosmash. One nice feature is that you can use either joystick or paddle controllers, depending on which you prefer.”
Computer Entertainer rated graphics first and play action second, from four symbols (excellent) to one (poor) — stars in most years, diamonds in 1986–87 — comparing each game only with other games for the same system. Electronic Fun rated games out of four joysticks. JoyStik’s capsule ratings run from one star to five.
Cartridge & preservation record
Program size 4 KB, measured from the preserved dump.
Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.
How the Atari 2600 version differs
Astroblast is Mattel's M Network port of the Intellivision game Astrosmash. It plays faster than the Intellivision original.
Also on other platforms
Intellivision · Aquarius · Android · iOS · Windows · macOS · Nintendo Switch · Xbox One · Xbox Series X/S · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5
| Atari 2600 | APh (designed by Hal Finney) |
| Intellivision | John Sohl (designer); released by Mattel Electronics |
- Intellivision. Astrosmash began as a variation hidden on the same cartridge as Meteor!, an Asteroids clone that was cancelled at the last minute. Programmer John Sohl branched around the menu straight into the variation.
- Intellivision. By June 1983 it had shipped 984,900 copies, the third most widely distributed Intellivision game, helped by a free-by-mail offer with the console.
Worth knowing
- Launch defects, 1982. Arcade Express reported that retailers found "a high number of defective cartridges among the initial shipment of M-Network": some casings would not seat in the VCS, and some ROMs would not play on consoles with front-mounted difficulty switches. "The problems were confined to the first four M-Network games, "Astroblast", "Space Attack", "Super Challenge Baseball" and "Super Challenge Football"."
- $4.99 by 1984. In March 1984 an Electronic Games reader reported buying Raiders of the Lost Ark and Astroblast "for $4.99 apiece". The magazine explained that defunct publishers' stock went to a liquidator called "Candyman", who sold it on to discount stores.
Before you buy
Low risk; a common M Network cart. Loose copies are inexpensive, and boxed and sealed copies are easy to find. Check the label for the M Network or Telegames name so you know which release you are buying.
Collector value & authenticity
Intellivision · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-20
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about once a week
- Sealed: about once a month
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-20.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $0.75 in Apr 2009, $4.04 five years ago, and $4.03 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2010 | $1.26 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $2.87 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $0.99 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.99 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $4.99 | $2.00 |
| Jan 2015 | $0.99 | $9.99 |
| Jan 2016 | $4.95 | $2.98 |
| Jan 2017 | $3.03 | $1.99 |
| Jan 2018 | $3.81 | $5.38 |
| Jan 2019 | $4.97 | $5.49 |
| Jan 2020 | $4.47 | $5.57 |
| Jan 2021 | $4.99 | $5.69 |
| Jan 2022 | $4.90 | $8.04 |
| Jan 2023 | $4.94 | $9.14 |
| Jan 2024 | $3.01 | $8.32 |
| Jan 2025 | $4.11 | $9.20 |
| Jan 2026 | $4.10 | $8.47 |
| Oct 2026 | $4.03 | $12.14 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Documented sales
984,900 cartridges shipped by Mattel by June 1983
Third behind Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack and Major League Baseball. Astrosmash later replaced Poker & Blackjack as the console's pack-in, which accounts for part of the figure. Quoted from Mattel's records by the Blue Sky Rangers, its former programmers.
Source: Mattel Electronics' figures, as quoted by the Blue Sky Rangers
Release record
| Territory | Product # |
|---|---|
| North America Mattel Electronics | 3605 |
| North America Sears (Tele-Games) | 49 75229 |
- North America: Product number confirmed by a scan of the box and the game's own manual.
- North America: Sears catalogue number, printed on the Sears Tele-Games box.
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1981
- Controller
- Hand controller
- Players
- 1
- Authenticity
- Low
The Intellivision version
Mattel's best-known Intellivision shooter is a quick, tense game and the cartridge most original owners remember.
John Sohl designed Astrosmash, a fixed shooter in which a laser cannon slides along the bottom of the screen while meteors and bombs rain down. Joystik wrote in 1982 that it was very fond of it as a bottom-shooting game. Video's review the same year called it an obvious attempt to give Intellivision owners a solitaire arcade-style target game, but recommended it as probably worth a try on a system that lacked arcade programs.
Mattel promoted it heavily. It became the pack-in cartridge after Las Vegas Poker and Blackjack, and the company sponsored a Houston shoot-off in 1982 for sixteen semifinalists. It sold well on the Intellivision, which is why copies are easy to find.
How it was made
Designed by John Sohl and released by Mattel Electronics in 1981.
What the press said at the time
| JoyStik Vol. 1 No. 3 | December 1982 | Rating PG · Graphics 6 · Game Play 7 · Longevity 6 |
“were it offered for some of the other systems, might be a dubious in vestment. But for Intellivision, which has traditionally lacked arcade programs, it is probably worth a try.”
“It is definitely the best pure arcade game in the whole Intellivision library. That said, it must also be admitted that Astrosmash is a game of extremes and contradictions.”
“As a bottom-shooting game, we're very fond of Astrosmash. It's like an elaborate, free-falling variation of Space Invaders.”
“You've probably heard about Astrosmash, Intellivision's latest entry in the invaders from space theme game scene. Hot colors and plenty of screen action make this a home game to play.”
JoyStik’s capsule ratings run from one star to five.
How the Intellivision version differs
Mattel's 2600 version, renamed Astroblast, plays faster than the Intellivision original.
A Creative Computing writer found Astroblast's game play identical to Astrosmash, though the falling objects came faster than on the Intellivision.
Worth knowing
- From the Intellivision manual. You earn an extra laser gun each time your peak score climbs another 1,000 points, and losing all your guns ends the game.
- From the Intellivision manual. A built-in pause: press both yellow spots on the overlay at the same time, then restart by pressing either disc.
- From the Intellivision manual. Hyper space teleports your laser a random distance left or right, the only escape from a guided missile that has homed in on you along the ground.
Before you buy
Common and cheap, especially loose, though the box and manual lift a complete copy noticeably. Mattel's original copies came with two keypad overlays. Sears sold its own boxed version, with black overlays, and some copies include an update sheet for the instructions. Later INTV re-pressings also turn up.
Astrosmash screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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