Is Basketball on Steam?

No. Basketball 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 Basketball on?

Basketball is available on Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit.

When did Basketball release?

Basketball was first released on September 11, 1977.

Basketball

Sep 11, 1977SportArcadeAtari 2600Atari 8-bit

Basketball — frequently asked questions

Is Basketball on Steam?: No. Basketball 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 Basketball on?: Basketball is available on Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit.
When did Basketball release?: Basketball was first released on September 11, 1977.

About Basketball

A Basketball variant of pong exclusive to the Atari 2600 as games 45-46 of the launch title Video Olympics. The game features a simple game of one-on-one basketball playable by one or two players, one of the few early Atari 2600 to have a true single player feature with an AI-controlled opponent.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Game modes: Single player

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Built by
Atari 2600	1978	$4	$13	$26	Atari (designed by Alan Miller)

Also released on: Atari 8-bit. We haven’t priced or authenticated that version yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Atari 2600 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-06

Loose

Complete

$13

Sealed

$26

Label variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
Tele-Games	$6	$16	—
Text Label	$4	$11	$17

Release record

Territory	Label	Catalog #	Rarity
North America Atari	Picture	CX2624	Common+
North America Atari	Text	CX2624	Common+
North America Sears	Text - 49-75113	99826	Common+
North America Sears	Picture	99826	Scarce
North America Sears	Text - 6-99826	99826	Common+
Europe Atari	Red	CX2624P	—

Also released in South America by Unknown.

Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 2600 software database

Region: NA
Released: 1978
Controller: Atari Joystick
Players: 1 - 2
Authenticity: Low

On Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration since Nov 8, 2024 — the cartridge is now a collectibleLow counterfeit risk

Atari 2600 prices, all games & how to spot a fake

Alan Miller's one-on-one Basketball, a 1978 cart with a rare early computer opponent, cheap and on Atari 50.

Basketball is Atari's 1978 one-on-one basketball game, programmed by Alan Miller, for one or two players. It was one of the few early VCS games with a single-player mode against a computer opponent.

It is basic by later standards. It is on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration if you only want to play it.

How it was made

Programmed by Alan Miller and released by Atari in October 1978. Sears also sold it. Miller later wrote an Atari 8-bit computer version with improved graphics.

Cartridge & preservation record

Program size 2 KB, measured from the preserved dump.

Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.

How the Atari 2600 version differs

Alan Miller's later Atari 8-bit computer version, published in 1979, improved on the graphics of the 2600 cartridge.

Also on other platforms

Atari 8-bit

Atari 2600	Atari (designed by Alan Miller)
Arcade	Atari (publisher)

Arcade. Atari released an arcade Basketball in 1979 that was similar to the Atari 8-bit computer port but in black and white.

Worth knowing

First $9.95 discount. In September/October 1982 the Atari Club's members-only price list cut this, one of Atari's oldest titles, to $9.95.
1981 dealer price. Atari's confidential retailer price list for January 1 to June 1, 1981 lists Basketball (CX2624) in its basic tier: dealers paid $14.00 against a suggested retail price of $22.95.

Before you buy

Low risk; every version is cheap. Three listings are priced: the standard cart, a Tele-Games cart from Sears and a Text Label cart. They are the same game, so check which label is in the photos if you collect variants, and otherwise buy whichever is cheapest.