Is RealSports Baseball on Steam?

No. RealSports Baseball 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 RealSports Baseball on?

RealSports Baseball is available on Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800.

When did RealSports Baseball release?

RealSports Baseball was first released on October 1, 1982.

RealSports Baseball

Oct 1, 1982SportArcadeAtari 2600 Atari 5200 Atari 7800

RealSports Baseball — frequently asked questions

Is RealSports Baseball on Steam?: No. RealSports Baseball 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 RealSports Baseball on?: RealSports Baseball is available on Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800.
When did RealSports Baseball release?: RealSports Baseball was first released on October 1, 1982.

About RealSports Baseball

Join the Atari Aces in the World Series of video baseball--RealSports BASEBALL! It's a hot day in the ballpark--you can see the hot dog and soda pop vendors making their way up and down the bleachers. The crowd roars after each pitch, and filling the stadium is the sound of "STEERIKE! YOU'RE OUT!" Down on the field it's a different story--just you and the pitcher facing each other in an enormous diamond of brown and green. The roar of the spectators fades into the distance as the pitcher winds up. His arm arches back, his leg goes up, and...THUNK! The ball flashes by and hits the catcher's glove at 90 miles an hour. "STEERIKE!" Another windup, another 90 mile an hour fastball, and "STEERIKE TWO!" Gripping the bat tightly, you stare down at the pitcher, see him wind up, and watch as the ball seems to float in slow motion down the field toward you. Everything falls into place as you swing with perfect timing, feel the contact, and see the ball sail over the right fielders outstretched glove and over the wall. HOME RUN!

Summary via IGDB.

RealSports Baseball on Wikipedia

RealSports Baseball is a 1982 baseball video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600. It was later launched on the Atari 5200 and 7800 machines. A version for the Atari 8-bit computers was also in development, but was cancelled.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).

Game details

Platforms: Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer
Themes: Non-fiction

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Built by
Atari 2600	1982	$5	$11	$17	Graphics ★★★ · Play-Action ★★★½	Atari (designed by Joseph Tung)

Also released on: Atari 5200 · Atari 7800. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

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

Loose

Complete

$11

Sealed

$17

Release record

Territory	Label	Catalog #	Rarity
North America Atari	Silver - 1982	CX2640	Common+
Asia Atari	—	—	—

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

Region: NA
Released: 1982
Controller: Atari Joystick
Players: 1 - 2
Authenticity: Low

On Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration since Nov 11, 2022 — the cartridge is now a collectibleLow counterfeit risk

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

Atari's answer to Mattel's sports marketing, a cheap common cart that is also on Atari 50.

RealSports Baseball is a 1982 baseball game that Atari developed and published for the Atari 2600, released in October 1982 with Joseph Tung credited as designer. Atari made it in response to an aggressive marketing campaign by Mattel, and released it as part of the RealSports series. It later came out on the Atari 5200 and 7800.

The 2600 cart is common and cheap, and it is on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration if you only want to play it.

How it was made

Developed and published by Atari, Inc. in October 1982 as part of the RealSports line, in response to Mattel's marketing of its Intellivision sports games.

What the press said at the time

Computer Entertainer Vol. 1 No. 9

December 1982

Graphics ★★★ · Play-Action ★★★½

“This is not the easiest video game to learn, but the effort will be worth it for video sports fans. Recommended.”
— Computer Entertainer, December 1982

“To say the least, this finely detailed program is everything Home Run was not — intricate, enjoyable and challenging. … Thanks to RealSports Baseball, 2600 owners finally have a baseball game they can love.”
— Electronic Games, August 1983

“Lots better than Home Run, but not much more real. Newcomers will toss the ball all over the screen, fielding is as easy as typing with your elbows”
— Vidiot, August/September 1983

“Forget the late, unlamented Home Run; this is authentic arcade-style baseball at its absolute best, created for the popular 2600 (VCS) programmable game system.”
— Electronic Games, September 1983

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.

Cartridge & preservation record

Program size 8 KB, measured from the preserved dump.

Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.

How the Atari 2600 version differs

The 2600 cartridge has no speech; the later Atari 5200 version added an electronic announcer calling the plays, without needing a separate voice add-on.

The original 2600 release had software bugs that hurt play, so Atari released an improved 2600 version, Super Baseball, in March 1989 that fixed some but not all of them and improved the graphics.

A 2600 version supporting the unreleased Voice Controller was announced at the 1983 Summer Consumer Electronics Show, with voice commands used only to throw the ball to the bases.

Also on other platforms

Atari 5200 · Atari 7800

Atari 2600

Atari (designed by Joseph Tung)

Atari 5200. Jim Andreasen began the 5200 version but shelved it; Keithen Hayenga restarted it from scratch and used an extra 8 kilobytes of ROM for voice and added game logic. It became one of the most popular games for the system.
Atari 7800. Despite the 7800's stronger graphics hardware, its version has downgraded graphics and sound compared with the 5200 version, more limited gameplay and more bugs.
Atari 8-bit. An Atari 8-bit computer version was developed but never released; Atari halted it hoping the game would sell more 5200 systems, and prototype copies have since surfaced.

Worth knowing

1984 Arkie Award. The 2600 RealSports Baseball received a Certificate of Merit in the Best Sports Videogame category of the 1984 Arkie Awards.
Atari's release month. Atari's own "ATARI '82 IN REVIEW" checklist in Atari Age dates its 2600 release to October 1982.

Before you buy

Low risk; a common Atari cart and not a reproduction target. Loose carts are inexpensive, and complete copies cost only a little more, so a boxed copy is an easy upgrade.