Space Battle
Also released as Space Attack (Atari 2600, M Network)
Space Battle — frequently asked questions
- What platforms is Space Battle on?
- Space Battle was released on Atari 2600, Intellivision.
- When did Space Battle release?
- Space Battle was first released on December 31, 1979.
About Space Battle
Space Battle is a one-player game that pits you against the computer. Six alien fleets of different sizes are attacking your mothership, and it's up to you to defend it using your three squadrons. Alien ships will dodge your attacks and will attack you with photon blasts.
Summary via IGDB.
Space Battle on Wikipedia
Space Battle is a 1978 video game developed by Level IV for the TRS-80 16K Level II microcomputer.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Game details
- Platforms
- Atari 2600, Intellivision
- Developer
- APh Technological Consulting
- Publisher
- Mattel Electronics
- 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 | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari 2600Details ↓ | 1982 | $5 | $11 | — | 4 reviews | APh (designed by Hal Finney / Bruce Pederson) | Low |
| IntellivisionDetails ↓ | 1980 | $5 | $9 | — | — | Mattel Electronics | Low (look-alike) |
The cheapest way to own it loose is the Atari 2600 version ($5).
Release timeline
- Intellivision1979
- Atari 2600Jul 1982
First release on each platform, from IGDB’s records of this game’s ports and editions. Remakes are separate games with their own pages, so they are not listed here.
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 2 times a month
- Complete: about once 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 $0.75 in Oct 2008, $2.01 five years ago, and $4.96 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2009 | $0.75 | — |
| Jan 2010 | $0.99 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $0.75 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $1.00 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.87 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $1.20 | $3.99 |
| Jan 2015 | $2.73 | $4.22 |
| Jan 2016 | $2.48 | $5.49 |
| Jan 2017 | $3.98 | $8.95 |
| Jan 2018 | $3.65 | $4.99 |
| Jan 2019 | $2.05 | $5.25 |
| Jan 2020 | $2.99 | $5.99 |
| Jan 2021 | $3.16 | $5.54 |
| Jan 2022 | $1.97 | $6.99 |
| Jan 2023 | $3.42 | $10.79 |
| Jan 2024 | $1.99 | $9.00 |
| Jan 2025 | $2.97 | $9.00 |
| Jan 2026 | $3.97 | $9.99 |
| Oct 2026 | $4.96 | $10.97 |
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 | MT5659 | 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 Joystick
- Players
- 1
- Authenticity
- Low
The Atari 2600 version
M Network's 2600 version of Mattel's Intellivision Space Battle, cheap and modest.
Space Attack is the Atari 2600 version of Space Battle, a 1979 Mattel Electronics game for the Intellivision. Mattel released the 2600 version under its M Network label in July 1982. APh developed it, with Hal Finney and Bruce Pederson credited as designers. It supports one or two players.
What the press said at the time
| Computer Entertainer Vol. 1 No. 6 | September 1982 | Graphics ★★★ · Play-Action ★★★½ |
| Arcade Express arcade_express_v1n4 | September 26, 1982 | 8/10 |
| Electronic Fun with Computers & Games Vol. 1 No. 2 | December 1982 | 4 joysticks |
| JoyStik January 1983 | January 1983 | ★★ |
“This is a very good two-screen (radar and actual battle) combination of strategy and classic outer space shoot-em-up … Once past this hurdle, the game is very engaging. Recommended.”
“This is a very attractive solitaire game with pretty graphics, good action, and plenty of excitement.”
“The lack of overlay makes the radar mode a chore. Until you memorize the 7 different maneuvers necessary for choosing the aliens you want to go after”
“Yet another Sfar Raiders copy, Space Attack is one of the weakest of the bunch.”
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
Space Attack is a new 2600 version of Mattel's 1979 Intellivision game Space Battle, released under the M Network label in 1982 with a new title.
Also on other platforms
Intellivision
| Atari 2600 | APh (designed by Hal Finney / Bruce Pederson) |
| Intellivision | Mattel Electronics |
Worth knowing
- Launch defects, 1982. Arcade Express reported that the first M Network shipment had "a high number of defective cartridges": "the games couldn't be properly inserted into the VCS because of poor construction of the casing", and "a small portion of the initial ROMs were incompatible with older models of the Atari VCS." The problems were confined to the first four M Network games, including this one.
Before you buy
Low risk, with no documented reproductions. Loose carts are inexpensive, and boxed copies cost a few times as much. It is listed under both M Network and Telegames, so check the label for the publisher name.
Collector value & authenticity
Intellivision · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-20
Other releases and variants
| Release | Loose | Complete | Sealed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sears Tele-Games: "Battlestar Galactica Space Battle" | — | $55 | $55 |
| Red label | $9 | $20 | $33 |
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about 2 times a month
- 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 $1.88 in Apr 2009, $1.36 five years ago, and $5.09 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2010 | $1.99 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $0.99 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $1.38 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.90 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $2.50 | $1.80 |
| Jan 2015 | $3.99 | $4.78 |
| Jan 2016 | $3.49 | $8.94 |
| Jan 2017 | $1.99 | $5.00 |
| Jan 2018 | $4.11 | $5.00 |
| Jan 2019 | $4.05 | $4.95 |
| Jan 2020 | $3.75 | $5.62 |
| Jan 2021 | $2.95 | $4.99 |
| Jan 2022 | $3.69 | $6.71 |
| Jan 2023 | $7.00 | $9.08 |
| Jan 2024 | $2.84 | $9.46 |
| Jan 2025 | $3.81 | $8.35 |
| Jan 2026 | $4.52 | $9.99 |
| Oct 2026 | $5.09 | $9.00 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Documented sales
Just under 1,000,000 cartridges sold by June 1983
No exact figure has been published; the Blue Sky Rangers, Mattel's former programmers, list it with NFL Football, Astrosmash and Space Armada as just below the million mark at that date.
Source: Mattel Electronics' figures, as quoted by the Blue Sky Rangers
Release record
| Territory | Product # |
|---|---|
| North America Mattel Electronics | 2612 |
| North America Sears (Tele-Games) | 49 75212 |
- North America: Product number confirmed by Mattel's own catalogue and the overlay order form in Mattel's manuals.
- North America: Sears catalogue number, printed on the Sears Tele-Games box.
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1980
- Controller
- Hand controller
- Players
- 1 or 2
- Authenticity
- Low
The Intellivision version
Mattel's own space shooter and the original that M Network later reworked for the 2600, now a cheap Mattel staple.
Space Battle is the Intellivision original: Mattel Electronics made it for its own console, and M Network's 2600 game on this page is a retitled conversion of it. Mattel's library lists the release as August 1980, although Wikipedia dates the game a year earlier. It supports one or two players and was filed under Mattel's Space Action network, though early boxes carried the Action network label.
Collectors record several versions: a ROM revision adds a fifth, super advanced difficulty level, and boxes exist in both network labels. A Sears Tele-Games copy sold it as Battlestar Galactica Space Battle.
How it was made
Mattel Electronics published the original, with APh Technological Consulting as developer.
What the press said at the time
“In any ease, the joys of the game are many not the least of which is its two-stage radar/combat play. There is the sense of a battle developing, not just happening.”
“This is certainly the case with the epic Space Battle, the flagship of the company's science fiction game line. Even more than the outstanding graphics, what distinguishes 'Space Battle' is that it is much more than just an excellent outer space shoot-out.”
“Engrossing once you get the hang of it, but you'll be vehemently cursing your cursor the first few times you press Return To Base when you meant to press KILL.”
How the Intellivision version differs
Space Battle began on Intellivision in 1979. Mattel's M Network released a 2600 version in 1982 under the title Space Attack.
Computer Entertainer reviewed the 2600 version as a take on Mattel's "deservedly popular" Intellivision game, keeping its two-screen split between radar strategy and battle.
Also on other platforms
Atari 2600
| Intellivision | Mattel Electronics |
Worth knowing
- From the Intellivision manual. Five game speeds, from Beginning to Super Advanced, are chosen with squadron keys and the disc before play starts; the top two are much harder.
- From the Intellivision manual. Two people can team up against the computer: one steers the gunsight with the disc while the other works a fire button, using both hand controllers.
- From the Intellivision manual. This is the Sears Super Video Arcade printing of the manual, describing squadrons defending the Mother Ship against alien squadrons.
Before you buy
Mattel included two keypad overlays. Check which version you have: the fifth difficulty level only appears on later ROMs, and there is a red-label variant that sells for more than the standard copy. The Sears Tele-Games Battlestar Galactica copy is the pricey one, sold only boxed. Standard loose carts are cheap.
Space Battle screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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Latest news mentioning Space Battle
- 20 Years Ago, the Best Sci-Fi Show of the Century Delivered the Most Epic Space Battle in TV HistoryPolygon · Oct 13
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