Pole Position (Atari 2600) - online game

Main PageGame ConsolesOnline EmulatorsOffline EmulatorsGames ControlRandom Game

Games

Action (1172)Adventure (109)Educational (28)Fighting (101)Platform (475)Puzzle (192)Racing (108)RPG (90)Shooter (383)Simulation (68)Sport (150)Strategy (47)Others (37)

All games (1779)

Others

TOP 100VideosGlossaryHelp/FAQDeclarationYoutubeGuest BookSupport this siteContact

Atari 2600 joystick:

Joystick control:
	Player 1:	Player 2:
joystick	↑↓←→	TGFH
trigger	Spacebar	A
turbo	Del	.
RESET	F12	F12
SELECT	F11	F11
Pause	Alt+P	Alt+P
black-white / color mode: F2
paddle / joystick mode: Alt+L

Emulation speed:

If the game emulation is slow, try to speed it up by reloading this page without ads or choose another emulator from this table.

Other platforms:

This game can be played also in a version for DOS. We are working on the others.

Game info:

Pole Position (Atari 2600) - online game | RetroGames.cz (2)

box cover

Game title:

Pole Position

Console:

Atari 2600

Author (released):

Namco (1982)

Genre:

Racing

Mode:

Single-player

Design:

Doug Macare

Music:

Game manual:

manual.pdf

File size:

801 kB

Download:

not available (stream only)

Game size:

8 kB

Recommended emulator:

Stella

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Pole Position is an arcade racing video game which was released by Namco in 1982 and licensed to Atari, Inc. for US manufacture and distribution. It was designed by Tōru Iwatani, who had also designed the Gee Bee games and Pac-Man. It was the most popular coin-op arcade game of 1983. Pole Position was released in two configurations: a standard upright cabinet, and an environmental/cockpit cabinet. Both versions feature a steering wheel and a gear shifter for low and high gears, but the environmental/cockpit cabinet featured both an accelerator and a brake pedal, while the standard upright one only featured an accelerator pedal.

Pole Position (Atari 2600)

By 1983, it had become the highest-grossing arcade game that year in North America, where it had sold over 21,000 machines for $61 million, equivalent to $140 million in 2012. It was the most successful racing game of the classic era, spawning ports, sequels, and a Saturday morning cartoon. The game established the conventions of the racing game genre and its success inspired numerous imitators. Pole Position is thus regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time and 'arguably the most important racing game ever made.'
In this game, the player controls a Formula One race car, and has to complete a time trial lap within a certain amount of time (between 90 and 120 seconds) to qualify for an F1 race at the Fuji Racetrack. After qualifying, the player races against seven other CPU-controlled cars in a championship race (but if he or she does not qualify, the car will stay on the track until the timer runs out). The player must also avoid going off the road so that he or she will not crash into the billboards.
Pole Position was the first racing video game to feature a track based on a real racing circuit. It was also the first game to feature a qualifying lap, requiring the player to complete a time trial before they can compete in Grand Prix races. Once the player has qualified, they must complete the race in the time allowed, avoiding collisions with CPU-controlled opponents and billboards along the sides of the track. The game's publisher Atari publicized the game for its 'unbelievable driving realism' in providing a Formula 1 experience behind a racing wheel. The game's graphics featured full-colour landscapes with scaling sprites, including race cars and other signs, and a perspective view of the track, with its vanishing point swaying side to side as the player approaches corners, accurately simulating forward movement into the distance.

More details about this game can be found on Wikipedia.org.

For fans and collectors:

Find this game on video server YouTube.com or Vimeo.com.

Buy original game or Atari 2600 console on Amazon.com or eBay.com.

Find digital download of this game on GOGorSteam.

Videogame Console:

This version of Pole Position was designed for Atari 2600, which was commercially very successful video game console of second generation produced by Atari from 1977 to 1992. It was the first console that used removable memory modules with games. At the time of its greatest fame, more than 30 million units of this console were sold for about $ 200 a piece. To date, the game library for this console contains nearly 1,000 original games. More information about the Atari 2600 can be found here.

Recommended Game Controllers:

You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB joystick that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a joystick, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.

Available online emulators:

5 different online emulators are available for Pole Position. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic features of each emulator available for this game Pole Position are summarized in the following table:

Emulator	Technology	Multiplayer	USB gamepad	Touchscreen	Without ads
Javatari 5.0	JavaScript	YES	YES	YES	YES
Javatari 0.91	JavaScript	YES	YES	NO	YES
NeptunJS	JavaScript	YES	YES	NO	NO
EmulatorJS	JavaScript	YES	YES	YES	YES
JStella	Java applet	YES	NO	NO	YES

Similar games:

If you like Pole Position you'll probably like also some of the similar games in the overview below. The games you see here are selected based on title similarity, game genre, and keywords. However, the list is generated automatically and can therefore be very 'subjective' especially for some specific games. To find a particular game, please use our search form.


Pole Position II	F1 Pole Position	World Grand Prix	Super Monaco GP	Grand Prix 2


Final Lap	Formula One	Virtua Racing	F-1 Race	Mario Andretti Racing


Grand Prix Circuit	Pitstop II	F1	Monaco GP	Indianapolis 500

Comments:

Pole Position (Atari 2600) - online game | RetroGames.cz (2025)