The sports game called Decathlon for Atari 2600 was released by Activision company in 1983. There was no such game for consoles until then.
The thing that made this game so amazing was a possibility for up to 4 players to compete in a total of 10 disciplines. This must have been a big deal in the early 80's. Players took turns after each discipline, collecting as many points as possible.
Disciplines:
Sprint for 100 meters
Long jump
Shot-put
High jump
Run for 400 meters
Hurdle race
Discus throw
Pole jump
Cast javelin
Run for 1500 meters
Controls:
The game was also famous for it's fun fact, that playing it caused quick breakage of controllers, because it was necessary to move your joystick left and right as fast as possible to move with the player.
You can switch the number of players with the SELECT button and press START to begin. You have to run in every discipline, which is done with the joystick movement mentioned above. You also need to jump with the joystick button in the hurdle race. In the long jump, shot-put, discus throw and cast javelin, you use the joystick to run as fast as possible and press the button in front of the line to release the throw or jump. In the high jump and pole jump, you always have 3 tries for every height. If you manage to jump over the rod, it moves higher for next jump. If you don't manage to jump over it in any of these 3 tries, your score will show the last height you successfully jumped over and another player takes turn.
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Ohh, Decathlon on Atari. My memories come to life.
4 years ago Great game, but total joysticks liquidator. If you play run for 1500 meters, you can buy new joystick :)
7 years ago 
