Jul 1, 2026
Have fun
storming the castle! We circle back with Cinematronics to see what
they cooked up to compete with Atari’s Asteroids - the beautiful
vector classic Star Castle.
Did this game’s life begin as a game about the beginning of life?
How did Atari’s failure to port this Star Castle lead to one of
their biggest hits? If arcade games rose up to kill humans based on
what the game was about, what would be the most terrifying game to
die by? Why did Star Castle show up in so many films?
Questions answered this episode include how we decide what games
make the cut for our arcade, do we have any games that we’d never
put in there, and what tips do we have for buying pinball games in
today’s market. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own
questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz
You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube
channel where we post content like the new Rankdouken episodes (so
far we’ve ranked burger places and Nintendo consoles. What could be
next?): https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716.