ATARI PROGRAM EXCHANGE

'Atari Program Exchange' (APX) was a division of Atari, Inc. that existed from 1982 through 1984. When Jack Tramiel took over Atari, this was one of the divisions they shut down.
APX was a mail-order catalog of user-written software for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. It provided a unique way for programmers to find a wider audience in the days before the internet. Many APX programs were games, but also included a wide variety of applications, utilities, programmers' tools, and educational software. The APX catalog was published quarterly.
In most cases, the software wasn't considered 'ready for prime time' distribution, but there were several hits including Chris Crawford's ''Eastern Front (1941)'', ''Caverns of Mars'', and ''Dandy''. Both ''Eastern Front'' and ''Caverns of Mars'' were later released on cartridge as official Atari products, while ''Dandy'' became ''Dark Chambers'' as well as serving as the inspiration for the hit arcade game, ''Gauntlet''.
APX ran an award program for the best submissions, the 'APX Star Award'. The first winner, ''My First Alphabet'', garnered the author, Fernando Herrera, a $25,000 reward from Atari. He used the money to start First Star Software, which would later develop the successful ''Boulder Dash'' and ''Spy vs. Spy'' franchises.
After the demise of APX, Antic magazine published some APX titles and continued soliciting new software as ''The Catalog.'' ''The Catalog'' was bound into issues of Antic.

Contents

External Links

External Links

★ APX info at Atari Archives including scans of catalogs and list of programs.

★ [1]