Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Pitfall landed on Game Forest GF today and the ColecoVision version still holds up as one of the better looking takes on David Crane's original Atari 2600 classic. Designed by Crane and published by Activision, Pitfall first released on the 2600 in September 1982 before Activision brought it to the ColecoVision in 1983, with Harry redrawn in green and brown and a bit more detail packed into the surrounding jungle.
The goal stays simple but tense across every version. You guide Pitfall Harry through a jungle packed with pits, quicksand, rolling logs, rattlesnakes, scorpions and crocodiles, trying to grab all 32 hidden treasures within a strict 20 minute time limit. One detail people often forget is that Harry almost only had a single life in the entire game, until Crane's own coworkers pushed back hard enough during the final week of development to get him to add extra lives before release.
This game became a genuine phenomenon for Activision, selling over 4 million copies on the 2600 alone and holding the number one spot on the Billboard video game chart for 64 weeks straight. Pitfall Harry is also notable as one of the first popular video game characters to originate on a home console rather than in arcades, which later earned him a Saturday morning cartoon spot on CBS and a wave of merchandise.
Let me know in the comments how many treasures you usually managed to grab before time ran out. Subscribe to Game Forest GF for retro gaming content every single day.
#pitfall #colecovision #activision #davidcrane #retrogaming #classicgaming #80sgaming #retrogames #oldschoolgaming #vintagegaming #gaminghistory #80snostalgia #pitfallharry #retroconsole #80sgames #youtubeshorts #gaming
Pitfall landed on Game Forest GF today and the ColecoVision version still holds up as one of the better looking takes on David Crane's original Atari 2600 classic. Designed by Crane and published by Activision, Pitfall first released on the 2600 in September 1982 before Activision brought it to the ColecoVision in 1983, with Harry redrawn in green and brown and a bit more detail packed into the surrounding jungle.
The goal stays simple but tense across every version. You guide Pitfall Harry through a jungle packed with pits, quicksand, rolling logs, rattlesnakes, scorpions and crocodiles, trying to grab all 32 hidden treasures within a strict 20 minute time limit. One detail people often forget is that Harry almost only had a single life in the entire game, until Crane's own coworkers pushed back hard enough during the final week of development to get him to add extra lives before release.
This game became a genuine phenomenon for Activision, selling over 4 million copies on the 2600 alone and holding the number one spot on the Billboard video game chart for 64 weeks straight. Pitfall Harry is also notable as one of the first popular video game characters to originate on a home console rather than in arcades, which later earned him a Saturday morning cartoon spot on CBS and a wave of merchandise.
Let me know in the comments how many treasures you usually managed to grab before time ran out. Subscribe to Game Forest GF for retro gaming content every single day.
#pitfall #colecovision #activision #davidcrane #retrogaming #classicgaming #80sgaming #retrogames #oldschoolgaming #vintagegaming #gaminghistory #80snostalgia #pitfallharry #retroconsole #80sgames #youtubeshorts #gaming
