Atari
Warshaw's first success, Yars' Revenge, first started as an Atari 2600 adaptation of the arcade game Star Castle. However, as limitations became clear, Warshaw re-adapted the concept into a new game involving mutated houseflies defending their world against an alien attacker. The game was a major success and is still regarded as one of the best games made for the Atari 2600. This led Warshaw to be picked as the designer of the game adaptation of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was also a commercial success and was critically acclaimed at the time.
It was his success on Raiders that led to Warshaw being chosen to design and program the ill-fated Atari 2600 adaptation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Problems began early as he was only given five weeks to go from concept to finished product. Although the game was finished on time it was poorly received and seen as being confusing and frustrating. Atari took a major financial loss on the project, which combined with other poor business decisions and conditions, led to the company being divided and sold within two years. During this time, Warshaw developed and finished another game called Saboteur, which was then re-adapted into a game based on the television series The A-Team. However, Atari was dismantled before either version could be released.
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