Space Cobbler

When the game "Space Cobbler" is mentioned, most people say they've never heard of it. When told that there were not one but two "Space Cobbler" video games, those same people pass out in confusion, choking on the dual sandwiches of disbelief and what-the-fuck. How can there be two games of the same name that no one remembers?

Here's the scoop: In the summer of 1981, the programmers at Funatron created what most Atari analysts considered the hottest idea of the season: "Space Cobbler." The player became the Space Cobbler, fixing space shoes throughout the galaxy while trying to beat the always-ticking clock. Atari Cartridge Monthly magazine called the game "one of the twelve best game concepts to hit the market this week."

Unfortunately, it wasn't the first "Space Cobbler" to hit the market. Six weeks earlier, Hartooni's version was released, to less than lackluster acclaim. The game, panned by critics as a low-grade rip-off of "Space Invaders" and "Missile Command," had the player protecting the Earth from a giant space cobbler bent on world domination. The player must shoot the dessert filling being tossed by the cobbler before ultimately taking on the big evil fruit treat in the sky.

So with Hartooni's "Space Cobbler" stinking up the game cartridge aisles, the release of Funatron's superior "Space Cobbler" was overlooked by consumers. In a matter of weeks, both games were removed from the stores and the collective memory of the world.

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