Trivia / Missile Command

• Port Overdosed: Aside from its numerous console/computer ports, it's hard to name an Atari compilation in which Missile Command isn't included.
• Reality Subtext: According to the developer, Dave Theurer, the inspiration for the chilling "THE END" Game Over screen was the recurring nightmares of nuclear war he was having by that point in the game development process. (The six cities that the player defends were, in the original design, six Real Life cities along the Pacific coast of California: Eureka, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego.)
• Referenced by...: In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, John Connor plays it in a Video Arcade.
• Urban Legend of Zelda: Rumors in arcades in the early 80s convinced several teens that NORAD kept track of high scorers, just in case.
• What Could Have Been: The cities in Missile Command were originally based on California cities (as noted above) and the idea of reloading the missile bases by train was considered. An additional set of levels involving firing back at the never-seen enemy was also dropped.
• Working Title: The game was originally called Armageddon but was changed at the last minute.