Atari 2600
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September 13, 2018
The Atari 2600 (or Atari Video Computer System or Atari VCS before November 1982) is a home video game console from Atari, Inc. Released on September 11, 1977, it is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and games contained on ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. This contrasts with the older model of having dedicated hardware that could play only those games that were physically built into the unit. The 2600 was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge: initially Combat,[5] and later Pac-Man.[6]
Entering 1975, Atari had already had success with its arcade games and dedicated home consoles that recreated these games (such as Pong), but there was increasing costs and risks in these adaptations. The company wanted to push for a home console that could play multiple games, necessitating a microprocessor which were still costly. Breadboard development of this system, nicknamed "Stella", coincided with the release of the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, one of the first low-cost processors to hit the market; Atari worked with MOS Technology and established the use of their less-powerful MOS Technology 6507 for the platform. Further, Atari's Jay Miner led development of the Television Interface Adapter (TIA) chip which performed all the graphics and audio output to the television display necessary for the platform. These were coupled with the necessary input/output ports with a ROM cartridge reader and joystick controlllers to complete the system. Atari's system was still in development when the Fairchild Channel F was announced, leading Atari's owner Nolan Bushnell to sell Atari to Warner Communications in 1976, in exchange for a cash infusion to speed up development. Initial production for the console's November 1977 release was made at Atari's Sunnyvale, California location while future units were produced in Hong Kong.
The Atari 2600 had moderate sales in its first few years, relying principally on games created as ports of arcade games, both of Atari and titles licensed from others; disagreements over sales potential of the 2600 led Bushnell to leave Atari in 1979. Following the release of Atari's licensed version of Space Invaders from Taito in 1980, the 2600 became widely successful, leading to the creation of third-party game developers, notably Activision, and competition on the market from other home console makers such as Coleco and Mattel Electronics by 1982. Atari invested heavily into two games for the 2600, Pac-Man and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, that would become commercial failures for Atari and contributed to the video game crash of 1983. The 2600 was shelved as the industry recovered, while Warner sold off the home console division of Atari to Commodore. The new Atari Corporation under Commodore rereleased a low-cost streamlined version of the 2600 in 1986, as well as the Atari 7800 that boosted backwards compatibility with the 2600. Ultimately, production of the Atari 2600 and other home consoles ended in 1992, with an estimate 30 million units sold through its lifetime.
https://archive.org/details/Atari_2600_1986_Atari_US
https://archive.org/details/Atari2600VcsRomCollectionromHunterV11
The Atari 2600 (or Atari Video Computer System or Atari VCS before November 1982) is a home video game console from Atari, Inc. Released on September 11, 1977, it is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and games contained on ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. This contrasts with the older model of having dedicated hardware that could play only those games that were physically built into the unit. The 2600 was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge: initially Combat,[5] and later Pac-Man.[6]
Entering 1975, Atari had already had success with its arcade games and dedicated home consoles that recreated these games (such as Pong), but there was increasing costs and risks in these adaptations. The company wanted to push for a home console that could play multiple games, necessitating a microprocessor which were still costly. Breadboard development of this system, nicknamed "Stella", coincided with the release of the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, one of the first low-cost processors to hit the market; Atari worked with MOS Technology and established the use of their less-powerful MOS Technology 6507 for the platform. Further, Atari's Jay Miner led development of the Television Interface Adapter (TIA) chip which performed all the graphics and audio output to the television display necessary for the platform. These were coupled with the necessary input/output ports with a ROM cartridge reader and joystick controlllers to complete the system. Atari's system was still in development when the Fairchild Channel F was announced, leading Atari's owner Nolan Bushnell to sell Atari to Warner Communications in 1976, in exchange for a cash infusion to speed up development. Initial production for the console's November 1977 release was made at Atari's Sunnyvale, California location while future units were produced in Hong Kong.
The Atari 2600 had moderate sales in its first few years, relying principally on games created as ports of arcade games, both of Atari and titles licensed from others; disagreements over sales potential of the 2600 led Bushnell to leave Atari in 1979. Following the release of Atari's licensed version of Space Invaders from Taito in 1980, the 2600 became widely successful, leading to the creation of third-party game developers, notably Activision, and competition on the market from other home console makers such as Coleco and Mattel Electronics by 1982. Atari invested heavily into two games for the 2600, Pac-Man and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, that would become commercial failures for Atari and contributed to the video game crash of 1983. The 2600 was shelved as the industry recovered, while Warner sold off the home console division of Atari to Commodore. The new Atari Corporation under Commodore rereleased a low-cost streamlined version of the 2600 in 1986, as well as the Atari 7800 that boosted backwards compatibility with the 2600. Ultimately, production of the Atari 2600 and other home consoles ended in 1992, with an estimate 30 million units sold through its lifetime.
https://archive.org/details/Atari_2600_1986_Atari_US
https://archive.org/details/Atari2600VcsRomCollectionromHunterV11
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