Atari 2600

The Atari 2600, released in 1977, is the first successful video game console to use plug-in cartridges instead of having one or more games built in. It was originally known as the Atari VCS, for Video Computer System, and the name "Atari 2600" (taken from the unit's Atari part number, CX2600) was first used in 1982, after the release of the more advanced Atari 5200. It was wildly successful, and during the 1980s, "Atari" was a synonym for this model in mainstream media. The 2600 was typically bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a cartridge game.

History

Development and market considerations

Atari had spun off an engineering think-tank in 1975 called Cyan Engineering to research next-generation video game systems, and had been working on a prototype known as "Stella" (named after one of the engineers' bicycles) for some time. Unlike prior generations of machines which used custom logic to play a small number of games, Stella's core was a complete CPU, the famous MOS Technology 6502 in a cost-reduced version, known as the 6507. It was combined with a display and sound chip of their own design known as the TIA, for Television Interface Adaptor. At first the design was not going to be cartridge based, but after seeing a "fake" cartridge system on another machine they realized they could place the games on cartridges essentially for the price of the connector and packaging.

Related Topics:
Atari - Custom logic - CPU - MOS Technology - 6502 - 6507 - TIA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In August 1976 Fairchild Semiconductor released their own cartridge based system, the Channel F. Stella was still not ready for production, but it was clear that it needed to be before there were a number of "me too" products filling up the market – which had happened after they invented PONG. Atari simply didn't have the cash flow to complete the system quickly, given that sales of their own PONG systems were cooling. Nolan Bushnell eventually turned to Warner Communications, and sold the company to them in 1976 for $28 million on the promise that Stella would be produced as soon as possible.

Related Topics:
Fairchild Semiconductor - Channel F - PONG - Nolan Bushnell - Warner Communications - 1976

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Key to the eventual success of the machine was the hiring of Jay Miner, a chip designer who managed to squeeze an entire breadboard of equipment making up the TIA into a single chip. Once that was completed and debugged the system was ready for shipping.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the time it was released in 1977, the development had cost about US$100 million.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Launch and runaway success

The initial price was $199 with a library of 9 titles. In a play to compete directly with the Channel F, Atari named the machine the Video Computer System (or VCS for short), as the Channel F was at that point known as the VES, for Video Entertainment System. When Fairchild learned of Atari's naming they quickly changed the name of their system to become the Channel F. However both systems were now in the midst of a vicious round of price-cutting: PONG clones made obsolete by these newer and more powerful machines sold off their boxes to discounters for ever-lower prices. Soon many of the clone companies were out of business, and both Fairchild and Atari were selling to a public that was completely burnt out on PONG. In 1977 Atari sold only 250,000 VCS's. In 1978 only 550,000 units from a production run of 800,000 were sold, requiring further financial support from Warner to cover losses. This led directly to the disagreements that caused Atari founder Nolan Bushnell to leave the company in 1978.

Related Topics:
Nolan Bushnell - 1978

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once the public realized it was possible to play video games other than PONG, and programmers learned how to push its hardware's capabilities, the 2600 gained popularity. Fairchild had by this point given up, thinking they were a passed fad, thereby handing the entire quickly growing market to Atari. By 1979, the 2600 was the best selling Christmas present (and console), mainly because of its exclusive content, and a million were sold that year.

Related Topics:
1979 - Christmas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The 2600 was also rebadged as the Sears Video Arcade and sold through Sears-Roebuck stores.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Atari then licensed the smash arcade hit Space Invaders by Taito, which greatly increased the unit's popularity when it was released in May 1980, doubling sales again to over 2 million units. The 2600 and its cartridges were the main factor behind Atari grossing more than $2 billion in profits in 1980. Sales then doubled again for the next two years, with almost 8 million units selling in 1982.

Related Topics:
Arcade - Space Invaders - Taito - 1980

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During this period, Atari expanded the 2600 family with two other compatible consoles. They designed the Atari 2700, a wireless version of the console that was never released due to a design flaw. The company also built a sleeker version of the machine dubbed the Atari 2800 to sell directly to the Japanese market in early 1983, but it suffered from competition with the newly-released Nintendo Famicom.

Related Topics:
Atari 2700 - Atari 2800 - Japanese - 1983 - Nintendo - Famicom

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Growing pains and decline

During this period Atari continued to grow until it had one of the largest R&D divisions in Silicon Valley. They spent much of their R&D budget on projects that seemed rather out of place at a videogame (or even home computer) company, projects many of which never saw the light of day. Meanwhile several attempts to bring out newer consoles failed for one reason or another, although their home computer systems, the Atari 8-bit family sold reasonably if not spectacularly. Warner was more than happy anyway, as it seemed to have no end to the sales of the 2600, and Atari was responsible for over half of the company's income.

Related Topics:
R&D - Silicon Valley - Home computer - Atari 8-bit family

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The programmers of many of Atari's biggest hits grew disgruntled with the company for not crediting game developers. For example, Rick Mauer, the programmer of Atari 2600 Space Invaders, received no credit and made only $11,000 for his efforts, in spite of the cartridge grossing more than $100 million in sales. Some programmers hid their names in obscure places in the game (a practice known as "Easter eggs", which continues in software development to this day), but many left the company and formed their own independent software companies. The most prominent and longest-lasting of these third-party developers was Activision, founded in 1980, whose titles quickly became more popular than those of Atari itself. Atari attempted to block third-party development for the 2600 in court but failed, and soon other publishers, such as Imagic and Coleco, entered the market. Atari suffered from an image problem when a company named Mystique produced a number of pornographic games for the 2600. The most notorious of these, Custer's Revenge caused a large number of protests from women's and Native American groups. Atari sued Mystique in court over the release of the game.

Related Topics:
Space Invaders - Easter egg - Activision - Imagic - Coleco - Pornographic - Custer's Revenge - Native American

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Atari continued to scoop up licenses during the shelf life of the 2600, the most prominent of which included Pac-Man and E.T. Public disappointment with these two latter titles and the market saturation of bad third-party titles are cited as big reasons for the video game crash of 1983. Suddenly Atari's growth meant it was losing massive amounts of money during the crash, at one point about $10,000 a day. Warner quickly grew tired of supporting the now-headless company, and started looking for buyers in 1984.

Related Topics:
Pac-Man - E.T. - Video game crash of 1983 - 1984

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The console that refused to die

Although not formally discontinued, the 2600 was de-emphasized for two years after Warner's 1984 sale of Atari to Commodore Business Machines founder Jack Tramiel, who wanted to concentrate on home computers. In 1986 a new version of the 2600 was released in (although it was planned for release two years earlier). The new redesigned version of the 2600, unofficially referred to as the 2600 Jr., featured a smaller cost-reduced form factor with a modernized Atari 7800-like appearance. The redesigned 2600 was advertised as a budget gaming system (under $50) that had the ability to run a large collection of classic games. With its introduction came a resurgence in software development both from Atari and from third parties. The Atari 2600 continued to sell in the USA and Europe until 1990, and continued to sell in PAL version in Asian nations until the early 1990s. Over its lifetime, an estimated 25 million units were shipped, and its video game library reportedly numbers more than 900 titles.

Related Topics:
Commodore Business Machines - Jack Tramiel - Home computer - 1986 - Atari 7800 - 1990 - PAL - Video game library

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the turn of the millennium, 25 years+ after the launch of the Atari 2600, new games for the system are still made for it by hobbyists, and the console and its old and new games are very popular with collectors because of its significant impact on video game and consumer electronics history and also due to its nostalgic value for many people. In addition, modern Atari 2600 clones remain on the market. One example is the Atari Classics 10-in-1 TV Game, manufactured by Jakks Pacific, which simulates, more or less accurately, the basic electronics of the 2600 console, and includes emulations of 10 games, into a single Atari-brand-look-a-like joystick with composite video outputs for connecting directly to modern televisions or VCRs. Another is the TV Boy which includes 127 games in an enlarged joypad.

Related Topics:
Jakks Pacific - Composite video - TV Boy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Additionally, Benjamin Heckendorn has created several different versions of a portable 2600, created by cutting apart full-sized vintage units, adding screens and putting them into new enclosures.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~