Atari VCS / 2600
Atari VCS..later called the 2600 was released in 1977 and became the dominant console in the 1970's.
The Atari 2600 boasted amazing specs for it's time, and amassed a library of thousands of games.
The popularity of the 2600 grew even further when the arcade game "Space Invaders" was ported for the first time to a console.
The success was also in part to the many arcade and movie licenses acquired by Atari. These licenses gave Atari the marketing edge over other consoles of it's time.
The console introduced an enormous variety of games and controllers and was the console of choice well into the early 80's even when graphically out performed by newer consoles..
Meet Junior
The success of Atari spawned many console redesigns. One example was the reduced sized Atari 2600 Jr. released in 1986 as part of a campaign to rekindle the console's success.
Also the Atari 2800, which essentially was the same build, but offered 4 controller ports instead of 2. The controllers were also redesigned to be a hybrid of both a joystick and paddle.
The 2800 model was sold in the US under the Sears label Telegames II. This model was also the first official Atari release in Japan in 1982, and retailed for 24,800 Yen.
The success of Atari 2600 also triggered it's fall from glory. The console spawned numerous clones and adapters (These adapters allowed 2600 software to be played on other consoles). The Atari 2600 cart format also contained no restrictions, which allowed anyone to make their own 2600 games. These factors contributed to the fall of Atari in early years, and played a role to the "Videogame Crash of 1984".
E.T.
Paying almost $25 million for the rights to "E.T." in 1982 was nothing compared to the amount of money that Atari were expecting to make in sales.
The Spielberg blockbuster was perfect, all Atari neede to do was create a game before all the hype of the film died down, and they would surely be able to cash in. The game was rushed to completion and was sent to the stores as fast as possible.
The game was a gigantic flop, it didn't sell at all. Atari were left with millions of "E.T." cartidges and decided to dispose of them in the desert.
First crushed, then buried, the
cartridges were then covered in concrete to discourage looters. (As if anyone would have wanted to pinch them)
Atari VCS / 2600 Technical Specs
CPU:
6507
RAM:
128 Bytes, in VLSI
ROM:
4K max
Cpu Clock:
1.19 MHz
Graphics Clock:
1.19 MHz
