ATARI VIDEO GAMES

Ultra Pong

Atari Ultra Pong

 In 1977 Atari introduced its Video Computer System (2600). The 2600 was one of the most successful game systems and was probably sold over 25 million times. Like RCA's Studio II, the console was programmable by inserting different game cartridges. Back then the typical size was 2k bytes of ROM. The system used the popular 6502 micro processor.  One of the reasons for its success was, that Atari was able to bring many of the coin op arcade games into the homes. In the late seventies and early eighties the Atari fever was everywehre. For example, department stores started to hold PAC-MAN competitions. Atari got to be one of the most recognized brand names in the world. Have you played Atari today?

Atari 2600 II

Atari 2600 II

  At the Winter CES in January of 1984 Atari introduced the Atari 7800. This machine offered excellent graphics for its time plus it was also compatible with the 2600. The graphics and sound were comparable to 8 bit home computers of that time.

 Later that year Atari was bought by the Tramiel family who focused on computer systems for the remaining of the decade. But they still sold a lot of game systems as well. One reason was that they reengineered the 2600 so they could sell it at a cheaper price.

A7800

Atari 7800

  Atari was the pioneer of home video games. Its first home video game was Pong. It debuted in 1975 and was exclusively sold by Sears that year. Atari then came out with a variety of video games, like Ultra Pong and Video Pinball. Nolan Bushnell had turned Atari into a major coperation. But it needed more money for its growth. One possibility was to go public. But because of a bad economy and falling stock prices, Bushnell decided to sell the company. In October of 1976 Warner Communications bought Atari for $28 millions. A new era began.

A2600

Atari Video Computer System (2600)

 By the early eighties customer demanded better graphics than the 2600 offered. Video game systems got a lot of competition from falling home computer prices which often had higher graphics resolutions. The Atari 5200 was released in 1982 and was a more advanced system with better graphics and sound. But because it was not software compatible with the popular 2600 it was not very successful.

A5200

Atari 5200

 Atari had three other game systems, the XE Game System, the Lynx and the Jaguar. These will be shown on different pages.

Bushnell

Nolan Bushnell