History of the Atari 2600
Founding of Atari
The legacy of the Atari 2600 began with the founding of Atari in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. The pair recruited their first engineer, Allan Alcorn, with the goal of creating an arcade video game. Together, they created PONG, which became a massive success and bestseller. Using the funds from the success of PONG, the company began rapidly expanding and hired more engineers.
The Atari 2600
After the success of Pong, Atari began development on a home console that could be used to play Atari games. After two years of development, the Atari Video Computer System (Later renamed the Atari 2600) was released in 1975. With a launch price of $199, Atari hoped to capture the family market, envisioning a world where each home had their own Atari. The console came with two joystick controllers, paddle controllers, and a game cartridge. At launch, there were nine games available for the Atari 2600, Air-Sea Battle, Basic Math, Blackjack Combat, Indy 500, Star Ship, Street Racer, Surround, and Video Olympics. Each game initially had to fit on 2kb cartridges, however, 8kb were eventually used. The Atari sold 400,000 copies in its first year, and became a big success.
Post Release/Legacy
Production of the Atari 2600 ended in 1992, with approximately 30 million units sold. It was the first home console to use interchangeable game cartridges, allowing for one console to be used for hundreds of games. This idea was carried on by other companies and became an important characteristic of home game consoles that is still found in home game consoles today. The Atari 2600 is commonly credited with not only revolutionizing the gaming industry, but also creating an entire industry of home gaming.
Works Cited
Coopee, Todd. “Atari Video Computer System (1977).” Toy Tales, 22 Aug. 2023, toytales.ca/atari-video-computer-system-1977/.
“History.” Atari®, atari.com/pages/history.
Lendino, Jamie. “The Atari 2600 at 45: The Console That Brought Arcade Games Home.” PCMAG, 10 Sept. 2022, www.pcmag.com/opinions/atari-2600-console-brought-arcade-games-home#.