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Atari 2600
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{{Short description|Home video game console}} {{Redirect|Atari VCS|the 2021 console|Atari VCS (2021 console)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2017}} {{Infobox information appliance | aka = Atari Video Computer System (prior to November 1982) | logo = Atari2600logo.svg | image = Atari-2600-Wood-4Sw-Set.png | caption = Four-switch VCS model (1980β1982) | manufacturer = [[Atari, Inc.]] | type = [[Home video game console]] | generation = [[Second generation of video game consoles|Second]] | releasedate = {{vgrelease|NA|September 1977|EU|1978|FRA|1982|BR|September 1983|JP|October 1983 ([[#Atari 2800|Atari 2800]])}} | lifespan = 1977β1992 | price = {{US$|189.95|1977|round=-1}} | discontinued = {{end date|1992}}{{sfn|Montfort|Bogost|2009|p=137}} | unitssold = 30 million ({{as of|2004|lc=y}})<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/3.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509092239/http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/3.htm|archive-date=2007-05-09|title=A Brief History of Game Console Warfare |work=BusinessWeek|date=2007-05-09|access-date=2018-10-13}}</ref> | media = [[ROM cartridge]] | cpu = 8-bit [[MOS Technology 6507]] | CPUspeed = 1.19 MHz | graphics = [[Television Interface Adaptor]] | memory = 128 bytes RAM | controllers = {{cslist|Joystick|paddles|driving|keypad|Trak-Ball}} | topgame = ''[[Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game)|Pac-Man]]'', {{nowrap|8 million}} (as of 1990){{efn|name=PacMan}} | predecessor = [[Pong#Home version|Atari Home Pong]]<br/>[[Video Pinball series|Atari Video Pinball]] | successor = [[Atari 5200]] }} The '''Atari 2600''' is a [[home video game console]] developed and produced by [[Atari, Inc.]] Released in September 1977 as the '''Atari Video Computer System''' ('''Atari VCS'''), it popularized [[microprocessor]]-based hardware and games stored on swappable [[ROM cartridge]]s, a format first used with the [[Fairchild Channel F]] in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two [[joystick]] [[game controller|controllers]], a conjoined pair of [[paddle (game controller)|paddle]] controllers, and a game cartridge{{mdash}}initially ''[[Combat (video game)|Combat]]''<ref name=combat>{{cite web | last = Weesner | first = Jason | title = On Game Design: A History of Video Games | date = January 11, 2007 | url = http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/327/on_game_design_a_history_of_video_.php?page=3 | access-date = November 13, 2007 | archive-date = November 24, 2007 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20071124040000/http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/327/on_game_design_a_history_of_video_.php?page=3 | url-status = live }}</ref> and later ''[[Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game)|Pac-Man]]''.<ref name=2600pacman>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mr-atari.com/afbeeldingen/systems/2600pacmanblue.jpg|title=Image of box with Pac-Man sticker|access-date=September 4, 2008|archive-date=May 29, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529194107/http://www.mr-atari.com/afbeeldingen/systems/2600pacmanblue.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Sears]] sold the system as the '''Tele-Games Video Arcade'''. Atari rebranded the VCS as the Atari 2600 in November 1982, alongside the release of the [[Atari 5200]]. Atari was successful at creating [[arcade video game]]s, but their development cost and limited lifespan drove [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] [[Nolan Bushnell]] to seek a programmable home system. The first inexpensive microprocessors from [[MOS Technology]] in late 1975 made this feasible. The console was prototyped under the [[codename]] Stella by Atari subsidiary [[Cyan Engineering]]. Lacking funding to complete the project, Bushnell sold Atari to [[Warner Communications]] in 1976. The Atari VCS launched in 1977 with nine games on 2 KB cartridges. Atari ported many of their arcade games to the system, and the VCS versions of ''[[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]]'' and ''[[Night Driver (video game)|Night Driver]]'' are in color while the arcade originals have monochrome graphics. The system's first [[killer application]] was the home conversion of [[Taito]]'s ''[[Space Invaders]]'' in 1980. ''[[Adventure (1980 video game)|Adventure]]'', also released in 1980, was one of the first [[action-adventure video game]]s and contains the first widely recognized [[Easter egg (media)|Easter egg]]. Beginning with the VCS version of ''[[Asteroids (video game)|Asteroids]]'' in 1980, many games used [[bank switching]] to allow 8 KB or larger cartridges. By the time of the system's peak in 1982β3, games were released with significantly more advanced visuals and gameplay than the system was designed for, such as Activision's ''[[Pitfall!]]''. The popularity of the VCS led to the founding of [[Activision]] and other [[Video game developer#Third-party developers|third-party game developers]] and competition from the [[Intellivision]] and, later, [[ColecoVision]] consoles. By 1982, the 2600 was the dominant game system in North America, and "Atari" had entered the vernacular as a synonym for the console and video games in general. However, poor decisions by Atari management damaged both the system and company's reputation, most notably the release of two highly anticipated games for the 2600: a port of the arcade game ''[[Pac-Man]]'' and ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (video game)|E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]''. ''[[Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game)|Pac-Man]]'' became the 2600's bestselling game, but was panned for not resembling the original. ''E.T.'' was rushed to market for the [[economics of Christmas|holiday shopping]] season and was similarly disparaged. Both games, and a glut of third-party [[shovelware]], were factors in ending Atari's significance in the console market, contributing to the [[video game crash of 1983]]. Warner sold the assets of Atari's consumer electronics division to former [[Commodore International|Commodore]] CEO [[Jack Tramiel]] in 1984. In 1986, the new [[Atari Corporation]] under Tramiel released a revised, low-cost 2600 model, and the backward-compatible [[Atari 7800]], but it was [[Nintendo]] that led the recovery of the industry with its [[History of the Nintendo Entertainment System#North American launch (1985-1986)|1985 launch]] of the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]. Production of the Atari 2600 ended in 1992, with an estimated 30 million units sold across its lifetime.
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