Editing Atari 8-bit computers (section)

== History ==

Design of the "Home Computer System" started at Atari as soon as the [[Atari 2600|Atari Video Computer System]] was released in late 1977. While designing the VCS in 1976, the engineering team from Atari Grass Valley Research Center (originally [[Cyan Engineering]])<ref>{{cite web |last=Fulton |first=Steve |title=The History of Atari: 1971-1977 |website=[[Game Developer (website)|Gamasutra]] |date=November 6, 2007 |at=para. 1974: The Crunch Hits |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-history-of-atari-1971-1977 |access-date=2023-07-23}}</ref> said the system would have a three-year lifespan before becoming obsolete. They started planning for a console that would be ready to replace it around 1979.<ref name=joe/>

They developed essentially a greatly updated version of the VCS, fixing its major limitations but sharing a similar design philosophy.<ref name=joe>Joe Decuir, [http://www.atariarchives.org/dev/CGEXPO99.html "3 Generations of Game Machine Architecture"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313070844/http://www.atariarchives.org/dev/CGEXPO99.html |date=March 13, 2012 }}, CGEXPO99</ref> The newer design has better speed, graphics, and sound. Work on the chips for the new system continued throughout 1978 and focused on a much-improved video coprocessor known as the [[CTIA and GTIA|CTIA]] (the VCS version was the TIA).<ref>{{cite book|title=Atari Home Computer Field Service Manual - 400/800|publisher=Atari, Inc. |url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/techdocs/Atari_400-800_Service_Manual.pdf|pages=1–10}}</ref>

During the early development period, the home computer era began in earnest with the [[TRS-80]], [[Commodore PET|PET]], and [[Apple II (1977 computer)|Apple II]]—what [[Byte (magazine)|''Byte'']] magazine dubbed the "1977 Trinity".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.byte.com/art/9509/sec7/art15.htm|title=Most Important Companies|access-date=June 10, 2008|date=September 1995|work=[[Byte (magazine)|Byte Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618072507/http://www.byte.com/art/9509/sec7/art15.htm|archive-date=June 18, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Nolan Bushnell]] sold Atari to [[Warner Communications]] for {{US$|28 million}} in 1976 to fund the launch of the VCS.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=Adam |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1042088095 |title=Valley of genius: the uncensored history of Silicon Valley, as told by the hackers, founders, and freaks who made it boom |date=2018 |publisher=Twelve |isbn=978-1-4555-5902-2 |edition= |location=New York |oclc=on1042088095}}</ref> In 1978, Warner hired [[Ray Kassar]] as CEO of Atari. Kassar wanted the chipset used in a home computer to challenge Apple,<ref name=atarihistory>{{cite web|title=Computer Systems|website=Atari|url=http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/computers.html|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-date=May 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505141552/http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/computers.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> so it needed needed character graphics, some form of expansion for [[peripheral]]s, and run the then-universal [[BASIC]] programming language.<ref name=joe/>

Atari engineer [[Jay Miner]] created a display architecture for the Atari 8-bit computer consisting of two chips. The CTIA chip handles sprites and background graphics, but to reduce load on the main CPU, loading video registers and buffers is delegated to a dedicated microprocessor, the Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller or [[ANTIC]]. CTIA and ANTIC work together to produce a complete display, with ANTIC fetching [[scan line]] data from a [[framebuffer]] and sprite memory in RAM, plus character set bitmaps for character modes, and feeding these to the CTIA. CTIA processes the sprite and playfield data via its own color, sprite, and graphics registers to produce the final color video output.<ref name=dere>{{cite book|last=Crawford | first=Chris|title=De Re Atari |publisher=Atari|year=1982|url=http://www.atariarchives.org/dere/}}</ref>

The resulting system was far in advance of anything then available on the market. [[Commodore International|Commodore]] was developing a video driver at the time, but [[Chuck Peddle]], lead designer of the [[MOS Technology 6502]] CPU used in the VCS and the new machines, saw the Atari work during a visit to Grass Valley. He realized the Commodore design would not be competitive but he was under a strict [[non-disclosure agreement]] with Atari, and was unable to tell anyone at Commodore to give up on their own design. Peddle later commented that "the thing that Jay did, just kicked everybody's butt."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/enHF9lMseP8 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20191004084119/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enHF9lMseP8 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite interview |title=Oral History of Chuck Peddle |last= Peddle |first=Chuck | interviewer = Doug Fairbairn and Stephen Diamond |date=12 June 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enHF9lMseP8 |at=1:56:30}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Development ===

Management identified two [[Sweet spot (economics)|sweet spot]]s for the new computers: a low-end version known internally as "Candy", and a higher-end machine known as "Colleen" (named after two Atari secretaries).<ref>{{cite web|author=Fulton, Steve|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080825070844/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?page=4|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 25, 2008|title=Atari: The Golden Years &nbsp; A History, 1978&nbsp;1981|website=Gamasutra|date=August 21, 2008|page=4}}</ref> Atari would market Colleen as a computer and Candy as a game machine or hybrid game console. Colleen includes user-accessible expansion slots for [[Random-access memory|RAM]] and [[Read-only memory|ROM]], two 8&nbsp;KB [[ROM cartridge]] slots, [[RF modulator|RF]] and [[composite video|monitor output]] (including two pins for separate luma and chroma suitable for superior [[S-Video]] output) and a full keyboard. Candy was initially designed as a game console, lacking a keyboard and input/output ports, although an external keyboard was planned for [[Atari joystick port|joystick ports]] 3 and 4. At the time, plans called for both to have a separate audio port supporting [[cassette tape]]s as a storage medium.{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=455}}

A goal for the new systems was user-friendliness. One executive stated, "Does the end user care about the architecture of the machine? The answer is no. 'What will it do for me?' That's his major concern. ... why try to scare the consumer off by making it so he or she has to have a [[electrical engineering|double E]] or be a computer programmer to utilize the full capabilities of a personal computer?" For example, cartridges were expected to make the computers easier to use.<ref name=tomczyk>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.atariarchives.org/c1ba/page002.php|title=Compute!'s First Book of Atari|publisher=Compute! Books|author=Tomczyk, Michael S.|author-link=Michael Tomczyk|year=1981|pages=2|isbn=0-942386-00-0|chapter=Atari's Marketing Vice President Profiles the Personal Computer Market}}</ref> To minimize handling of bare circuit boards or chips, as is common with other systems of that period, the computers were designed with enclosed modules for memory, ROM cartridges, with keyed connectors to prevent them being plugged into the wrong slot. The operating system boots automatically, loading drivers from devices on the serial bus (SIO). The [[#Disk Operating System|disk operating system]] for managing floppy storage was menu-driven. When no software is loaded, rather than leaving the user at a blank screen or machine language monitor, the OS goes to the "Memo Pad" which is a built-in full-screen editor without file storage support.<ref name=dere/>

As the design process for the new machines continued, there were questions about what the Candy should be. There was a running argument about whether the keyboard would be external or built-in.{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=456}} By the summer of 1978, education had become a focus for the new systems. The Colleen design was largely complete by May 1978, but in early 1979 the decision was made that Candy would also be a complete computer, but intended for children. As such, it would feature a new keyboard designed to be resistant to liquid spills.{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=460}}

Atari intended to port [[Microsoft BASIC]] to the machine as an 8&nbsp;[[kilobyte|KB]] ROM cartridge. However, the existing 6502 version from Microsoft was around 7,900&nbsp;bytes, leaving no room for extensions for graphics and sound. The company contracted with local consulting firm [[Shepardson Microsystems]] to complete the port. They recommended writing a new version from scratch, resulting in [[Atari BASIC]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Wilkinson, Bill|title=Inside Atari Basic|publisher=COMPUTE! Books|year=1982 |url=http://www.atariarchives.org/iad/introduction.php}}</ref>

=== FCC issues ===

Televisions of the time normally had only one signal input, which was the antenna connection on the back. For devices like a computer, the video is generated and then sent to an [[RF modulator]] to convert it to antenna-like output. The introduction of many game consoles during this era had led to situations where poorly designed modulators would generate so much signal as to cause interference with other nearby televisions, even in neighboring houses. In response to complaints, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) introduced new testing standards which are extremely exacting and difficult to meet.{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=466}}

Other systems avoided the problem by using built-in composite monitors, such as the PET and TRS-80. The TRS-80 has a slightly modified black and white television as a monitor. It was notorious for causing interference, and production was canceled when the more stringent FCC requirements came into effect on January 1, 1981. [[Apple Computer]] left off the modulator and sold them under a third party company as the [[Sup'R'Mod]] so they did not have to be tested.<ref>{{cite web |title=3-The Apple II |url=https://apple2history.org/history/ah03/ |website=Apple II History|date=November 30, 2008 }}</ref>

In a July 1977 visit with the engineering staff, a [[Texas Instruments]] salesman presented a new possibility in the form of an inexpensive [[fiber-optic cable]] with built-in [[transceiver]]s. During the meeting, [[Joe Decuir]] proposed placing an RF modulator on one end, thereby completely isolating any electrical signals so that the computer would have no RF components. This would mean the computer would not have to meet the FCC requirements, yet users could still attach a television simply by plugging it in. His manager, Wade Tuma, later refused the idea saying "The FCC would never let us get away with that stunt." Unknown to Atari, TI used Decuir's idea. As Tuma had predicted, the FCC rejected the design, delaying that machine's release. Texas Instruments shipped early machines with a custom television as the testing process dragged on.{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=466}}

To meet the off-the-shelf requirement while including internal TV circuitry, both new machines were built around cast aluminum shields forming a partial [[Faraday cage]], with the various components screwed down onto this internal framework. This resulted in a sturdy computer, at the disadvantage of added manufacturing expense and complexity.<ref name=atarihistory/>

The FCC ruling also made it difficult to have any sizable holes in the case, which would allow RF leakage. This eliminated expansion slots or cards that communicated with the outside world via their own connectors. Instead, Atari designed the [[Atari SIO|Serial Input/Output]] (SIO) [[Bus (computing)|computer bus]], a system for daisy-chaining multiple, auto-configuring devices to the computer through a single shielded connector. The internal slots were reserved for ROM and RAM modules; they did not have the control lines necessary for a fully functional expansion card, nor room to route a cable outside the case to communicate with external devices.<ref name=atarihistory/>

=== 400 and 800 release ===
[[File:Atari-400-Comp.jpg|thumb|Atari 400 (1979) has a [[membrane keyboard]] and a door covering the single cartridge slot.]]
[[File:Atari-800-Computer-FL-No-Cover-Expansions.jpg|thumb|Atari 800 with the cover removed, showing expansion cards and two cartridge slots. The slots are molded into the cast aluminum RF shield.]]
[[File:Atari-800-Expansion-Board-16K-RAM.jpg|thumb|The Atari 800 has expansion cards for the RAM, ROM, and processor. It eventually shipped with three of these 16KB RAM cards, for a total of 48KB.]]

After Atari announced its intent to enter the home computer market in December 1978,<ref>{{cite news|last=Schuyten | first=Peter J.|title=Technology; The Computer Entering Home|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|department=Business & Finance|date=December 6, 1978|page=D4|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the Atari 400 and Atari 800 were presented at the Winter [[Consumer Electronics Show|CES]] in January 1979<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Craig, John|date=April 1979|title=Winter Consumer Electronics Show|url=https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1979-04|access-date=May 25, 2014| magazine=[[Creative Computing]]|volume=5|issue=4|page=16}}</ref> and shipped in November 1979.<ref name=fc2019 /><ref name=atari50 />

The names originally referred to the amount of memory: 4&nbsp;KB RAM in the 400 and 8&nbsp;KB in the 800. By the time they were released, RAM prices had started to fall, so the machines were both released with 8&nbsp;KB, using 4kx1 DRAMs. The user-installable RAM modules in the 800 initially had plastic casings but this caused overheating issues, so the casings were removed. Later, the expansion cover was held down with screws instead of the easier-to-open plastic latches.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Atari 800| last=Vendel | first=Curt|website=Atari Museum|url=http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8bits/400800/atari800/a800.html|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-date=December 8, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208194608/http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/400800/ATARI800/A800.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The computers eventually shipped with maxed-out RAM: 16k and 48k, respectively, using 16kx1 DRAMs.

Both models have four joystick ports, permitting four simultaneous players, but only a few games (such as ''[[M.U.L.E.]]'') use them all. Paddle controllers are wired in pairs, and ''[[Super Breakout]]'' supports eight players.{{r|edwards}} The Atari 400, with a [[membrane keyboard]] and single internal ROM slot, outsold the Atari 800 by a 2-to-1 margin.<ref name="reimer"/> Only one cartridge for the 800's right slot was produced by March 1983, and later machines in the series have only one slot.<ref name="halfhill198303">{{cite news|url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue34/025_1_ATARIS_NEW_TOP-LINE_HOME_COMPUTER.php|title=Atari's New Top-Line Home Computer|work=Compute!|date=March 1983|access-date=June 30, 2014|last=Halfhill |first=Tom R.|page=66}}</ref><ref name=edwards>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/181421/inside_atari_800.html|title=Inside the Atari 800|work=PC World|date=November 4, 2009|access-date=July 19, 2014|last=Edwards |first=Benj}}</ref>

''[[Creative Computing (magazine)|Creative Computing]]'' mentioned the Atari machines in an April 1979 overview of the CES show. Calling Atari "the videogame people", it stated they came with "some fantastic educational, entertainment and home applications software".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Creative Computing|date=April 1979|url=https://archive.org/stream/CreativeComputingbetterScan197904#page/n17|page=16|title=Winter Consumer Electronics Show|last=Craig | first=John}}</ref> In an August 1979 interview Atari's Peter Rosenthal suggested that demand might be low until the 1980–81 time frame, when he predicted about one million home computers being sold.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Creative Computing|date=August 1979|url=https://archive.org/stream/CreativeComputingbetterScan197908#page/n59|pages=58–59 |title=Atari Speaks Out| last=Ahl | first=David}}</ref> The April 1980 issue compared the machines with the [[Commodore PET]], focused mostly on the BASIC dialects.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Creative Computing|date=April 1980 |url=https://archive.org/details/CreativeComputingbetterScan198004/page/n23/mode/1up|pages=22–30|title=Atari in Perspective|last=Lindsay | first=Len}}</ref> [[Ted Nelson]] reviewed the computer in the magazine in June 1980, calling it "an extraordinary graphics box". Describing his and a friend's "shouting and cheering and clapping" during a demo of ''[[Star Raiders]]'', Nelson wrote that he was so impressed that "I've been in computer graphics for twenty years, and I lay awake night after night trying to understand how the Atari machine did what it did". He described the machine as "something else" but criticized the company for a lack of developer documentation. He concluded by stating "The Atari is like the human body – a terrific machine, but (a) they won't give you access to the documentation, and (b) I'd sure like to meet the guy that designed it".<ref name=nelson198006>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/CreativeComputingbetterScan198006/page/n35|pages=34–35, 37|title=The Atari Machine|magazine=Creative Computing|date=June 1980|last=Nelson |first=Ted}}</ref> ''[[Kilobaud Microcomputing]]'' wrote in September 1980 that the Atari 800 "looks deceptively like a video game machine, [but had] the strongest and tightest chassis I have seen since [[Raquel Welch]]. It weighs about ten pounds ... The large amount of engineering and design in the physical part of the system is evident". The reviewer praised the documentation as "show[ing] the way manuals should be done", and the "excellent 'feel{{'"}} of the keyboard.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/kilobaudmagazine-1980-09/Kilobaud_Microcomputing_1980_September#page/n97/mode/2up|title=Moonshine, Dixie and the Atari 800|magazine=Kilobaud |date=September 1980|access-date=June 23, 2014|last=Derfler |first=Frank J. Jr.|pages=100–103}}</ref> ''[[InfoWorld]]'' favorably reviewed the 800's performance, graphics, and ROM cartridges, but disliked the documentation and cautioned that the unusual right Shift key location might make the computer "unsuitable for serious word processing". There is an "Atari key" between the {{key|/}} and shift, whereas a typical keyboard would extend the shift key into this area. Noting that the amount of software and hardware available for the computer "is no match for that of the Apple II or the TRS-80", the magazine concluded that the 800 "is an impressive machine that has not yet reached its full computing potential".<ref name="hogan19810511">{{cite magazine|title=The Atari 800 Personal Computer|magazine=InfoWorld|date=May 11, 1981| last=Hogan | first=Thom|pages=34–35}}</ref>

=== Sweet/Liz project ===

Though planning an extensive advertising campaign for 1980,{{r|tomczyk}} Atari found difficult competition from Commodore, Apple, and Tandy. By mid-1981, it had reportedly lost $10 million on sales of $10–13 million from more than 50,000 computers.<ref name="hogan19810831">{{cite magazine|title=From Zero to a Billion in Five Years|magazine=InfoWorld|date=August 31, 1981|author=Hogan, Thom|pages=6–7}}</ref><ref name="hogan19810914state">{{cite magazine| magazine=[[InfoWorld]] | title=State of Microcomputing: Some Horses Running Neck and Neck| first=Hogan | last=Thom|date=September 14, 1981| url={{Google Books | id=Mj0EAAAAMBAJ | page=10 | plainurl=yes}} | pages=10–12 | access-date=February 9, 2023}}</ref>

In 1982, Atari started the Sweet 8 (or Liz NY) and Sweet 16 projects to create an upgraded set of machines that were easier to build and less costly to produce. Atari ordered a custom 6502, initially labelled 6502C, but eventually known as SALLY to differentiate it from a standard 6502C. A 6502C was simply a version of the 6502 able to run up to 4&nbsp;MHz. The A models run at 1 MHz, and the B's at 2 MHz. The basis for SALLY is a 6502B. SALLY was incorporated into late-production 400 and 800 models, all XL/XE models, and the [[Atari 5200]] and [[Atari 7800]] consoles. SALLY adds logic to disable the clock signal, called <code>HALT</code>, which ANTIC uses to shut off the CPU to access the data/address bus.{{sfn|Current|2023|loc=1.12) What are SALLY, ANTIC, CTIA/GTIA/FGTIA, POKEY, and FREDDIE?}}

Mirroring the 400/800, two systems were planned, the 1000 with 16&nbsp;KB and the 1000X with 64&nbsp;KB, each expandable via a [[Parallel Bus Interface]] slot on the back of the machine.

=== 1200XL===
[[File:Atari 1200XL.jpg|thumb|Atari 1200XL]]

The original Sweet 8/16 plans were dropped and only one machine using the new design was released. Announced at a New York City press conference on December 13, 1982,<ref>{{cite press release|title=Atari introduces the 1200XL computer|url=http://mcurrent.name/atari1983/|place=New York|publisher=[[Atari, Inc.]]|date=December 13, 1982|agency=[[PR Newswire]]}}</ref><ref name="creative-atari-1200xl">{{cite book|author=Anderson, John|title=The Creative Atari|chapter=New Member of the Family - Atari 1200|chapter-url=http://www.atariarchives.org/creativeatari/New_Member_of_the_Family.php|year=1983|publisher=Creative Computing Press|location=Morris Plains, NJ|page=116|url=http://www.atariarchives.org/creativeatari/|access-date=May 7, 2014|isbn=0-916688-34-8|editor=Small, David|editor2=Small, Sandy|editor3=Blank, George}}</ref> the 1200XL was presented at the Winter [[Consumer Electronics Show|CES]] on January 6–9, 1983.<ref name=creative-83-ces>{{cite magazine|author=Ahl, David H.|author2=Staples, Betsy|date=April 1983|title=1983 Winter Consumer Electronics Show; Creative Computing presents the Short Circuit Awards|url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v9n4/18_1983_Winter_Consumer_Elec.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702024034/http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v9n4/18_1983_Winter_Consumer_Elec.php|archive-date=July 2, 2013|magazine=Creative Computing|volume=9|issue=3|publisher=Ahl Computing|page=50|issn=0097-8140}}</ref> It shipped in March{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} 1983{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=698|ps=: <q>Released in early 1983, it will only remain in production until June 1983.</q>}} with 64&nbsp;KB of RAM, built-in self test, a redesigned keyboard (with four function keys and a HELP key), and redesigned cable port layout.{{r|halfhill198303}} The number of joystick ports was reduced from 4 to 2. There is no PAL version of the 1200XL.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Announced at a retail price of $1000,<ref name="lock198306">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/1983-06-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_037_1983_Jun#page/n7/mode/2up|title=Editor's Notes|magazine=Compute!|date=June 1983|access-date=October 30, 2013|author=Lock, Robert|pages=6}}</ref> the 1200XL was released at {{USD|899|1983|about=yes|long=no|round=-2}}.{{r|creative-83-ces}} This is $100 less than the announced price of the Atari 800 at its release in 1979,<ref name=prices/> but by this time the 800 was priced much lower.

The system uses the SIO port again instead of the Parallel Bus Interface. The +12V pin in the SIO port is not connected, which prevents a few devices from working. The +12V was typically used to power RS-232 devices, which now required an external power source. An improved video circuit provides more chroma for a more colorful image, but the chroma line is not connected to the monitor port, the only place that could make use of it. The operating system has compatibility problems with some older software.

The 1200XL was discontinued in June 1983.

''[[Compute!]]'' stated in an early 1983 editorial that the 1200XL was too expensive;<ref name="lock198302">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/1983-02-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_033_1983_Feb#page/n9/mode/2up|title=Editor's Notes|magazine=Compute!|date=February 1983|access-date=October 30, 2013|author=Lock, Robert|pages=8}}</ref> [[John J. Anderson]] of ''[[Creative Computing (magazine)|Creative Computing]]'' agreed.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Anderson, John|title=Outpost: Atari|url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v9n5/272_Outpost_atari.php|journal=Creative Computing|date=May 1983|page=272}}</ref> Bill Wilkinson, author of Atari BASIC, co-founder of [[Optimized Systems Software]], and columnist for ''Compute!'', criticized the computer's features and price. He wrote that the 1200XL was a "terrific bargain" if sold for less than $450, but that if it cost more than the 800, "buy an 800 quick!"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/1983-05-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_036_1983_May#page/n199/mode/2up|title=INSIGHT: Atari|work=Compute!|date=May 1983|access-date=October 30, 2013|author=Wilkinson, Bill|pages=198}}</ref>

=== 600XL and 800XL ===
[[File:Atari-800XL.jpg|thumb|The 800XL is the best-selling model.]]
[[File:Atari-600XL-PC.jpg|thumb|The 600XL has a slightly shallower case than the 800XL.]]

In May 1981, the Atari 800's price was {{US$|long=no|1050|1981|round=-2}},{{r|hogan19810511}} but by mid-1983, because of price wars in the industry, it was {{US$|long=no|165|1983|round=-1}}<ref name="bisson198605">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/1986-05-anticmagazine/Antic_Vol_5-01_1986-05_Fourth_Anniversary_Issue#page/n15/mode/2up|title=Antic Then & Now|magazine=Antic|date=May 1986|access-date=January 28, 2015|author=Bisson, Gigi|pages=16–23}}</ref> and the 400 was under {{US$|long=no|150|1983|round=-1}},{{r|lock198306}} down from under {{US$|long=no|300|1982|round=-1}} in 1982.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://time.com/archive/6883869/price-war-in-small-computers/ |title=Price Wars in Small Computers |author=John Greenwald |date=1982-09-20 |publisher=Time }}</ref> The 1200XL was a flop, and the earlier machines were too expensive to produce to be able to compete at the rapidly falling price points.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Knight |first=John |date=April 2007 |title=<i>Handbook of Computer Game Studies</i> edited by Joost Raessens and Jeffrey Goldstein. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A., 2005. 496 pp., hardcover. ISBN: 0-262-18240-8 |url=https://doi.org/10.1162/leon.2007.40.2.207 |journal=Leonardo |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=207–208 |doi=10.1162/leon.2007.40.2.207 |issn=0024-094X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A new lineup was announced at the 1983 Summer [[Consumer Electronics Show]], closely following the original Sweet concepts. The 600XL is essentially the Liz NY model and the spiritual successor of the 400, and the 800XL would replace both the 800 and 1200XL. The machines follow the styling of the 1200XL but are smaller from back to front, and the 600XL is more so.

[[File:Inside Atari 800XL.JPG|thumb|800XL main circuit board]]

Atari had difficulty in transitioning manufacturing to Asia after closing its US factory in 1983.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1984/02/06/colecos-adam-gets-gentlemans-c-for-performance/c231169a-0e52-4192-b54f-b2b9f5bfd84d/|title=Coleco's 'Adam' Gets Gentleman's 'C' for Performance|author=Reid, T. R.|date=February 6, 1984|newspaper=The Washington Post|author-link=T. R. Reid}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/08/business/chief-is-replaced-at-troubled-atari.html |title=Chief Is Replaced at Troubled Atari |author=Andrew Pollack |date=1983-07-08 |work=[[New York Times]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-04-fi-8716-story.html |title=Ex-Workers Win Back Pay for Layoffs Without Notice : Atari Settles Landmark Lawsuit |author=Henry Weinstein |date=1986-06-04 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] }}</ref> Originally intended to replace the 1200XL in mid-1983, the new models did not arrive until late that year. Although the 600XL/800XL were well positioned in terms of price and features, during the critical Christmas season they were available only in small numbers while the [[Commodore 64]] was widely available.<ref name="reimer"/> [[Brian Moriarty]] stated in ''[[ANALOG Computing]]'' that Atari "fail[ed] to keep up with Christmas orders for the 600 and 800XLs", reporting that as of late November 1983 the 800XL had not appeared in Massachusetts stores while 600XL "quantities are so limited that it's almost impossible to obtain".<ref name="analog198401">{{cite magazine|author=Moriarty, Brian|author-link=Brian Moriarty|author2=Nowell, Robin E.|author3=Franklin, Austin|date=January 1984|title=Inside the Atari 600XL|url=https://archive.org/stream/analog-computing-magazine-15/Analog_Computing_15_1984-01_Inside_the_600XL#page/n33/mode/2up|magazine=ANALOG Computing|page=32}}</ref>

After losing {{US$|long=no|563 million}} in the first nine months of the year, Atari that month announced that prices would rise in January, stating that it "has no intention of participating in these suicidal price wars."<ref>{{cite news|title=Atari, Coleco to Raise Prices of Home Computers on January 1|author=Wessel, David|date=November 10, 1983|work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> The 600XL and 800XL's prices in early 1984 were $50 higher than for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.<ref>{{cite news|title=Can Atari Bounce Back?|work=InfoWorld|date=February 27, 1984|last=Mace | first=Scott|pages=100}}</ref>

''ANALOG Computing'', writing about the 600XL in January 1984, stated that "the Commodore 64 and [[TRS-80 Color Computer|Tandy CoCo]] look like toys by comparison." The magazine approved of its not using the 1200XL's keyboard layout, and predicted that the XL's parallel bus "actually makes the 600 ''more'' expandable than a 400 or 800." While disapproving of the use of an operating system closer to the 1200XL's than the 400 and 800's, and the "inadequate and frankly disappointing" documentation, ''ANALOG'' concluded that "our first impression ... is mixed but mostly optimistic." The magazine warned, however, that because of "Atari's sluggish marketing", unless existing customers persuaded others to buy the XL models, "we'll all end up marching to the beat of a drummer whose initials are IBM."{{r|analog198401}} By March 1984, all of Atari's computer models were produced in Hong Kong by the Atari-Wong joint venture.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n12/atariinternational.html |title=Inside Atari: Atari International |author=Robert DeWitt |date=1984-03-01 |publisher=ANTIC }}</ref>

=== Unreleased XL models ===

The high-end 1400XL and 1450XLD were announced alongside the 600XL and 800XL. They added a built-in 300 baud [[modem]] and a [[voice synthesizer]], and the 1450XLD has a built-in [[Double-sided disk|double-sided]] [[floppy disk]] drive in an enlarged case, with a slot for a second drive. Atari BASIC is built into the [[Read-only memory|ROM]] and the PBI at the back for external expansion.

The 1400XL and the 1450XLD had their delivery dates pushed back, and in the end, the 1400XL was canceled outright, and the 1450XLD so delayed that it would never ship. Other prototypes which never reached market include the 1600XL, 1650XLD, and 1850XLD. The 1600XL was to have been a dual-processor model capable of running 6502 and 80186 code, and the 1650XLD is a similar machine in the 1450XLD case. These were canceled when [[James J. Morgan]] became CEO and wanted Atari to return to its video game roots.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/XL/1600xl/1600xl.html |title="Atari 1600XL" |access-date=April 14, 2008 |archive-date=September 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110913014906/http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/XL/1600xl/1600xl.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 1850XLD was to have been based on the Lorraine chipset<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archives.atarimuseum.com/archives/archives.html |title=Afterthoughts: The Atari 1600XL Rumor |access-date=September 19, 2008 |archive-date=April 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415111352/http://archives.atarimuseum.com/archives/archives.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> which became the [[Amiga]].

=== Tramiel takeover, declining market ===

Commodore founder [[Jack Tramiel]] resigned in January 1984 and in July, he purchased the Atari consumer division from Warner for an extremely low price. No cash was required, and instead Warner had the right to purchase {{US$|long=no|240 million}} in long-term notes and warrants, and Tramiel had an option to buy up to {{US$|long=no|100 million}} in Warner stock. When Tramiel took over, the high-end XL models were canceled and the low-end XLs were redesigned into the XE series. Nearly all research, design, and prototype projects were canceled, including the [[Amiga#1850XLD|Amiga-based 1850XLD]]. Tramiel focused on developing the [[Motorola 68000|68000]]-based [[Atari ST]] computer line and recruiting former Commodore engineers to work on it.

Atari sold about 700,000 computers in 1984 compared to Commodore's two million.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trading Up in Computer Gifts|work=The New York Times|date=December 22, 1984|author=Kleinfield, N. R.}}</ref> As his new company prepared to ship the Atari&nbsp;ST in 1985, Tramiel stated that sales of Atari 8-bit computers were "very, very slow".<ref>{{cite news|title=Atari Ships New 520 ST|work=InfoWorld|date=June 3, 1985|author=Maremaa, Tom|pages=23}}</ref> They were never an important part of Atari's business compared to video games, and it is possible that the 8-bit line was never profitable for the company though almost 1.5 million computers had been sold by early 1986.{{r|hogan19810831}}<ref name="pollack19821219">{{Cite news |last=Pollack |first=Andrew |date=1982-12-19 |title=The Game Turns Serious at Atari |language=en-US |page=Section 3, Page 1 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/19/business/the-game-turns-serious-at-atari.html |access-date=2021-02-18 |issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name=anderson>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/creativecomputing-1984-03/Creative_Computing_v10_n03_1984_Mar#page/n51/mode/2up|title=Atari|work=Creative Computing|date=March 1984|author=Anderson, John J.|pages=51}}</ref>{{r|bisson198605}}

By that year, the Atari software market was decreasing in size. ''[[Antic (magazine)|Antic]]'' magazine stated in May 1985 that it had received many letters complaining that software companies were ignoring the Atari market, and urged readers to contact the companies' leaders.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/1985-05-anticmagazine/Antic_Vol_4-01_1985-05_New_Super_Ataris#page/n7/mode/2up|title=and we won't take it anymore!|work=Antic|date=May 1985|author=Capparell, James|pages=8, 10}}</ref> "The Atari 800 computer has been in existence since 1979. Six years is a pretty long time for a computer to last. Unfortunately, its age is starting to show", ''[[ANALOG Computing]]'' wrote in February 1986. The magazine stated that while its software library was comparable in size to that of other computers, "now—and even more so in the future—there is going to be less software being made for the Atari 8-bit computers", warning that 1985 only saw a "trickle" of major new titles and that 1986 "will be even leaner".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/analog-computing-magazine-39/Analog_Computing_39_1986-02_Fifth_Anniversay_and_CES#page/n117/mode/2up|title=The End User|work=ANALOG Computing|date=February 1986|author=Leyenberger, Arthur|pages=109–110}}</ref>

''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' that month stated "games don't come out for the Atari first anymore".<ref name=greggman>{{cite magazine|title=Atari Playfield|magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]]|issue=25|date=January–February 1986|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_25.pdf|author=Williams, Gregg|pages=32}}</ref> In April, the magazine published a survey of ten game publishers which found that they planned to release 19 Atari games in 1986, compared to 43 for Commodore&nbsp;64, 48 for Apple&nbsp;II, 31 for IBM&nbsp;PC, 20 for Atari ST, and 24 for Amiga. Companies stated that one reason for not publishing for Atari was the unusually high amount of [[Copyright infringement|software piracy]] on the computer, partly caused by the [[Happy Computers|Happy Drive]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Survey of Game Manufacturers|magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]]|issue=27|date=April 1986|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_27.pdf|access-date=April 17, 2016|pages=32}}</ref><ref name=williams>{{cite magazine|title=Atari Playfield|magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]]|issue=31|date=September–October 1986|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_31.pdf|author=Williams, Gregg|pages=35}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Computer Wargaming 1988-1992|magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]]|issue=37|date=May 1987|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_37.pdf6|author=Brooks, M. Evan|pages=13}}{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The magazine warned later that year, "Is this the end for Atari 800 games? It certainly looks like it might be from where I write".<ref name=williams/> In 1987, [[MicroProse]] confirmed that it would not release ''[[Gunship (video game)|Gunship]]'' for the Atari 8-bits, stating that the market was too small.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Titans of the Computer Gaming World / MicroProse|magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]]|issue=41|date=November 1987|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_41.pdf|author=Brooks, M. Evan|pages=17}}</ref>

=== XE series ===
[[File:Atari-130XE.jpg|thumb|Atari 130XE]]

The 65XE and 130XE (XE stands for XL-Compatible Eight-bit)<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROaNQc8IiZE |title=Jack Tramiel - Atari - Rare UK TV Appearance |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724203243/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROaNQc8IiZE&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=dead }}</ref> were announced in 1985 at the same time as the [[Atari ST|Atari 520ST]], and they visually resemble the ST. The 65XE has 64 KB of RAM and is functionally equivalent to the 800XL minus the PBI connection. The 130XE has 128 KB of memory, accessible through [[bank switching]]. The additional 64K can be used as a [[RAM drive]].

The 130XE includes the Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI), which is almost compatible with the Parallel Bus Interface, but physically smaller and located next to the standard 400 and 800 compatible cartridge slot. It provides only those signals that do not exist in the latter. ECI peripherals were expected to plug into both the standard Cartridge Interface and the ECI port. Later revisions of the 65XE contain the ECI port.

The 65XE was sold as the 800XE in [[Germany]] and [[Czechoslovakia]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation|author=Lendino, Jamie|editor=Murray, Matthew|publisher=Ziff Davis|year=2017|page=106|isbn=978-0692851272}}</ref> to ride on the popularity of the 800XL in those markets. All 800XE units contain the ECI port.{{sfn|Current|2023|loc=1.10) What is the Atari 800XE?}}

=== XE Game System ===
{{Main article|Atari XEGS}}
[[File:Atari XEGS.jpg|thumb|Atari XE Game System]]

The Atari XEGS (XE Game System) was launched in 1987. A repackaged 65XE with a removable keyboard, it boots to the 1981 port of ''[[Missile Command]]'' instead of BASIC if the keyboard is disconnected.