Editing Atari 2600 (section)

===Launch and success===
[[File:Atari-2600-Light-Sixer-FL.jpg|thumb|The second VCS model has lighter plastic molding and shielding, and a more angular shape, than the 1977 launch model.]]
[[File:Atari-2600-Woody-FL.jpg|thumb|From 1980, the VCS has only four front switches and a capital-letters logotype.]]

The unit was showcased on June 4, 1977, at the Summer [[Consumer Electronics Show]] with plans for retail release in October. The announcement was purportedly delayed to wait out the terms of the Magnavox patent lawsuit settlement, which would have given Magnavox all technical information on any of Atari's products announced between June 1, 1976, and June 1, 1977.<ref name="atari fun chp5"/> However, Atari encountered production problems during its first batch, and its testing was complicated by the use of cartridges.

[[Image:Combat.svg|thumb|''[[Combat (video game)|Combat]]'', the pack-in game at launch]]

The Atari VCS was launched in September 1977 at {{US$|199|1977|about=yes|round=-1|long=no}}, with two joysticks and a ''[[Combat (video game)|Combat]]'' cartridge; eight additional games were sold separately.<ref>{{cite book |last=Forster |first=Winnie |title=The encyclopedia of consoles, handhelds & home computers 1972–2005 |year=2005 |publisher=GAMEPLAN |isbn=3-00-015359-4|page=27}}</ref> Most of the [[launch games]] were based on arcade games developed by Atari or its subsidiary [[Kee Games]]: for example, ''Combat'' was based on Kee's ''[[Tank (video game)|Tank]]'' (1974) and Atari's ''[[Jet Fighter (video game)|Jet Fighter]]'' (1975).<ref name="gamasutra history atari"/> Atari sold between 350,000 and 400,000 Atari VCS units during 1977, attributed to the delay in shipping the units and consumers' unfamiliarity with a swappable-cartridge console that is not dedicated to only one game.<ref name="gamasutra atari 2"/>

In 1978, Atari sold only 550,000 of the 800,000 systems manufactured. This required further financial support from Warner to cover losses.<ref name="gamasutra atari 2">{{cite web | url = http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?print=1 | title = Atari: The Golden Years – A History, 1978–1981 | first = Steve | last = Fulton | date = August 21, 2008 | access-date = September 11, 2018 | work = [[Gamasutra]] | archive-date = October 10, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181010011309/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?print=1 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Bushnell pushed the Warner Board of Directors to start working on "Stella 2", as he grew concerned that rising competition and aging tech specs of the VCS would render the console obsolete. However, the board stayed committed to the VCS and ignored Bushnell's advice, leading to his departure from Atari in 1979. Atari sold about 600,000 VCS systems in 1979, bringing the installed base to a little over 1.3 million.<ref name="tcwv1">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Alexander |title=They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol I |date=2019 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781138389908 |pages=458, 466, 518 |edition=1}}</ref>

Atari obtained a license from [[Taito]] to develop a VCS conversion of its 1978 arcade hit ''[[Space Invaders]]''. This is the first officially licensed arcade conversion for a home console.<ref name="RG-41">{{Cite magazine|date=September 2007|title=The Definitive Space Invaders|url=https://archive.org/stream/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_041#page/24/mode/2up|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]]|issue=41|pages=24–33}}</ref> Atari sold 1.25 million ''Space Invaders'' cartridges and over 1 million VCS systems in 1980, nearly doubling the install base to over 2 million, and then an estimated 3.1 million VCS systems in 1981.<ref name="tcwv1" /> By 1982, 10 million consoles had been sold in the United States, while its best-selling game was ''[[Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game)|Pac-Man]]''<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition]] |publisher=[[Guinness World Records]] |year=2008 |isbn=1-904994-21-0 <!-- |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OJQFSlyMEfAC --> |page=24 |quote=10 million – number of Atari 2600 consoles sold by 1982.}}</ref> at over {{nowrap|8 million}} copies sold by 1990.{{efn|name=PacMan|7,271,844 in 1982. 684,569 in 1983.<ref name="Atari">{{cite book |title=Cartridge Sales Since 1980 |publisher=[[Atari Corp.]]}} Via {{cite episode |title=The Agony & The Ecstasy |series=Once Upon Atari |date=August 10, 2003 |number=4 |minutes=23 |publisher=Scott West Productions}}</ref> {{formatnum:{{#expr:21279+15784}}|}} in 1986. 61,685 in 1987. 3,885 in 1988. 34,374 in 1989. 2,166 in 1990.<ref name="Vendel">{{Cite web|last=Vendel|first=Curt|date=May 28, 2009|title=Site News|url=http://www.atarimuseum.com/whatsnew/2009-MAY-28.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206090952/http://www.atarimuseum.com/whatsnew/2009-MAY-28.html|archive-date=2010-12-06|access-date=2021-11-27|website=Atari Museum}}</ref>}} ''Pac-Man'' propelled worldwide Atari VCS sales to {{nowrap|12 million}} units during 1982, according to a November 1983 article in ''[[InfoWorld]]'' magazine.<ref name="hubner19831128">{{cite magazine |last1=Hubner |first1=John |last2=Kistner |first2=William F. |title=The Industry: What went wrong at Atari? |magazine=[[InfoWorld]] |date=28 November 1983 |volume=5 |issue=48 |pages=151–158 (157) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sy8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA151 |publisher=[[InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.]] |issn=0199-6649 |access-date=December 1, 2021 |archive-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020183655/https://books.google.com/books?id=sy8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA151#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> An August 1984 ''[[InfoWorld]]'' magazine article says more than {{nowrap|15 million}} Atari 2600 machines were sold by 1982.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Bisson |first1=Gisselle |title=Atari: From Starting Black to Auction Block |magazine=[[InfoWorld]] |date=6 August 1984 |volume=6 |issue=32 |page=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HC8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52 |publisher=[[InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.]] |issn=0199-6649}}</ref> A March 1983 article in ''[[IEEE Spectrum]]'' magazine has about 3 million VCS sales in 1981, about 5.5 million in 1982, as well as a total of over 12 million VCS systems and an estimated 120 million cartridges sold.<ref name="ieee8304">{{cite journal |last1=Perry |first1=Tekla |last2=Wallich |first2=Paul |title=Design case history: the Atari Video Computer System |journal=IEEE Spectrum |date=March 1983 |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=45, 50, 51|doi=10.1109/MSPEC.1983.6369841 |s2cid=2840318 }}</ref>

In Europe, the Atari VCS sold 125,000 units in [[Video games in the United Kingdom|the United Kingdom]] during 1980,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Technology: The games that aliens play |magazine=[[New Scientist]] |date=18 December 1980 |volume=88 |issue=1232–1233 |page=782 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ainC3-wuz_kC&pg=PA782 |publisher=[[Reed Business Information]] |issn=0262-4079 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and 450,000 in [[West Germany]] by 1984.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=EG Goes Continental: Europe Joins the Game World |magazine=[[Electronic Games]] |date=January 1984 |volume=2 |issue=23 |pages=46–7 |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGames/Electronic%20Games%20Issue%2023%20%28January%201984%29/page/n46|access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref> In France, where the VCS released in 1982, the system sold 600,000 units by 1989.<ref name="SVM">{{cite magazine |title=Guerre Dans Le Salon |trans-title=War in the Living Room |magazine=[[Science & Vie|Science & Vie Micro]] |date=December 1989 |issue=67 |pages=126–8 |lang=fr |url=https://abandonware-magazines.org/affiche_mag.php?mag=48&num=2280&album=oui |access-date=December 8, 2021 |archive-date=December 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208070551/https://abandonware-magazines.org/affiche_mag.php?mag=48&num=2280&album=oui |url-status=live }}</ref> The console was distributed by [[Epoch Co.]] in Japan in 1979 under the name "Cassette TV Game", but did not sell as well as Epoch's own Cassette Vision system in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/jul/18/40-years-of-the-nintendo-famicom-the-console-that-changed-the-games-industry|title=40 years of the Nintendo Famicom – the console that changed the games industry &#124; Games &#124; The Guardian|website=amp.theguardian.com|date=July 18, 2023 |access-date=July 18, 2023|archive-date=July 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718133759/https://amp.theguardian.com/games/2023/jul/18/40-years-of-the-nintendo-famicom-the-console-that-changed-the-games-industry|url-status=live |last1=Packwood |first1=Lewis }}</ref>

In 1982, Atari launched its second programmable console, the [[Atari 5200]]. To standardize naming, the VCS was renamed to the "Atari 2600 Video Computer System", or "Atari 2600", derived from the manufacture part number CX2600.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/a-history-of-gaming-platforms-atari-2600-video-computer-system-vcs | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140513034048/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131956/a_history_of_gaming_platforms_.php?print=1 | archive-date = 2014-05-13 | title = A History of Gaming Platforms: Atari 2600 Video Computer System/VCS | first1 = Matt | last1= Barton | first2 = Bill | last2 =Loguidice | date = February 28, 2008 | access-date = September 11, 2018 | url-status = live | work = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref> By 1982, the 2600 cost Atari about {{US$|long=no|40}} to make and was sold for an average of {{US$|125|1982|round=-1|long=no}}. The company spent {{US$|long=no|4}}.50 to {{US$|long=no|6}} to manufacture each cartridge, plus {{US$|long=no|1}} to {{US$|long=no|2}} for advertising, wholesaling for {{US$|18.95|1982|long=no|round=-1}}.<ref name="hubner19831128" />