Atari 2600: the first video game console that marked an era
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Launched in late 1977, the Atari 2600 (also known as the Atari CVS) was to become the first massively successful video game console with interchangeable cartridges, managing to sell some 34 million units until the mid-1980s.
The great success of the Atari began when the company managed to port some of the arcade hits (Arcades) for this console, such as the Space Invaders, Pac-Man or the Missile Command, among others. The advantage of being able to play these titles without having to pay a chip for each game, catapulted the console to success, at a time when video games were not as popular as they are today. The Atari 2600 was launched at an inexpensive price at the time, about $ 250.
Technical characteristics
The Atari had a 1.19MHz MOS Technology processor, a 128-byte RAM memory, in VLSI and the cartridges had a 4KB ROM memory per game. In total there were 3 models from 1977 to 1983. The first that was the Atari VCS CX2600 with 6 buttons, the VCS 2600A that was identical to the previous one but that reduced the number of buttons to 4 and the 2600 'Junior' that did a facelift to the appearance and controls.
Not everything was rosy for the Atari 2600
During the 1980s the console sold at a rate like never seen before but not everything was rosy for Atari. With some notable failures such as ET, which generated millions of losses for the time, that was the least of its ills.
The great inconvenience was generated with the arrival of the clones of the Atari 2600. It turns out that the company (incredibly) didn't patent the console hardware, so other manufacturers started releasing their own variants of the Atari 2600, one of the most famous being the Coleco Gemini.
The success of the console could not go beyond the year 1983, when they launched the Atari 5200 (which was a failure) and the great video game crisis of that year occurs.
The great classics he left us
The Atari 2600 left some of the first great classics of video games and the emergence of some of the most important developers of today, such as Activision, Nintendo or SEGA:
- AdventureCombatSuper BreakoutDefenderSpace InvadersMissile CommandPac-ManMs. Pac-ManCentipedeDonkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr.Mario Bros. Pitfall + ACE-, Pitfall + ACE- IIRiver Raid, River Raid IIKaboomFroggerQ + ACo-BertYar's RevengeAsteroidsRiver Raid
Great classics for a console that marked a whole generation today, a piece of history worth remembering, did you ever try an Atari?
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