Systems

Atari 2600

The console that created an industry

The Atari VCS brought arcade gaming home, establishing the cartridge-based console market before hubris brought it crashing down.

C64 consolecartridges8-bit 1977–1992

Overview

The Atari Video Computer System (VCS), later renamed the 2600, arrived in 1977 and created home console gaming as we know it. Its interchangeable cartridges let players build libraries. Its TIA chip—designed by Jay Miner—squeezed colour graphics and sound from minimal hardware. For seven years, “playing Atari” was synonymous with playing video games.

Fast facts

  • Launch: October 1977 at $199.
  • CPU: MOS 6507 (limited 6502) at 1.19 MHz.
  • Graphics/Sound: TIA (Television Interface Adaptor), designed by Jay Miner.
  • RAM: 128 bytes. Not kilobytes. Bytes.
  • Cartridges: games ranged from 2KB to 32KB (with bank switching).
  • Sales: over 30 million units lifetime.
  • Lifespan: officially 1977–1992, though peak years were 1980–1983.

The TIA chip

Jay Miner’s TIA handled everything visual and audible:

  • Playfield: 20-bit pattern, mirrored for 40-pixel width.
  • Player sprites: two 8-pixel-wide graphics objects.
  • Missiles/Ball: additional objects for bullets and game elements.
  • Colours: 128-colour palette (though limitations applied per line).
  • Sound: two channels, frequency/noise based.

Programming the 2600 meant counting cycles per scanline and racing the electron beam. There was no frame buffer—graphics were generated in real-time.

The killer apps

Certain games defined the 2600:

  • Space Invaders (1980): the first licensed arcade port; sold 2 million units and moved hardware.
  • Pitfall! (1982): Activision’s masterpiece proved third-party developers could compete.
  • Adventure (1980): hidden the first video game “Easter egg” (the designer’s name).
  • Pac-Man (1982): sold millions but disappointed players expecting arcade accuracy.

Third-party publishers

The 2600 created the third-party game market:

  • Activision (1979): founded by ex-Atari programmers seeking credit and royalties.
  • Imagic, Coleco, Parker Brothers: licensed games flooded the market.
  • Quality collapse: too many publishers meant too many poor games.

The fall

By 1982, warning signs appeared:

  • Pac-Man (1982): rushed port damaged trust despite sales.
  • E.T. (1982): five-week development; became symbol of quality failure.
  • Overproduction: millions of unsold cartridges returned to warehouses.
  • Market crash (1983): the 1983 crash wiped out Atari’s dominance.

Legacy

The 2600 proved console gaming could be a business and a culture. Its success inspired competitors and successors. Its failure taught the industry that quality mattered. Jay Miner went on to design the Amiga. Activision alumni shaped gaming for decades. The machine that started it all also taught the hardest lesson.

See also