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25
Years & Counting: The Atari 2600 VCS
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"If there were one game system that should have been called "Genesis" it definately should have been the Atari 2600..." stated a well-known videogame publication in a 1995 article on the history of home gaming. "...The [Atari 2600] Video Computer System was truly the dawn of civiliation for the home videogame market." continued the publication. And they have a very good point. The Atari 2600 Video Computer System was truly the first "modern" home video game system to make it to market. In fact, they created the home gaming market. Period. While it's true that other early videogame creations had found their way under the family TV in the past (such as Atari's PONG or Magnavox's Odyssey) they were merely stand alone units with a few variations of PONG-like games pre-programmed into the self-contained unit, and generally featured hard-wired controllers that usually consisted of paddle knobs on the front or top of the game unit. However, with the advent of the Atari 2600, the idea of interchangable cartridges and more advanced gaming ideas came into play. This was the first recognisable modern game system created. This was the legend known as the Atari 2600. ›››Creation The
Atari 2600 truly first got its start in 1972, when two key factors came
into play. The first of which was the creation of the Magnavox Odyssey,
the brainchild of Ralph Baer who is easily considered to be the father
of videogames. The Odyssey was the first home console unit, albeit not
cartridge based and lacking a CPU, relying on descrete transistor circuitry
for its power. The Odyssey was merely a self-contained unit which could
play a small selection of paddle games, including tennis and hockey. In
essence, this was the first game which could be played on a television
set.The second factor which came into play in 1972 was Nolan Bushnell's
creation of PONG, which first started as an arcade unit, and then came
later in multiple home versions, most of which were sold through Sears
Roebuck & Company. Most importantly however, PONG caused Nolan Bushnell
to start Atari. ›››Development The Video Computer System was 'born' in Grass Valley, California in 1975. The idea was hatched, and further development of the game console was done at the Sunnyvale, California facility. The Video Computer System was initially finished, boxed, and ready to ship out of the Sunnyvale facility by the bicentennial in the summer of 1976. However, the Video Computer System was delayed for release due to a clause in a legal settlement between Atari and Magnavox over Atari's release of PONG in 1972. (Magnavox claimed that Bushnell got the idea for PONG from Ralph Baer's Magnavox Odyssey system, thus stealing intelictual property) Magnavox would own the rights to anything Atari was to produce within a one-year period, Bushnell made the descision for Atari to sit on the Video Computer System until the one-year period had elapsed, so that Magnavox would not recieve control and royalties over the game system and its components. Atari formally released their new product to the public via Sears, Toys 'R' Us, and Kay-Bee Toys as the $199.95 dollar "Atari Video Computer System" in the fall of 1977. The system was rolled out with ten initial titles which utilized both joystick and paddle controllers, including Warlords and the pack-in game Combat. The
Atari model 2600 was based for the most part on existing Atari technology
which could be found in basic home PONG units which Atari had already
been producing. (Even the classic one button 2600 joysticks had been brought
over from earlier Atari self-contained systems) The very first iteration
of the VCS was merely a multipurpose game console chasis that carried
a single programable motherboard which would have its games installed
into a rom slot internally. This design was soon overlooked in favor of
taking the same concept but making the rom slot externally accessable
to game players. Instead of having roms installed internally, Atari would
market "Video Game Programs" which would consist of a rom, self-contained
within a plastic cartridge which was to be plugged into the exposed rom
slot at the top of the game system. Consumers who were to purchase the
new Video Computer System would be able to choose from ten "Video
Game Programs" which would be marketed along side the system its
self. Originally, Atari had only planned on making a mere ten games available
for the Video Computer System, as it was originally designed to be more
of a PONG home unit which would play simple games such as Warlords and
Combat, with the advantage over the older PONG units being that it was
programable to play a variety of games via the new 'Video Game Programs'
offering a better selection of game play. However, when the engineers
incorporated the exposed rom slot into the design of the Video Computer
System, they had inadvertantly created a hidden potential in the 2600
which would turn out to be absolutely quintessential to the fly-away success
of the system in the future. Game developers soon discovered the true
capabilities of the Video Computer System's hardware, and took advantage
of the exposed rom slot, creating games which far exceeded the expectations
of the 2600, and going beyond the limit of what the system was initially
designed to do. "The 1980 release of Space
Invaders on the VCS is what really changed things for Atari."
says Atari 7800.com alumni Jon Dyer. "It was
the first liscensed title to come straight out of the arcade. Once people
caught on that they could play popular arcade games in the comfort of
their own living room with Atari, sales for the 2600 shot off sky-high.
This snowballed as more arcade hits crossed over to cartridges on the
VCS." ›››Success The
guys at Atari soon caught on to the notion of translating popular arcade
games over to the Video Computer system for play at home. After the success
of Space Invaders, the Atari VCS really took off in sales. Atari soon
realized the potential of their creation, and in response the Atari engineers
began to program better games with superior graphics, create home versions
of popular arcade games such as Missile Command and Asteroids, and develop
new games for the Video Computer System that were more challenging and
fun to play, such as Yar's Revenge and Star Raiders. With this combination
of solid hardware, fun and challenging software, and a variety of accessories,
the 2600 was bound for success. ›››Education The
Video Computer System was truly catching on with the public. Every kid
wanted an Atari, and many parents for the most part saw it as an opportunity
to both bring a new educational tool into the home, as well as bring in
something which was fun for the whole family to gather together around
and play. Atari had many educational titles to choose from as well, which
was a benefitial advantage of the Video Computer System in many parents
minds. "One of my big dissapointments was that
I felt that the technology we were developing was going to fundamentally
revolutionize education, because I felt that it was such a powerful and
inexpensive communications medium that [when] applied to the job of learning
there could be some really powerful strides. I still feel that."
said Atari founder Nolan Bushnell in a recent interview. Bushnell obviously
had education in mind when developing game programs and accessories for
the Video Computer System. In the early days of the VCS, Atari had a small
line of educational game cartridges which were available to help elementary-school-aged
children with spelling, reading, and mathematics. Games such as "Math
Grand-Prix" and the later Sesame Street line of children's educational
games such as Alphabeam with Ernie attempted to make learning fun,
which is something that has always been very difficult to do. Atari was
ahead of their time in this aspect, as educational games were almost non-existant
throughout the Nintendo and Sega days. Only recently have we begun to
see educational games pop up on children's systems such as GameBoy Color
and PC. The Atari 2600 VCS was never without its share of competitors. When the Video Computer System was first released, it had competition comming from both sides with the Bally Astrocade and Fairchild Channel-F, however Atari provided a far superior system with the VCS with a full line of games that were for the most part much better than those offered by both Bally and Fairchild. However in 1979, Mattel's electronics division released their "Intellivision" home game system which was arguably superior to the VCS in technology. Although the Intellivision offered slightly better graphics, and a 12-button keypad controller with 16-way directional disc pad as opposed to the 2600's one-button joystick, the Intellivision was lacking what people wanted most... games. Atari had won the hearts of gamers everywhere with the release of classic arcade games like Space Invaders and other quality games on the 2600. This was something Intellivision was lacking, and it hurt them dearly. Atari
soon felt the true pressure of competition in 1982 with the release of
the ColecoVision home game system. The ColecoVision offered far superior
graphics to the Atari Video Computer System (which was already five years
old at this time) as well as new games which were hot at the time which
Atari lacked. Games such as Donkey Kong brought gamers over to the ColecoVision,
and the fact that Coleco offered Atari compatability didn't help matters
much. But Atari had their own tricks up their sleeve. Way back in 1978,
just a year after the introduction of the Video Computer System, Atari
had begun work on their next generation chipset, which was ready to roll
just in time for the battle against Colecovision. The new system was to
be called the Atari 5200, after its model number (which meant that it
had twice the power of the 2600). This new system would be the new flagship
system from Atari, however they would continue to support the Video Computer
System as well. The Video Computer System underwent a slight redesign
and was formally recrissened the Atari 2600 Video Computer System to go
along with the new numerical system used with the new Atari 5200 SuperSystem. ›››The End of the Line The
Atari 2600 Video Computer System was ultimately the true pioneer of the
home gaming industry. Not only did they create the industry with the Atari
2600, but they dominated it as well, producing millions upon millions
of Atari 2600 units, making the 2600 the best selling game system in history,
even outhanding the Nintendo Entertainment System in total sales. Ironically,
brand new games for the Atari 2600 could be found fairly easily almost
seventeen years after its initial introduction at Kay-Bee toy stores as
late as 1994, albeit scattered in the clearance aisle. |
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Quick Links : Atari
2600 Video Computer System |
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Atari 2600 Video Computer System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Questions? Comments? eMail us @ history@atari7800.com |
Pg. 16 |
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