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: : ATARI 2600 VIDEO COMPUTER SYSTEM : :
Institute For Advanced Atari Gaming Studies - History Dept.

 

"If there were one game system that should have been called "Genesis" it 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.

:: Competition ::

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.

:: Survival ::

As the Atari 5200 fought its own battle with the ColecoVision, the Atari 2600 continued to be a top-seller. Infact it outlasted the 5200 flagship system its self. The 2600 continued to be a hit with dedicated VCS gamers who enjoyed the challenging game play of simple fun games. It was also a popular "hand-me-down" system for kids who often inherited the system from their older siblings as they moved on to newer systems. The Atari 2600 is still undeniably the most popular home video game system ever sold, and Atari knew this very well during the mid 1980s and on into the dawn of the 1990s. In 1984, Atari had planned on replacing the 5200 SuperSystem with their ultimate creation, the Atari 7800 ProSystem, which was based fully on the original Atari 2600 Video Computer System. The 7800 was in essence, the decade-long evolution of the 2600, offering both new arcade-quality games which were fun to play, as well as reverse-compatiblity with all Atari 2600 games and accessories. ( This philosophy is much like the current philosophy of the PlayStation 2, offering both state-of-the-art gameplay as well as backwards compatability with existing PSOne technology) Through the new Atari 7800 ProSystem, the heart of the 2600 lived on. However Atari was not about to dump the 2600 in favor for the new system at all. Atari had developed along side the 7800, a new compact 2600 system which was handsome and exciting. Just slightly bigger than a VHS video cassette, the 2600jr would sell for under fifty dollars and be targeted towards the entry-level game player. The release of the 7800 ProSystem and 2600 junior were delayed by two years due to the sale of Atari to the incompetant Tramiel family. This delay hurt Atari deeply, as Nintendo was allowed to gobble up much of the video game business in the meantime.

:: 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.

The 2600 recieved a boost of support from Atari during the late 1980s, which continued to release new titles for the 2600 VCS through 1990. It wasn't until the spring of 1992 when stores such as Kay-Bee, Toys 'R' Us, and yes, even Sears, began to liquidate their stock of Atari 2600 games and accessories. Sears even offered brand new 2600 games at a mere penny a piece should you purchase the now $39.99 2600 junior system. 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.

The Atari 2600 continues today to be one of the most loved and celebrated game systems of all time. The enthusiasm behind the 2600 remains great, with such sites as The Atari Historical Society and The Atari Gaming Headquarters promoting the system on line to enthusiasts everywhere. New home brew titles are even still being developed and released by avid fans today. The Atari 2600 truly was, and still is, a remarkable game system.

 

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