Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, originally called the Video Computer System or VCS for short, is a second generation video game console created by Atari and first released on 1977-09-11. The console went through several revisions and was also sold by Sears as the Sears Video Arcade. The VCS uses a MOS 6507 microprocessor for a CPU and uses a custom chip called the Television Interface Adaptor to handle controller input and generate a television audio video signal. In November 1982, Atari released the Atari 5200 to supersede the VCS, and then rebranded the VCS to the 2600. However, the 5200 sold poorly, and the 2600 went on to outlive it by over 8 years.
Contents
Personal
This was the very first home video game console I ever played, somewhere around 1985. My parents bought a used system with a bunch of games, and I played it a lot. Our set included two wireless joysticks, two regular joysticks, two paddle controllers, and one of the 4-switch models (I think the all-black one). A friend of mine in 1988 had a later Atari Jr. model which I thought looked very cool.
In 1988, my brother and I pooled our money and bought a Nintendo Entertainment System and rarely played out Atari any more so, around 1989, my mother convinced us to give the system to our cousin. A few years later, when I was around 13-years-old, I was talking about the Atari 2600 with a friend of mine, and he told me he had a an extra Atari and a bunch of games he bought from a garage sale and would sell them all to me. The collection included several games that were new to me, and I enjoyed playing them for a while.
Over the years, I have added several other games to my collection, and, while I appreciate the Atari for really advancing the home video game market in the USA, I still find the bulk of the system's games to be too primitive to be enjoyable.
Since the 2600 was my first video game console, and I didn't go to arcades very often, I was under the impression that nearly all of the games for the 2600 were initially developed for the console. There were a few I had seen in the arcade like Pac-Man, Centipede, and Space Invaders, but, the more I researched older arcade games, the more I realized that the bulk of the early 2600 library was lifted almost directly from earlier arcade games.
Currently, I own three Atari 2600s. Two 6-switch models and a Sears Telegames model. I also have the wireless controllers for a Flashback model.
Games
- See all Atari 2600 Games.
Initial Games
Early versions of the Atari Video Computer System came with a fully boxed copy of Combat. Consoles sold in or after 1982 included fully-boxed copies of Pac-Man.
The following games were available at the console's launch: Air-Sea Battle, Basic Math, Blackjack, Combat, Indy 500, Star Ship, Street Racer, Surround, Video Olympics.
Personal
These are the Atari 2600 games that are important to me:
Hardware
- Atari 2600 Driving Controller
- Atari 2600 Joystick
- Atari 2600 Keyboard Controller
- Atari 2600 Paddle Controller
Review
Good
- Compared to its competitors, this platform had the best game library of the day.
- The joysticks were very solid and could take a lot of abuse, many of them are still working today. Atari also used the standard 9-pin D-connector rather than invent a proprietary plug which was nice for 3rd party designers.
- For a system designed to be able to play Pong and not much else, it did amazingly well.
Bad
- Having only one button on the joystick made it pretty much impossible to make a complex game. Several developers tried with only limited success.
- The vast majority of the games released on the platform are terrible.
- The system's audio capabilities are very primitive.
- The controller ports are stupidly placed on the back on the console.
Ugly
- Nothing.
Media
Hardware
The original VCS box.
The wood-panel 4-switch model.
The wide 2600 box.
Documentation
Owner's Manual - USA - Revision 1.
Owner's Manual - Australia - Revision 1.
Field Service Manual - Revision 2.
Programmer's Guide - v1988-07-01.
Advertisement - 1981.
NTSC color space.
Strategy guide - Be a Home Videogame Superstar: Secrets to the Best Games for Your Atari VCS.
Books
The Player's Strategy Guide - To Atari VCS Home Video Games.
Logos
Modern typefaces similar to the Atari branding are "Hammer Fat" and "SF Atarian System."
Atari VCS logo.
Atari 2600 logo.
Comparison of the two.
Videos
Favorites
This is a list of my favorite Atari 2600 games.
- Yars' Revenge
- Megamania
- Adventure
- Pitfall!
- Vanguard
- Combat
- Frogger
- Defender
- River Raid
- Crystal Castles
- Missile Command
- Ms. Pac-Man
- Enduro
- Cosmic Ark
Technical
Rapidly switching the power on and off, a process called "frying," can cause a game to be loaded in an unplanned state with some residual memory from what was last running. This can generate all sorts of glitches in the games, some of which are beneficial. This is similar to cartridge tilting on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
See Also
Links
- 8bitworkshop.com - Online development.
- digitpress.com/eastereggs/2600.htm - Bugs and Easter eggs.
- qotile.net/minidig - Decompiled Atari 2600 game source code.
