Difference between revisions of "Atari 2600"
(→Review) |
(→Ugly) |
||
| Line 49: | Line 49: | ||
===Ugly=== | ===Ugly=== | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
* Nothing. | * Nothing. | ||
Revision as of 13:44, 4 June 2019
The Atari 2600, originally called the Video Computer System, is a video game console created by Atari and first released on 1977-09-11. It is powered by a MOS 6502 microprocessor.
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.
Games
- See all Atari 2600 Games.
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 Controllers
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
Videos
- youtube.com/watch?v=YLoJ5jcccPU - Atari developers.
- youtube.com/watch?v=W7roWLrbwao - Computerphile.
Links
- qotile.net/minidig - Decompiled Atari 2600 game source code.
