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The Atari 2600, also known as the Atari VCS (Atari Video Computer System) before November 1982, is an old and classic home game console by Atari, Inc. Released on September 11, 1977. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and ROM game cartridges containing video game code, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F video game console in 1976.
This format contrasts with the older model of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware, which could only play the games that were physically built into the unit (like in very early Pong game consoles).
The 2600 was a black and wood colored console typically bundled with television connectors and power cables, two joystick game controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge (initially "Combat", and later "Pac-Man").
It was a very popular and successful machine. However, due to a cheap loyalty fee (that any game makers must paid to console owners for making a game for their system) and lack of quality control, the Atari 2600 was flooded with countless shovelwares that started to destroy its reputation.
The release of the infamous E.T. video game (which Atari rushed in its development and produced too many copies of it for sale) it was later one of the causes for the subsequent North America video game crash of 1983 , after which the system's popularity diminished greatly. By 1985 it was all but forgotten, but this paved the way for the introduction of more advanced and popular consoles like the Nintendo Famicom (NES) in the mid 80s.
Rival consoles from its era
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