Atari 2600

Atari · 1977 – 1992

The Atari 2600 was the first mass-market home console to popularize ROM cartridges, bringing the arcade experience into living rooms. Launched in 1977, it sold over 30 million units. Space Invaders quadrupled 2600 sales in 1980. The 2600 also sparked the first gaming crash when a flood of low-quality titles collapsed consumer confidence in 1983.

The Atari 2600's hardware was modest: a MOS 6507 CPU at 1.19 MHz with 128 bytes of RAM. Yet programmers developed extraordinary techniques — racing the beam, kernel tricks — to squeeze remarkable visuals from these constraints. Activision became the first third-party game developer in 1979 after disgruntled Atari programmers demanded credit and royalties. The 2600's long lifespan until 1992 makes it one of the longest-running consoles in history.