So let's look back and talk about the system that broke the mold and would begin many a child's love affair with video games. The Atari 2600!
The Atari 2600 was released on September 11th, 1977 in North America. This was NOT Atari's first stab at a home console since they brought home their arcade smash-hit Pong in many consolized forms. The 2600 was originally priced at $199 and came with TWO joysticks (funny how that doesn't seem to be a thing anymore, apparently nobody thinks you have friends nowadays), and a copy of Combat.
While in development, it was known by the name of "Stella", named after an engineer's bicycle. Due to the success of Pong, many small companies were making home versions of it, eventually flooding the market and making Atari's revenue dwindle. Atari needed to do something to keep afloat, especially since Fairchild Semiconductor released their own console, the Video Entertainment System (aka the Channel F, aka the console nobody remembers) in August of 1976. The 2600 went through many name variations early on, known as the Video Computer System (VCS, to take the fight to the VES), and the Sears Video Arcade when sold through Sears, Roebuck & Co. The name "2600" refers to the system's part number (CX2600) and was officially named that after the 1982 release of the Atari 5200.
Many consumers at this time were tired of Pong since that was pretty much the only game around, everyone owned a home Pong console. Hell, that was one of the first games I ever played since my Grandparents had one when I was a wee lad. The Atari 2600 not only came with a copy of Combat, but featured 8 other games at launch, effectively giving consumers the choice they had been wanting.
There was a problem: like most new, upstart ideas, nobody knew what to do with it. It's not like there were programmers and developers lining up just waiting for someone to come along with an idea for a home console, and consumers didn't know any better. Was this a justifiable business? Is this just a fad? Well, Fairchild thought it was just a fad and pulled out of the market, leaving Atari and its 2600 as the lone horse in the race. People may have seemed hesitant, but through constant support from Atari and some financial help from Warner Communications, the sales figures went from 250,000 units in 1977, to 550,000 in 1978 (which was still disappointing to them and led to founder Nolan Bushnell's exit from the company) to one million units sold in 1979, also being the best selling Christmas gift. Basically the Furby of its time. (Ugh, I still get nightmares of those things, they are CREEPY).
The success can be attributed to programmers figuring out how to best use the hardware and by giving consumers a choice of not playing Pong all day every day. Then, Atari claimed the rights to a home version of an arcade smash-hit called Space Invaders (if I had a mic, I would drop it). The 2600 version was released in January of 1980 and helped boost sales to two million units sold and a $2 billion revenue in 1980.
The original console had six switches on the front, getting the nickname "Heavy Sixer", in 1980 the two difficulty switches were moved to the back, leaving 4 up front, and gave the revision a black coat of paint, earning it the nickname "Darth Vader". This was the first official console to get the "2600" moniker. Around this time, Atari worked on 2 other consoles to compliment the 2600, a wireless version called the 2700 which never launched due to a design flaw, and the 2800 which was released only in Japan which never caught on due to the competition from the Nintendo Famicom (what would become the NES here in the States).
Now, let's look at some of the games that defined Atari and the 2600 in the early days of video gaming:
Combat: 1977 (2600 pack-in game)
Sure, the console came with it, but it helped that it was fun. 27 games on the cartridge which were variations on Tank, Biplane, and Jet games. The most popular was Tank Pong in which your shots bounced off the walls.
Pitfall!: 1982
Pro tip: Go left at the beginning, it will make your life a lot easier.
River Raid: 1982
One of my favorite 2600 games. A scrolling plane shooter where you blow up tanks, boats and helicopter while having to replenish fuel (which you could also shoot for big points). If you kept up the cycle, you could literally play this game forever.
Adventure: 1979
The Grandfather of the "Action-Adventure" genre. The player could go on 3 different quests ranging in difficulty. Also introduced the world to the concept of an "Easter Egg".
Raiders of the Lost Ark: 1982
One of the most complex games in the library. Both controllers had to be utilized to play the game: one to move Indy, one to use the inventory screen. Was balls hard!
Keystone Kapers: 1983
I'd say this is my other favorite 2600 game besides River Raid. You are tasked with chasing down an escaping crook while avoiding various obstacles being thrown at you, rolled at you, or just in your way in general.
H.E.R.O.: 1984
OK, add this to my favorite 2600 games. Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation. You play as Roderick Hero (R. Hero...'Our Hero'...get it?) as you save trapped miners with your handy helicopter backpack.
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I could go on and on, I'll mention a few more and leave you to google them:
- Kaboom!
- Space Invaders
- Centipede
- Millipede
- Missile Command
- Defender
- Chopper Command
- Haunted House
- Warlords
- Yar's Revenge
See? Classics!!
- Pac-Man
uhhh....wait....
- Custer's Revenge
Oh..no no no no no and a whole lot of no.....
- E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Now that's just cruel and unusual punishment!
Those last three not only were complete shit (E.T. being widely regarded as the worst game ever made), they helped bring about the famous video game crash of 1983. I will save the crash for a later post, since it is an important even in the history of video games.
The decline of the 2600 began with many publishers feeling angry with the company for not giving them credit in their games. Leading to many people quitting Atari and forming their own companies, most notably Activision. Atari even tried blocking third-party companies from publishing games in court, to no avail. By this time, several other companies entered the market, the most detrimental being Mystique, who created several "Adult-themed" games for the system, including Custer's Revenge and Bachelor/Bachelorette Party, which led to several protests.
Despite all this, the low cost of the system and massive library helped the 2600 and the 2600 Jr. (A smaller redesign) sell well through the late 1980's. The 2600 was finally discontinued in 1992. That's an impressive 15-year run. Games, however, are still being made today through small "Homebrew" developers. They can be played through emulators or can be copied to a blank cartridge to run on a real 2600.
That's an important note too: with technology being the way it is now, you can access the Atari library in MANY different ways. You can run emulators on your computers, access them through an app on your iPad, you can run it through (gulp) Game Room on the Xbox 360 (I assume it's still up), and so on.
The Atari 2600 was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2007 and is one of, if not THE, most important console in the history of video games. It brought about the beginning of the home console era, and almost destroyed it through the crash of 1983.
Happy Incorporated Day, Atari!
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