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Extensive Game Library of Well-Known Games. The Atari 2600 boasted an extensive game library that played a pivotal role in its popularity. Many of these games were adaptations of well-known arcade titles, bringing the thrill of arcade gaming directly into the homes of players. This was a significant advantage for several reasons:
- Press Reset
- The Key to Success
- Riding High
- The Market Splinters
- What Goes Up…Well, You Know
- Atari Forever
Atari was already flying high by the mid-1970s, having launched the coin-op video game industry with Computer Space and Pong. But it had nothing in the home yet—that fell to Magnavox, which was selling Ralph Baer's brilliant Odyssey. Originally designed in 1967 and launched in 1972, the Odyssey played 12 different games on your television; it didn'...
Thanks to the 2600’s cartridge slot, you could never get bored of the system—all you had to do was buy another game, or ask your parents to. Some early cartridges were mediocre (anyone out there love Basic Math?), but other games were fun despite their simplicity. It’s tough to beat two friends shooting up the carriages, and each other, in Outlaw. ...
Mattel tried to compete by launching the Intellivision, a solid system with numerous hardware advantages over the 2600 that especially helped in sports and strategy games. Mattel secured licenses from all the major sports organizations such as the NBA, NFL, and NHL. It eventually sold several million units, but it never threatened the 2600’s lead. ...
Famously, Atari kept its formulas secret—and even its employees, refusing to give them credit in games. In response, the Adventure cartridge contained the first popular Easter Egg, a hidden feature that showed programmer Warren Robinett's name in a special room if you executed exactly the right steps, a wonderful protest in retrospect. Four other k...
Then it all went south. Many people erroneously blame E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial as the reason the market sank. It certainly wasn’t a great game, with its crude graphics and frustrating pits. Anything less than perfection would have made a mockery of Atari’s $20 million deal with Steven Spielberg, but it wasn’t a terrible cartridge. Still, it fuel...
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the 2600 is how much has happened since. The homebrew scene lit up in the 1990s with excellent titles such as Oystron (1997) and Conquest of Mars (2003). All kinds of people began hacking existing titles, such as “fixing” the original 2600 Pac-Man release in various ways, or adding the missing voices to Berzerk ...
- Jamie Lendino
- Editor-In-Chief, Extremetech
May 9, 2024 · This revolutionary console, often dubbed the “granddaddy of home video game consoles,” offered a wider range of games on swappable cartridges. Titles like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and the iconic Atari 2600 version of Super Mario Bros. cemented Atari’s dominance in the market. The early 1980s became known as the “golden age” of Atari ...
Feb 10, 2021 · New Games: Believe it or not, indie developers still create new games for the Atari 2600, pushing the hardware to its limits in ways the original developers never imagined. Merchandise: Atari branding and imagery from classic 2600 games frequently appear on t-shirts, posters, and other merchandise, testament to the lasting cultural impact of the console.
Nov 1, 2021 · 1. Atari made console design matter. Take a moment and soak in the sadness that is the design of other 2600-era video game consoles. Efforts from major companies like Magnavox, Mattel and Bally ...
- Scott Bernberg
Regardless of some of Atari's mistakes, the 2600 had become so popular and had such a large user base that competitors Coleco and Mattel both released add-on modules to allow their systems to play ...
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Jun 27, 2012 · The Atari 2600 was once attached to millions of televisions, providing 8-bit joy to the first generation of gamers. These are the ten titles no home would have been without during that console's ...
