Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 is a home video game console released in 1977. Its interchangeable ROM cartridges let players use one console for many games, including Space Invaders and Adventure.

MOS Technology 6507: An eight-bit microprocessor derived from the MOS Technology 6502, with a reduced address bus and fewer pins. It runs the console’s game code while limiting how much memory the system can address.
Atari, Inc.: An American video game and home-computer company founded by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in 1972. Atari developed and marketed the 2600 as its flagship home console.
Space Invaders (Atari 2600): A 1980 Atari 2600 game adaptation of Taito’s arcade shooter Space Invaders. Its success helped drive demand for the console and demonstrated the appeal of arcade conversions.
Video game crash of 1983: A severe contraction in the North American home video game market in 1983 and 1984. Atari’s losses and unsold 2600 games became prominent symbols of the crash.
Atari 2600 six-switch models: Early Atari 2600 consoles with six front-panel switches for power, game selection, and play options. These original models introduced the console’s distinctive woodgrain-front design.
Television Interface Adaptor: The Atari 2600 chip that generates video and sound and handles player controls. Its scanline-by-scanline operation left games to create graphics in real time.
Nolan Bushnell: An American entrepreneur who co-founded Atari and helped establish the commercial video game industry. His company’s arcade success laid the business groundwork for the 2600.
Adventure (video game): A 1979 Atari 2600 action-adventure game created by Warren Robinett. It built an expansive exploration game from the console’s limited graphics and memory.
Activision: An American video game publisher founded in 1979 by former Atari developers. Its success on the 2600 established independent third-party publishing for consoles.
Atari 2600 Jr.: A smaller, lower-cost redesign of the Atari 2600 released in 1986. Its release showed that Atari continued selling the aging system after newer consoles arrived.

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