The very first Atari Video Computer System (VCS) was the 2600. It was introduced to the American public in 1977 and was a phenomenal success for Atari and its parent company Warner Communications. This innovative product provided a new hobby for the young and old. It was a cartridge-based video game system and thus could be hooked up to any standard television. As well as this it was easy enough for kids to play.

In 1982, the income generated by the 2600 and related products generated two-thirds of Warner's profits! It remained the game system to own for many years and is still sought out by gamers and collectors alike. While this system was released to a market that knew Atari's previous successful products, the 2600 introduced this new hobby called video gaming to a huge new segment of that had never experienced it before! The 2600 (developed by Atari's founder Nolan Bushnell-the father of video game industry) laid the foundation for video gaming that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft enjoy now.

And all those VCS 2600 consoles and video game cartridges people were buying dramatically changed the entertainment and leisure purchasing. Instead of the standard staple of toys, kids wanted (and parents bought) the 'Atari' and all those neat VCS game cartridges. Atari and video games became synonymous. People would refer to playing video games as "playing Atari." Toy and board-game makers were feeling the pressure of this new hobby brought on by the Atari Video Computer System. They also saw the hugh profits that the VCS was generating and began tapping into the market by either producing for the Atari VCS or trying to compete with it.

Even in the face of more advanced systems such as the 16-bit Mattel Intellivision, the VCS remained popular with the consumer. The 2600 was the basis upon which Atari released the 5200 and then the 7800. Atari also produced a device to allow users to play 2600 games on the 5200 Super System.

Hits on the 2600 included Space Invaders, Asteroids and the ever popular Pac-Man.and many others. Pac-Man generated so much interest in Atari systems that they literally flew off retailers shelves. Atari was the undisputed leader of the video game market largely due to the success of the Atari 2600 VCS. By the time of the video game market crash in 1984, the Atari 2600 Video Computer System had more game titles to its credit than all other systems combined.

Atari changed the way people thought of their TV sets - television could be interactive, not just a passive entertainment device. The 2600 VCS provided a multiple-gaming platform that the gamer could just go out and purchase a new cartridge when they grew tied of the existing game -- unlike most system that predate the VCS that were dedicated to a specific game and could not be changed. The 2600 provided a standardized platform where third party hardware and software could develop products.

Specifications:
- 6507 processor
- 6532 RAM/IO/Timer chip
- 128 bytes of RAM
- up to 4K bytes of cartridge ROM space