What makes the 2600 such an icon in gaming?

[Lord Helmet]

Space Invaders. Nuff said.

[eegad]

What really made the system THE classic game system was a combination of 2 things in my opinion.

 

First, Atari jumped heavily into releasing licensed versions of popular arcade games. That got a LOT of people to buy the system (I wanted an Atari in 1979 I think, but it was "too expensive" according to my parents. I let it go that year. But next year when Space Invaders came out I HAD to have it and I begged and pleaded until I got it.) Other systems coming out in the early 80s (Intellivision, ColecoVision) technically had better graphics and sound, but Atari got the most popular arcade games.

 

And the 2nd reason is pure numbers. Because SO many people bought the system, and then SO many developers started releasing carts for it, no system ever came close to the shear number of games you could find for it. Heck, I just broke out my 2600 last year for the first time in well over a decade....and I've bought a good 20-30 cheap used carts for it since then. Some games I had wanted but never got at the time. Some I'd never even heard of til now. Even 30 years on, you can STILL get and play 'new' games with your old Atari.

[classicgamingguy]

That's true about the games that you just bought. They are "new" to you, even though they're considered "old". So the system gets new life with games you've never played before, and the Atari 2600 sees a resurgence in life. It's a great system hands down. There's probably tons of games I have yet to collect and play, so the Atari 2600 will be around for a good deal of time to come.

 

Steve

[Rodrigo]

Here in Brazil the only real 2600 competitor was the Intellivision (we had the Odissey 2, but it's much more rare). And I don't remember any advertisement for it. I had a friend who always tried to prove the Inty superiority, but I just remember the awfull controllers. And the lack of games (here). The 2600 had everything: good controllers, lots of games, at least onde kid in your neighborhood had one. Today, the 2600 is still a symbol of vintage videogaming here.

[shadow460]

Interesting read. I think the 2600 evolved as the needs changed. Yes I dare to bring him up, but I also think that Jack Tramiel's greed probably helped the 2600 later on. Without him, there might not have been a 2600 Jr and the newer games.

 

Still, though, when something new came out, the 2600 evolved a bit. Add ons were built and released like the Booster Grip, the DPC chip, or the SuperCharger. No one add on did a lot on its own, but together I think they all helped with the 2600's evolution. I think this kind of evolution made the 2600 still appear viable enough to release new games even as more powerful systems were hitting shelves. The new games, in turn, began to sell, bringing people to the 2600 and keeping them long enough to make games into the '90's.

 

Has any other system outlived not one, but two of its successors?

[Rik]

The "VCS" as originally called, was 1st introduced in 79 IIRC?Also AFAIK there were cartridge based consoles out before the VCS?.If the VCS indeed was not the 1st cart based console made available to the public,i sure as hell didnt know or see anything about them!.Around in 80,i saw the craze start happening,every kid at school was talking about playing Space Invaders at home on the great new thing they called an "ATARI".The 2600 simply was IMO the 1st to take the world by the throat.And the design!,was the coolest looking gaming machine ever.The woodgrain was perfect for the time,and SI was indeed just incredible!Basically the timing,design,smart game licensing on Atari's part was perfect.Plus every week you'd see new game commercials on tv,the Activision ads were THE best.Atari did a great job marketing the 2600 in the beginning.I remember looking forward to every Friday Prime Time TV.After every break,there'd be an Activison commercial showing the newest game.Those memories are priceless!!!!!!Its hard to say exactly why the 2600 made such an impact,its a whole variety of reasons which varies from person to person.Oh yeah the fact that it had the most games available helped too,plus alot of the the new gaming technology at the time was introduced on the 2600 with all the various hardware and software.I faintly remember being able to order games from your cable company to play on your 2600 via a special modem or something.

Edited July 17, 2009 by Rik

[carmel_andrews]

Though i didn't own one (or any atari games system, pre lynx) I guess you could say that the 2600 was to videogames what the moon landing was to the sciences/physics etc...i.e an achievement in human history that is unlikely to be repeated

 

As, just like the US government took risks with the moon landing, warners took risks with the 2600, the US government via nasa ploughed every bit of human knowledge and technology into getting a handful of people to the moon and back..warners ploughed every bit of comuter technology and knowledge into the 2600 and bringing it to the likes of you people....and these things are still as memorable to us as the day these things happened or were launched into the marketplace

Edited July 17, 2009 by carmel_andrews

[Herbarius]

warners ploughed every bit of comuter technology and knowledge into the 2600

 

I think if they'd really done that, the 2600 would have turned out more like the 5200, but for a price no-one would be willing or able to pay, like $1000 - $1500...

Edited July 19, 2009 by Herbarius

[potatohead]

That whole thing is part of the magic. For a volume production, cost is everything. They think in fractions of a penny.

 

So many tradeoffs were made, leaving us with an interesting machine. Other machines, where less attention was paid to cost, got more dedicated functions and didn't end up with the same character as the VCS did.

[kskunk]

For a volume production, cost is everything. They think in fractions of a penny.

 

Here, here! Creativity is at its best under severe constraints -- you have to think outside the box to get anything done. Even unbelievably primitive technology was so expensive in the 2600's early days that nothing could be done the 'obvious' or 'straightforward' way. Everything was laced with oddball shortcuts and character.

 

Many of the titles are real works of art created by unsupervised individuals using every trick and hack they could imagine. That's a far cry from the multi-million-dollar studio-funded management-and-lawyer-supervised armies who crank out modern games.

 

- KS

[potatohead]

Yeah, what a contrast huh?

 

Looking back, it's simply amazing the industry took off like it did. The VCS was *just* good enough to go the distance and not one bit more. Damn cool, if you ask me. I remember gaming on those dedicated game units. Those things had no CPU. The circut was the game, and all of them did basically the same thing.

 

The first time I saw a VCS was at a friends house. I walked in the door, and his brother was playing BREAKOUT. I stopped, looked, heard the sounds, saw the colors, pointed and said, "What's that?".

 

We sat down for a play and I was hooked. Still am.

 

They had purchased a nice set of stuff too. Lots of carts, and most of the controllers were there. Soon after, they had the driving controllers and the basic thing that used the keyboard. We need more keyboard and driving games, IMHO.

 

Anyway, the words "Video Computer System" actually had some meaning! There were little things that a kid would see that made all the difference in the world. The dedicated units were rock solid in their display, and didn't seem to have any life. They played well, but it all seemed very rigid. Turning the paddle, hearing the sounds, seeing the little black lines on some games flicker and move, looking at the well made carts (in fact, the best carts ever, IMHO), game variations, the catalog, plugging in things, seeing "attract mode", and timed games, all set the machine apart from the simple units. It was all so techy, yet elegant in a way that I personally was not exposed to anywhere else yet. All of that set the expectations for home gaming right then and there.

 

The only analogy I can really think of is old radios. If you go and look at old tube type radios, there were a few companies that made very interesting, higher end ones. Zenith was the very best at this. Their radios had techy features, yet still had good design. Once you operated one of those, it made the others seem to be lesser things, even though they all were really just radios. The VCS was like that.

 

And what other console had 2, 3, maybe 4 second lives? Even today, there are things being built on the thing that just push and push and push, and where people do that, the damn thing delivers!

Edited July 19, 2009 by potatohead

[sandmountainslim]

And what other console had 2, 3, maybe 4 second lives? Even today, there are things being built on the thing that just push and push and push, and where people do that, the damn thing delivers!

 

What would you consider it's second lives?

I can count :

 

Life 1 1977-1983 when it was the hottest thing going in the home console market

 

Life 2 1986-1990 when it was an acceptable "bargain console" as the Jr and used units

 

Life 3 1995-Present when it was the primo retro console for emulation and homebrew developement with Stella etc.

 

 

Wp

[potatohead]

I think that's about right.

 

Atari has a lot of firsts to it's name. #3 is yet another one of those. Look at the growing scene surrounding Coleco, Nes, etc... That's gotta be inspired by our first home brew release Okie Dokie, and the growing scene surrounding that here. At the least, it's a natural path that Atarians took first.

 

Are people getting on the Genny this way yet? Been watching those go by. Maybe I should snag one.

 

Anyway, that's life number 3, as far as I am concerned. Gennys here are just everywhere. Nobody picks them up, carts are cheap and unplayed. VCS stuff is snapped up, and being played again! I just found out that here in Portland, Billy Galaxy down town sells VCS stuff, boxed even! And I'm gonna go in next week. Been one hell of a long time since I got to go retro shopping anywhere but ebay / craigslist.

 

Arguably, 4 lives isn't on the table yet, but then again, it's just not over is it? Hardware options are still untapped, and somebody somewhere is gonna connect the things together. Who knows? It's the VCS. Stuff happens.

 

There is the flashback deal too. Lots of people buying essentially NEW VCS hardware and gaming retro the easy way. #4 maybe?

Edited July 19, 2009 by potatohead

[sandmountainslim]

Arguably, 4 lives isn't on the table yet, but then again, it's just not over is it? Hardware options are still untapped, and somebody somewhere is gonna connect the things together. Who knows? It's the VCS. Stuff happens.

 

There is the flashback deal too. Lots of people buying essentially NEW VCS hardware and gaming retro the easy way. #4 maybe?

 

I myself (no expert) would classify the Flashbacks as part of Life Number Three, just a different sort of emulation. There may no need for Life 4 as three has been going on for fourteen years and STILL seems to be in full swing just look at all the new games whether they be in bBasic or otherwise. Viva Atari!!

Wp

[potatohead]

True that!

 

And the Batari Basic bit is just fun as all get out too. Lots of great little, goofy games have come from that, right along with some good solid ones. Love it.

 

So I'm a little over zealous. There are worse problems!

[Pitfall Harry]

The game cartridges made by Atari, Sears, and by others were shaped as perfect rectangular prisms. Their convenient geometry allowed you to easily set the game carts up in elaborate patterns that ran the length of a room and then topple them over like dominoes.

[eegad]

Also AFAIK there were cartridge based consoles out before the VCS?.If the VCS indeed was not the 1st cart based console made available to the public,i sure as hell didnt know or see anything about them!

 

 

I know it wasn't the first, but it was close to the first. I actually had one of the (few?) cart-based consoles that came out before the Atari; It was the RCA Studio II. I got it only because I wanted an Atari that Christmas., but Atari was close to $200....RCA game was on sale at Radio Shack for maybe $75, so I got that instead. Graphics were black&white, sound was only simple beeps, nothing onscreen moved smoothly, and the controllers were 2 numeric keypads. It sucked. Although....at the time, I'll admit I had some fun with it for a while. But the Atari was miles ahead as far as graphics/sound/controllers.

[Lord Thag]

What makes it an icon? Simple.

 

It's the system that started videogames as a home phenomenon. Many genres had their start on the VCS too, like shooters, platformers, racing games etc.

 

Plus, it's damn fun. Simple, elegant, and intuitive. Unless you play swordquest