Atari

Atari was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles and home computers. The company’s products, such as PONG and the Atari 2600, helped define the computer entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid 1980s.

The Atari 2600, released in October 1977, was the video game console credited with popularising the plug and play concept popular among the game-playing public. Originally known as the Atari VCS ñ for Video Computer System ñ the machine’s name was changed to ’Atari 2600’ (from the unit’s Atari part number, CX2600) in 1982. It was wildly successful during the 1980s. The 2600 was typically bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers and a game cartridge.

The Atari game had a lot of action on the screen, creating an engaging experience. Popular Atari 2600 games were Atlantis, Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Breakout, Combat, ET, Space Invaders and more. In fact, the Atari insignia has become an iconic pop cultural logo. Almost 25 years since the launch of the Atari 2600, new homebrew games are still made and sold by hobbyists. They are popular with collectors due to their nostalgic value.

Today Atari is a corporate brand name that develops, publishes and distributes games for all major video game consoles, personal computers and is currently one of the largest third-party publishers of video games in the US.