Game System Review: Atari 2600

Paul’s Review: 97 out of 100

Today I get to tell you about a video game system that is probably my favorite system of all time, and probably one of the most recognizable pre-nintendo video game systems: The Atari 2600!

The Atari 2600 made its debut in October of 1977 and was not officially discontinued until January 1, 1992, after 14 years and 2 months. This makes it the longest-lived home video game consol in history. During this time more than 30 million consoles were sold, and (for better or for worse) more than 900 unique games were created for the 2600.

The original Atari 2600, at the time called the “Atari VCS” (Video Computer System), the system took on its numeric name in 1982 to distinguish it from the newly released Atari 5200. The “2600” came from the system’s part number, CX2600. The original system can be distinguished by it’s distinct wood-grain front. Later models looked more like a miniature Atari 7800 than the original 2600. These are often casually referred to as “2600 Jr.”

The 2600 is credited with sparking a revolution in home gaming, and, perhaps more notably, the main factor in the video game crash of 1983. Many arcade games of the era were ported for the 2600 including the vastly popular Galaxian, Asteroids and Space Invaders. On the flip side, many games were so horrible that they killed consumer confidence in the entire industry, leading to the massive decline in video game sales in 1983. Most notable of these would probably be hugely unpopular E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Based on the hugely popular movie of the same name, the game was rushed to the market so it could be released for the 1982 Christmas season. This gave developers only 5 weeks after securing the rights to the game to completely develop, produce and market it. Atari completely lost control of the creative process for its 2600 games, leading to some real stinkers. Nevertheless, there are MANY awesome titles for the 2600.

Game play on the Atari 2600 is a very easy and very pleasant experience. Almost every game is easy to pick up on and impossible to master. There have been times when I have gotten a new game and played it all day, often getting my friends and roommates involved, who also end up playing it all day. The graphics are simple by today’s standards but groundbreaking for 30 years ago, and the controllers are easy to pick up on: a directional joystick and 1 button.

  

I had one of the wood-grain Atari 2600’s handed down to me when I was very young. I think it originally belonged to my aunt. I played it, gaining a few fond memories before I got my first NES for Christmas in the mid-1980’s. Over the years my original Atari was lost, the games and controllers scattered to the wind, being replaced by a sucession of video game systems such as the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Playstation and Xbox.

That would have been the end o this story if I hadn’t started getting nostalgic a few months back. When beginning this blog, I sat around thinking about what I could write about and quickly decided to see how hard it would be to get my hands on an old Atari.

It was actually surprisingly easy. As most of you know, I trade for most of my games and systems, but just for the sake of giving an example, I am going to list approximate cash values. The system I was able to locate at the flea market, the local used games store and various sources online for anywhere from $20 to $150 depending on bundled games, controllers, functionality, etc. I paid about $30 for mine, which included 10 games in their original boxes, a plethora of manuals, controllers, attachments, etc. The only thing that was missing was the power adapter which I located locally for 10 bucks.

The best thing about the Atari 2600 is the availability of games. As I said before, there are over 900 titles for the system. The best part is that, even though they are 30 years old or older, they are surprisingly abundant and easy to find. I highly recommend you start your collection with Asteroids, Space Invaders, Pitfall, Video Olympics and Donkey Kong. They are some of the most popular games made for tha 2600 and if you look around you can find them for $1 each. If you are a good negotiator you might even be able to bundle many games into a lot to make the price even lower. I once picked up 32 different titles for $5 and a Wii remote I never use.

So grab a 2 litre bottle of Shasta, a cheap frozen pizza and a Rush mix tape and settle in for a night of fun…. 80’s style!


ON A DIFFERENT NOTE: Don’t forget to vote for your favorite game system on the poll located on the top of the column on the right! A lot of people have voted for the SNES, which is probably my least favorite vintage system and I really don’t think it did much to further the video game industry, but one man’s trash is another’s treasure. Anyway, VOTE! PLEASE VOTE!