TECH TITANS ATARI
The greatest hits of the home gaming pioneer ranked
Slot’s my name
Through its cart slot, Atari popularised the idea of buying new games rather than having to get a whole new piece of hardware.
Lovin’ the grain
The woodgrain finish was designed to make it fit into the average ’70s living room. So we’re lucky they didn’t go for orange corduroy.
01 ATARI 2600
The Fairchild Channel F holds the ‘first cartridge console’ crown, but Atari took the idea and ran with it… fast. Like the Channel F, the 2600 (launched as the Atari VCS) saw carts as an answer to the poor clones of the Pong machine that were flooding the market.The difference was, Atari had good games.
In fact, it had more than that. Instead of Fairchild’s weird controllers, Atari kept things modular and approachable. The 2600 had paddles and joysticks that echoed arcade fare, and set the scene for future innovations. And while the console’s design reflected the times, its innards were far more forward-thinking.