website/content/museum/atari-vcs-2600.md

---
title: Atari VCS 2600
categories:
- Consoles
params:
  name: VCS 2600
  company: /companies/atari
  company_name: Atari
  tabs:
  - adverts
  - hardware
  - connectors
  - software
  - emulators
  - links
  adverts:
  - title: FRENCH ADVERT (DECEMBER 1981)
    subtitle: ''
    text: '"At 12 years old, Nicolas discovered he was the terror of the aliens"'
    image: null
  - title: FRENCH ADVERT (JANUARY 1982)
    subtitle: ''
    text: '"At 68 years old, taunt Rose discovered that she was an exceptionally gifted child"'
    image: null
  hardware:
  - title: SPECTRAVIDEO COMPUMATE
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      The Spectravideo Compumate add-on allowed the Atari VCS 2600 to be programmed in an extended 16K Basic language. It plugged into the cartridge socket of the console, as well as into both joystick ports.

      A tape recorder could be connected to load/save programs. The Compumate also was a musical keyboard with microphone and headphone jacks. It was sold at $100 with 2K RAM.
    image: null
  - title: FRENCH AD (SEPT. 1983)
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  connectors:
  - title: CONTROLLER CONNECTORS
    subtitle: at the joystick cable (9 pin DSUB female)
    text: |-
      1 - WHT = Up\
      2 - BLU = Down\
      3 - GRN = Left\
      4 - BRN = Right\
      5 - n/c = Not connected\
      6 - ORG = Button\
      7 - n/c = Not connected\
      8 - BLK = Ground(-)\
      9 - n/c = Not connected
    image: null
  emulators:
  - title: MESS
    url: http://www.mess.org
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: MESS also emulates the Atari 2600
  - title: PC Atari Emulator
    url: http://www.classicgaming.com/pcae/
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: MS-DOS & Windows emulator
  - title: Stella
    url: http://stella.sourceforge.net/
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: Maybe the most popular emulator
  - title: Z26
    url: http://www.whimsey.com/z26/z26.html
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: Popular emulator for DOS & Windows
  links:
  - title: AtariAge
    url: http://www.atariage.com/
    text: Wow... you want to go there!
  - title: Wikipedia - Atari VCS 2600 entry
    url: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600
    text: Nice article from Wikipedia
  comments:
  - author: rod (canada)
    date: Monday 22nd January 2018
    text: Have you played Atari today??? If not, then you should stop what you''re doing right now and fire one of these bad boys up.
  - author: Brad
    date: Saturday 25th March 2017
    text: I had a Sears version of the 2600. Sears actually sold the same unit under their own name. I found that if I pulled out the cartridge just a tiny bit and re$ed it again very quickly, It would sometimes go into a weird mutated version of a game. Very strange things would happen. I mainly remember doing this with the original Battleship game. I have many fond memories and have often considered buying one of those Atari "Flashback" consoles.
  - author: Bartimaus (U.S.A.)
    date: Thursday 2nd February 2017
    text: I picked up one of the "Darth Vader" systems with 6 games all cables and a controller for 30 $ and I can say it was well worth it. Too bad on of the games was E.T. the extraterrestrial...
  - author: Teery (Arlington, Texas, United States, North America, Planet Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe)
    date: Tuesday 19th April 2011
    text: Actually, the NES didn''t exit production production in 2004. In 2004 Nintendo stopped repairing NES consoles.
  - author: tn102 (Michigan, USA)
    date: Sunday 11th July 2010
    text: I have one of these, I got it from my grandma. I went out and bought a converter so now it hooks right up to my regular TV through the coaxial cable. It works perfectly and I have a lot of games for it. In fact I think I might go play it right now
  - author: Joe (US, Ohio)
    date: Sunday 3rd August 2008
    text: My parents got me a Sega Genesis when it came out and I noticed the controller port pins were the same as my Atari 2600. So being as young as I was, I put the Genesis Controller in my Atari Port and it worked. The Sega Genesis B trigger was the fire button and the direction pad worked as well.
  - author: Giovani Zancan (Santo ângelo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
    date: Thursday 9th August 2007
    text: |-
      Absolutely one fantastic console!\
      I got one for my birthday when I was... 7? Anyway, I could only play it on this old black-and-white TV, and had only Pacman and a racing game whose name I can't recall. So, one day I found myself alone at home, and plugged it into my color TV; I say to you, it was one of the most exciting things, seeing all the colors and details \*-\*\
      Too bad it stopped working and I, in my stupidstupid mind, thought I could fix it. Results? Opened it and it never worked again, so my mom trew it away T_T

      Man, I need another of those!
  - author: Nate Arnold (Ohio)
    date: Tuesday 27th March 2007
    text: OK so it wasn't going to be that much ;). The point is that I was stupid enough to sell it. I miss the darn thing, and emulation does not exactly feel the same. In fact, I wish I still had it.
  - author: bluekatt (netherlands)
    date: Thursday 25th January 2007
    text: im also not sure what exactly nate arnold was on when he wrote that but there is no way in hel that anny atari 2600 system would be worth thousands of dollars unless its a old stock misb 1977 vcs with all games misb then and only then might it be worth a couple of grand
  - author: bluekatt (netherlands)
    date: Wednesday 10th January 2007
    text: |-
      the atari's record has already been broken\
      twice ( to a degree ) first by the nintendo famicom who went into production in japan in 1983 and went out of it in 2004\
      thats 21 years\
      the other is the gameboy who has been running ever since 1989 in one form or another

      honorable mention is the playstation 1 who has also survived for 12 years one way or another\
      for around 6 7 years as a hardware entity andnow as a integrated romchip and emulator calls in the ps 2 and 3
  - author: Nate Arnold (USA)
    date: Tuesday 1st November 2005
    text: 'My parents got this system as a wedding present in 1981. We''r talking a stock and pure Atari 2600. My family, friends and i played it so much that it went into disrepair ($250,000 aset for 2004: down the drain). Then my mom surprised us with a brand spanking new atari 2600 (the 1988 version aka the 2600Jr due to smaller dimensions). I sold it at a garage sale (1996) with 25+ games, all for about $30. DOH!!! (values estimated for 2004 would have benn 10''s of thousands of dolars in non-mint and working condition)'
  - author: Tyler (Osky, IA)
    date: Sunday 2nd October 2005
    text: Hey ppl i just bout one of these at a garage sale for a buck the original 1977 system i belive and the combat game + some others im so happy!
  - author: Aran Carrigan (USA)
    date: Friday 4th March 2005
    text: |-
      I'm a kid, too!\
      I have one suggestion on hooking it up to a new TV: Hook the coaxial cable to your Antenna input (on the TV or VCR). You shouldn't need an adaptor. Oh yeah, does anyone know a good place to buy an Atari 7800?
  - author: Stephen Knotts (USA)
    date: Saturday 27th November 2004
    text: Even though I'm just a kid, I'm a HUGE old-computer hobbyest, and I've almost always wanted to get my hand on the Atari VCS 2600. This christmas looks positave! :-)
  - author: bhtooefr (USA)
    date: Friday 5th November 2004
    text: |-
      Keep in mind, this is all from what I know, which (when it comes to 2600s) is nothing.

      You'll most likely need an RF convertor, and maybe an adaptor to plug into a coaxial cable input. You won't be touching the AV jacks.
  - author: Webmaster (France)
    date: Sunday 31st October 2004
    text: |-
      Here is an answers :\
      http://www.atariage.com/2600/faq/?SystemID=2600#fuzzy\
      http://www.atariage.com/2600/faq/?SystemID=2600#composite\
      http://www.zutco.com/atfaq.htm

      hope that helps\
      Try Google for more answers...
  - author: Mel (Ft Walton Beach Fl)
    date: Sunday 31st October 2004
    text: I am trying to hook an ATARI 2600 to a new TV. My TV has the standard tv video/audio inputs. Is there a way to hook up the ATARI to a new TV. If so, what connections would I need to convert the existing connections?
  - author: qonos (Seminole, Ok)
    date: Saturday 10th July 2004
    text: man i still think atari rulez! when i go to play video game, i go to PLAY the video game, not study it! i don't care what xxxxoo triangle up left square does! or when i need to do it! i care about sitting down and immediately being abled to be entertained without a bestselling sold separately code book to go with it! Atari is what being a vidiiot is about! gaming as entertainment, not study, because there's this other video game i play called, "a life".
  software:
  - /software/air-sea-battle-also-known-as-target-fun-sears
  - /software/basic-math-also-known-as-fun-with-numbers-new-name-from-1980-math-sears
  - /software/basketball
  - /software/blackjack
  - /software/combat-also-known-as-tank-plus-sears
  - /software/indy-500
  - /software/miniature-golf-also-known-as-arcade-golf-sears
  - /software/star-ship-also-known-as-space-mission-early-title-outer-space-sears
  - /software/street-racer-also-known-as-speedway-ii-sears
  - /software/surround-also-known-as-chase-sears
  - /software/video-chess
  - /software/video-olympics
  oc_id: 878
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230603105631/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=878
    date: '2023-06-03'
---

A new generation of games was born in the summer of 1977, a new concept revolutionizing leisure will let small leading and foreseeing companies make billions of dollars.

Although the Atari VCS is not the first video game console ever, it will become a star while beginning in November of 1977. Millions of young players will hold it as mankind’s best invention ever. The first console idea was developed in 1975 by Atari and Warner Bros, its parent company.

Initially the console was set to come with an integrated ROM game, but at the last minute, Atari preferred a cartridge version. This game was “Combat”. Most importantly, this first cartridge will allow console owners to wait a few months for the release of new games. A first series of 8 will be followed later by many, among them, the famous “Space Invaders”, a title giving Atari global success and will cash in more then $100 millions.

In two years, Atari sold more than 25 million consoles and earn $5 billion in sales, mostly from cartridges and optional accessories. Many third companies will also encounter success, such as Namco and its “Pacman”.

In 1982, the VCS becomes “2600” until Atari is sold in 1984, followed by new versions “5200” and “7800”. However, the 2600 continued to be produced and new games will appear until 1991. The VCS/2600 console thus lived for 14 years, a record longevity never equaled since by any console or computer.

---

**Bluekatt** (from Netherlands) comments:\
the atari's record has already been broken twice ( to a degree ) first by the nintendo famicom who went into production in japan in 1983 and went out of it in 2004 thats 21 years the other is the gameboy who has been running ever since 1989 in one form or another honorable mention is the playstation 1 who has also survived for 12 years one way or another for around 6 7 years as a hardware entity andnow as a integrated romchip and emulator calls in the ps 2 and 3