The Atari 2600, also known as the Atari VCS (Atari Video Computer System) before November 1982, is a home game console by Atari, Inc. released on September 11, 1977.
The 2600 was a black and wood colored console typically bundled with television connectors and power cables, two joystickgame controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge (initially Combat, and later Pac-Man).
It was a very popular and successful machine. However, due to cheap royalty fees and a lack of quality control, the Atari 2600 was flooded with countless shovelwares that started to destroy its reputation.
The release of the infamous E.T. video game (which Atari rushed in its development and produced too many copies of it for sale) was one of the causes for the subsequent North America video game crash of 1983 , after which the system's popularity diminished greatly. By 1985 it was all but forgotten, but this paved the way for the introduction of more advanced and popular consoles like the NintendoFamicom (NES) in the mid 1980s.
