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Atari 2600

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Atari 2600

Breaking down details

Third-party pioneers like Activision challenged Atari's monopoly, birthing the modern licensing model after legal battles, fostering competition that expanded library but sowed crash seeds via quality dilution.

The 1983 crash, fueled by E.T. and Pac-Man missteps, buried millions in landfills, underscoring risks of rushed holiday releases and market saturation in nascent console era.

Strengths

  • Post-crash revival sales
  • Woodgrain aesthetic appeal
  • Pioneered ROM cartridges
  • Sold 30 million units

Considerations

  • Lost to NES recovery
  • Japan sales flop
  • Only 128 bytes RAM
  • 4 KB cartridge limit
"Bank switching expanded games beyond initial limits."

Key Terms

PAL
European TV format: 228 lines, 50 Hz, 13 colors, requiring separate game versions from NTSC.
SECAM
French TV standard: 50 Hz, 8 colors at single brightness, with modified TIA for regional release.
Bank switching
Method to expand ROM beyond 4 KB limit by swapping memory banks during gameplay, first used in Asteroids for larger cartridges.
MOS Technology 6507
Cost-reduced 6502 CPU with 13 address pins, running at 1.19 MHz, limiting Atari 2600 to 8 KB addressable but 4 KB cartridges initially.