Atari VCS

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Atari VCS

The Atari VCS (long: Atari Video Computer System, since 1982 renamed to: Atari 2600) is a video game console for playing arcade games on TV with colour graphics, sound and 4 joysticks. It was produced from 1977 until 1991/92 in different variants and designs with total sales of 30 million units. More than 1,200 games were published for the Atari VCS.

Variants

Atari 7800

• Atari VCS and Atari 2600 (1977 - 1984)
• Atari 2800 (Japanese version, 1983)
• Atari 5200 (1983/84)
• Atari 7800 (1984 and 1986)
• Atari 2600 Jr. (1986 - 1991 in USA and Europe, longer in Asia)

Construction

• 4 or 6 switches for settings like power on/off, color or black and white, play mode (left, right players), game choice, game start
• 1 cartridge slot for game cartridges on a ROM with 2 or 4 Kbyte, later with 16 Kbyte and bank switching
• 1 power connector
• 2 game connectors for joysticks or paddles

Technical Details

• CPU: MOS Technology 6507 (a reduced pin version of MOS 6502) @1.19 MHz
• Memory: 128 Bytes RAM
• Graphic & Sound: TIA (Television Interface Adaptor) with no Video-RAM
  • NTSC: 128 colors
  • PAL: 104 colors
  • SECAM: 8 colors

Links

Wikipedia: Atari_2600

Wikipedia: Atari_5200

Wikipedia: Atari_7800