#AtariVCS is a video
#game console developed and mass produced by Atari for the home entertainment of Warner, Inc.
With an introduction price under US$200 the VCS became the first affordable and popular
#microprocessor-based game console in the consumer market.
The Atari Video Computer System was built around the 8-bit MOS 6507 CPU
@1.19 MHz and swappable ROM
#cartridges to expand the memory limits of 128 bytes RAM. Initially released 1977 with Tank Combat and later
#Pac-Man included, bundled with two
#joysticks and a pair of paddles this legendary
#Atari console opened up game development, cartridge production, and sales far beyond
#ActiVision.
While VCS couldn't challenge
#arcade hardware in graphics, flexibility was the advantage and the wood grain finish by Gene Landrum made it stylish on top of that. The
#game-market started with only 8 titles like
#Pong and grew fast over
#Breakout,
#Asteroids,
#SpaceInvaders,
#Pitfall, E.T., Frogger and many more. It was the big selection of games available that made Atari's
#console a huge success.
After Sears sold it as Tele-Games Video Arcade for less, the VCS was rebranded 1982 as
#Atari2600. Low production costs of $40 kept revenue coming in even when sales prices dropped on average of $125.
15 million ACS and estimated 120 million cartridges been sold before the video game crash of 1983. And the ACS was profitable for almost the next decade, but 1992 after 30 million sold units the production was finally stopped.
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