Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, originally launched in September 1977 under the name Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) at $199, is the console that established home video gaming as a viable entertainment medium and launched the modern video game industry. The system used a MOS Technologies 6507 CPU paired with the TIA (Television Interface Adaptor) chip for display and sound, and launched with nine games on 2 KB ROM cartridges. Initial sales were modest: 350,000-400,000 units in 1977 and 550,000 in 1978. But the release of Space Invaders in 1980 became the system's first killer app, transforming the 2600 into a cultural phenomenon, selling nearly 8 million units in 1982 alone, reaching about 10 million units that year. The console underwent multiple hardware revisions, including a wood-panel "Woody" four-switch model in 1980, an all-black "Darth Vader" redesign when officially renamed Atari 2600 in 1982, and a cost-reduced 2600 Jr. budget model.
