The History of Computer Games: Part One: 1975-1982

» Random_Terrain - Atari 2600 History

Dan Finkelstein wrote, "Meanwhile, 1977 was the year the Atari 2600 took the country by storm. Games such as BurgerTime and Pac-Man were finally available to play at home, and parents were all-too-happy to buy their kids a 2600, thinking that it would have to be less expensive than shelling out quarters in the arcade."

That paragraph makes it sound like the Atari 2600 was wildly popular in 1977 and that the Atari 2600 versions of Pac-Man and BurgerTime were also released that same year. This could be confusing for younger people who didn't live back then.

About the Atari 2600: I just want to make it clear to anyone reading Mr. Finkelstein's article, that the Atari 2600 was not wildly popular in 1977 when it was released in time for Christmas. It took a little while to catch on.

About Pac-Man: The arcade version of Pac-Man was released in 1980. The Atari 2600 version was released in April of 1982.

Arcade reference:
http://www.klov.com/P/Pac-Man.html

Atari 2600 version reference (see April entry):
http://www.icwhen.com/book/the%201980s/1...

About BurgerTime: The arcade version of BurgerTime was released in 1982, and the Atari 2600 version was released in 1983 by M Network.

Arcade reference:
http://www.klov.com/B/BurgerTime.html

Atari 2600 version reference:
http://www.makingit.com/bluesky/games/cr...

If you want to learn more about the Atari 2600 VCS, visit the following web sites:

http://www.atariage.com/2600/index.html?...

http://www.atari-history.com/A2600.html

http://www.atarihq.com/2678/index.html

http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Consol...

-- posted by Random_Terrain

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