Atari 2600 - Video Computer System
The Atari 2600 is one of the oldest Video game console. The Atari 2600 is also known for its hit video game Pac-Man. It is a video game console released in October 1977. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in. The first game console to use this format was the Fairchild Channel F. The Atari 2600 is credited with making the plug-in concept popular among the game-playing public. The Atari 2600 was wildly successful. During the 1980s, "Atari" was a synonym for this model in mainstream media and, by extension, for video games in general, similar to "Nintendo" and "PlayStation" in the later 1980s and 1990s respectively.
Originally known as the Atari VCS — for Video Computer System — the machine's name was changed to "Atari 2600" in 1982 following the release of the more advanced Atari 5200. The 2600 was typically bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a cartridge game—initially Combat and later Pac-Man.
The basic layout of the Atari 2600
The layout of Atari 2600 is fairly similar to most consoles and home computers of the era. The CPU was the MOS Technology 6507, a cut-down version of the 6502, running at 1.19 MHz in the 2600. The 6507 included fewer memory address pins —13 instead of 16 and no external interrupts to fit into a smaller 28-pin package.
The Console of Atari 2600
The console had only 128 bytes of RAM for runtime data that included the call stack and the state of the game world. There was no frame buffer, as the necessary RAM would have been too expensive. The video hardware gave the 2600 a reputation as one of the most complex machines in the world to program, but those programmers who understood it realized that such direct control over the video picture was also a source of flexibility.
Additionally, the 2600 supported several types of input devices (joysticks, paddles, keyboards, etc.) and third-party peripherals, and many of these peripherals were interchangeable with the MSX and several other Japanese systems. In some cases, it is possible to use the Atari joysticks with the Sega Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis, though functionality may be limited. However Master System and Genesis controllers work quite well on the 2600.
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