Collection essentials #1: The Atari 2600

 

The Atari 2600, also know as the Atari VCS (Video Computer System), is the oldest game system I have, having been released in 1977. It was not the first ever home video game console (and in fact wasn't even close), but it was the first to truly become a household name. The gaming industry was very new at the time, so in some ways Atari didn't really know what it was doing and made some crucial mistakes that eventually caught up with them, which led to the "video game crash of 1983" after which people believed that home consoles like this were just a passing fad of the previous decade before Nintendo permanently proved everybody wrong a couple years later.

As you can imagine, it's quite primitive, and a typical Atari game only takes up about 8 kilobytes, and you probably have text documents on your computer that are bigger than that. One thing I may talk about in this series is how well or poorly old games age. There are a variety of factors as to why games may "age well" or not. Obviously Atari doesn't have anything resembling a "wow" factor like it had in the 1970s. If there's a game that was ported to the Atari from somewhere else, the odds are very high that the Atari version is inferior and less fun to play today. The system was obviously well before my time, too. So why do I have one? Well, the historical significance is certainly a factor, but truthfully, there are Atari games that still have a certain "timeless" appeal and are still fun to play. The games are quite cheap for the most part, and most of the modern-day retro game enthusiasts started with Nintendo and not Atari so there are plenty of interesting Atari games that don't get talked about very much. It's pretty fun to discover those.

I didn't have an Atari as a young kid, but I do remember seeing and playing it at other peoples' houses from time to time and enjoying it. Even as a kid I had an intrigue for what even then were old school video games. I finally got an Atari of my own (the very one pictured here) when I was 16. My mom Laura Hicks scored a person's Atari collection of over 30 games, accessories and a nice case for it all for a measly $5 at a yard sale. What a steal!!

I don't like the Atari's joystick controller very much as I find it awkward to control, but fun fact, Sega Genesis controllers are compatible with the Atari 2600 as they use the same socket! So the six-button Genesis controller is my controller of choice for maximum Atari enjoyment, since it has a great d-pad.

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