Happy 30th Birthday to the Atari 2600

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Did you have one of these? I did. I remember playing Space Invaders, moving left and right with the controller — and also breaking the controller (more than once) after shoving the joystick hard left or right over and over again.

The Atari 2600 was released in October of 1977. Much like the TV shows Cheers and Seinfeld, it took time for it to reach its stride — it did not turn a profit until 1980, in fact when the aforementioned Space Invaders was released, along with Breakout, Pac-Man, and more.

We Say: Yes, the games were simple, and its $199 price, when you consider today’s hot-selling Nintendo Wii at $250, is definitely not a bargain. Still, it was the first mass-marketed home video console that was truly successful, and we owe a lot to it.