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Atari History

Exploring the history of Atari, from Pong in 1972 to the Jaguar: the computers and consoles, the arcade games, and the companies that carried the name.

Read the timeline, 1971 to today

Atari 2600 with a woodgrain front panel and four switches, next to a black CX40 joystick
Atari 2600, four-switch model with woodgrain front.

About this site

Atari History is an independent reference on the machines, games and companies that used the Atari name. Each page gives dates, launch prices and specifications, and lists the period documents, press articles and interviews it relies on, so every figure can be checked.

This domain once hosted the website of the Atari Historical Society. The current site is a new project, not affiliated with the society or with Atari. Old addresses from the earlier site lead to the page that now covers the same subject. How this site is written.

Timeline

  1. 1972Articles of incorporation for Atari, Inc., successor to the Syzygy Company of Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, were filed in California on June 27. (June 1972)
  2. 1972Atari, Inc. put a Pong prototype in a table-top cabinet and placed it on test at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California. (September 1972)
  3. 1976Warner Communications acquired all the stock of Atari, Inc. for about US$12 million in cash and US$16 million in debentures. (October 1976)
  4. 1977Atari, Inc. launched the Video Computer System, later called the 2600, with Combat as its pack-in cartridge.
  5. 1979Atari, Inc. shipped its first home computers, the 400 and the 800. (October 1979)
  6. 1982On December 8 Warner announced that quarterly earnings would fall far below Wall Street's expectations, citing a sudden slump in sales at Atari, Inc. (December 1982)
  7. 1984Warner sold the home video game and computer businesses of Atari, Inc. to Jack Tramiel's Tramel Technology, Ltd. on July 2. (July 1984)
  8. 1985Atari Corporation shipped the 520ST in the United States with a mouse, a disk drive and the SM124 monochrome monitor. (July 1985)
  9. 1993Atari Corporation announced on November 23 that the Jaguar was shipping to stores in the New York and San Francisco areas. (November 1993)
  10. 1996JTS Corporation completed its acquisition of Atari Corporation on July 30. (July 1996)

Full Atari timeline

Atari computers

  • Atari 8-bit computer family

    1979–1992

    Atari's 6502 home computers, from the 400 and 800 of 1979 to the XE Game System of 1987, all built on ANTIC, CTIA or GTIA, and POKEY

  • Atari 400 and 800

    1979–1983

    Atari's first home computers, announced late in 1978 and shipped from October 1979: a sealed, low-cost 400 and an expandable 800 on the same chips

  • Atari 1200XL

    1983

    The 64 KB successor to the Atari 800, announced in December 1982, shipped in March 1983 at US$899 and out of production by July

  • The Atari Sweet 16 project

    1982

    The 1982 Atari, Inc. plan for a smaller, cheaper successor to the 800, which reached stores in reduced form as the 1200XL

  • Atari ST family

    1985–1993

    Atari Corporation's 68000 and 68030 computers, from the 520ST of 1985 through the Mega ST, STE and TT030 to the Falcon030 of 1992

  • Atari 520ST

    1985

    The first ST: a 68000 machine with 512 KB, a GEM desktop and MIDI ports, shipped by Atari Corporation in July 1985

All Atari computers, including PC compatibles and the Portfolio

Atari consoles

  • Atari 2600 (Video Computer System)

    1977–1991

    Atari, Inc.'s cartridge console of 1977: a 6507 processor, 128 bytes of RAM and the TIA video chip, dropped in the United States at the end of 1991

  • Atari 5200 SuperSystem

    1982–1984

    Atari, Inc.'s 1982 console built on the 400/800 chipset, with analog keypad controllers and 69 games, out of production by early 1984

  • Atari 7800 ProSystem

    1986–1991

    Designed by General Computer Corporation, announced by Atari, Inc. in May 1984 and sold by Atari Corporation from 1986, with 2600 compatibility built in

  • Atari Jaguar

    1993–1995

    Atari Corporation's cartridge console with Tom and Jerry chips by Flare II, sold as 64-bit from November 1993, with production orders stopped in mid-1995

All Atari consoles, from Home Pong to the Lynx

Classic Atari games

From Combat in 1977 to Alien vs. Predator in 1994: the Atari home games that mattered, with dates, programmers and what each one led to

Atari arcade games

The main Atari coin-op cabinets from Pong in 1972 to Hard Drivin' in 1989, with their display technology and what each one introduced

A history of Atari's arcade division

Technical documentation

Chip by chip and manual by manual, the documents that explain how Atari machines work, from the 1979 Stella guide to the Jaguar reference

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