Atari 2600

The Atari 2600, originally branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released on September 11, 1977, it is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on ROM cartridges (a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976). The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge: initially Combat and later Pac-Man. Production of the Atari 2600 ended on January 1, 1992, with an estimated 30 million units sold over its lifetime.