The Atari 2600 launched in North America in late 1977, Europe in 1978, France in 1982, Brazil in September 1983, and Japan as Atari 2800 in October 1983. It remained in production until 1992.

It uses an 8-bit MOS Technology 6507 microprocessor running at 1.19 MHz, a cost-reduced version of the 6502 with fewer address pins, limiting addressable memory to 4 KB without bank switching.

Bank switching allowed games like Asteroids to exceed the 4 KB limit by swapping ROM segments into the limited address space, enabling larger 8 KB or more cartridges for advanced visuals and gameplay.

The introductory price was US$189.95 in 1977, equivalent to about $1,010 in 2025 dollars, bundled with joysticks, paddles, and Combat cartridge.

Poor Atari decisions like flawed Pac-Man and rushed E.T. ports, plus third-party shovelware glut, oversaturated the market, leading to the 1983 North American crash and ending Atari's dominance.

Programmers synchronized code with the CRT electron gun, performing game logic during non-visible scan times to maximize the lack of framebuffer, enabling complex effects within hardware limits.