Second VideoGame Generation Recap - Atari 2600 - Adam Koralik 

Whenever I think of the 2600, I always think about the story with your mother. After hearing the news, I figured I'd come back and listen to the story again. I'm sorry for your loss Adam. May she rest in peace.

"The name was 2600...terrible name!" Actually, the original name was "Atari VCS Video Computer System." They didn't incorporate the model number as the name until the Atari 5200 Super System was in the works. To add confusion, they dropped "VCS" at -the same time- *[some point]*. :(

My uncle gave me my cousins old 2600 when my cousin got the master system. It was my first system. Then when I got my nes in 1990 for Christmas my uncle took back the 2600. I’m so mad. I wish I still had it. Adam thanks for the heart. We are both the same age and we both got hand me down 2600s as our first consoles. Like you the 2600 started my love for video games.

My brother had a 2600 back in 1983 or 1984. My mom likes to tell the story of how I taught myself how to hook the system up to the TV and play it whenever I felt like. I don't remember that, but I do remember playing Donkey Kong on it all the time. I remember getting an Atari 7800 for my 10th birthday in 1991. I used to raid the bargain bins at Child World for Atari 2600 games and got loads of games for 2 bucks a pop or less. I had so much fun playing them.

The 6 switch 2600 was my first console back in 1977 i loved it, gonna buy one again cant wait

The Tele-Games was made by Atari, so they could sell the 2600 in Sears stores.

I am so happy. I first listened to these videos six years ago and loved them. A few months ago I tried to find them again but couldn’t. Now I’ve accidentally stumbled upon them again. Really made my day. :)

back in the day not everyone had multiple TVs, so having an old black and white TV to let the kids game on makes sense.

My favorites - Adventure, Venture, Congo Bongo, Zaxxon, Pack-Man, E.T. (Yes, I liked that game even though you got stuck in walls a lot), I can't recall the name, but there was a game where you flew a UFO looking ship and had to rescue people on a planet with some sort of anti-grav lift beam (or something). Super fun game. River Raid, Kaboom!, Pitfall, H.E.R.O., Joust (never owned this one, but I think I remember playing it on Atari, might have been NES though), oh, and House (maybe Haunted House). So many good games on that console.

In 20 years, I will recap your recap videos. I'll have people watch me watch and discuss your recaps lol

"Quality control... None of that existed." Heh, some things seem to have reverted back to what they were in the 2600 days.

An example of a game that used two controllers, buttons, and joysticks was raiders of the lost ark

The crazy part is, for those of us who like to tinker, is te fact that you can install a cartridge slot on the Atari Flashback consoles. There is also and FPGA based Atari scene, that's how popular this console is even to this day. I just saw a 2600 for the very first time in person yesterday. I'm 27yrs old...

To be fair the original name of the console was the Atari Video Computer System or VCS for short. 2600 was the product number that retroactively became the name when they released the "Darth Vader" model and wanted a way to differentiate it from the newer 5200 while making the new system sound more powerful. Not that "Video Computer System" is an inspired name or anything either, but I guess if "Nintendo Entertainment System" was good enough then so is that. And yes, Sears just licensed the console and most of Atari's games for release as their own version. Given how major Sears was as a retailer back then, Atari was happy to oblige. It wasn't a knock-off clone like the Coleco Gemini. There's even a heavy-sixer model of it as well as a Video Arcade II which you showed. That one was interestingly a re-branding of the Atari 2800 which was just a 2600 that was sold in Japan. My story is similar to yours. I was born after the Atari 2600 had its day and my parents had a 2600 so it was literally with me since the day I was born until I finally got a NES for my fifth birthday though the 2600 still got some love and it's always been important to me.

I love these videos were you talk about you experiences adam. keep up the great work, you efforts are going to great use with teaching me about these awesome consoles

I've been waiting for this series to continue :D

The Atari was my first console my mom bought one at a garage sale and I played the hell out of it. It holds a special place in my heart.

Thank you for your work in these videos, Adam. Cumprimentos de Portugal.

Ah memories, November 1981 I was 6 years old I came home from school and there is this wierd box hooked up to the TV and my dad and my brother are playing "Combat" and it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. I didn't know you could play video games at home, I had only ever seen arcade games. It was a woodgrain sixer like yours and we had the TV type set to black and white because the only TV we had was a black and white 19" magnavox. Also your thing about needing more switches. Parts of the Indiana Jone required the second joystick which was a pain. Also there was a game by activision called "Space Shuttle" which used the difficulty switches for landing gear and cargo bay doors.

I still own a 2600 that is stamped on the bottom side for promotional use only. A four switch model made in Sunnyvale, CA. My dad got it as a give away when he purchased a new Ford Mustang in CA back in 1980. And the damn console is still kicking to this day:-)

Hi Adam. Love the channel & the content. I was born in March 1975 and lived through all the gen video game consoles. My first video game console was Colecovision. The cool thing was you could get an adapter to play all Atari 2600 & 5200 games.

Adam, I have been watching your videos for several years now. Just wanted to drop a note to thank you for being so articulate & real. You are open-minded and definitely do your homework for every single one of your videos. Kudos!

"What kind of truck is that?" "Look's like a ford, maybe a chevy." That name generalizations happen with everything.

You're so right about the power switch. When I bought my 2600 at a flea market, I noticed no video. I tried a switchbox and a direct RCA to coaxial plug to see if the video cable wasn't working. Just to be sure, I bought a different AC adapter and now the system works. Most of my time wouldn't have been wasted if there was some light to indicate it was on. This was an old console so I'll let it slide.

a game with two controllers? indina jones

Man, I love your console generation series... That's what brought me to your chanel. I'm looking forward to future 2nd gen episodes

Awesome video Adam! I love playing my Atari 2600 from time to time. It's nice for a quick gaming session without going through drawn out storylines and whatnot from modern games.

On the topic of Halo 2600, I think you omitted an important detail. It was programmed by Ed Fries, the former vice president of game publishing at Microsoft during much of the Xbox's lifecycle, who was involved in Microsoft's acquisition of Halo developers Bungie Studios. It wasn't a creation of Atari Age. :)

i've been getting into the 2600 recently, and i've found myself playing it a ton.1

thanks for doing this series Adam! I really love these Recap videos. Also I look forward to you returning to Missouri Game Con, you need to get a panel or something next year!

I heard Custers Revenge is the biggest fan favourite of the Atari 2600

I had a 2600. My father bought for me in 1981 JCPenny for $200. It lasted until 1987 when one day I plugged it in and tried to started and ir never did. By now the Nintendo classic was out and once again my father bought me one but my heart always go back to the 2600.

Coleco actually made their own port of Donkey Kong to be the superior one to increase sales of their own console, and it worked.

I can still remember when we went too Sears an picked it up had pacman ..an we also got hard revenge , asteroids and M. command. I also remember my thumb hurting when I woke up haha...this was Epic Adam really appreciate your time and effort !

Interesting fact about Space Invaders (I'm sure most gamers know this already though): The speed got faster when there were fewer enemies on screen and that wasn't done as a "difficulty" thing. It was because having too many enemies on screen was slowing down the system...so as more enemies were killed, it freed up processing power, making them move faster

Absolutely my first video game console. Probably got it either for Christmas 1980 or 1981. Yes I am old. Loved it, had the paddles and loved playing 4 player Warlords with them. I wished I knew better and kept all of my old consoles and games (no idea where they would be stored). The games lived on in my Coleco VIsion with the expansion. I just can't go back and pick up the console again. I do have the 80 game Atari Anthology disc for the OG Xbox and almost want to get the newly released Atari Flashback Classics for the Xbox One. 50 games on each disc and $20 retail price.

In the late 70s Sears was one of the largest dealers for electronics but they wouldn't allow anything besides TVs to be sold there that wasn't branded as a Sears product so a lot of companies would work out deals with Sears to make models of their stuff like VCRs and record players that just had the Sears name slapped on them so they could be sold in the Sears store. That is where the Sears Tele-Game comes from.

The Sears Tele-Games model was a straight OEM agreement. Atari manufactured the consoles with Sears branding. Sears still does this to this day with their Kenmore appliances. Fun fact: sears also signed a similar OEM agreement with Mattel Electronics and released the Intellivision as the Tele-Games Super Video Arcade. Instead of a simple rebranding, they opted for a custom design.

Good stuff! I love my 2600 :) Pitfall / River Raid rocked.

I can still remember when we went too Sears an picked it up had pacman ..an we also got hard revenge , asteroids and M. command. I also remember my thumb hurting when I woke up haha...this was Epic Adam really appreciate your time and effort

The original name was the Atari VCS. It was later changed to 2600

Great video. I'm looking forward to the other recaps, too. The Odyssey 2 is very easy to composite mod. I have two heavy sixers. One is the Atari version and the other is the Sears version. Space Shuttle is an example of the a game that got creative with controls. The game used the console switches for certain functions. The 2600 was my first console and I got it for Christmas. I knew I was getting it because my mom just hid it under their bed. That's when I figured out the truth about the big SC guy, too.

Being born in 73 this was my console as a little kid when the NES was my console in my teen years. And I got to say looking back I loved playing my Atari, I was so into video games, I just connected with them from the moment I first saw them. So I was so excited to get my 2600 for Christmas in either 79 / 80 (can't remember which year it was). Those early years in the 80s lots of my memories are of me playing my games. I loved Adventure, Venture, Superman, Indiana Jones, Asteroids, Laser Blast, Breakout, Night Driver, Flag Capture, Surround, Dodge "Em, Pitfall, Pac-Man, Missile Command, Demon Attack, Moon Patrol, Empire Strikes Back, Dragon Fire, Combat & Air Sea Battle. When the crash happened in 83 I was still playing all the games I had at the time but it was during that time I got into the early home computer games like King's Quest. But I got to be honest, once the NES came out it was so much more advanced than the 2600 that I hardly ever went back to play it. I put it away and have only got it out a few times over the years just to play it for nostalgia reasons. So while I have nothing but fond memories and I appreciate that era I grew up in I feel it's just too old and outdated and the games are just not as fun as games on the NES that ever really make me want to enjoy those games much anymore. I can play my NES for hours still as those games hold up, these games hold up for what they are but they're not much in comparison. If I do play Asteroids the sounds of the game remind me of the house being really quiet except for me playing that game and maybe my parents watching Hill Street Blues or some other show of that time period. Lol

I just found out my mom had one in the Philippines when she was a kid I had no idea my parents enjoyed video games at one point

love when you tell us about your childhood, i just love to get some snack and watch it xD

Breakout wasn't co-created by Steve Jobs it was by Steve Wazniak (spelling?) who created the hardware for arcades and eventually wrote it for BASIC on the Apple II. Anyways it was fun hearing that story about getting the 2600 from your mom and her saying "they're all the same thing". I always chuckle when I hear that.

I have an 2600 4 switch wood grain. Had it since brand new with box, it has seen better days. Played combat, pac-man and spider fighter all the time. Loved it and the controllers still work.

Custard's Revenge is fucking art...

Hey Adam. Just found your channel via Game Society. I love retro consoles & games, so I'm sure there'll be a lot of stuff I'm interested in here. The 2600 was my first console too, so I have a lot of nostalgia for it. I got the Jr. version in I think Christmas '89. So I would have been 8. I remember you could still buy games for it at the time but they were super cheap, and usually the really shitty ones. There were also Atari magazines that would have a crappy game included. I got most of my (good) games from a high school kid who had a part-time job working for my dad and didn't want them any more. I still have the console and quite a few games, and they still worked last time I checked. Games I have include Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Frogger, Centipede, Galaxian, Pitfall, Kung-Fu Master, Jawbreaker (Pac-Man rip-off I quite liked), River Raid (one of my favorites), Dig-Dug, Moon Patrol, Missile Command, Cosmic Ark... lots of stuff I'm probably forgetting. It's all in my parents' attic at the moment because I don't have space. Good times though.

I will watch later, I've been looking forward to this, but I've been cleaning, testing and tearing down controllers for a week, I'm burned out, gave you a thumbs up cause I know it's a good video.

The Atari 2600 was my dad’s first system, mine was the Sega Genesis. I feel ya whenever you said you’ll always be partial towards this console because I feel the same way with Genesis.

Fond memories indeed. I had the Gemini system, I believe it got its name because it came with controllers that had both a joystick and a paddle in one.

IIRC, Sears Telegames were made by Atari, their older pong console was also sold through Sears as a Telegames machine.The Atari VCS/2600 was only really designed to do pong/breakout like games, the fact that games like Pitfall or Donkey Kong work on the system at all is up to the amazing skills of the programmers who had to chase the TV raster to draw actual platformer games.

I had a six switch telegames console that I got for free because it looked like it had been sitting in about 2 inches of water for a while. Obvious water mark on the front of the console and everything inside including the main circuit board was corroded up to that point, but it still worked perfectly.

Good job, I dig this video!

+AdamKoralik It is so cool you just did Dan and Rabi's podcast , can't wait to hear it what a small world dude

yup, this was the first console i ever played on too.. not including my ZX spectrum, which was obviously a computer.. my earliest console memory is playing centipede on the 2600 and absolutely loving it..

I once saw one of these in a junk dumpster, that was brought to this house suburbs once in every couple years, so that people could throw their useless trash into that. I have a fainth memory, that there was two controllers, all of the cables, the machine itself, plenty of games, all in the original package. Propably many think, that it's not a big deal, but I happen to live in scandinavia, where these ancient consoles are more rare than megalodon.

Some companies used to make special versions of products for Sears. Sears was a major retailer in the 70s and part of the 80s. The Sears unit is made by Atari for Sears. Kenner used to make special Star Wars toys exclusively for Sears. It was not unusual at the time. ...and the 2600 is being sold for more than Nintendo or Sega hardware - even original, no mods. It's like $80 for one. $100 for one with AV output. That's what I see at local retro stores. Favorite games (no special order): Empire Strikes Back Berserk Battlezone Earth Dies Screaming Mouse Trap Barnstorming Trick Shot Flag Capture Blackjack Demon Attack Code Breaker Maze Craze Adventure Night Driver Surround is like the Tron light cycle game. You create a wall as you move and you try to get the other player to crash into the wall.

Ayyyy, finally something worth while to watch today!

A composite modded 2600 is one of the best retro purchases I've ever made.

Happy belated birthday Adam. Hope you had fun like I did on mine ;)

It was until the release of the 5200 that they rebranded it the 2600. Before that it was just known as the Atari or Atari VCS (Video Computer System). My parents bought our first 2600 back in '81 when I was only 10 years old.

Great video AdamKoralik!

My Family and our History of Gaming: My Parents: The Atari 2600 My Older Sister: Sega Genesis and Sony PlayStation Me: GameCube, PS2, and Xbox My Cousin: PS2, Xbox 360, and Xbox One My Younger Sister: PS2 Slim and Xbox 360 My Little Brother: Xbox 360, Wii U, and Xbox One

talking about breakout, that reminded me of playing it on my ipod classic years back

The real name of the console was Atari VCS (Video computer system). The "2600" was only added after the 5200 came out. And at the time it was referred to as "An Atari" by pretty much everyone.. "Vader" is a fan nickname that became popular after they started cheaping out on the wood paneling. Sears at the time liked to rebrand products with their own labeling, and the first big success Atari had with this console was to get a giant order from Sears, on the condition that they made a custom Sears version of the console and its games.

Atari 2600 was my first console I owned back in 1989 it's the junior model the only killer app for me on that console is Centipede. man to this day it's still fun to play. I still have it. and really I have to play the 2600 version of centipede. it's awesome.

just picked up a new 2600 today since mine was on the fritz and died. :( love this little console. :)

Great video Adam!

Sega did not own the license for the console version of Frogger. Parker Brothers licensed the game for the Atari vcs/2600. Raiders of the Lost Ark used a second controller to play the game. Omega Race had an added controller that you would slide over the Atari 2600 Joystick, to allow for an additional fire button, along with the VCS controllers input for ship thrust.

Sears had a "Telegames" product line which extended through three VCS models and even Intellivision (Super Video Arcade). You could buy them through the Sears catalog (the 1978 Sears Wishbook was LEGENDARY), and at the stores. Parents trusted Sears-branded products, even though Sears wasn't the OEM. They did it with home appliances as well. I had a Telegames VCS and a Super Video Arcade. The Super Video Arcade (Intellivision) had detachable controllers. My originals were destroyed through honest use, but I bought replacements when I got into retrogaming.

What a console.

Happy late birthday Adam

If I remember correctly, I bought Rampage for the Atari 2600 in 1987/1988. They just kept putting games out for it. Lots of fond memories.

cool video tech talk adam

Video games were never a fad for me young lad. People like myself are the reason why video games didn't become a fad infact. Something changed in me the first time I saw a Pong stand-up cabinet.

adam i think Microsoft has the atari 2600. n there studios because the maker of the original xbox was inspired by his atari 2600 growing up

I saw on Wikipedia that the Sears Telegames was a partnership with Atari in which they would rebrand the console and even some games. The games under the Telegames brand where developed by Atari

Lol. I agree. I always wondered why it was 2600. I remember getting Burgertime,pitfall and ms pac man. My first 1 ever was the Vader black. I recently found a heavy 6er at a yard sale with box for 20.00.

The 2600 was my first console also but I was really young and it was actually the vcs before it was the 2600. I didn't really get into gaming until I got my sega master system. But I still love my 2600 and play it at least a couple times a month.

To comment on your pet peeve, my mom calls everything to this very day Nintendo. My nephew has the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. She always calls it Nintendo. It was the first console we had in my family and it's the only company I've ever bought for as far as video games go.

Cool vid. I wouldn't mind a 1 gen recap where you talk about pong and it's influence

My father had a Atari 2600 that he loved to play with and now I have one (not the same one)

Ahhh Adam's first love!

There is LOTS of worthwhile games on the 2600. Definitely worth checking out. Being a poor boy and having very limited funds by mowing, collecting aluminum, returning returnable pop bottles, and maybe getting some apples from apple trees in our back yard and selling them id take my money to a local fleamarket and pick up 2600 games for around .50 cents a piece. It was when nes was big and people where getting rid of there 2600 games. Great time to score for a poor boy.😊

I still have my 2600 and there is a retro store that sells the carts for 3 for a dollar

"Not expensive". Meanwhile in New Zealand, I'm watching a local auction for a darth vader model at $250...

WHAT an iconic console !

I have the Vader sitting on top of the Atari game center full of games! I play it alot. Still a great system

I ordered a package with 12 consoles inside (2x Mgega Drive, 2x Mega Drive 2, 2x Master System 2, 5x Atari 2600 Junior, 1x Playstation 2 Super Slim, for all together 140€ from Ebay. Description says unsure if the consoles are working because he had no power suppliers for testing them. I tested all 5 Atari 2600s yesterday and all work. Some I needed to switch on and off many many times and some I needed to put the antenna cable in and out like 30 times until getting a picture, but after that they all start instantly now and work fine. After getting a culture shock from the graphics and sound now I really enjoy it, playing Missile Command over and over, it's the only game I have just now. But yes, it's an authentic old-school arcade experience, and also here in Germany this consoles are dirt cheap like nobody wants them. Same with the games. I even can just plug the antenna cable into my modern TV and it works. Also I'm just using my old Mega Drive controller to play. I prefer a controller over a joystick either.

How the fck can this video get a thumbs down???? Superb video once again Adam with a superb console!! My amazing 2600 still works flawlessly from day one... what consoles work that reliably now???

Atari 2600 was my very first video game console. It was fun back in the day until I got Commodore 64

adam i love your channel i say that as a PC gamer and Nintendo fan

Etim has an RGB out modboard for the 2600 called 2600RGB. Great bit of kit.

I had the Gemeni growing up that came with Donkey Kong and Venture packed in and were great games in my collection. I thought I still had it at my parent house and it is no longer around...sigh

Collecting my first one tomorrow morning (a flashback). Most of the originals are a few years older than me (not the junior version), which is great because I am not 'young, young' anymore. I need something older than me floating about. 'Atari' to me means Atari ST - my mum would agree to that because it had a keyboard for educational purposes. No idea why I wanted it. I got a random urge for one during lockdown. The ST came with the same joystick though. I am hoping I still have it in my mum's loft.

Adventure is a graphical adaptation of the first text adventure, Colossal Cave Adventure

It not recognised in the UK... We had Spectrums, then the Master System, Megadrive, etc.Really interesting though...

Thanks. The wood panel is truly one of the best designed consoles. I didn't know there were so many versions of the 2600. God bless, Proverbs 31