The Atari 400 computer was released in the late 70's. 1979 to be exact. This was your average 70's computer. Commodore used this design later on for some of their comptuers. This computer (along with some of it's counterparts) has 8-bit graphics.The Atari 400 helped the computer line considerably, though they are not in existance in NA today.
They actually stand for the amount of memory that the computer itself holds. The Atari 400 held 4 kilobytes of RAM and the Atari 800 held 8 kilobytes of RAM. The Atari 800 also possesed 8-bit computer graphics.
The Atari 1200 XL was the first in the line of XL Atari Computers. Though this computer only had 64 bits of RAM. Yeah, it kind of sucked. I really don't think it did, but it sold poorly in the early 80's. It had a unique look to it .A hybrid mix between the 400 and 800. The only reason no one bought was because it basically functioned like an 800.
The Atari 600 XL was released in 1983. It had all of the similar functions of the 1200 XL, only it had a bit of a bigger modem. Other models that came after this were the Atari 800 XL, and the Atari 1400 XL. They too, basically did the same thing as this personal computer.
Atari 65 XE
The Atari 65 XE was released in 1985. The original name for this Computer was going to be the 900 XLF because it was more powerfull than the 800 XL. The Atari was called the Atari 65 XE because XE stood for XL Extended. XL is not an abbreviation for anything.
Atari 130 XE
The Atari 130 XE was basically a replacement for the 65 XE, and also the sequal. It was a little bit a head of it's time for being released in 1985. Wait, no, it didn't. It had 128 Kilobytes of memory, but let's not forget the Apple 128K. This home computer led Atari to one of it's major 80's game consoles.
Atari XE Gaming System
The Atari XE gaming system is my favorite Atari game console. Being released in the mid 80's, it had many golden hits made for it. Some examples are Dig Dug and Donkey Kong. Surprsingly enough, I found the gameplay of those two games to be more fun on an Atari XE than a Nintendo Entertainment System. To keep up with it's time, it mimicked the N.E.S. with it's own gun peripheral. Though it looked and handled better than the N.E.S. Zapper ever did. This was one of Atari's last 8-bit graphiced products. In 1992, the line was dropped.
The Atari 2600 was released in 1977. It was Atari first game consoles. Key word: Game Console. Atari may have created 8-bit computers, but this was their first game console. The only reason the Atari XE game system was in the Atari Computers Section was because it was a sequal to the 65 XE. Now then, the Atari 2600 costed $199 in 1977. It soon became the most famous Christmas Gift of the mid 70's. The most famous game for the Atari 2600 was Pac Man.
The Atari 5200 "Super System" was released in 1982. It was the hit sequel to the Atari 2600. This game console had an expanded library of video games to play, making much more fun to use. The infamous joystick (shown above) also came with it. Ironically enough, the joysticks are what caused the Atari 5200 to be critisized, for they had horrible lag.
The Atari 7800 was released in 1984. It brought in more popularity than the Atari 7800 did. The controllers were basically improved joysticks of the 5200. Not only that, but it was compatible with Atari 2600 VCS video games.
Atari Flashback
The Atari Flashback was released around 2004. I remeber these. The Atari Flashback had remastered versions of the Atari 7800 joysticks, along with a good ten to twelve at least Atari 2600 video games built into them. Yeah, they were legal emulators.
Atari Flashback II
I remember buying one of these back in 2005 with my x-mas money. I was so excited. The box looks very similar to the original. The Atari Flashback II looked more like the Atari VCS. It had more video games built into it than the Atari Flashback I did. Thus ended the production of Atari game consoles.
