Atari introduced the Atari 2600, originally called the Atari Video Computer System, in 1977.
The console was developed for Atari by a team led by Jay Miner and others at Atari’s Grass Valley research operation. It used a microprocessor and interchangeable ROM cartridges, allowing one console to play many different games. That cartridge model helped distinguish it from earlier systems with games built into the hardware.
The VCS launched in 1977 and was later renamed the Atari 2600 in 1982. It was not the first home video-game console: Magnavox’s Odyssey had arrived in 1972, and Fairchild’s Channel F introduced cartridge-based home games in 1976. Atari’s achievement was making cartridge-console gaming broadly popular and commercially successful.
Atari’s fortunes later suffered during the video-game crash of 1983, worsened by overproduction and poorly received releases such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Even so, the 2600 remains a foundational home-gaming system.