Atari 2800

Atari 2800
Manufacturer	Atari
Type	Console
Release Date	October 1983 (JP)
Discontinued
Media	Cartridge
Save Format	None
Input Options	2 Atari 2600 Joysticks
Special Features	Cartridge Input Power Switch Black/White Switch Left Difficulty Switch Right Difficulty Switch Game Select Switch Reset Switch RF Output Power Output
Units Sold	30 million
Top Selling Game	Pac-Man (7 million)
Variants	Atari 2600 Atari 2600 4 Switch Atari 2600 Darth Vader Model Coleco Gemini Atari 2600 Junior
Competitor(s)	Magnavox Odyssey 2 Intellivision Emerson Arcadia 2001 ColecoVision Vectrex
Predecessor	None
Successor	Atari 5200

The Atari 2800 is the Japanese version of the Atari 2600, released in October 1983. It was the first release of a 2600 designed specifically for the Japanese market, though companies like Epoch distributing the 2600 in Japan previously. The 2800 was released a short time after Nintendo's Famicom (which became the dominant console in Japan), and it did not gain a significant share of the market.

Design

Designed by Atari engineer Joe Tilly, the Atari 2800 had four controller ports instead of the standard two on the Atari 2600. The controllers are an all-in one design using a combination of an 8-direction digital joystick and a 270-degree, designed by John Amber.

The 2800's case design departed from the standard 2600 format, using a wedge shape with non-protruding switches.

Around 30 specially branded games were released for the 2800. Their boxes are in Japanese and have a silver/red color scheme similar to the packaging of Atari's 2600 branded games of the time. The cartridges themselves had identical labels as their 2600 branded counterparts.

Legacy

• Sears liked the design of the Atari 2800 so much, they opted to sell a version under their Tele-Games label. It was released in the US in 1983 as the Sears Video Arcade II, and was packaged with 2 controllers and Space Invaders.
• The Atari 2800's case style was used as the basis for the Atari 7800's case style by Barney Huang.

Gallery

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  Atari 2800

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  Atari 2800 Box

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  Atari 2800 Joystick

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See also

• List of Atari 2600 games
• List of Atari 2600 peripherals