Why 2600?

[CocoCreekFisherman]

I tried to research this trivial matter.

Why for the Queen's sake did Atari name the console with the numerical label of 2600?? What was the significance? Or was it just totally random?

2600+2600=Atari 5200+2600=Atari 7800

It could have been Atari 1700 yes? Did they pass the hat around and everyone back then submitted a number and then it was drawn randomly and voted upon?

"all in favor for 1700 say aye" "all against say nay"

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Dunno. its probably in the atari inc. business is fun' book.

 

[CocoCreekFisherman]

Dunno. its probably in the atari inc. business is fun' book.

^ Funny I actually cracked a smile..

 

[WizardStan]

Part number CX2600. It was just an arbitrary number (probably not totally arbitrary, likely based on some engineering numbering scheme) just like any other part number. It wasn't originally the 2600 though, it was first released as the Video Computer System. When they came out with the next revision (part number cx5200) someone in marketing decided the increasing numbers made it sound cooler than any name they could give it, so they took the part number and called it the Atari 5200, and renamed the VCS to be Atari 2600. The 7800 just carried on tradition at that point.

Imagine the barcode for "New Coke" had been something simple or clever, like an even 20000, and instead of marketing it as "New Coke" it was marketed as "Cola 20K". Arbitrary number that just happened to sound cool at the time.

 

[2bit]

Plus it sounds like it belongs in slogans like " the computer age is here , now with the ultra mega powerful part number CX2600 " .

 

[skeezix]

Internally the machine was named Stella (Atari used to name all their chips after girls they thought were cute.. Colleen, Pam, Cindy, etc.) I used to know a lot more details, but I forget.. but I Was working on a Lynx emu a billion years ago and had all sorts of info. the memory, its a sieve Can you imagine.. with console lifespans usually being say 5-7 years, the VCS run was like.. 21 years or something sick like that

The 2600 was the model# in the parts catalogue, anyway; they later gave it the more attractive name VCS. I think they had considered Home Arcade Machine or Personal Arcade Machine, but HAM and PAM didn't come out right for marketing.

One legend is Stella was one of the guys bikes (brand? pet name? I forget), however

Another legend was .. originally the machine was meant to be 256b of RAM, plus a few b thrown in for a offboard shift register .. = 260b == 2600, but I think that was BS. Always had 128b I think.

Off to lunch, thats all I remember right now

jeff

(I worked as a shithead kid at a local computer store; I was their Atari Salesman; got a bunch of crazy obscure Atari junk at home from then. I've got some slides clipped out of the Battlezone TV commercial film, somewhere.. really shoudl frame that. Got some CPU die sheets from the 68000's they got from Motorola for the ST.... too bad I missed the silver  coat days, that'd be a real winner to have )

 

[Fzero]

Wasn't it the other way around... first named the VCS then renamed to the 2600? That's what I read.

Didn't know about the reason for this name though either, nice to know this little tidbit.

I did know of the Stella name, hence the emu called that which is how I knew that.

Do you know that the part was? the part with the model number 2600?

 

[skeezix]

Old memories; the 2600 was part numbner something like #XX2600A or something .. ah, it was CX2600.

I think it was originally Video Console X or something.. so Console X 2600... -> CX2600.

jeff

 

[levi]

Wiki states that one of their competitors (should look it up, but meah) earlier launched the Video Entertainment System, or VES. Presumably Atari, cursing themselves for not coming up with such a natty name themselves, copied it and tweaked it, hence the VCS (where C stands for 'computer' iirc, though it smells of a retronym to me)