The Atari VCS (Video Computer System) is a video game console released in October 1977. It is credited with popularising the use of microprocessor-based hardware with separate cartridges containing the game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in.

The VCS soon gained massive popularity as people realised it could play much more varied games than just variants of Pong, the game ‘Adventure’ changed gaming forever, as it unlocked a game with a virtual world larger than a single screen.

A conversion of the arcade hit Space Invaders raised the console and Atari to ever greater heights in the early 1980s, and despite a huge crash for the videogame market in the US, and Atari being sold on to several new owners, the console would have a very long manufactured life of around 14 ½ years. Some very prominent software companies such as Activision grew out of the VCS.

During its production there were a number of modifications to the design of the VCS. The initial production of the console was made in Sunnyvale during 1977, which used a thick polystyrene plastic for the casing to give the impression of weight from what was mostly an empty shell inside. In 1979 production of the unit was moved to Hong Kong, where a thinner plastic was used for the casing, reducing the weight of the console. These two versions are commonly referred to as "Heavy Sixers" and "Light Sixers" respectively, representing the six front switches. In 1980, the VCS was given a minor revision in which the left and right difficulty switches were moved to the back of the console, leaving four switches on the front. Other than this, these four-switch consoles looked nearly identical to the earlier six-switch models. 

In 1982, another version of the four-switch console was released without woodgrain. They were nicknamed "Darth Vader" consoles due to their all-black appearance. These were also the first consoles to be officially called "Atari 2600".

This example in our collection is a "heavy sixer" with the serial number 79774. It is in excellent condition, and comes with its box, joystick and paddle controllers, and power supply.

Manufacturer: Atari
Date: October 1977

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH66273. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.