When was atari 7800 released

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Icons of Beige - Postcard Set. Icons of Beige - Poster Prints. Games Consoles - Trump Cards. Home Computer - Trump Cards. Many of the console's planned features, such as a high score saving cartridge, were never released.

Because the system was all ready to go back in , most of the launch titles were arcade titles from several years prior. The system was very capable in visuals as seen in games like the bundled Pole Position II. But its sound system lacked: the system designers created a cheap sound chip that could be included in cartridges, but to keep costs low, Atari limited the sound chip in very few titles.

With Nintendo locking up third-parties with its two-year exclusivity agreement, Atari also had a hard time convincing third-party companies to produce games for its console — as a result, the company went after the rights to popular games that were available only for computers. Its delayed release, its cancelled peripherals, and a lack of financial backing from the company's new owners all combined to ensure that Atari would never see any success beyond being a sexier way of playing Atari titles.

One of the 's best arcade conversions was this crazy action title where food was the weapon. This game gave birth to the instant replay: watch the close plays again! Previous game consoles sometimes had a difficult time replicating the arcade experience in home versions of popular arcade games. In particular, home versions of arcade games sometimes had problems with flickering and slow down when more than a few moving objects appeared on the screen at once. GCC, which had a background in creating arcade games, designed their new system with a graphical architecture similar to arcade machines of the time.

The featured the ability to move around a tremendous amount of objects to that far exceeded previous consoles. In response to the criticisms of the Atari , the Atari could play almost all Atari games out of the box, without the need for an adapter. In addition, it featured a return to a digital controller.

To address the concerns of parents that home computers were a better investment than consoles, the system was designed to be upgraded to a full-fledged home computer. A keyboard was developed, and the keyboard had an expansion port which was the SIO port from Atari's 8-bit computer line, though the could not run Atari computer programs that allowed for the addition of peripherals such as disk drives and printers.

To further enhance the gaming experience, GCC had also designed a "high score cartridge", a battery-backed RAM cartridge designed for storing game scores. On the side of the was an expansion port, reportedly for a planned connection with a laserdisc player.

The Atari remained officially active in the United States between and and in Europe between and On January 1, , Atari Corp. Despite trailing the Nintendo Entertainment System in terms of number of units sold, the was a profitable enterprise for Atari Corp. Profits were strong owing to low investment in game development and marketing. Nonetheless, the failed to help Atari regain its dominance in the videogame industry.