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◈ALB Atlas

Atari 800 Dead

Atari 800
KindMachine
Introduced1979
Discontinued1983
StatusDead
ManufacturerAtari
ClassHome computer
PlatformMOS 6502 + custom chips
Sourcebitsavers.org ↗

The best graphics of any 1979 home computer — custom ANTIC/GTIA silicon from the team that would influence the Amiga. A game machine pretending to be a computer, gloriously.

Created by Atari, Inc.

Jay Miner's team designed the 400/800 (1979) around custom ANTIC and GTIA chips — display-list graphics, 256 colors, hardware sprites — years ahead of the 6502 inside. The Star Raiders cartridge alone sold systems.

The architecture was so good Miner left to design its successor — which became the Amiga. The Atari 8-bit line ran to 1992.

Sources

  1. bitsavers.org/pdf/atari/
  2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_8-bit_computers