How Atari changed the world

[robebla]

I am doing research on how the Atari game system changed the world. Please tell me how it changed your life or the world.

[IHATETHEBEARS]

It ushered in a brief era of world peace.

 

It also made my childhood much more fun.

[fiddlepaddle]

It was one of many things representing a wonderful world of new possibilities that inspired me to learn more about computers and the human mind.

[Torr]

It was to me the TV Show where I controlled the outcome, and I didn't just decide the outcome like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book, I had to be good enough to get the outcome I wanted.

 

Instead of watching Inspector Gadget foul up, I could instead do things right

Instead of watching Spider-Man always save the day, there was a chance the bad guys could win.

[Rybags]

It was probably the first colour videogame system I ever saw.

First system I ever saw with arcade game conversions (ignoring the countless Pong clones of the 70s).

In fact, I probably saw quite a few arcade games first on the 2600 before playing the real thing.

 

It was the 2600 and System 80 (a TRS80 clone) that got my interest going in computers. Realised early on that computers could be more than boring number-crunchers and that computer based entertainment would become a huge industry.

[PFL]

Atari didn't change my world in the early days. By the time I was interested in computers and games there were already plenty of other systems out and about and, in fact, I would say it was the Vic 20 that changed my world back then. However, about 10 or so years ago Atari (more pertinently, the 2600) did change my gaming world. Being jaded by what I saw as the impending future of video gaming and the state of the PC hardware arms race I had pretty much given up on gaming. Then I 'discovered' the 2600 and the community around it that was still alive and well. The maturity that prevails in these forums and the sheer quality and quantity of new software and hardware has reinvigorated my gaming world. There really is no other 'games scene' that has the world wide appeal and age gap spanning power and general approachability of the lowly 2600*...

 

 

*IMHO

[bellview17]

From my 7 year old eyes is what I see the world as every time I play an Atari game...and it makes me fell that way

each time......

Edited May 3, 2014 by bellview17

[Gary from OPA]

Atari would had changed the world for me, but sadly my dad hooked it up to B&W TV...

[atarian63]

Led to my interest in electronics and my degree in EE, also became an Atari dealer back in the day and still play and collect, Met my wife through an Atari user group. Pretty big impact for me! Atari also seems to be the dividing line in my age group for those really interest in electronics and computers vs those who have no clue about it.

Edited May 5, 2014 by atarian63

[Mr SQL]

Atari would had changed the world for me, but sadly my dad hooked it up to B&W TV...

Not such a bad thing, I had a B&W TV initially as well and recently (just the other week) obtained a B&W TV to enjoy the B&W VCS games; no small feat - these are harder and harder to find!

 

When I first saw the Atari in the 70's I was mesmerised by the awesome games far and above anything we could do with the computers of the timeframe; nothing could touch the TIA.

 

I remember playing adventure games via Teletype (which was awesome) and even Lunar lander; monochrome games via VDT or CRT weren't much beyond this back then.

 

By the 80's other companies had copied the design, adding fantastic accelerator chips for graphics and sound