Where did the name come from?

[Ezram]

Just wondered if anyone knows where the name Atari comes from also the numbe 2600?

 

Was there 2600 prototypes?

 

Thanks

 

Ezram

[joeybastard]

The word Atari comes from the Japenese board game "Go" I think. The 2600 number I have no idea. I think that's the frequency of those Cap'n Crunch whistles the phone phreaks used but I doubt that has anything to do with Atari.

[Ezram]

Thanks they probably just made the number up!

[+FujiSkunk]

Without getting too technical (mostly because I can't remember most of the details), 2600Hz was the tone frequency you could use to crack (or "phreak") old phone systems into giving you free long distance. This is why a popular hacker's magazine is called "2600".

 

Rumor has it that Bushnell and/or others in Atari were enamoured with the phone phreaking scene, and so named their console in dedication to it.

[joeybastard]

Without getting too technical (mostly because I can't remember most of the details), 2600Hz was the tone frequency you could use to crack (or "phreak") old phone systems into giving you free long distance.  This is why a popular hacker's magazine is called "2600".

 

Rumor has it that Bushnell and/or others in Atari were enamoured with the phone phreaking scene, and so named their console in dedication to it.

910040[/snapback]

 

Wow so I wasn't that far off in my guess?

[spacecadet]

Also don't forget that the model number back then really was not that important, because that was not the system's name. The name of the system was the Atari Video Computer System. CX-2600 was just the part number. (In fact, back then we all just called it "the Atari"; "Video Computer System" was really generic sounding so it was usually completely left off whenever anybody mentioned the system.)

 

I'm not refuting any particular theory, just pointing out that they probably didn't much care what they picked for the part # of the console at that point. They didn't start calling it the 2600 publicly until around the time the 5200 was released and they realized it was a quick and easy way of marketing the fact that the 5200 was "twice as powerful". Because, you know, 5200 is 2600 times two!

 

Also, as for "Atari", it's from Go but it's also a common word in the Japanese language. I'm not sure if Bushnell, etc. realized this or not, but they may have. In Go it's similar to saying "Check" in chess, but in common Japanese parlance it means something close to "I win" (it is similar to "yatta!" but not quite the same). People say it when playing lots of games or even just when they've done something they think is impressive in real life.

 

A quick edit: "yatta" basically means "I win", "atari" is more offensive in nature in common usage... it's actually closer to "you lose". I kinda wonder if this is not one reason why they had so little success in Japan; imagine a company that named itself "You Lose!" in English and then tried to sell games in America.

Edited August 12, 2005 by spacecadet

[sku_u]

Originally, the Atari 2600 was called the Atari Video Computer System or VCS for short. It wasn't until much later that they started referring to it as the 2600 (for reasons already mentioned above; those crazy hacker renegade geeks). Another in house nickname for the 2600 was Stella. Incidentally, the in house nickname of the 5200 was Pam.

 

As for the name Atari, it was originally going to be named Zycygy (sorry, I completely forgot how to spell it), but the name was already taken, so Nolan dubbed the company Atari after a move in his favorite game Go.

[Lord Thag]

As mentioned, the word Atari comes from the board game Go and is similar to 'check' in chess. In Go you capture stones when you surround all of the stone's contact points (or liberties) with stones of your color. When a stone or group of stones has only one liberty left, it is said to be in Atari. Bushnell is a huge fan of Go, even listing it as one of his great passions. There is a long standing eastern tradition of using Go strategy as an analogue for business strategy, and I imagine it was Bushnell's idea to combine his hobby with the company he was forming.

 

By the way, if any of you would like to learn Go, PM me, and I'll point you to some good sites. It's without a doubt the deepest game I have ever played, video or otherwise. It makes Chess look like tic tac to, but you can get the basics in a few minutes. Trully, the game is a masterpiece of simplicity and design.

[+FujiSkunk]

Rumor has it that Bushnell and/or others in Atari were enamoured with the phone phreaking scene, and so named their console in dedication to it.

910040[/snapback]

 

Wow so I wasn't that far off in my guess?

910079[/snapback]

 

Not if I'm remembering my rumors correctly, and the rumors have some truth to them.

 

 

Also, as for "Atari", it's from Go but it's also a common word in the Japanese language.  I'm not sure if Bushnell, etc. realized this or not, but they may have.

 

Bushnell is a self-confessed Go addict. That's exactly where he got the name from. If you have pretty much any of the modern Atari compilations for PC or game console, you can watch Bushnell in interviews about, among other things, the name of the company. It was going to be Syzygy, but someone already had a trademark on that, so Bushnell went to his Go infatuation, and chose Atari.

Edited August 12, 2005 by skunkworx

[Atari-Jess]

Bushnell was long gone by the time the 2600 was called that, it was under Warner that the name 2600 came into being.

 

Im sure it was more of an atari-warner engineer thing than a bushnell and crew thing for the number.

[spacecadet]

Im sure it was more of an atari-warner engineer thing than a bushnell and crew thing for the number.

910158[/snapback]

 

CX-2600 was the part number long before Warner had anything to do with Atari. Somebody at old Atari did come up with that number.

 

My point above was that I doubt much thought went into it because it was not used publicly. It's the same as the Intellivision or really any other console - nobody calls the Intellivision the "Mattel 2609", so who cares about the part #? You don't call your PS2 the "Sony 55001" either. These numbers can be anything.

 

But Warner had nothing to do with the number originally; it was all original Atari. Warner were just the ones who decided to actually use it to market the system(s).

Edited August 12, 2005 by spacecadet

[Mindfield]

True -- it wasn't 'til the release of the "vader" model that the VCS officially bore the "2600" moniker.

 

As for the Syzygy and Atari -- Busnhell held what amounted to a straw poll (I think among the secretaries or something like that) with 3 choices on the ballot. "Atari" came out ahead.

 

In the game of Go, "Atari" more or less translates to "Your piece is in jeopardy" -- as in it is about to be captured. It is roughly analogous to "Check" in chess.

[deathtrappomegranate]

Apologies for going way off-topic, but I love the word "syzygy". Six consonants!

 

*please direct replies about whether 'y' is a consonant to dev/null, 'cos it ain't*

[FireTiger]

(dev/null, from VtMR?)

[supercat]

Apologies for going way off-topic, but I love the word "syzygy". Six consonants!

 

I like "tsktsks" better. Seven consonants, and nothing that's even remotely like a vowel.

[Mindfield]

Apologies for going way off-topic, but I love the word "syzygy". Six consonants!

 

I like "tsktsks" better. Seven consonants, and nothing that's even remotely like a vowel.

912038[/snapback]

 

But that's not a real word. Strength, on the other hand, is 8 letters, and has only one vowel with four consecutive consonants.