Why CX2600? Model numbers and other such things...

[Ferris]

Ya know I was just sitting here reading through the forums and playing Midnight Magic on my 2600 jr and got to thinking... why is the 2600 CALLED the 2600? Obviously we all know it was originally referred to as the VCS and later by its model number 2600 as other systems started coming out. But is there any theory behind the model number system? I understand all subsequent games for each system fall under that model number, i.e. 2677 for Dig Dug, etc.

 

My question is - what is the genesis of the model number system? Going all the way back to the first home Pong which was model number C 100. Later on all home units started with CX. What does the CX stand for in CX 2600? I understand that the 5200 was "twice as powerful as the 2600" and therefore 2x2600=5200, as well as the 7800 being "three times as powerful as the 2600" falling under the same math. But with the original 2600 and all units leading up to it, what was the logic, if any, to the model system?

 

I am friends with the gentleman who was tasked with launching the home consumer division and created the functional specifications for the 2600 (worked closely with Nolan and later went on to create Chuck E. Cheese for him) and he's not even sure what the logic is behind the model numbering system is, although he said he believed that all models that started with a "C" were labeled as such for being Consumer products for the home as opposed to arcade or industrial machines.

 

Can anybody enlighten me? There has to be a story to this.

[NovaXpress]

I'd like to think that it was a tribute to the Cap'n Crunch whistle.

 

Atari may have just pulled the number out of their ass. The 400/800 line tied up the three-digit numbers and probably held a reserve on the 1000s.

[Ferris]

I thought it may have been a tribute to Capt'n Crunch's whistle too. (The frequency he used was 2600 to trigger the Bell phone system to accept the Blue Box) I asked Gene about that and he said that was not the case but my guess is there's a 50/50 chance they could have created that product number for that reason without him realizing it.

 

I just want to know 1.) what determined the product number (pulled out of their ass?) and 2.) what "CX" stands for. I've been wondering this for decades.