Atari 7800

It was released in 1986 after negotiations with Nintendo to support the console were cut off. Instead of the console being supported by Nintendo, it was now in direct competition with Nintendo, which is not what was needed for Atari to recover from the video game crash of 1983. Even though technologically it was far superior to the NES, the game line-up was inferior. It also didn't help that Atari also had 2 other consoles for sale at the same time.

Technical Information

• CPU: 1.79Mhz 6502C
• Graphics: 320x200, 256 colors, 7.16 Mhz MARIA custom graphics controller
• Audio Processor: TIA custom sound chip
• RAM: 4K
• ROM: 4k BIOS ROM, 32k Cartridge ROM
• Storage: Cartridge, 52K max
• I/O Ports: 2 Joystick ports, 1 Cartridge port, 1 expansion connector, Power in, RF output