Released in 1977, the Atari 2600 (initially known as the “VCS” or Video Computer System) was an almost incomprehensible success story… until it wasn’t.

With 30,000,000 systems sold and a library of nearly 1,000 games, the 2600 was a juggernaut of home gaming which helped give rise to the video game industry. Unfortunately, Atari’s lax quality control allowed some truly terrible games to be released for the system, which eventually lead to the “Great Video Game Crash of 1983.” Nevertheless, the Atari 2600 remains an incredibly fun, innovative and influential system nearly 50 years after its release.