The Atari crash of 1983 was a collapse of the North American home video game console market. Too many consoles and cartridges, uneven game quality, overstocked…
Warner's money let Atari finish and launch its home console, and made Atari's later losses Warner's losses.
Interchangeable cartridges: one console, a growing library of games. It sold an estimated 30 million units.
Former Atari programmers proved anyone could make 2600 games. Dozens of firms followed, with no gatekeeper.
The arcade port helped double the console's installed base to over 2 million in a year.
About 8 million copies sold, but players said it looked and played little like the arcade game.
No. About 4 million were made and many went unsold, but the market was already slowing. It became the symbol.
Warner said Atari had missed its targets. Its shares fell by about a third in the next session.
Commodore cut the C64 to $300. A machine for games, school and work cost little more than a console.
About 728,000 cartridges of many titles, by the estimate of the manager who oversaw it. Atari lost about $536 million in 1983.
Commodore founder Jack Tramiel bought the consumer business for about $240 million. Warner kept the arcades as Atari Games.
Licensed games only, a Seal of Quality, a lockout chip and a five-games-a-year limit. National launch in 1986.
About 1,300 cartridges of many games, including E.T. One is now in the Smithsonian.
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