Return of the Atari 400

The Atari 400 has been revived 45 years after its original release. David Crookes talks to the company that made it happen.

RETRO Inspirational stories from computing’s long-distant past In the past, some computer firms looked to create machines for the masses. Others sought to produce systems aimed at businesses. But Atari, hot on the heels of a string of arcade hits and the VCS/2600 console, decided its first home computer would be aimed at a younger audience so, as well as considering what would go inside, its creators paid great attention to producing a head-turning, child-friendly design. “The Atari 400 wasn’t particularly powerful. It shipped in 1979 with an initial 8K of RAM, 12K ROM and a MOS Technology 6502 CPU running at 1.79MHz. It had a display resolution of 320 x 192 pixels, 128 colours, a cartridge slot and four controller jacks.” This was unusual. Most companies believed that games…

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APC (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 2024

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