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73-463: The Parallel Bus Interface , or PBI , is a 50-pin port found on some XL models of the Atari 8-bit computers . It provides unbuffered, direct connection to the system bus lines (address, data, control), running at the same speed as the 6502 CPU. The 600XL and 800XL, along with the unreleased 1400XL and 1450XLD have a PBI interface. The Enhanced Cartridge Interface , or ECI , is a modified version of

146-652: A membrane keyboard and single internal ROM slot, outsold the Atari 800 by a 2-to-1 margin. Only one cartridge for the 800's right slot was produced by March 1983, and later machines in the series have only one slot. Creative Computing mentioned the Atari machines in an April 1979 overview of the CES show. Calling Atari "the videogame people", it stated they came with "some fantastic educational, entertainment and home applications software". In an August 1979 interview Atari's Peter Rosenthal suggested that demand might be low until

219-482: A 6502B. SALLY was incorporated into late-production 400 and 800 models, all XL/XE models, and the Atari 5200 and Atari 7800 consoles. SALLY adds logic to disable the clock signal, called HALT , which ANTIC uses to shut off the CPU to access the data/address bus. Mirroring the 400/800, two systems were planned, the 1000 with 16 KB and the 1000X with 64 KB, each expandable via a Parallel Bus Interface slot on

292-501: A fancy new game system for about $ 150 . The answer was, 'You can keep the computer, give us that game machine!" In May 1987, Atari's Director of Communications, Neil Harris, updated the online Atari community by outlining this plan, noting that the XEGS was intended to further the 8-bit line by providing mass-merchants with a device that was more appealing to their markets. The XEGS is a repackaged Atari 65XE home computer, compatible with

365-419: A higher-end machine known as "Colleen" (named after two Atari secretaries). Atari would market Colleen as a computer and Candy as a game machine or hybrid game console. Colleen includes user-accessible expansion slots for RAM and ROM , two 8 KB ROM cartridge slots, RF and monitor output (including two pins for separate luma and chroma suitable for superior S-Video output) and a full keyboard. Candy

438-569: A hot idea to serious Atari computer users. But just think about it. If you were afraid of computers or don't have the foggiest idea what to do with one, you'd have absolutely no interest in an Atari 65XE—even if it could play great games. However, you'd probably have no compunction about buying a great video game system, the XEGS, as a new addition to the family entertainment center." In 1988, he wrote in Antic magazine that, to switch between light gun and joystick games, active XEGS gamers are frustrated by

511-617: A key part of the software library. The 1980 first-person space combat simulator Star Raiders is considered the platform's killer app . The Atari 800 was positioned as a high-end model and the 400 as more affordable. The 400 has a pressure-sensitive, spillproof membrane keyboard and initially shipped with a non-upgradable 8 KB of RAM. The 800 has a conventional keyboard, a second cartridge slot, and allows easy RAM upgrades to 48K. Both use identical 6502 CPUs at 1.79 MHz ( 1.77 MHz for PAL versions) and coprocessors ANTIC , POKEY , and CTIA/GTIA . The plug-and-play peripherals use

584-629: A series of registers that can be user-controlled via memory load/store instructions running on the 6502. For example, the GTIA uses a series of registers to select colors for the screen; these colors can be changed by inserting the correct values into its registers, which are mapped into the address space that is visible to the 6502. Some of the coprocessors use data stored in RAM, such as ANTIC's display buffer and display list , and GTIA's Player/Missile ( sprite ) information. The custom hardware features enable

657-411: Is no. 'What will it do for me?' That's his major concern. ... why try to scare the consumer off by making it so he or she has to have a double E or be a computer programmer to utilize the full capabilities of a personal computer?" For example, cartridges were expected to make the computers easier to use. To minimize handling of bare circuit boards or chips, as is common with other systems of that period,

730-589: Is the first light gun produced by Atari, and it is also compatible with the Atari 7800 and Atari 2600. The system can use Atari 8-bit computer peripherals , such as disk drives, modems, and printers. Atari sold 100,000 XE Game Systems during the Christmas season in 1987, every unit that was produced during its launch window. Matthew Ratcliff called the game and computer combination "a brilliant idea", which "has been selling out almost as fast as toy stores can get them in". He said, "The XEGS may not seem like such

803-497: The Atari 5200 , which is based on the 8-bit computers but is incompatible with their software. After Jack Tramiel purchased the company, Atari Corporation re-released two game consoles in 1986: the Atari 7800 , which had previously been released in a brief test run in 1984; and a lower cost redesign of the Atari 2600 . Atari conceived the console in a plan to increase the company's console market share while improving sales of its 8-bit home computer family which had started with

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876-533: The Atari SIO serial bus , and one of the SIO developers eventually went on to co-patent USB (Universal Serial Bus). The core architecture of the Atari 8-bit computers was reused in the 1982 Atari 5200 game console, but games for the two systems are incompatible. The 400 and 800 were replaced by multiple computers with the same technology and different presentation. The 1200XL was released in early 1983 to supplant

949-651: The CTIA (the VCS version was the TIA). During the early development period, the home computer era began in earnest with the TRS-80 , PET , and Apple II —what Byte magazine dubbed the "1977 Trinity". Nolan Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications for US$ 28 million in 1976 to fund the launch of the VCS. In 1978, Warner hired Ray Kassar to become the CEO of Atari. Kassar said

1022-552: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced new testing standards which are extremely exacting and difficult to meet. Other manufacturers avoided the problem by using built-in composite monitors, such as the Commodore PET and TRS-80. The TRS-80 has a slightly modified black and white television as a monitor. It was notorious for causing interference, and production was canceled when

1095-753: The Nintendo Entertainment System reignited the console market, Atari Corporation packaged the 65XE as a game console, with an optional keyboard, as the Atari XEGS . It is compatible with 8-bit computer software and peripherals. The 8-bit computers were sold both in computer stores and department stores such as Sears using an in-store demo to attract customers. Two million Atari 8-bit computers were sold during its major production run between late 1979 and mid-1985. In 1984, Atari reported 4 million owners of its computers and 5200 game console combined. The primary global competition came when

1168-417: The "excellent 'feel ' " of the keyboard. InfoWorld favorably reviewed the 800's performance, graphics, and ROM cartridges, but disliked the documentation and cautioned that the unusual right Shift key location might make the computer "unsuitable for serious word processing". There is an "Atari key" between the / and shift, whereas a typical keyboard would extend the shift key into this area. Noting that

1241-568: The 1200XL in mid-1983, the new models did not arrive until late that year. Although the 600XL/800XL were well positioned in terms of price and features, during the critical Christmas season they were available only in small numbers while the Commodore 64 was widely available. Brian Moriarty stated in ANALOG Computing that Atari "fail[ed] to keep up with Christmas orders for the 600 and 800XLs", reporting that as of late November 1983

1314-507: The 1200XL's than the 400 and 800's, and the "inadequate and frankly disappointing" documentation, ANALOG concluded that "our first impression ... is mixed but mostly optimistic." The magazine warned, however, that because of "Atari's sluggish marketing", unless existing customers persuaded others to buy the XL models, "we'll all end up marching to the beat of a drummer whose initials are IBM." The high-end 1400XL and 1450XLD were announced alongside

1387-402: The 1450XLD so delayed that it would never ship. Other prototypes which never reached market include the 1600XL, 1650XLD, and 1850XLD. The 1600XL was to have been a dual-processor model capable of running 6502 and 80186 code, and the 1650XLD is a similar machine in the 1450XLD case. These were canceled when James J. Morgan became CEO and wanted Atari to return to its video game roots. The 1850XLD

1460-592: The 1980–81 time frame, when he predicted about one million home computers being sold. The April 1980 issue compared the machines with the Commodore PET , focused mostly on the BASIC dialects. Ted Nelson reviewed the computer in the magazine in June 1980, calling it "an extraordinary graphics box". Describing his and a friend's "shouting and cheering and clapping" during a demo of Star Raiders , Nelson wrote that he

1533-507: The 600XL and 800XL. They added a built-in 300 baud modem and a voice synthesizer , and the 1450XLD has a built-in double-sided floppy disk drive in an enlarged case, with a slot for a second drive. Atari BASIC is built into the ROM and the PBI at the back for external expansion. The 1400XL and the 1450XLD had their delivery dates pushed back, and in the end, the 1400XL was canceled outright, and

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1606-403: The 65XE, the 130XE, and the 800XE. The PBI is implemented as a rectangular 50-pin edge connector on the back of XL machines. The pins include all 16 address lines (A0 through A15) and 8 data lines (D0 through D7). Other pins include various electrical supplies, clock signals, interrupts, memory strobes, and even an analog audio input. As many of these pins were already implemented as part of

1679-437: The 800, "buy an 800 quick!" In May 1981, the Atari 800's price was $ 1,050 (equivalent to $ 3,500 in 2023), but by mid-1983, because of price wars in the industry, it was $ 165 (equivalent to $ 500 in 2023) and the 400 was under $ 150 (equivalent to $ 460 in 2023). The 1200XL was a flop, and the earlier machines were too expensive to produce to be able to compete at the rapidly falling price points. A new lineup

1752-461: The 800. It was discontinued months later, but the industrial design carried over to the 600XL and 800XL released later the same year. After the company was sold and reestablished, Atari Corporation released the 65XE (sold as the 800XE in some European markets) and 130XE in 1985. The XL and XE are lighter in construction, have two joystick ports instead of four, and Atari BASIC is built-in. The 130XE has 128 KB of bank-switched RAM. In 1987, after

1825-529: The 800XL had not appeared in Massachusetts stores while 600XL "quantities are so limited that it's almost impossible to obtain". After losing $ 563 million in the first nine months of the year, Atari that month announced that prices would rise in January, stating that it "has no intention of participating in these suicidal price wars." The 600XL and 800XL's prices in early 1984 were $ 50 higher than for

1898-434: The Atari 400 and 800. Providing a "beginning computer" and "sophisticated game console" in one device, was thought to convince more retailers and software developers to support the platform. Matthew Ratcliff, who had been contributing editor for Antic magazine , recalled that "Atari executives asked the heads of several major toy store chains which product they'd rather sell—the powerful 65XE home computer for about $ 80 , or

1971-459: The Atari market, and urged readers to contact the companies' leaders. "The Atari 800 computer has been in existence since 1979. Six years is a pretty long time for a computer to last. Unfortunately, its age is starting to show", ANALOG Computing wrote in February 1986. The magazine stated that while its software library was comparable in size to that of other computers, "now—and even more so in

2044-502: The Atari work during a visit to Grass Valley. He realized the Commodore design would not be competitive but he was under a strict non-disclosure agreement with Atari, and was unable to tell anyone at Commodore to give up on their own design. Peddle later commented that "the thing that Jay did, just kicked everybody's butt." Management identified two sweet spots for the new computers: a low-end version known internally as "Candy", and

2117-622: The Atari ;ST in 1985, Tramiel stated that sales of Atari 8-bit computers were "very, very slow". They were never an important part of Atari's business compared to video games, and it is possible that the 8-bit line was never profitable for the company though almost 1.5 million computers had been sold by early 1986. By that year, the Atari software market was decreasing in size. Antic magazine stated in May 1985 that it had received many letters complaining that software companies were ignoring

2190-520: The CTIA. CTIA processes the sprite and playfield data in the light of its own color, sprite, and graphics registers to produce the final color video output. The resulting system was far in advance of anything then available on the market. Commodore was developing a video driver at the time, but Chuck Peddle , lead designer of the MOS Technology 6502 CPU used in the VCS and the new machines, saw

2263-540: The ECI port. The Atari XEGS (XE Game System) was launched in 1987. A repackaged 65XE with a removable keyboard, it boots to the 1981 port of Missile Command instead of BASIC if the keyboard is disconnected. The Atari machines consist of a 6502 as the main processor, a combination of ANTIC and GTIA chips to provide graphics, and the POKEY chip to handle sound and serial input/output. These support chips are controlled via

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2336-547: The FCC rejected the design, delaying that machine's release. TI ultimately shipped early machines with a custom television as the testing process dragged on. To meet the off-the-shelf requirement while including internal TV circuitry, the new machines needed to be heavily shielded. Both were built around very strong cast aluminum shields forming a partial Faraday cage , with the various components screwed down onto this internal framework. This resulted in an extremely sturdy computer, at

2409-540: The OS goes to the "Memo Pad" which is a built-in full-screen editor without file storage support. As the design process for the new machines continued, there were questions about what the Candy should be. There was a running argument about whether the keyboard would be external or built-in. By the summer of 1978, education had become a focus for the new systems. The Colleen design was largely complete by May 1978, but in early 1979

2482-415: The PBI designed to be smaller and less expensive to implement. Many of the pins in the PBI are duplicated in the 30-pin cartridge slot, so ECI was limited to only those 14 pins in the PBI that were not in the cartridge slot. Placed side-by-side on the back of the computer, devices plugged into both at the same time to provide the same electrical interface as the PBI. The ECI is found on late production units of

2555-432: The SIO port is not connected, which prevents a few devices from working. The +12V was typically used to power RS-232 devices, which now required an external power source. An improved video circuit provides more chroma for a more colorful image, but the chroma line is not connected to the monitor port, the only place that could make use of it. The operating system has compatibility problems with some older software. The 1200XL

2628-452: The Sweet 8 (or Liz NY) and Sweet 16 projects to create an upgraded set of machines that were easier to build and less costly to produce. Atari ordered a custom 6502, initially labelled 6502C, but eventually known as SALLY to differentiate it from a standard 6502C. A 6502C was simply a version of the 6502 able to run up to 4 MHz. The A models run at 1, and the B's at 2. The basis for SALLY is

2701-458: The VIC-20 and Commodore 64. ANALOG Computing , writing about the 600XL in January 1984, stated that "the Commodore 64 and Tandy CoCo look like toys by comparison." The magazine approved of its not using the 1200XL's keyboard layout, and predicted that the XL's parallel bus "actually makes the 600 more expandable than a 400 or 800." While disapproving of the use of an operating system closer to

2774-533: The Winter CES in January 1979 and shipped in November 1979. The names originally referred to the amount of memory: 4 KB RAM in the 400 and 8 KB in the 800. By the time they were released, RAM prices had started to fall, so the machines were both released with 8 KB, using 4kx1 DRAMs. The user-installable RAM modules in the 800 initially had plastic casings but this caused overheating issues, so

2847-495: The already-existing 30-pin ROM cartridge slots on Atari machines, the XE series re-implemented the PBI to include only those pins that the PBI had but the cartridge slot didn't. The resulting connector contained only 14 pins, mostly the address pins A13 though A15, and the various sound and signal pins of the PBI. The ECI slot was placed beside the cartridge slot, allowing a single connector to be inserted into both connectors and re-create

2920-610: The amount of software and hardware available for the computer "is no match for that of the Apple II or the TRS-80", the magazine concluded that the 800 "is an impressive machine that has not yet reached its full computing potential". Though planning an extensive advertising campaign for 1980, Atari found difficult competition from Commodore, Apple, and Tandy. By mid-1981, it had reportedly lost $ 10 million on sales of $ 10–13 million from more than 50,000 computers. In 1982, Atari started

2993-514: The back of the machine. The original Sweet 8/16 plans were dropped and only one machine using the new design was released. Announced at a New York City press conference on December 13, 1982, the 1200XL was presented at the Winter CES on January 6–9, 1983. It shipped in March 1983 with 64 KB of RAM, built-in self test, a redesigned keyboard (with four function keys and a HELP key), and redesigned cable port layout. The number of joystick ports

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3066-468: The casings were removed. Later, the expansion cover was held down with screws instead of the easier-to-open plastic latches. The computers eventually shipped with maxed-out RAM: 16k and 48k, respectively, using 16kx1 DRAMs. Both models have four joystick ports, permitting four simultaneous players, but only a few games (such as M.U.L.E. ) use them all. Paddle controllers are wired in pairs, and Super Breakout supports eight players. The Atari 400, with

3139-483: The chipset should be used in a home computer to challenge Apple. To adapt the machine to this role, it needed character graphics, some form of expansion for peripherals , and run the then-universal BASIC programming language. The VCS lacks bitmap graphics and a character generator . All on-screen graphics are created using sprites and a simple background generated by data loaded by the CPU into single-scan-line video registers. Atari engineer Jay Miner architected

3212-464: The computer through a single shielded connector. The internal slots were reserved for ROM and RAM modules; they did not have the control lines necessary for a fully functional expansion card, nor room to route a cable outside the case to communicate with external devices. After Atari announced its intent to enter the home computer market in December 1978, the Atari 400 and Atari 800 were presented at

3285-442: The computers to perform many functions directly in hardware, such as smooth background scrolling, that would need to be done in software in most other computers. Graphics and sound demos were part of Atari's earliest developer information and used as marketing materials with computers running in-store demos. ANTIC is a microprocessor which processes a sequence of instructions known as a display list . An instruction adds one row of

3358-423: The computers were designed with enclosed modules for memory, ROM cartridges, with keyed connectors to prevent them being plugged into the wrong slot. The operating system boots automatically, loading drivers from devices on the serial bus (SIO). The disk operating system for managing floppy storage was menu-driven. When no software is loaded, rather than leaving the user at a blank screen or machine language monitor,

3431-403: The data can be fetched from arbitrary, non-sequential memory addresses. Atari XEGS The XEGS release was backed by new games, including Barnyard Blaster and Bug Hunt , plus cartridge ports of older games, such as Fight Night ( Accolade , 1985), Lode Runner ( Broderbund , 1983), Necromancer ( Synapse Software , 1982), and Ballblazer ( Lucasfilm Games , 1985). Support for

3504-492: The decision was made that Candy would also be a complete computer, but intended for children. As such, it would feature a new keyboard designed to be resistant to liquid spills. Atari intended to port Microsoft BASIC to the machine as an 8  KB ROM cartridge. However, the existing 6502 version from Microsoft was around 7,900 bytes, leaving no room for extensions for graphics and sound. The company contracted with local consulting firm Shepardson Microsystems to complete

3577-489: The disadvantage of added manufacturing expense and complexity. The FCC ruling also made it difficult to have any sizable holes in the case, which would allow RF leakage. This eliminated expansion slots or cards that communicated with the outside world via their own connectors. Instead, Atari designed the Serial Input/Output (SIO) computer bus , a system for daisy-chaining multiple, auto-configuring devices to

3650-470: The existing range of Atari 8-bit computer software and peripherals , and thus can function as a home computer . At a more premium US$ 159 (equivalent to about $ 430 in 2023), it co-existed with the Atari 7800 and remodeled Atari 2600, and was occasionally featured alongside those systems in Atari print ads and television commercials. The XEGS shipped with the Atari 8-bit version of Missile Command built in, Flight Simulator II bundled with

3723-657: The functionality of the entire PBI. Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers , formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System , are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. , in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 6502 CPU and three custom coprocessors which provide support for sprites , smooth multidirectional scrolling, four channels of audio, and other features. The graphics and sound are more advanced than most of its contemporaries, and video games are

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3796-591: The future—there is going to be less software being made for the Atari 8-bit computers", warning that 1985 only saw a "trickle" of major new titles and that 1986 "will be even leaner". Computer Gaming World that month stated "games don't come out for the Atari first anymore". In April, the magazine published a survey of ten game publishers which found that they planned to release 19 Atari games in 1986, compared to 43 for Commodore 64, 48 for Apple II, 31 for IBM PC, 20 for Atari ST, and 24 for Amiga. Companies stated that one reason for not publishing for Atari

3869-492: The guy that designed it". Kilobaud Microcomputing wrote in September 1980 that the Atari 800 "looks deceptively like a video game machine, [but had] the strongest and tightest chassis I have seen since Raquel Welch . It weighs about ten pounds ... The large amount of engineering and design in the physical part of the system is evident". The reviewer praised the documentation as "show[ing] the way manuals should be done", and

3942-504: The high-end XL models were canceled and the low-end XLs were redesigned into the XE series. Nearly all research, design, and prototype projects were canceled, including the Amiga-based 1850XLD . Tramiel focused on developing the 68000 -based Atari ST computer line and recruiting former Commodore engineers to work on it. Atari sold about 700,000 computers in 1984 compared to Commodore's two million. As his new company prepared to ship

4015-402: The keyboard component, and Bug Hunt which is compatible with the light gun. As the XEGS is compatible with the earlier 8-bit software, many games released under the XEGS banner are simply older games rebadged. This was done to the extent that some games were shipped in the old Atari 400/800 packaging, bearing only a new sticker to indicate that they are also compatible with the XEGS. The XEGS

4088-487: The meeting, Joe Decuir proposed placing an RF modulator on one end, thereby completely isolating any electrical signals so that the computer would have no RF components. This would mean the computer would not have to meet the FCC requirements, yet users could still attach a television simply by plugging it in. His manager, Wade Tuma, later refused the idea saying "The FCC would never let us get away with that stunt." Unknown to Atari, TI used Decuir's idea. As Tuma had predicted,

4161-468: The more stringent FCC requirements came into effect on January 1, 1981. Apple Computer famously left off the modulator and sold them under a third party company as the Sup'R'Mod so they did not have to be tested. In a July 1977 visit with the engineering staff, a Texas Instruments (TI) salesman presented a new possibility in the form of an inexpensive fiber-optic cable with built-in transceivers . During

4234-634: The port. They recommended writing a new version from scratch, resulting in Atari BASIC . Televisions of the time normally had only one signal input, which was the antenna connection on the back. For devices like a computer, the video is generated and then sent to an RF modulator to convert it to antenna-like output. The introduction of many game consoles during this era had led to situations where poorly designed modulators would generate so much signal as to cause interference with other nearby televisions, even in neighboring houses. In response to complaints,

4307-654: The same time as the Atari 520ST , and they visually resemble the ST. The 65XE has 64 KB of RAM and is functionally equivalent to the 800XL minus the PBI connection. The 130XE has 128 KB of memory, accessible through bank switching . The additional 64K can be used as a RAM drive . The 130XE includes the Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI), which is almost compatible with the Parallel Bus Interface, but physically smaller and located next to

4380-490: The similarly equipped Commodore 64 was introduced in 1982. In 1992, Atari Corporation officially dropped all remaining support for the 8-bit line. Design of the "Home Computer System" started at Atari as soon as the Atari Video Computer System was released in late 1977. While designing the VCS in 1976, the engineering team from Atari Grass Valley Research Center (originally Cyan Engineering ) said

4453-495: The specified graphics mode to the display. Each mode varies based on whether it represents text or a bitmap, the resolution and number of colors, and its vertical height in scan lines . An instruction also indicates if it contains an interrupt, if fine scrolling is enabled, and optionally where to fetch the display data from memory. Since each row can be specified individually, the programmer can create displays containing different text or bitmapped graphics modes on one screen, where

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4526-467: The standard 400 and 800 compatible cartridge slot. It provides only those signals that do not exist in the latter. ECI peripherals were expected to plug into both the standard Cartridge Interface and the ECI port. Later revisions of the 65XE contain the ECI port. The 65XE was sold as the 800XE in Germany and Czechoslovakia to ride on the popularity of the 800XL in those markets. All 800XE units contain

4599-486: The system was dropped in 1992 along with the rest of the 8-bit computer line, the Atari 2600 , and the Atari 7800 . In 1984, following the video game crash of 1983 when Atari, Inc. had great financial difficulties as a division of Warner Communications , John J. Anderson of Creative Computing stated that Atari should have released a video game console in 1981 based on its Atari 8-bit computers and compatible with that software library. The company instead released

4672-480: The system would have a three-year lifespan before becoming obsolete. They started blue sky designs for a new console that would be ready to replace it around 1979. They developed essentially a greatly updated version of the VCS, fixing its major limitations but sharing a similar design philosophy. The newer design has better speed, graphics, and sound. Work on the chips for the new system continued throughout 1978 and focused on much-improved video coprocessor known as

4745-600: The two video chips for the Atari 8-bit computers. The CTIA chip includes sprites and background graphics, but to reduce load on the main CPU, loading video registers and buffers is delegated to a dedicated microprocessor, the Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller or ANTIC . CTIA and ANTIC work together to produce a complete display, with ANTIC fetching scan line data from a framebuffer and sprite memory in RAM, plus character set bitmaps for character modes, and feeding these to

4818-506: Was announced at the 1983 Summer CES , closely following the original Sweet concepts. The 600XL is essentially the Liz NY model and the spiritual successor of the 400, and the 800XL would replace both the 800 and 1200XL. The machines follow the styling of the 1200XL but are smaller from back to front, and the 600XL is more so. Atari had difficulty in transitioning manufacturing to Asia after closing its US factory. Originally intended to replace

4891-436: Was discontinued in June 1983. Compute! stated in an early 1983 editorial that the 1200XL was too expensive; John J. Anderson of Creative Computing agreed. Bill Wilkinson, author of Atari BASIC, co-founder of Optimized Systems Software , and columnist for Compute! , criticized the computer's features and price. He wrote that the 1200XL was a "terrific bargain" if sold for less than $ 450, but that if it cost more than

4964-419: Was initially designed as a game console, lacking a keyboard and input/output ports, although an external keyboard was planned for joystick ports 3 and 4. At the time, plans called for both to have a separate audio port supporting cassette tapes as a storage medium. A goal for the new systems was user-friendliness. One executive stated, "Does the end user care about the architecture of the machine? The answer

5037-407: Was reduced from 4 to 2. There is no PAL version of the 1200XL. Announced at a retail price of $ 1000, the 1200XL was released at $ 899 (equivalent to about $ 2,800 in 2023). This is $ 100 less than the announced price of the Atari 800 at its release in 1979, but by this time the 800 was priced much lower. The system uses the SIO port again instead of the Parallel Bus Interface. The +12V pin in

5110-512: Was released in a basic set and a deluxe set. The basic set includes only the console, and a standard CX40 joystick with a grey base to match the XEGS rather than its original black. The deluxe set consists of the console, the CX40 joystick, a keyboard which enables home computer functionality, and the XG-1 light gun . The keyboard and light gun were also released separately outside North America. This

5183-444: Was so impressed that "I've been in computer graphics for twenty years, and I lay awake night after night trying to understand how the Atari machine did what it did". He described the machine as "something else" but criticized the company for a lack of developer documentation. He concluded by stating "The Atari is like the human body – a terrific machine, but (a) they won't give you access to the documentation, and (b) I'd sure like to meet

5256-518: Was the unusually high amount of software piracy on the computer, partly caused by the Happy Drive . The magazine warned later that year, "Is this the end for Atari 800 games? It certainly looks like it might be from where I write". In 1987, MicroProse confirmed that it would not release Gunship for the Atari 8-bits, stating that the market was too small. The 65XE and 130XE (XE stands for XL-Compatible Eight-bit) were announced in 1985 at

5329-648: Was to have been based on the Lorraine chipset which became the Amiga . Commodore founder Jack Tramiel resigned in January 1984 and in July, he purchased the Atari consumer division from Warner for an extremely low price. No cash was required, and instead Warner had the right to purchase $ 240 million in long-term notes and warrants, and Tramiel had an option to buy up to $ 100 million in Warner stock. When Tramiel took over,

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