It wasn’t the first video game console, but the Atari 2600 was the first system to bring video games into the home, and though its titles were limited to a paltry 2 to 4 K (that’s kilobytes: it takes 1,024 of them to make a megabyte, and a 1,024 of them to make a gigabyte!), the console’s influence on the industry is long and undeniable. Now, thirty years after its introduction, the Atari 2600 console has been inducted into the Strong National Museum of Play Toy Hall of Fame, joining classics like Barbie, G.I. Joe, Play-Doh, the View-Master, Lego, Tinkertoys, checkers, Scrabble, Monopoly, and Silly Putty.
"The 2600 had better games, more colorful graphics, and sharper sound than the original systems," says Jon-Paul Dyson, vice president for exhibit research and development for the Strong National Museum of Play, and associate curator for electronic games. "Most importantly, players could change games by inserting new cartridges. And what games! Combat,Space Invaders,Pac Man,Frogger, and countless others mesmerized an entire generation and made video games a part of everyday play in the home. The Atari 2600 was a true game-changing toy."
Also inducted this year were Raggedy Andy and the 3,000 year-old favorite, the kite.
The Strong National Museum of Play is located in Rochester, New York, and is the only museum in the world dedicated to play and how it reflects American pop culture.
