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@Stege @ajsadauskas @technology @videogames @retrogaming well, Philips did the same with their Videopac G7000 - it was already the cheapest option for a keyboard, aside from having people build one themselves
@Wintermute_BBS @Stege @technology @videogames @retrogaming There was potentially an opportunity for Atari to release a very entry level computer based on the 2600.
Think chiclet keyboard, BASIC, tape drive connector, yet still able to play a River Raid cartridge.
@ajsadauskas @Stege @technology @videogames @retrogaming I get your point, but then: weren't the Atari 400 and 600 aimed at the same target group?
EDIT: this is probably an example of Warner Communications loosing control over their product strategy
@Wintermute_BBS @Stege @technology @videogames @retrogaming Atari 400 was US$550 at launch, the 2600 was US$189.95 at launch.
Hypothetically, had they managed to get a price point at somewhere close to US$200-$250 for a version with a chiclet keyboard, tape connector and BASIC, that would have opened up an even lower lower-end market than the 400.
It very much would have been aiming for that ZX-81 end of the market.
@ajsadauskas @Stege @technology @videogames @retrogaming which would have been much more then the $159 for a CoCo 2 or Timex 2000 in the same year.
Please don't misunderstand me: I don't say that you are wrong or that I disagree with you - but if Atari really thought this was a good idea at the time, they could as well have saved the resources and burn the money right away ...