this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2023
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Turning an Atari 2600 into a computer...

I just came across this interesting bit of computing history.

Back in 1982, there was a peripheral that turned an Atari 2600 into an (incredibly simple, ZX-81 level) home computer, including a keyboard, BASIC, and cadette support.

But the addon is/was incredibly rare, and there's very little information about it online.

So it's interesting to see there's now a video up on YouTube profiling this device (known as a Spectravideo CompuMate) and how it works...

https://youtu.be/AQfdWfJhqAs

#tech #technology #atari #Atari2600 #retro #retrocomputing #retrogaming @technology @videogames @retrogaming

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[–] Wintermute_BBS@oldbytes.space 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

@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

[–] ajsadauskas@aus.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

@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.

[–] Wintermute_BBS@oldbytes.space 1 points 1 year ago

@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 ...