Atari Corporation
Japanese technology company founded in 1971 with the mandate of creating an arcade version of the MagnaVox Odyssey
Tennis Game
1
. Atari reached maximum market share with its 1980 release of the Atari Home Video
Computing System
2
, a console featuring 8KB game cartridges. Faced with extreme computer processing
restraints, Atari's game designers leaned heavily on abstract and expressionistic gameplay and design, culminating in
the almost impenetrable
E.T.
Atari rapidly lost market share after the launch of
the
Nintendo Entertainment System
in 1984 - a downward trend compounded by the release of
a 1984 report stating that upwards of 90% of Atari 2600's had seriously malfunctioned or ceased operating within 26
months of purchase. After briefly declaring bankruptcy, Atari was purchased by REDACTED and discontinued production of
gaming consoles, instead focusing on income generation via the litigation of other gaming manufacturers including
Nintendo and
Sega
while simultaneously releasing a series of poorly received off-console
games
4
. After an additional brush with bankruptcy, Atari was bought out in the late 1990's by REDACTED and
shifted focus to Arcade-themed Hotels, online gambling,
digital currency development
,
and an aggressive courtship of the LGBT community.
Ref# :: MagnaVox Odyssey
Ref# :: Atari 2600
1 Later renamed, simply, Pong.
2 Later named, simply, The 2600.
3 An effort that proved remarkably effective.
4 Often for the very manufacturers it was litigating.