Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney thought video games had a future. Now this perception seems obvious, but in 1972 there was a point of insanity. They didn’t care: they created Atari and made it one of the legendary companies in this segment. They have now turned 50 and have done so with a small but unique celebration.

a troubling story. It all started with ‘Pong’ and the release of the VCS console popularly known as the Atari 2600 was one of the biggest triggers for the video game industry. Then there would be disasters like the ‘ET’ and machine failures like the Atari Jaguar.

Atari reinvents (or tries to) reinvent itself. After going through various hands and being bought and re-purchased by various companies, Atari today is in two parts: one that is trying to develop new versions of its classic games and apparently wants to be a developer of new PC games. Another dedicated to blockchain related products. Wow.

50 years later. The company has faded into the background in premium video games, and its role now is essentially that of a company living in its past. This is evidenced by the release of the Atari VCS retro console, which was slow to arrive and also came in at a hefty price ($400). Nostalgia was once again the main argument, as with other products in this series.

On that 50th anniversary website, it’s clear that everything is focused on his legacy as a pioneer and more dedicated to retrogaming than his current role. Or building a themed hotel, something surprising for this type of company.

Physical cartridges are an intriguing idea.. The fact is that Atari came up with an interesting idea to celebrate this anniversary: ​​they released two limited edition cartridges for the Atari 2600. They are reprints of the legendary ‘Missile Command’ and ‘Adventure’.

They are fully functional cartridges and can be used on a classic Atari 2600 console and feature a new art design and an interesting acrylic logo that lights up as you play. They also respect the standards that were in effect more than forty years ago when this console was released.

… and face. The problem is that access to these cartridges will not be cheap. Original cartridges are often up to 10 times cheaper on auction sites, costing $100 each. The latest generation games for PCs and current consoles often reach 70 euros, which makes comparisons inevitable.

These editions are also not the only “retrocartridges” the company has released: They feature a family of products called the “Atari XP” that includes other notable titles in the company’s history, such as “Yar’s Revenge” and “Sabouteur”.