Atari 8-bit computers

The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System and also called Atari home computers prior to the release of the incompatible 16-bit Atari ST, are a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. As the first home computer architecture with coprocessors, the series has graphics and sound more advanced than most of its contemporaries. Video games are a key part of the system's software library, and the 1980 first-person space combat simulator Star Raiders is considered the platform's killer app.

The Atari 800 was packaged as a high-end model, and the 400 was more affordable. The 400 has a pressure-sensitive, spillproof membrane keyboard and initially shipped with 8 KB of RAM. The 800 has a conventional keyboard, a second cartridge slot, and allows easy RAM upgrades to 48K. Both use identical technology: the MOS Technology 6502 CPU at 1.79 MHz (1.77 MHz for PAL versions) and the same custom coprocessor chips. The plug-and-play peripherals use the Atari SIO serial bus, and one of the SIO developers eventually went on to co-patent USB (Universal Serial Bus). The core architecture of the Atari 8-bit computers was reused in the 1982 Atari 5200 game console, but games for the two systems are incompatible.

The 400 and 800 were replaced by multiple computers with the same technology and different presentation. The three models of the XL series were released in 1983: the 1200XL, 600XL, and 800XL. After the company was sold and reestablished, Atari Corporation released the XE series in 1985: the 65XE (also sold as the 800XE) and 130XE. The XL and XE are lighter in construction, have two joystick ports instead of four, and Atari BASIC is built-in. The 130XE has 128 KB of bank-switched RAM. In 1987, Atari Corporation repackaged the 65XE as a console, with an optional keyboard, as the Atari XEGS. It is backward compatible with computer software.

Two million Atari 8-bit computers were sold during its major production run between late 1979 and mid-1985. In 1984, Atari reported 4 million owners of its computers and its 5200 game console combined. The 8-bit computers were sold both in computer stores and department stores such as Sears using an in-store demo to attract customers. The primary global competition came when the similarly equipped Commodore 64 was introduced in 1982. In 1992, Atari Corporation officially dropped all remaining support for the 8-bit line.