The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800 and manufactured until 1992. All of the machines in the family are technically similar and differ primarily in packaging. They are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU running at 1.79 MHz, and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips. This architecture enabled graphics and sound more advanced than contemporary machines, and gaming was a major draw. First-person space combat simulator Star Raiders is considered the platform's killer app. The systems launched with plug-and-play peripherals using the Atari SIO serial bus, an early analog of USB.
The Atari 400 and 800 differ primarily in packaging. 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 (rarely used) cartridge slot, and slots that allow easy RAM upgrades to 48K. Both models were replaced by the XL series in 1983, then–after the company was sold and reestablished as Atari Corporation–the XE models in 1985. 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.
According to Atari, four million owners of Atari's home computer and 5200 games machines existed in 1984 ("Atari expect the new Lucasfilm software to stimulate sales of future games machines while tapping an existing market of 4 million owners of Atari's home computer and 5200 games machines", Business Week May 21, 1984). According to Jeremy Reimer, two million Atari 8-bit computers were sold during its major production run between late 1979 and mid-1985.They were sold through dedicated computer retailers and department stores, such as Sears, using an in-store demo to attract customers.The primary competition in the worldwide market came when the Commodore 64, with similar graphics performance, was introduced in 1982. In 1992, Atari Corporation officially dropped all remaining support for the 8-bit line.
The "Atari 8-bit family" label was not contemporaneous. Atari, Inc., used the term "Atari 800 [or 400] home computer system", often combining the model names into "Atari 400/800" or simply "Atari home computers".
