Developer: Atari Release: 1977 Notable Games: Space Invaders, Pitfall!, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Of all home consoles on this list, none have had more long-lasting impact than the Atari 2600. It introduced many people to the concept of removable cartridges, a handheld controller, and, above all, gaming in the comfort of your own home. The Atari 2600 isn't just notable for being the first major home console. It genuinely had a fun library of games, packed with fine arcade ports and convincing originals. The console also come into notoriety when a series of horrifically bad games for the 2600, most notably E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and a dodgy Pac-Man port, almost led to the entire industry's collapse. Fortunately, home gaming survived, and the Atari 2600 has the strange honour of being the console that started, and nearly ended, the video game industry that exists today.
