Branded as the Atari Video Computer System ( Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, the VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge-initially Combat and later Pac-Man.

Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc.