7800

Atari 7800 · 1986–1992

The console Atari built to reclaim the living room — designed in 1984, shelved during the company's sale, and finally released in 1986 into a market the NES had already taken. The 7800's pitch was strong arcade ports and full backward compatibility with the 2600's vast library, and its games are collected today for clean arcade conversions and for the split between the small early run and the later releases that carried the platform into the early 1990s. A modest, coherent library — under 60 official titles — that makes a complete set a realistic target and rewards attention to the early-versus-late release distinction.