Ah Atari, how I love thee, but back in the ’80s it wasn’t all love. You see, I chose the Commodore 64 as my 8-bit home computer. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not! But, with my nostalgia tinted glasses on and the benefit of hindsight, perhaps I should have given the Atari 8-bit (affectionately known as A8) home computer range more attention.
With the passing of time and my nostalgic nerves tingling, I had the urge to delve into the world of A8 computing. To my surprise, the Atari 800XL I procured turned out to be a lot of fun. It was built to withstand a nuclear catastrophe, just the way I like it. Whilst on this A8 bandwagon, I also experienced the Atari XEGS system – the half computer, half console beast. This sudden interest in the A8 home computers piqued my 8-bit senses. I knew that I had to find out more about the lineage of Atari’s 8-bit home computers.
The Atari 8-Bit Home Computer timeline
From the 400/800 (1979) to the XL (1983), the XE (XL Extended) (1985) and finally to the XEGS (1987), Atari left no stone unturned when it came to unleashing their 8-bit home computer range. The A8s were definitely on-par with their contemporaries, but with the upheaval that was going on within Atari and the change in ownership, the 8-bit home computers never stood a chance to shine bright.
The A8 range was officially discontinued on January 1, 1992 – an impressive 13 year run! The Atari 8-bit home computers will forever be played – yes, they will last that long!
