Graphics
160×240
- Resolutions
- 160×240 · 320×240 · 160×288 · 320×288
- Colors on screen
- 25
- Palette
- 256 colors
- Sprites
- 100
Atari 7800
- Atari Corporation
- Home console
- Third generation
58 Atari 7800 games, all playable free in your browser.
The Atari 7800 ProSystem is a home video game console designed by General Computer Corporation for Atari, Inc. and announced on May 21, 1984. After Warner sold Atari's consumer division to Jack Tramiel in July 1984 the launch was shelved; Atari Corporation released the console nationwide in the United States in May 1986 for $79.95, with Pole Position II as the pack-in game.
- First released · North America
- 1986
- Units sold
- 1M+
- Games in the library · all playable
- 58
TIMELINE
1986–1992
- NANorth America
- EUEurope
- ENDDiscontinued
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1985 | 1 |
| 1986 | 2 |
| 1987 | 14 |
| 1988 | 19 |
| 1989 | 13 |
| 1990 | 9 |
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Processor
1.79MHz
- CPU
- Atari SALLY
- Core
- MOS Technology 6502 (custom)
- MARIA — graphics chip · 7.16 MHz
- Television Interface Adaptor (TIA) — sound (and 2600-mode video)
- MOS Technology 6532 RIOT — I/O and timer
Below: Vectrex 1.5 MHz · Above: WonderSwan 3.07 MHz
1.79 MHz NTSC / 1.77 MHz PAL; drops to 1.19 MHz (NTSC) when the TIA or 6532 RIOT is accessed and in 2600 mode
Memory
4KB
- Main RAM
- 4 KB
- BIOS ROM (NTSC)
- 4 KB
- BIOS + Asteroids ROM (PAL)
- 16 KB
Sound
2channels
- Chip
- Television Interface Adaptor (TIA)
Two-channel TIA sound as in the 2600; Ballblazer, Commando and Tiger-Heli carry a POKEY chip in the cartridge
Sales
1million+
- Scope
- Total, over 1 million (as of 1988-06)
Media
Cartridge
Launch price
$79.95
- North America
- $79.95
Family line
- Before
- Atari 5200
- This system
- Atari 7800
- After
- Atari XEGS
THE STORY
About the Atari 7800
Its MARIA graphics chip treats every on-screen element as a sprite described in display lists, an approach closer to early-1980s arcade boards than to other consoles of its time. The 7800 runs almost all Atari 2600 cartridges, making it the first console with backward compatibility, and reuses the 2600's TIA chip for two-channel sound. Cartridges had to be digitally signed by Atari to run in 7800 mode, a measure intended to keep out low-quality games.
Atari reported more than one million consoles sold by June 1988. The 7800 reached the United Kingdom in September 1989, and Atari ended production and support in 1992.
- First console with backward compatibility, running almost all Atari 2600 cartridges.
- MARIA graphics: 256-color palette, up to 100 sprites on screen and 25 colors per scan line.
- The BIOS checks a digital signature on each cartridge before enabling 7800 mode.
- Ballblazer, Commando and Tiger-Heli include a POKEY sound chip inside the cartridge.
- Pole Position II was the pack-in game.
THE LIBRARY
58 Atari 7800 games on Back2OldGames
58
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1985–1990
<p class="lib-span">32 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
36 games with a known number of players.
Regions
THE GAMES
The Atari 7800 library
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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