Editing Atari 2600 (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Video Game Consoles Atari VCS.jpg|thumb|upright|right|"[[The Art of Video Games]]" (2012) at the [[Smithsonian American Art Museum]], with ''[[Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game)|Pac-Man]]'', ''[[Space Invaders (Atari 2600 video game)|Space Invaders]]'', ''[[Pitfall!]]'', and ''[[Combat (video game)|Combat]]'']]

The 2600 was so successful in the late 1970s and early 1980s that "Atari" was a synonym for the console in mainstream media and for video games in general.<ref name=globe>{{cite news | last = Edgers | first = Geoff | title =Atari and the deep history of video games| date= March 8, 2009 | work= [[The Boston Globe]] |url =http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/08/a_talk_with_nick_montfort/ | access-date = April 13, 2009 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090416221945/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/08/a_talk_with_nick_montfort/| archive-date= April 16, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> Jay Miner directed the creation of the successors to the 2600's TIA chip—[[CTIA and GTIA|CTIA]] and [[ANTIC]]—which are central to the [[Atari 8-bit computers]] released in 1979 and later the [[Atari 5200]] console.

The Atari 2600 was inducted into the [[National Toy Hall of Fame]] at [[The Strong]] in [[Rochester, New York]], in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2007/11/09/toy_hall_of_fame/|title=The Atari 2600 makes the Toy Hall of Fame|author=Farhad Manjoo|date=November 10, 2007|access-date=November 29, 2015|archive-date=December 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208145307/http://www.salon.com/2007/11/09/toy_hall_of_fame/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, the Atari 2600 was named the number two console of all time by [[IGN]], which cited its remarkable role behind both the first video game boom and the video game crash of 1983, and called it "the console that our entire industry is built upon".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ign.com/top-25-consoles/2.html |title=Atari 2600 is number 2 |website=IGN |access-date=September 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929175158/http://www.ign.com/top-25-consoles/2.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2021, the current incarnation of Atari announced three 2600 games to be published under "Atari XP" label: ''Yars' Return'', ''Aquaventure'', and ''Saboteur''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattgardner1/2021/11/17/atari-2600-gets-three-new-releases-28-years-after-discontinuation/?sh=520b5a1273ea |title=Atari 2600 Gets Three New Releases, 28 Years After Discontinuation |website=Forbes |date=17 November 2021 |first=Matt |last=Gardner |access-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128122627/https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattgardner1/2021/11/17/atari-2600-gets-three-new-releases-28-years-after-discontinuation/?sh=520b5a1273ea |url-status=live }}</ref> These were previously included in Atari Flashback consoles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/atari-s-new-collectible-game-cartridges-off-to-a-rocky-1848075679 |title=Atari's New Collectible Game Cartridges Off To A Rocky Start |date=17 November 2021 |first=Mike |last=Fahey |website=Kotaku |access-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128123156/https://kotaku.com/atari-s-new-collectible-game-cartridges-off-to-a-rocky-1848075679 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A model of the Atari 2600 was released by [[Lego]] in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|first=Chris|last=Reed|title=Atari 2600 LEGO Set Is Now Available
|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/atari-2600-lego-set-release-date-announcement|date=August 1, 2022|access-date=November 13, 2024|publisher=IGN}}</ref> Included are the three games ''Asteroid'', ''Centipede'', and ''Adventure''. Included is a minifigure with a bedroom designed from the 1980s.