The Atari Timeline


Contents:
Introduction
1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Sources

Introduction

This page is my attempt to assemble a complete history of Atari (collectively referring to Atari Inc., Atari Corp., and Atari Games) in one easy-to-find location. As far as I've been able to determine, this is the first time such a beast has ever been assembled; the Atari-related FAQs and sources I've seen have covered different portions of Atari, but none has provided a picture of the entire whole.

So here's my try at it.

This document is not -- cannot -- be a highly-detailed account of the lives and deaths of Atari. It is, instead, supposed to be a high-level view; only notable moments and notable people are mentioned here. Moreover, critical aspects in the Atari history are highlighted in bold text; these are areas that I feel have had the greatest impact for good or bad.

Of course, this is a growing document, and far from complete. Corrections, additions, and comments are definitely welcome -- send me mail!

Timeline

1971 - Before Atari

1972 - The Founding of Atari

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977 - The Arrival of the VCS

1978

1979 - The Golden Age of Atari

1980

1981

1982 - The Height of Hubris

1983 - ...And All Fall Down

1984 - The Tramiel Transition

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989 - Portable Dreams

1990

1991

1992

1993 - Enter The Jaguar

1994

1995

1996

1998

1999

1999

Sources

In addition to the author's own notes and recollections, some of the information in this timeline came from the following sources:

 Atari Archives 

Made with Macintosh

Another page hand-crafted by Robert A. Jung
Comments? Suggestions? Questions? Send Rob mail!