In the past, some computer firms looked to create machines for the masses. Others sought to produce systems aimed at businesses. But Atari, hot on the heels of a string of arcade hits and the VCS/2600 console, decided its first home computer would be aimed at a younger audience so, as well as considering what would go inside, its creators paid great attention to producing a headturning, child-friendly design.
This was unusual. Most companies believed that games devalued computers – Sir Clive Sinclair was well known to dislike them and preferred people to be productive. Atari, however, could see why people would want to enjoy games. “Play all of your favourite computer games in dynamic colours, sound and amazing graphics,” its adverts shouted.
To attract kids to the product, Atari opted for spacecraft-like styling in beige, orange and brown. It sought to persuade parents that this would be a fabulous first computer by giving it a tactile, pressure-sensitive membrane keyboard, which proved perfect for small, sticky fingers. Aside from preventing crumbs and other debris from accumulating, the keyboard was fixed, preventing the keys from being pried away and swallowed.
The Atari 400 wasn’t particularly powerful. It shipped in 1979 with an initial 8K of RAM, 12K ROM and a MOS Technology 6502 CPU running at 1.79MHz. It had a display resolution of 320 x 192 pixels, 128 colours, a cartridge slot and four controller jacks. When it was covered in magazine in April 1979, the journalist pointed out that it could be used by people “with no
