Atari and Commodore: from Here, Where?

Both Atari and Commodore played a major role in the crash of 1983, albeit for completely different reasons, and ended up in two very different positions. Atari racked up more than $500 million in losses and struggled to remain in business. One possible move was to push another, more powerful, console to address the various complaints that caused the Atari 5200’s failure. The design of the Atari 7800 started in 1983 and the machine was released in mid-1984 with a price tag of $140 and the nearly impossible task of reviving a collapsing market.