Atari 2600 ad - "The fun is back" (for $50!)

[ScottyBanton]

Easy-E

[DaringDirk100]

I remember that the Atari 2600 was "re-released" in 1988, so this is probably when that ad is from. That was long, long after NES and Sega Master System launched. So it's crazy to think that they were re-releasing the 2600 long after two systems that were far technically superior had already launched.

[MYSATURDAYM0RNINGS]

@DaringDirk100

This commercial is from 1986

[IamTheS]

They put Space Invaders in upside-down....

[trailersic]

@IamTheS That's how you put the carts in.

[IamTheS]

@trailersic I didn't realize that's a different model than the one I own. Is that really how? Later in the commercial the game they're playing has its label facing the other way.

[trailersic]

@IamTheS actually I think I just misunderstood you they do seem to putting it in the round way round, the label should be facing away, it's been a while since i used it I thought you were referring to the label being upside down.

[IamTheS]

@trailersic Ah, okay. yeah I meant the cart was in upside-down (label facing toward the player instead of away)

[EweToobUsername]

I didn't have the smaller 2600. I had the old school 4 switch model. My wife had the 6 switch.

[Dynamic3DLtd]

I remembermy friend had this system in school while the rest of us all got megadrives and sne's and we'de taunt him in the playground by singing this advert to him, with added emphais on the "UNDER 50 POUNDS-50 POUNDS!!!"

[Dynamic3DLtd]

I remembermy friend had this system in school while the rest of us all got megadrives and sne's and we'de taunt him in the playground by singing this advert to him, with added emphais on the "UNDER 50 POUNDS-50 POUNDS!!!"

So cruel, but it was so funny at the time.

[spotikas]

was 50 bucks alot on the 80s?

[punji73]

@spotikas the ad mightve actually come out in the very early 90's cos they were for sale still then till round 91ish and the last models they ever made actually had heaps of atari games built into them and you selected which game by holding down the reset button i think until a random game started up and of you go

[DaringDirk100]

@punji73

You're sure those aren't illegal, pirated, unofficial "Atari 2600s" that had all the games built in that you're thinking of?

[punji73]

@DaringDirk100 i dont think so cos they were for sale in actual department stores, im sure they had built in games it might have been right at the very end of ataris time so they thought what the hell and try and suck in some more fans before they finally died out by putting in a few built in games

[Typhoonbladefist]

This is so 80s it hurts

[WebVMan]

Let's hear Eminnem rap about the Xbox.

[jackhovatter]

@WebVMan I Figure Em for more of a playstation guy

[coolboy56574]

Better than modern rap these days suck i was born in the wrong generation T-T sad face.

[wildsmiley]

yo yo yo Atari's got my muthafuckin' back. YARS REVENGE that playa right now. Don't front!

[TheOdysseyKid]

"Under $50."

No joke, I got mine for $49.99. 1 F*@KING CENT?

[asasinz2]

I can remember something similar to that in New Zealand except the price was $169 with a free game which was Dodgeem

[Bradkalproductions]

how come non of the console boxes today have handles?

[isthisnickvalid]

@Bradkalproductions Game Cube had a handle.

[genesislordofdarknes]

What's weird is, at the time the atari 7800 was only 30 bucks more and could play 2600 and 7800 games.

[BigMilt007]

I was like five when this commercial came out. Me and my older brother (nine) never had a videogame system before. Our parents were going to buy us one come Christmas. He wanted the NES because of Mario. I wanted the 2600 based on...hahahaha... based on this rap jingle. I knew nothing of the system, just that I actually liked this rap at the time. I'm glad my brother got his way. XD

[soakgameLLC]

haha i remember this... this is from 1986 or 1987....

S::G

[frigginjoe]

They should've just come clean and made the slogan "Your kids will call you a douchebag behind your back, but you'll save $100 buying this for them instead of a Nintendo"

My old hand-me-down Atari still works, over 30 years old. The hardcore rap ad couldn't sell me on another. :D

[BananaGinny]

One-hit wonder, right there.

[fifbeat]

NES ate their ass. lol

[Quartrez]

@fifbeat It did, unfortunately :(

[DanielDumile]

Under 50 bucks, 50 BUCKS!!!

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

I still own one. I never play it anymore, since I don't own a TV (I hate watching TV shows. They all suck). Maybe if I could find a way too hook it up to my monitor...

[kittenmommy]

That was just painful to watch. Urghhhh.

[MattTheSaiyan]

The amazing thing: There are still several people releasing new games for this system! Which is kinda cool...

[Jasonbobdude]

I wasn't around for the 80's, was it necessary for every commercial to have an original song?

[ukchristian28]

lol, I remember a British version of this advert years ago. It brings back memories.

[locutus625]

I haven't been able to get this out of my head in 20 years.

[MrAsrgr]

Sounds like the kind of "rap" your dad would do in front of your mates when you were 15.

[EastCoastDude99]

I still have Joust at 0:06, great game

[gjc82071]

@EastCoastDude99 Me too! Not only for the Atari 2600, but for the Atari 5200 & 7800 too. I also have those 3, along with the arcade version for emulators. Actually, for emulators, I have basically EVERY Atari (2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx Jaguar & the 400, 800, XE/L & ST PC's) game (including prototypes) ever made. Anyway, it is a great game. Joust 2 is also pretty cool (very similar, but you can change to a different animal), but it's not on any retro gaming consoles. Ever played Joust 2?

[EastCoastDude99]

@gjc82071, nah havnt played Joust 2, but Im ready to go to the flea market this or next weekend and buy the accessories like 2 paddles and the required adapters. I still have the smaller 2600 like in this commercial with about 80 games. Im jones'n to play some old school atari, for real. Just get high and whoop one of my friend's ass in Combat or something.

[gjc82071]

@EastCoastDude99 Are you familiar with video game "emulation"? You can play classic games on your PC. I have literally EVERY classic/retro gaming console & many PC's, plus all the games for them (well over 50,000 games). Example "Stella" Atari 2600 emulator. I have it & like 600+ Atari 2600 games. They are identical in play/look to the real thing. There is also a thing called "Stelladapter", a USB adapter for hooking up an Atari 2600 (or C64) controller to your computer.

[gjc82071]

Also many emulators are compatible with Kailera Client. It enables you to play classic/retro emulators/games, online VS another player. Dude, you should really check into emulation. Especially if you like/are into classic/retro/old school gaming. It is VERY fun. I can tell you just about anything you need to know about it. Let me know if interested/need help, or you do get into it & want to check out Kailera Client & have a little PvP. I will battle you in Atari 2600 Combat, anytime! :-)

[gjc82071]

@EastCoastDude99 I sent you a message awhile back (about 6 months ago). I was telling you about emulators/online play. So, did you ever find those paddles you were looking for? Also, I was (still) wondering if you might ever be interested in playing some Atari 2600 (or other assorted vintage games) online sometime? Combat would be cool. Let me know.

[jimlap777]

In the ad, why does the family care about the price since they already seam to have their system. Either it's fun to play with or the price is surprising, not both ;)

[eyeh8nbc]

The fun is back?  Where did it go?

[MarioZone69]

This is the catchiest video game advertising jingle I've ever heard.

[23teak]

My name is Atari 2600 & I'm here to say, I'm the funky fresh system that's fun ta play! HUH! HUH!!!

[wildstein22]

lolololol

[popsnacks2]

i wish they were still under 50 buckslol

[electricmaster23]

this ad was like Nintendo trying to sell a Nintendo 64 today.

[boojwahz]

this is from 1989, the year i graduated from the 6th grade

[MattTheSaiyan]

WIN.

[buzzlewie]

Yeah 1 joystick and no paddles and no game. The original one I had came with 2 joysticks and paddles and a Combat game.

[an1m4l]

UNDER FIFTY BUCKS???

[hootyhaha]

Dang it took forever to refind this. Put in the appropriate tags so we can find it faster. It's a Re-Release in the 90s.

Put Rerelease , re-release, 1990s, 90s 2600.

This was the full Atari 2600 version, BEFORE the Flashback version. They released it after the NES and SEGA MASTER system craze to rake in a few more dollars from the faithfuls and purists.

[boojwahz]

@hootyhaha this was 1989

[coktoe]

When is the M2 coming out?

[Akira625]

I remember this came out in the late 80's, and I thought it was kind of strange that Atari was still marketing the 2600. By this time the 2600 was pretty long in the tooth, it first came out in 1977, and far more powerful game consoles had already come on the scene.

[hootyhaha]

early 90s.

[solidsnake58]

I remember this! I think this aired after the crash of 83. It must have been 87 when Nintendo was king. I remember thinking, "uh, no thanks.  I stick with Legend of Zelda."

[hootyhaha]

90s, early 90s. I was playing Earth Worm Jim and Toe jam and Earl. I thoght the same thing you did.. excpet I thought "WHY" But it was for a few reasons. Lower income families , collectors, and purists. Thinking back now, I wish I would not have been a NES Sega Snob and bought it. i think they released their whole game library. NOW in todays times, crappy games are sort of fun to play as a novelty. I missed out on picking up an ET game at half price books the other day. Word spreads fast

[hootyhaha]

I knew it wasn't a crazy dream I was remembering as fact. :) Actually I think this was the super early 90s, because I was shocked that it was back out after NES, and Sega Master system was out. In your info you talk about business men. I can only guess that this was a way for Atari to bring in some extra cash on the side.

[Mikey669]

I remember every word of this rap...my best friend and I used to sing it all the time together!

[reivenlocke]

This was when Atari and Mattel poked their heads out from the rubble of the videogame crash to find that Nintendo was dominating and tried to saturate the market again with their crap. Atari AGAIN put multiple SKUs on the market (2600, 7800, XE) with the XE being the only one that could play all the games. Luckily, they were still using last gen hardware and they got sent back to their hole.

[OrionPimpdaddy]

The XE could play "all the games"? As far as I know, the XE was not backward compatible with the 2600 or 7800.

[reivenlocke]

I recall a commercial for the XE where they criticized that the NES only had 80 games at the time while the XE had an extensive library.

[xXNuclearWarXx]

That beat was hot. All it needed was some autotune on the vocals.

[themediashow]

1) Caution: Atari 2600 is not for girls. (apparently.)

2) Children's TV is where culture goes to die. Rap music, surfing/skateboarding/extreme sports, cyber-anything, etc.

[CaptainPillowMusic]

Anyone know what they say after; "A real hip joystick controls the screen" ?

I had to look this up cause I had this song in my head for the past couple days.

[k9feces]

Solalis is hot and midnight magic's mean? They incorporated some shitty games names into the lyrics?

[CaptainPillowMusic]

Thank you.

[priestrules]

Solaris was an awesome game.

[locutus625]

@CaptainPillowMusic Solaris is hot and midnight magic's mean. I just figured that out after 20 years.

[1977kb0wqh1996]

The 2600 portrayed in this commercial was the exact model I received from my parents in Christmas 1988. I was started off right though, my mom got me "Kaboom!" as well as the paddle controllers from Gemini. I bet the folks at Kay-Bee sold her "Kaboom!" so they could sell her the paddle controllers as well. LOL

[DanielBMS]

This commercial is nothing like I remember it. I remember the announcer had a much deeper voice.

[xXNuclearWarXx]

Thats wierd , I was thinking that same thing. Maybe it just seemed deeper back then because I was probably only 7 years old.

[DanielBMS]

I knew I wasn't the only 1!

[Medaka350]

I remember this LOL

My cousin got one of these when it was for fiddy dolla.

[bellito78]

Damn the memories!!!!

[blesyk]

Intellivision was better, but still a cool commercial!

[sub7AV]

so many comments making fun of this yet I remember this and every kid in my school wanted one, I was about 5 or something and it worked. this had huge success in england, some of the games were just amazing and with the good old spectrum zx and c64 to follow that was 80s magic computing! i am so pleased i grew up in the 80s 10 years old in 1989, year of the BMX, raleigh burner! playing out with ya mates till 10pm, no shitty internet, no fat kids, i spent more time outside that inside! now look!

[lt1fan94]

HA! holy crap i remember this. cool.

[Arbiter2732]

...yaaaaaa

[assass6]

And this was the SMART move Atari made in the late '80s, making this version of the 2600 the first "budget" console.

Their dumb moves from that same period were their inability to decide whether to position the 7800 or the XEGS as their competition for Nintendo and Sega. Not to mention that both systems were markedly inferior to the NES and SMS.

[misterchill]

Sweeeet! This was the ad that made me run to Consumers Distributing (haha) to pick up a system with my paper route money.

While all my friends were getting NES systems. ;-)

I have to say though, some of those games kicked back in that era. River Raid was fantastic, and so were California Games and Winter Games...

[UmBongo5]

I remember this, apart from the 'fifty bucks' bit was 'fifty pounds' in England.

[livewire242]

Rap sure has gone downhill since the early 80s. I'd like to see Fiddy try and match this gem.

[chrisz31974]

LMAO

[DJCandyManMike]

@livewire242

Word up!

[xjcopp]

The futility of Atari's attempts to recover from the VG Crash of 1983 are brutally painful to watch........

[LondonGuysVids]

lolz.. I'm having a really bad 80's flashback. :)

[tomhubbard28]

<OL! I knew Atari was on its way out when this shit aired, and I was sad cause my parents were broke and I knew I wouldn't be getting the NES or Sega Master System anytime soon. Hell, I "inherited" my 2600 from my uncles. But that rap is bananas! "It's the 2600 from UH-tar-i!" What ya'll know bout that, youngsters!!! LMAO!

[XCOMBATX007]

LOL, I was looking for the theme song and I guess I found it. It was so catchy when I was a little kid.

[UltimaChaos298]

$50? They must've been desperate.

[FoxForever90]

Thats seriously a stretch for rhyming...

[cyhill99]

I remember when this came out, one last attempt to sell this system.

I still knew the words too.

[EastCoastDude99]

@cyhill99, haha you're right, it was the last attempt from the 2600. Still, Atari 2600 had a hell of a run.  Almost a decade, not many video game system's last that long. This commercial came out in 88, I just know that because I remember singing this non stop the year I graduated 5th grade.

[holabalooser]

i could have sworn i saw this advert just the other day on a sky channel during an ad break!

[SVU1979]

The sad thing is that this commercial was the one that I made my parents watch...and finally convinced them to buy it for me.

Oh, the memories...

[superman21980]

me too, even to this day i remember the theme song. I kept telling them it under 50 bucks a low and behold i got it that christmas. classic memories

[super579]

i still to this day remember almost every word, yikes!

[nikima99]

about a month ago, while hanging out with friends, (dont remember what we were discussing)somehow two of us started "rapping" this... aah the memories LOL

[dnelms2]

Yeah I remember this, circa 1985

[shpared]

o...k

[tubulartubular]

yeah, i remember that "under $50 bucks!" vividly

[chalklounge]

1986. This rap was burned into my head everyday after school. Thank you for digging it back up!

[silverwurm]

I remember seeing this video on an old tv recording in my parents vhs collection, the song was stuck in my head for a while.

[toptenmaterial]

OH YES-SIR-EE!!!

[Houminid]

if you want to know your console history, come over to my channel to see the True Videogame Story of companies like Atari and all of your favorites!

[AlbanianMan]

I remember this commercial.  I think it aired around 1988 or so

[syxx573]

Ya i actually remember the song too

[GotNextVideo]

It was around 84 or 85, not that late.

[weelin83]

I'm sure a similar ad was shown in the UK in the late eighties/early nineties. They changed the lyrics to "under fifty pounds", which meant it would have cost almost double the price over here! Funnily enough, I had that rap stuck in my head for no reason whatsoever just a week ago. I'm hoping that watching it again has excorcised a few demons!

[AlbanianMan]

But I thought I remember seeing this commercial after Nintendo had already come out and was kicking Atari's ass at that point. It makes sense being that they practically had to GIVE Atari sets away for 50 bucks in order to compete with the NES

[Frogacuda]

Atari was getting their ass kicked pretty bad without the need for Nintendo to step in. It was called the Crash of '83.

[AlbanianMan]

I think all that crash of '83 stuff has been blown way out of proportion. True, the ET game sucked and probably didn't help Atari's publicity but I think all this talk of a video game crash in 1983 is a way of re-writing history just a bit. I seem to remember Atari being pretty popular up until around '87 so I really don't think the industry "crashed" as much as some video game historians would have you think

[Frogacuda]

Blaming it all on ET and Pac Man is revisionist history, but the crash was very real and well documented.

I would suggest that the reason was simply that the system was 5 years old at the time, every console declines after 5 years, and they didn't really have anything ready yet that you would call "next gen" to take its place, which is why the NES was so successful when it came out.

In any event, Atari was slashing prices HARD in '83 and really trying move 2600s again.

[AlbanianMan]

Well you have a point there, although Atari did try to replace the 2600 with the 5200, and then later with the 7800. I blame the failure of the 5200 on its shoddy controller and how it would break usually within 6 months within purchase of the system. Maybe being that I was a little kid during the mid-80's I probably remember things happening a bit different than how they really did,

[Frogacuda]

The 7800 didn't come out until way after the NES, even. The 5200 was a nice attempt, but didn't really push things into "next gen."

Really the industry just hadn't established the pattern yet and no one knew what to do, so we ended up with the crash. The NES did not "save" the industry as some would claim, but it did mark the end of a very serious downturn. It wasn't like gaming disappeared during those years but it seriously sagged.

[AlbanianMan]

Not to mention that the marketing of the 5200 was ass. I think it could have been a successful system if they worked out some of the bugs with it and put together a better marketing campaign (not to mention it would have helped to make the 2600 games 5200 compatible)

[Daemonocracy]

there were no new games coming out for atari systems. prices were high but innovation was lacking. only so many times people can play Donkey Kong or Space Invaders. and Nintendo was (and is) a great software developer who just happened to release some pretty impressive hardware for the time, so they succeeded.

[AlbanianMan]

(contd.)

but when I look at my old comic books from '84-85, they are chock full of Atari ads, and I remember all my friends and myself owning and playing the shit out of the system as well around that time

[tomhubbard28]

Well, I actually remember it airing around 88 too when I was 8 years old. Damn!!! If Atari aired the same commercial for 4 or 5 years, they must have been in some deep financial trouble! LOL.

[Revigoe7]

I love this commercial!

I by it when I age child and whenever passed in the TV went to bind the Atari.

The fun is back!

The amusement if was!

[manic242]

did the guy that sung this rap sing the super mario brothers super show rap? i think so

[segadude21]

2600 jr. forever

[PSPdude36]

the kid in 00:05 is putting the game in the wrong way

[PSPdude36]

2600 jr. best game console ever!!!!

[greatbison]

I remember this one! I had 2 2600's. My grandparents got the one in this ad for when I visited, but at home, I had the old school woodgrain finished console with metal toggle switches.

U have to remember too, the NES had been out for 4-5 years by now and Atari couldn't compete anymore. At least back then, it took a long time for the next generation to come out. Now you have to replace your $400 console every three years.

[LessthanJake14]

That guy sounds like a 30 year old dude who wants to keep up with youth culture.

[SpitToonsInc]

$50? Whoever thought of that should win a nobel. A rap? Whoever thought of that should be shot.

[jjelder06]

why cant todays gaming systems be that cheap?

[Brinah]

I know that song by heart! lol memories!

[daewoosux]

I remembered going to Kay Bee Toys when this commercial was out. The 2600 was $49.99...Under 50 bucks by only a penny!!!

[yabro93]

guys remember back in those days money doesnt worth that much

[sharonruth7]

I chanted "it's the 2600 from a-tar-i" all of the time and no one ever knows what commercial I was talking about. Now I can show everyone that I didn't make it up!! That brought back memories!!

[LuigiMario11]

wow 50$ thats kool! look at the price for ps3! its like 700$! man tht must of been awsome!

[ChibiGAL]

LMAO Nice rap I Like when he says Atari.

[dijeinyje]

HA!!! I remember this ad, that shitty rap and that package. I had a friend who bought the last one at Toys R' Us for $20 back in 1993.

[neodorian]

Aw man, I read another article about the 2600 today and of course this song got stuck in my head. I hadn't seen this ad since it used to run constantly, but I still remembered all of the words. It gets stuck in my head way often that it should.

[thenekom]

Wow I was a little kid when this commercial aired, and I actually remember it. Every word of it.

[retrogamerbear]

Awesome! Love seeing the old VG commercials

[1pixie]

I remember this, and I still have my Atari 2600:)

[EsperWizard]

My God!  That commercial shows the Atari 7800 version of Joust, not the 2600 version.

[billygtexas]

Yay 2600 Jr..

[CappyCobra]

Wow what a flashback! Thanks for the renew memories of my childhood. Thanks OP!

[tokyocooney]

OH MY GOD!!! I am having a dejavu incured siezure. Under 50 bucks... ohhhh what a price.