Anyone not choosing Atari 2600 clearly wasn't alive (or, old enough to play video games) at the time that system was current. It was, far and away, the most important piece of video gaming hardware ever made. It was a much bigger deal than NES, Genesis, PS2, Wii, or any of those others that made a big splash. None of them even approach it's impact. It really took gaming from something that barely existed, and made it into a mainstream activity. The 30 million units sold of Atari 2600 was about as significant to our hobby as Switch 2 selling 500 million would be. It took gaming up several levels.
And, sure, the OP asked for "best", not most important. But, why do you think the system managed to sell so well? It was among the best things ever made at that point. That's why.
Last edited by VAMatt - on 17 October 2025
