Atari has been around since the inception of video games. While they may not be titans of the industry anymore, at one point they were the company to beat.

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Throughout their history, they've released a number of consoles. The quality of those consoles varies from some of the greatest gaming machines ever produced, to some of the biggest disasters and financial failures the video games world has ever seen. Let's give credit and praise where it's due, while also examining some of the tech that led to Atari's downfall.

7 Atari 5200

atari 5200 with controller

You would never think that this is the console that followed up the 2600. The dramatic drop in quality between the two systems is astounding. Where the 2600 is compact, intuitive, sturdy, and easy to use, the 5200 is massive, strange, constantly needing fixes, and confusing. The controller is one of the worst controllers ever paired with a console, and most people who buy a system in the 21st-century resort to using 3rd party controllers since they break less often.

It has some good games, but that isn't enough to save a system that's fundamentally full of problems. This wasn't just a fall from grace for Atari, it was a sheer plummet.

6 Atari Jaguar

atari jaguar with controller

The Jaguar was a Hail Mary for the company that only had one last shot to put out a successful console before needing to leave the console business altogether. It came up short, and the reason is that the Jaguar was honestly too ahead of its time.

This is one of the first consoles to try full 3D video games, and it came out a full year before other systems that did the same as the PS1 and the Sega Saturn. 3D games were all awkward in the early 90s, even the good ones. The Jaguar came too soon for developers to figure out how to make these types of games any good. Without good games, the console failed.

5 Atari Pong

Atari pong

The Atari Pong may seem like a strange pick to put over other video game consoles. For anyone who doesn't know, any of the dozens (If not hundreds) of Pong systems from the inception of gaming only did one thing: play Pong. A simple head-to-head game meant to emulate table tennis. It was the video game that established video games within the public eye, and the Atari Pong console is what brought it into homes for the first time.

It may only run Pong, but it's the reason gaming as we know it exists today. And its extreme success worldwide is worth factoring into this ranking.

4 Atari VCS

Atari VCS with classic and modern controller

Did you know Atari released a new console for the very first time in decades in 2021? Seems like most people missed the memo. The Atari VCS is a system that exists through a crowdfunding campaign from 2018. It's by no means a terrible console, but the general term used to describe it is "underwhelming".

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The console's game library is nothing to write home about, and it offers only a meager number of Atari classic games from back in the day. For what you get the price ($399 for the console and two controllers) feels like a bit much. Still, the console works as advertised and has the potential to be a more worthwhile console in the future with better games and a price drop. Definitely a console worth keeping your eye on.

3 Atari Lynx

Atari Lynx

The Lynx is without a doubt Atari's most underrated game system, and one of the most underrated handheld consoles next to the likes of the PS Vita. It is the first handheld console ever to be mass-produced with a full-color screen, nearly a full ten years before the release of the more widely-known and successful Gameboy Color. On top of that, it had a good library of games, an interesting design — despite maybe being a little too big to be considered a true "handheld" —, and it was extremely durable.

What drove the system into obscurity and financial failure was ultimately its price. With a launch price of $180 (over $400 adjusted for inflation since 1989), it was just too expensive to catch on. Still, it's a fantastic handheld, and a must-have for any avid Atari collector.

2 Atari 2600

Atari 2600 with controller

It almost feels redundant to justify the 2600's placement as one of Atari's better consoles, or even as one of the greatest consoles in the history of gaming. It's the system that was in the house of every child in the late-70s and early-80s throughout the world.

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Even young gamers today who have never heard of the 2600 still know about games like Space Invaders and Pitfall. It's the console that established home gaming as more than just a lesser-version of arcade gaming. It's the reason modern gaming exists as it does today. Plus, it's one of the few consoles to include wood grain.

1 Atari 7800

Atari 7800 with controller

For gamers out there who are absolutely nostalgic for the 2600, it may feel like an insult to put anything else in the number one spot. However, the 7800 takes the cake for being everything the 2600 is and more. This console can play every 2600 game, as well as the full library of 7800 games, many of which are far better versions of the other system's titles.

Overall, this machine feels like Atari refining the 2600 to a beautiful state. Something that runs and feels the best. On top of that, the extreme popularity of 2600 systems means the 7800 is generally cheaper for buying and collecting.

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