Spotters Guide to the Atari 2600

Have you played Atari Today?

The Atari 2600, arguably the most iconic and enduring of all games consoles is also possibly the most confusing to collect. Not surprising really, when you realise it comes in eight official Atari branded versions (including the Japanese 2800) along with a whole host of clones spanning nearly a decade and a half of production. From the original 1977 CX2600 ‘Heavy Sixer’ through to the all-black 1986 2600 ‘Junior’ the differences were such that almost everything about the console changed (except the chips). This makes the 2600 almost unique as a console in that you can spend a long time searching out and collecting all the variants. The 2600 has stood the test of time well, better indeed than most consoles of the early 80s period and remains popular with collectors, gaming enthusiasts and casual gamers alike. This popularity is fed with a booming home-brew scene and the recent(ish) production of ‘TV games’ by companies such a Jakks Pacific.

For the purposes of this article I will keep things simple and will only be listing the official Atari models, not the Sears versions, Japanese version nor the many clone models available. Oh, and ignore the dates on some of the YouTube videos, I’m pretty sure they have them wrong.

Atari CX2600 ‘Heavy Sixer’ (1977)

atari 2600 cx2600 woody heavy sixer

Also known by collectors as the ‘Woody’, this was the original Atari VCS (Video Computer System), not yet known publicly by its 2600 designation. In fact the first 2600 to be officially called the 2600 wouldn’t be for another 5 years with the release of the black 4 switch ‘Vader’ model in 1982.

Usually the most sought after by collectors, the first CX2600 differed from later models by having a thicker plastic lower casing and contrary to what you may read elsewhere the extra weight is solely down to this, there is no extra RF shielding inside and all Heavy and Light Sixers have the same RF shielding. The casing is also visibly different in that the plastic molding that runs around the back and sides is wider than on the 1978 ‘Light Sixer’ and has softer curves as opposed to the more angular second model. There are also other minor differences to the bezel etc. if you know what you are looking for. Manufacture of the ‘Heavy Sixer’ was done mainly in Sunnyvale, California – and, although I have never seen one myself – were also reportedly produced elsewhere. Sears released their own version of the ‘Heavy Sixer’ under licence called the Sears Video Arcade (Rev. A).

Atari CX2600 ‘Light Sixer’ (1978)

atari 2600 cx2600 woody light sixer

This model also known by collectors as the ‘Woody’ due to its imitation woodgrain front panel, was in production for around two years. It was visibly similar to its forerunner but with different molding around the sides and back and thinner molding on the bottom casing making it noticably lighter. It was bundled with two standard joystick controllers, a pair of paddles and a Combat game cartridge.

According to Wikipedia (and a few other sites), when the CX2600 moved production to Hong Kong from Sunnyvale, California the design changed to this lighter slightly restyled version but as I actually own a Sunnyvale ‘Light Sixer’ I know that at least some of these second models were manufactured in the US. The majority of  ‘Light Sixers’ were indeed produced in the far east though, and this is where production of all official Atari models remained until their eventual retirement. Sears also released their own version of the ‘Light Sixer’ under licence.

Atari CX2600-A (1980)

atari 2600 cx2600 4 switch woody

The last of the ‘Woodys’ was this variant which had 2 of it’s six switches (difficulty switches) restyled and moved to the upper back section of the unit. This was due to a motherboard change which meant that the new single board (instead of the previous two) was angled inside the case. Bundled items remained the same.

Atari 2600 ‘Darth Vader’ (1982)

atari 2600 vader

The first real style change since the first model in 1977, this version is an all-black version of the CX2600A (hence the nickname) with a new logo. Maybe by now they were thinking that woodgrain was just too 1970s, or maybe they just needed it to look contemporary alongside their newly released 5200. Packaged in a new-look silver box and officially called Atari 2600 for the first time this was Atari’s attempt at keeping up with the changing face of the videogames industry. In-box extras changed too, gone were the paddles and Pac-Man was the choice of bundled cartridge.

Atari 2600 ‘Junior’ (1986)

junior short rainbow

Cheap and cheerful (with its rainbow effect steel band), the Atari 2600 Junior was Atari’s last attempt at rebranding and remarketing its now outdated system. The likes of Nintendo and Sega were now the order of the day and this small, sleek new model was released at a price that would make it attractive alongside its better but considerably more expensive rivals. A new TV ad campaign was launched announcing “The Fun is Back” (see below). Bundled with a 32 in 1 game cartridge and one joystick and with a new low price of $50 (£35) or less. Pretty much the only difference between this and the Rev. A was cosmetic. This version has a short rainbow graphic and the Rev. A had a longer rainbow graphic on the metal plate.

Atari 2600 ‘Junior’ Rev. A (1986)

junior long rainbow

Almost identical to the original ‘Junior’ except for the longer rainbow graphic on the brushed steel plate.

Atari 2600 ‘Junior’ Black

junior irish black

Manufactured in Ireland, this all-black ‘Junior’ is possibly the most uncommon of the three final models. Apart from cosmetic changes it remained internally and functionally the same as the other ‘Junior’ models.

10 Comments

  1. “Manufacture of the ‘Heavy Sixer’ was done solely in Sunnyvale, California.”

    This is incorrect, some heavy sixers were made in Taiwan. Great article though.

  2. You said for the Heavy Sixer: “all Heavy and Light Sixers have the same RF shielding”, but in the section for the Light Sixer: “…reduced RF shielding making it noticably lighter”. What statement is correct?

  3. Author

    The former. Now corrected, thank you.
    This article was written before I actually owned a H6er and could debunk all the myths. I missed that one!

  4. Know anybody looking for an old big orange Video Game Selection Center by Atari form 1982? We made them at my work in Grafton Wi. I have a production over run for sale.

  5. A friend of mine got his all-black junior in for Christmas, either 1984 or 1985. I think the UK got the second shape console before the rest of the world did.

    Incidentally a light 6 still being advertised over here in the UK for 1983.. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/141933825729737689/

  6. I have an Atari 2600jr that is different. The rainbow is missing its leftmost red/orange part. The underlying yellow band goes all the way to the left side (so from the right side it’s blue, in the middle is a small green part and on the left it’s yellow. Is this a misprint of some kind?? It looks absolutely original. I could send you pictures.

  7. Author

    It sounds like the Atari has been left in the sun and the band has faded. Red is not very lightfast and is usually the first colour to be bleached.

  8. Do you know which of the Jr models had the single-chip (“Janus”) in them? Possibly only the Rev A Jr, but fairly uncommon even then?

    You said that the chips were the only thing that didn’t change but … that’s not quite true, since the Janus chip was a thing. There are three primary ICs in the the various 2600 models: The 6507 (a pin-reduced 6502 processor), a 6532 “RIOT” (RAM, I/O, Timer) chip, and a third chip called the “TIA” (Television Interface Adapter). Apparently there are at least a dozen versions of the TIA out there for NTSC machines alone. The nature of the TIA and how it’s used means most of these variants will have some minor “glitch” in one or two games. Fascinating stuff I just learned tonight.

  9. At the time the Atari factory used a particular yellow-orange color for the contours around the 6 switches, in fact it is not easy to find apart. Vcs light sixer refurbished at home can be recognized by the fact that the contours of the 6 switches are either too light yellow or too dark orange!

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