Atari 8-bit



Right after the 2600 was released, Atari started work on a heavily improved successor. But, all of a sudden, the "microcomputer revolution" happened: machines like the Apple II, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 quickly became immensely popular. Noticing this new trend, and realizing that their new designs were pretty badass, Atari decided to forgo that new console and use them to make a computer of their own instead. Thus was born the "Atari home computers" family, retroactively called the "Atari 8-bit" family after the release of the 16-bit Atari ST.