![]() Sears Video Arcade ad VCS sales were boosted by the deal Atari had already set up with Sears & Roebuck to distribute its Home Pong units. This meant the VCS was able to play an unlimited number of different games, unlike the limited Pong-style consoles. The actual game was stored on the cartridge's ROM, not in the system itself. The VCS, unlike most other home videogames of the time, had a CPU and enabled users to play different games simply by sticking in another cartridge. Warner expected Stella (now dubbed the Video Computer System, or simply VCS) to be a huge success, since they knew Atari could make lots of money selling software for the new system. Warner wanted Atari to rule the videogame world, so they enthusiastically sunk over $100 million into their new acquisition. Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari) needed capital, so he sold the company to Warner Communications for $28 million in October 1976. So, in 1976, Atari frantically started working on project "Stella," a new cartridge-based home videogame system.Īs the project drew nearer to completion, Atari realized that they didn't have the money to finish the project and get it into production. As Pong's popularity started to decline (coupled with the introduction of the Fairchild Channel F, the first system to have programmable "ROM" cartridges), Atari realized that the market for home videogame consoles that could only play one game was fading fast.
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