Best ATARI Gift Ideas and Merchandise for the Retro Gamer

Atari was a pioneer developer of home consoles and arcade games, and defined the electronic entertainment industry of the seventies and part of eighties. Atari is not just responsible for some of the best games ever made but also, probably, for a whole generation of gamers. We have gathered some of the best ATARI merchandise and gift ideas for your enjoyment!

The word Atari in Japanese means “to hit the target” (ataru, actually), but it is also used as an expression when a prediction comes true, or for example when someone wins the lottery, like humanity did when the company was founded.

Atari was created in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, who had initially started as an engineering firm (Syzygy Engineering). The firm developed the first arcade video game ever, called Computer Space, and soon hired Al Alcorn as their first design engineer. If you don’t recognise the name, Alcorn was the mastermind behind Pong.

One of Atari’s biggest achievement was the Atari console itself, called Atari Video Computer System. Along with it came one of the most celebrated games in history: Space Invaders. Atari was filthy successful: At its peak, it accounted for a third of Warner’s annual income (the company had been sold to Warner for around 30 million dollars) and it was so far the fastest growing company in the history of the United States.

Unfortunately, Atari faced several problems during the eighties, and the game crash of 1983 was too hard of a blow (losses totalled more than 500 million dollars). However, the myth of the E.T game being the game that ended it all has been finally debunked. I strongly suggest you watch the documentary “Game Over”, listed below, if you are interested in Atari’s history and the myth of the E.T cartridges buried in the desert. I would also suggest you give E.T a try, and imagine what how this original gameplay must have been experienced then, and then remember it was developed in just two months by one of my personal heroes: Howard Scott Warshaw, one hell of a developer. 

We have raked Amazon in search of some of the most original Atari gift ideas, for yourself or a loved one, and here’s what we have found. Just a note: This is how you end up with no money.