The Atari 7800 ProSystem was originally slated for a 1984 release. But when Warner Communications sold Atari to Commodore founder Jack Tramiel, all projects were put on hold, and the 7800 was delayed until 1986.

The 7800 was a significant step forward from Atari’s previous 2600 and 5200 models. With the ability to play games from the 2600, the 7800 was the first console to offer backward compatibility out of the box.

Its hardware produced graphics that far exceeded the consoles of its era. However, by the time it was publicly available, the NES was dominating the market. The 7800 failed to gain a foothold. Atari discontinued the system in 1992, along with the 2600 and the 8-bit family of computers.