The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in the United States in October 1977. The Atari 2600 was originally called the Atari Video Computer System (or VCS). The Atari 2600 uses game cartridges which can be swapped in and out to change games, which was a new idea in video games at the time. Over 30 million Atari 2600 consoles were sold.