The Atari 2600, a console that came of age in 1977, recently defeated today’s AI overlord, ChatGPT, in a game of chess. This win is a testament to the incredible potential of gaming technology, even in its most rudimentary form. The Atari 2600, the cultural touchstone of early ‘80s – ‘90s video game culture, proved its remarkable versatility. Flaws aside, it bested cutting edge artificial intelligence for the military in some situations.

The Atari 2600, which became the face of video games for decades, had extremely limited technical specs. It even packed in 128 bytes of RAM and a 1.19 MHz processor, a million times slower than your average toaster today. The original package came with two analog joysticks, standard paddle controllers, and an included Combat 1 game cartridge.

Notably, the Atari 2600 brought arcade-style gaming into homes and was one of the first consoles to use interchangeable game cartridges. This functionality let players experience a newness on a diverse range of games all on one system, sending it into wild success.

Given its limitations, the Atari 2600’s chess program displayed a remarkable level of skill. Though it couldn’t distinguish a knight from a neighbor, somehow it played all the same. This sudden victory over ChatGPT highlights the timeless allure and underappreciated power of retro gaming tech.