Steve Mayer

Over the course of August 1997, interviews were shot for a video documentary entitled Stella at 20: An Atari 2600 Retrospective. The founders of Atari, the original engineers, the famous programmers, and some lesser known programmers were gathered together to look back on the system that launched the home videogame industry. Volume 1 contains a roundtable discussion on the origin of the 2600 itself, from concept to finished product, as well as musings on the rise and fall of Atari and changes in the industry then vs. now.

How Atari helped create the games industry years before it should have happened, and the lucky deals and unfortunate mistakes that almost destroyed the entire industry just as quickly as it was born. The personalities of the pioneers, the creations of the engineers, and the challenges, technology and business deals. See the games and hear the stories from the creators themselves.