Atari 7800

The Atari 7800 was built to win back the console crown from a resurgent Nintendo. It offered markedly sharper graphics than the old 2600 and, cannily, stayed fully compatible with that machine's vast cartridge library, so buyers inherited years of games from the moment they switched on.

The plan was sound, but the execution was cursed by timing. Corporate upheaval at Atari left the 7800 sitting on the shelf far longer than it should have, and by the time it properly reached buyers the NES had already swept the market and locked up the best new games.

Capable but overshadowed, it never came close to reclaiming Atari's former glory. It is remembered as another of the company's nearly-machines, a likeable console with a decent run of arcade-style games that arrived a beat too late, into a fight that had already been decided.