Interesting Atari fact...

[wildbil52]

Just read this on an Atari forum:

The only Atari console to generate a profit from the late 1980s onward was the 2600jr, a sub-$50 bargain version of the original 2600.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

The 7800 was overpriced and released too late, and the Lynx and Jaguar were commercial flops because of price and difficulty in development.

[wildbil52]

The 7800 was overpriced and released too late, and the Lynx and Jaguar were commercial flops because of price and difficulty in development.

I knew that the later systems were flops but I thought that the 2600 did well enough to turn a profit.  Just goes to show how hard it is to make money in the hardware bidness.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Hardware is often sold at cost. Microsoft was making $0.10 for each console sold when my wife worked at Circuit City. They made most of their money on accessories and software.

[blcklblskt]

That is pretty interesting.  I wonder how Nintendo does with hardware profits...

[Duke.Togo]

Not too surprising, considering the cost to manufacture. I would hope they could turn a profit on an off the shelf hardware design that was 8+ years old by that time. Then again, this was Atari after the bust...