Atari introduced a whole new color coding system for its products.
Originally the Atari 2600 line of games and accessories were packed in
variation colors of the sprectrum. When the new Atari
5200 system was introduced, Atari needed to help its customers easily identify
which products were for which game system. High tech
silver was chosen for the boxes and the Atari 2600 line was designated
Red. So all Atari 2600 games, accessories and add-ons were
packaged in silver boxes with red stripes.
The Atari 5200 line of games and accessories were to be packaged in silver
with blue stripes to designate that they were for the Atari 5200 system
only. The idea was simple and made great sense and helped
users easily find games and peripherals for their Atari systems that they
knew were compatible.
The Atari 7800 line of video games and accessories were to be designated
Purple (since the Atari 2600 and 5200 combined equally 7800, the colors
red and blue combined made purple). However when the
Tramiels took over Atari, the Atari 7800 was shelved for 2 1/2 years and
upon its introduction with no real marketing behind the system, the purple
color designation was lost. In 1985 the Tramiels annouced
an innovative new color coding system for their XE and ST brands of computers.
The Atari XE systems would be Red and the Atari ST systems would be Blue.
Geee... I wonder where they got that idea from?
