The Atari 7800 was Atari's 1986 console, released in an attempt to remain competitive in the video game market after Nintendo had released its Nintendo Entertainment Center. The 7800 was designed with backwards compatibility and expansion in mind. The 7800 played both Atari 2600 games and 7800 cartridges which featured improved speeds and more advanced graphics. Using a new processing chip called MARIA, the 7800 allowed programmers to use broader colors and a much larger number of sprites on screen which, in turn, made the new 7800 games more appealing than those of its predecessor. 

Unfortunately, by the time the console was released, Nintendo had already tied up the vast majority of publishers to develop games for its own console. This left Atari as practically the only developer of software for the console, and severely limited the number of titles available to potential buyers. By the time the 7800 was cancelled in late 1991, they controlled just 11% of the market, with Nintendo's market-share sitting somewhere around 80%.