 Design of the 8-bit series of machines started at Atari as soon as the Atari 2600 games console was released in late 1977.While designing the 2600 in 1976, the engineering team from Atari Grass Valley Research Center (originally "Cyan Engineering") felt that the 2600 would have about a three-year lifespan before becoming obsolete.They started blue sky designs for a new console that would be ready to replace it around 1979.