The Atari 2600/VCS was only ever designed to play Pong/paddle games, and it was through the combined wizardry of developers such as those found at Activision, Imagic, and Atari themselves that it ever became anything more. Dedicated machines like Colecovision and Intellivision are more capable than the VCS, but to say that they've left a comparable footprint to Atari on the landscape of games today is delusional. They were the benchmark, paving a path forward for the 8-bit consoles and home computers of gen 3. With the NES, console games became a phenomenon, more than an arcade-sized distraction and onward to much richer, immersive experiences.
If you want to gain a new perspective for this medium, check out Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration (my GOTY for 2022) and try out those 2600 games for yourself. If you think Castlevania II is cryptic, you ain't seen Swordquest.
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