Pac-Man

Pac-Man on Atari 2600 is perhaps history's most important game — not for its quality, but for the disaster it caused. Atari produced 12 million cartridges for a 10-million console install base, convinced it would sell new consoles too. Programmer Tod Frye had weeks to convert the arcade phenomenon and the result was unrecognizable: Pac-Man was a square, ghosts flickered, the maze was distorted. It still sold 7 million — the 2600's best-seller — but mass disappointment eroded consumer trust. It was the first crack leading to the 1983 crash.