Atari Lynx
Atari Lynx I | |
| Developer | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation |
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Fourth |
| Release date | September 1, 1989 |
| Lifespan | 1989–1995 |
| Introductory price | US$179.99 (equivalent to $460 in 2024) |
| Discontinued | 1995 |
| Units sold | 2 million |
| Media | ROM cartridge |
| CPU | "Mikey" (VLSI VL65NC02 8-bit CPU + Sound processor + LCD driver) |
| Memory | 64 KB RAM |
| Display | Backlit 3.5" color LCD; 160 × 102 standard resolution (16,320 addressable pixels) |
| Graphics | "Suzy" (16-bit custom CMOS) |
| Sound | 4 channels, 8-bit DAC or PSG sound |
| Best-selling game | RoadBlasters |
The Atari Lynx is a fourth-generation hand-held game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal display. Powered by a 4 MHz 65C02 8-bit CPU and a custom 16-bit blitter, the Lynx was more advanced than Nintendo's monochrome Game Boy, released two months earlier. It also competed with Sega's Game Gear and NEC's TurboExpress, released the following year.
The system was developed at Epyx by two former designers of the Amiga personal computers. The project was called the Handy Game or simply Handy. In 1991, Atari replaced the Lynx with a smaller model internally referred to as the Lynx II. Atari published a total of 73 games for the Lynx before it was discontinued in 1995.