"It's the system that kicked off the gaming revolution," Jefferson said. "It made the way for the PS3, 360 and Wii -- and beyond."

Today, most Atari 2600s are collecting dust in attics or buried in landfills. But some gamers are still able to enjoy the console's 8-bit graphics and retro music 40 years later.

"I still have my original working Atari 2600 console," said Konoza of Edmonton. "Sometimes I need a break from playing games with a controller with 14 different buttons, dual analog sticks, and full motion control. Just holding a simple joystick, knowing that I can master a game using one button, brings comfort to me.

"In a complicated world, you need a little dose of simplicity."