NEC Turbografx-16- 1989

The Turbografx-16 was released in Japan as the PC-Engine in 1988. It had an 8-bit CPU with a 16-bit graphics chip, and was the first syst3m to have a CD player attachment. The c0nsole lost out in the market to the S3ga Genesis, due partially to a smaller g@me selection and a less powerful 8-bit CPU.

Atari 7800- 1988

The Atari 7800 ProSystem, known simply as the 7800 to Atari g@mers, was Atari's attempt to save the dying videog@me industry by launching a new generation of videog@mes which was to be far superior to those of previous genres. This new generation pioneered by the 7800 was to be the modern 8-bit era of the late 1980's. Early on in 1983, Atari surveyed g@mers to begin to find out what they wanted in a home Atari system. More importantly, Atari listened. G@mers wanted a powerful g@me system that could produce arcade-quality graphics, would be simple to use with sleek, responsive controllers, offered out of the box reverse-compatability with the Atari 2600 and its existing components, and would all be packaged in a sleek compact design. ...And thats exactly what Atari gave them. Gone was the bulky beast of the 5200 and its flimsy complicated analog controllers, and in came the new era of the sleek yet sothical Atari 7800 ProSystem, elegantly designed to carry a big punch in a little package.

N!ntendo N3S- 1985

The N!ntendo Entertainment System, released in Japan in 1983 as the Famicom (Family Computer), marked the second age of home video g@mes and the start of N!ntendo's dominance in the video-g@ming world. It was an 8-bit system with 52-color graphic capability and only 2K of RAM; it became a runaway success. It was the best-selling video g@me system since the Atari 2600. Super Mario Bros. 3, released in 1988, sold more than 7 million copies. The popularity of the N3S eventually made N!ntendo Japan's most successful company by 1990.

Atari 5200- 1982

The 5200 was Atari's attempt to regain the popularity lost with the release of more sophisticated competitors. It was basically the same processor as the Atari 400 home computer, with 16K of RAM. Its retail price was $330USD- quite alot.

The Atari 5200 cartridges were nearly twice the size of those for the 2600,and were basically designed in this fashion to make the consumer think they were getting a “bigger and better” g@me.In addition, the fact that the 5200 was not compatible with the 2600 put off many 2600 owners who had accumulated a substantial library of g@mes for the system. A VCS adaptor which allowed 2600 g@mes to be played on the 5200 was later released.

Over the next few years, the PC market was born and home computers from Apple & IBM became widely available. This caused poor sales to video consoles and is often referred to as 'great video g@me crash of 84.'

Colceo Gemini- 1982

Telstar (company who makes the colecos) return to the video g@me market was a gamble. They had been developing the machine , but with the introduction of more and more cartridge machines they were forced to dump over a million of there machines- losing well in excess of over $20 million.

The machine itself, was an exact copy of the Atari 2600 (as Atari hadnt patented ther parts and copy-righted there prgrammes they couldnt do anything about it.) The only slight differences to the machine were the the look and coleco had combined both Atari controllers.

The machine was sold for slightly less than the 2600, hoping to bring in buyers that way- retailing at under $199.95USD.

Mattel Intellivision- 1980

Intellivision became the main competition to the Atari 2600 and marketed itself as a more sophisticated system. It was the first 16-bit home g@me console, with graphics that were far superior to the 2600. It also had a separately available voice synthesizer module. The directional disc controllers, unpopular at the time, anticipated the keypad controllers that became standard with consoles in the 1990s.

Magnavox Odyssey2- 1978

The second generation of Odyssey consoles had a cult following but never gained the popularity of Atari. The Odyssey2 had a built-in keyboard, unique among 8-bit g@ming consoles. It was the best-selling of a variety of Atari competitors, including the Bally Astrocade and the Fairchild Channel F, which used the same basic technology as the 2600.

Atari VCS/2600- 1977

Atari's VCS (Video Computer System) was the first Atari 8-bit video g@ming machine, which was later called the 2600. It revolutionized the home video g@me market by refining the concept of a g@me system that used interchangeable cartridges. Atari maintained the upper hand in the market in coming years by producing a large selection of cartridges, as well as licensing home versions of popular arcade g@mes and the rights to movies like "ET" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The Atari 2600 was on the market until 1990, making it the machine with the longest market time in history.

Atari VCS/2600- 1977

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APF imagination machine

APF were a major distributor of calculators, before entering the g@mes console market. The machine was really more of a computer- although still played games, boasting 9k RAM, with 14k BASIC in ROM and a 53-key typewriter. It would generate a fine resolution pictuyre either on your television set or monitor (in eight colours.) It had two built in, game style controllers with joysticks and numeric keypads.

Imagination Machine is programmable in BASIC and 6800 machine language. The Imagination
Machine is also expandable. Just add our
"Building Block", an optional, four-port
expansion device, and you can hook up a
printer, telephone modem, and additional
memory cartridge or mini-floppy disk drive.

The machine had some very good pluses

· The g@mes were surprisingly good, in cassette and cartridge form.
· Each of the two controllers had there own numeric keypads.
· The built in cassette recorder (used to load and save g@mes) would have two channels, one for loading the game and the other for recording/playing your own voice. This was a unique feature and very fun too.


The APF Imagination Machine could be purchased as a single unit for $599USD, or you could purchase the console ($130) and the MPA-10 module ($499) separately.

Radofin-Video Systems Family also known as 1292


The 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System was first created in 1976 by a company called Radofin. Radofin then licensed the technology to other companies throughout the United Kingdom. Acetronic, Prinztronic, Fountain, Grandstand, Audiosonic, Hanimex and Lansay, each made consoles based on Radolfin's design for different parts of the world. Some of these variations were identical to the 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System, but sported different labels based on the maker. Other companies altered the original external design completely.

The Interton VC-4000 was also released in Europe. The overall design and specs are similar to the 1292 Radolfin family, but it is unclear whether this unit was licenced by Radolfin or developed before. The console was supposedly developed by Interton in 1974, but released in 1978. Both Interton and Radofin were German based companies.

All the systems used 32-pin cartridges, and 2 controllers (which are hard-wired to the system). These controllers had 12 buttons and a 2-axis analogue control. The pack-in games that came with most systems were Olympics and Invaders. It was possible to play carts on the various models with or without use of an adaptor. The numerous models also produced a large library of games.

Because of the similar architecture, it was believed that 1292 games could be played on the Emerson Arcadia with modifications. However thanks to hardware gurus and emulation it has been proven that it cannot be done.

The PC-50X Cart family

The world was going through ‘pong madness.’ Developers started to create advancements onto the AY-3-8500 chip, adding colour and better sound- generally improving the whole gaming experience.

Europe did not see the release of Intelvision and Atari 2600 till the early 1980s. This allowed Pong to have a longer success. Rather then creating a new machine for each new chip, developers took the General Instruments popular line of chips and slapped them into cartridges. These carts were not like ROM carts used in later systems. They simply housed a specific General Instruments processor chip with pin outs to interface with a console. These were the PC-50X line of cartridges. Heres what they look like.


With PC-50X cartridges manufactures were able to produce a console machine which could play several g@mes instead of only one, even being able to market them at a low cost. The units themselves were made in Hong Kong, and were marketed by Creatronic, Hanimex, ITMC, Rollet, Grandstand , Soundic and lord knows how many other manufacturers.

The initial model SD-050 varied in its appearance, having various colours and designs with slight modifications and manufactures names. Although they had basically the same look and overall design, two detachable controllers and ten buttons on the top of the machine- which would be used to select different cartridges. It would be these ten buttons which would allow the public to easily identify with the console.

New models were being introduced well into the 80’s with improvements such as additional settings, more realistic sounds and SECAM colour (four colours.)

Atari Pong- 1975

This is the home version of the popular Atari arcade Pong g@me. It made a huge cultural splash and started the video g@me boom. The game, sold through Sears-Roebuck, had two built-in controllers and only played Pong. Many different Atari Pong systems were released between 1975 and 1977, featuring g@ming innovations such as color and digital on-screen scoring.

Coleco TELSTAR-1976

Telstar systems began in 1976, there console was one of the first systems to use a new chip (AY-3-8500 chip.) It could play three games, hockey, tennis and handball- with three difficulty levels. It was a great success and sold over 1 million units, retailing at $50 each.

In 1978 a variation on the system was also released but with a more up to date chip (AY-3-8510.) This enabled the system to offer four games, this time in colour, aswell as a much sharper sound- many other systems at the time had unpleasant sound.

Selecting the games is used by pressing down on a push-switch, which was much easier to use and more robust. Strangely the system required 2 9v batteries, one for the games and one for the sounds, which was quite unusual.

The g@me systems were sold ‘not fully assembled.’ They were ready to play but needed the knobs and decorative stickers to be attached, more of a Do It Yourself g@mes console.

Magnavox Odyssey- 1972

The Magnavox Odyssey was the very first home gaming console, created by Ralph Baer. It played simple games, such as ''pong'', ''table tennis'' and ''volleyball.''


Production started on 27th of January, being released in May 1972. Being heavily advertised it reportingly sold 100,000 units priced at $100 each, which was alot of money at the time.


The Odessey had no specifications, being made up of mainly transistors, resisters, and capacitors with other simple components. The g@mes themselves were contained in cards which contained pin outs, to change the game settings- making the game play. Plastic overlays would have to be placed over the tv sets in order to see the graphics and colour, the colour just being white squares over a black background. Six game cards come with the system, aswell as a 36-page user manual which gave information on the twelve games offered by the system.

Before it became the Odessey, it was called '' The Brown Box.''

History Of Video Gaming

Video Games have come a far way since the very beginning. In 2005 more than 228 million computer and video g@mes were sold in america alone- thats almost two games for every household. Not suprisingly the video g@me market has grown and grown, raking in $10.5B in 2005.