History of video game consoles (second generation)

The second generation of video game consoles began in 1976. The second generation began with the release of the Fairchild Channel F and Radofin Electronics' 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System. This generation is sometimes called the "early 8-bit era". Many consoles were released in the second generation. The Atari 2600 was the most popular video game console for much of the second generation. Other consoles such as Intellivision, the Odyssey 2, and ColecoVision were also popular.

The second generation ended in 1984. This was because of the video game crash of 1983. As of 2004, the Atari 2600 has sold 30 million units.^[1] As of 1990, the Intellivision had sold 3 million units.^[2]^[3]^[4] As of April 1984, the ColecoVision had sold 2 million units.^[5] As of 1977, the Fairchild Channel F had sold 250,000 units.^[6]

Home systems

Comparison

Name	Fairchild Channel F	Atari 2600	Magnavox Odyssey²	Intellivision	Atari 5200
Manufacturer	Fairchild Semiconductor	Atari	Magnavox	Mattel	Atari
Console
Launch prices	US$169.95	US$199	US$200 ¥49,800	US$299	US$270
Release date	^US August 1976	^US October 1977 ^EU 1978	^US 1978 ^EU December 1982 ^JP 1982 ^BRZ 1983	^US 1979 ^EU 1982 ^JP 1982	^US November 1982
Media	Cartridge	Cartridge and Cassette (Cassette available via special 3rd party attachment)	Cartridge	Cartridge	Cartridge
Top-selling games	N/A	Pac-Man, 7 million (as of September 1, 2006)^[7]^[8]	N/A	Astrosmash (1 million)^[9]	N/A
Backward compatibility	N/A	N/A	None	Atari 2600 games through the System Changer module accessories (retail)	N/A	Driving controller Keypad Game Brain Starpath Supercharger GameLine	The Voice Chess Module	Keyboard component (cancelled) Entertainment Computer System Intellivoice	Trak-Ball Controller Atari 2600 adaptor
CPU	Fairchild F8 1.79 MHz (PAL 2.00 MHz)	MOS Technology 6507 1.19 MHz	Intel 8048 8-bit microcontroller 1.79 MHz	General Instrument CP1610 894.886 kHz	Custom MOS 6502C 1.79 MHz (not a 65c02)
Memory	64 bytes, 2 kB VRAM (2×128×64 bits)	(within a MOS Technology RIOT chip): 128 bytes (additional RAM may be included in the game cartridges)	CPU-internal RAM: 64 bytes Audio/video RAM: 128 bytes	1456 bytes main RAM	16 kB main RAM
Video	102 × 58 pixels visible 8 colors, maximum of 4 per scanline	160 x 192 resolution 2 sprites, 2 missiles and 1 ball per scanline. Sprites can be use multiple times through the HMOVE command. 2 backgrounds colors and 2 sprite colors per scanline 128 colors (NTSC) 104 colors (PAL)	160×200 resolution (NTSC) 16-color fixed palette; sprites use 8 colors 4 8×8 single-color user-defined sprites 12 8×8 single-color characters; 64 shapes built into ROM BIOS; 4 quad characters; 9×8 background grid; dots, lines, or blocks	159x96 pixels (159x192 display on a TV screen, scanlines being doubled) 16 color palette, all of which can be on the screen at once 8 sprites.	320×192 resolution, 16 (out of 256) on-screen colors per scan line with 256 colors capable of being displayed at once.
Audio	Mono audio with: 500 Hz, 1 kHz, and 1.5 kHz tones (can be modulated quickly to produce different tones)	Mono	Mono audio with: 24-bit shift register, clockable at 2 frequencies noise generator	Mono audio with: three channel sound one noise generator	Mono audio with: 4-channel sound

Name	Vectrex	Arcadia 2001	ColecoVision	Bally Astrocade
Manufacturer	General Consumer Electric and Milton Bradley	Emerson Radio Corporation	Coleco	Bally Technologies
Console
Launch prices	US$199	N/A	US$199	N/A
Release date	^US November 1982 ^EU May 1983 ^JP June 1983	^US 1982	^US August 1982 ^EU May 1982	^US 1977
Media	Cartridge	Cartridge	Cartridge and Cassette, available with Expansion #3	Cartridge and cassette/Floppy, available with ZGRASS unit
Top-selling games	N/A	N/A	Donkey Kong (pack-in)	N/A
Backward compatibility	N/A	N/A	Compatible with Atari 2600 Via Expansion #1	N/A
Accessories (retail)	3-D Imager Light Pen	N/A	Expansion #1 Expansion #2 Expansion #3 Roller Controller Super Action Controller Set	ZGRASS unit
CPU	Motorola 68A09 1.5 MHz	Signetics 2650 CPU 3.58 MHz	Zilog Z80A 3.58 MHz	Zilog Z80 1.789 MHz
Memory	1 kB main RAM	512 bytes	8 kB main RAM 16 kB VRAM	4k (up to 64k with external modules in the expansion port)
Video	Built in vector CRT	128x208 / 128x104 8 Colours	256x192 resolution 32 sprites, maximum of 4 sprites per scanline 16 colors	Resolution: True 160x102 / Basic 160x88 / Expanded RAM 320x204 Colors: True 8* / Basic 2
Audio	Mono (built in speaker)	Mono audio with: Single Channel "Beeper" Single Channel "Noise"	Mono audio with: 3 tone generators 1 noise generator	Mono audio with: 3 voices noise/vibrato effect

Handheld systems

The first handheld game console was the Microvision designed by Smith Engineering. It was distributed and sold by Milton-Bradley in 1979. It was the first handheld game console that could use different game cartridges. The Microvision had a small LCD display. There were only a few games that could be played with this system. It was discontinued two years later.

The Epoch Game Pocket Computer was released in Japan in 1984. The game system did not sell very well. Because of this, only five games were made for it. Nintendo's Game & Watch was more successful. It was very popular until it was discontinued in 1991.

List of handheld systems

Milton Bradley Microvision (Released in 1979)
Nintendo Game & Watch (Released 1980-1991)
Epoch Game Pocket Computer (Released in 1984)

Software

Popular games

History Of Video Game Consoles (second Generation) Media

An opened Fairchild Channel F ROM cartridge, illustrating the ROM chips mounted to a circuit board within the casing. The cartridges were inserted into the console via the exposed contacts on the top of the board.
An Atari 2600 game joystick controller
The Fairchild Channel F with hard-wired controllers. A second-generation video game console released in 1976.
The Fairchild Channel F System II video game console. Released in 1979, it is a moderately improved version of the original Channel F.
An Atari 2600 four-switch "wood veneer" version, dating from 1980-1982. Shown with standard joystick.
The Bally Professional Arcade, one of the many names of a 2nd generation video game console released by Bally in the late '70s and early '80s.
Magnavox-Odyssey-2-Console-Set
The Intellivision, a 2nd generation video game console released by Mattel in 1979.
The Intellivision II video game console. This scaled-down redesign of the Intellivision was released in 1983.

References

↑ "Atari VCS (Atari 2600)". A Brief History of Game Console Warfare. BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
↑ "Mattel Intellivision - 1980-1984". ClassicGaming. IGN. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
↑ "Ask Hal: Frequently Asked Questions to the Blue Sky Rangers". Intellivision Productions. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
↑ "playstaion 303". Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
↑ Coleco Industries sales report, PR Newswire, 1984-04-17, 'First quarter sales of ColecoVision were substantial, although much less that [sic] those for the year ago quarter,' Greenberg said in a prepared statement. He said the company has sold 2 million ColecoVision games since its introduction in 1982.
↑ Gareth R. Jones; Charles W.L. Hill (2007). Strategic management: an integrated approach (7th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. C-123. ISBN 978-0-618-73166-4. Retrieved 25 February 2012. By this point, second-place Fairchild sold around 250,000 units of its system.
↑ Jeremy Reimer (2006-09-01). "EA's Madden 2007 sells briskly, but are games gaining on movies?". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
↑ Kent, Steven (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4.
↑ "Mattel Intellivision — 1980–1984". ClassicGaming. IGN. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2008-05-16.

Other websites

The Dot Eaters: Pixel Boxes Archived 2007-12-11 at the Wayback Machine

[1] "Atari VCS (Atari 2600)". A Brief History of Game Console Warfare. BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2007-12-04.

[intellivision-2] "Mattel Intellivision - 1980-1984". ClassicGaming. IGN. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2008-05-16.

[intellivision2-3] "Ask Hal: Frequently Asked Questions to the Blue Sky Rangers". Intellivision Productions. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2008-11-03.

[intellivision3-4] "playstaion 303". Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2013-05-22.

[coleco_report-5] Coleco Industries sales report, PR Newswire, 1984-04-17, 'First quarter sales of ColecoVision were substantial, although much less that [sic] those for the year ago quarter,' Greenberg said in a prepared statement. He said the company has sold 2 million ColecoVision games since its introduction in 1982.

[jones123-6] Gareth R. Jones; Charles W.L. Hill (2007). Strategic management: an integrated approach (7th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. C-123. ISBN 978-0-618-73166-4. Retrieved 25 February 2012. By this point, second-place Fairchild sold around 250,000 units of its system.

[7] Jeremy Reimer (2006-09-01). "EA's Madden 2007 sells briskly, but are games gaining on movies?". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

[8] Kent, Steven (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4.

[salesfigures-9] "Mattel Intellivision — 1980–1984". ClassicGaming. IGN. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2008-05-16.

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