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Atari 2600 VCS Video Games Console, 1977
The VCS or Video Computer System evolved from a game system called
Stella, developed by Semiconductor manufacturers Fairchild in the mid 1970s. In
1976 Atari, then owned by Warner Communications, took over the design and the
first models went on sale in the US in autumn 1977, reaching the UK several
months later. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of the very first UK test
samples for review in Electronics Today International and to say it was an
instant hit with everyone who saw it would be a gross understatement! As I
recall all work in the ETI editorial offices came to an abrupt halt for three
straight days, before the boss decided it was time to get back to work (and
then only because he pulled rank and took it home…) Despite Atari’s best attempts to control the game software many
third-party companies got in on the act, producing cartridges. Many of these
games were complete rubbish, but some companies, like Activision came up with
some real classics, increasing the game system’s popularity. It’s a near perfect design, there’s no need to read the
instructions, just slap in a cartridge, flip the reset switch, waggle the
joystick and stab the fire button. Everything about the VCS was right, from the
cheesy mock-wood finish to the virtually destructible joysticks and paddle
controllers, I can’t remember ever breaking one, in spite of some fierce abuse.
What Happened To It? The VCS wet through several design changes and continued in
production until 1990, but by that time its blocky graphics had become
seriously outdated and the market had shifted to faster and more sophisticated
machines. However, the dedicated games console was in decline by the late 1980s
and struggling against the more versatile personal computer, but what goes
around comes around. By the mid nineties the games console was on the rise
again, thanks to the success of products like the Sony PlayStation This VCS is a 1981 vintage model, according to a date label
inside, and one of the last of the first generation machines as it has the
difficulty switches on the front (they moved around the back on later models).
I picked it up at a local car boot sale for £12.00. It was a bit of a punt as
the chap selling it couldn’t say if it was working or not but since it looked
in good condition and came with two joysticks, paddle controllers, power
supply, half a dozen games and the original cardboard box I though it was worth
a gamble. As it turned out it did have a fault, the solder joints on the
on/off switch were intermittent and took all of five minutes to fix, but apart
from that it was in perfect working order, and a real bargain. They’re not
exactly rare but you can pay £40 to £50 for a pristine example on ebay, so boot
sale finds like this one are not that common. The only trouble is once you have
one you want more games, so it could turn into an expensive hobby… GIZMO GUIDE First seen: 1977 Original Price
£150 Value Today?
£30 Features:
ROM cartridge programmable, 1 or 2 players, 2 difficulty levels,
joystick and paddle controllers (optional trackball and steering wheels controllers),
UHF aerial output Power req.
9-volt mains adaptor Weight: 1.7kg Dimensions:
350 x 230 x 90mm Made in: Hong Kong Hen's Teeth (10 rarest): 4
Tomy Electronic Soccer 1980
The actual game is pretty naff; the console is designed to look
like a miniature stadium with three rows of red LEDs, beneath the pitch,
representing the ball. The player's job is to direct he ball into the opponents
goal, by tapping three direction buttons, and to prevent it reaching their own
goal with a fourth Defence button. Scores are shown on a twin 7-segment digital
display. Options are one and two player games and Pro 1 and 2 levels, which
alter the speed. The game is accompanied by typically tinkly tunes and sound
effects, which you can't switch off. Build quality is pretty good, it was meant to take a fair amount
of abuse and I guess fun for kids of 10 and under to play. I found this one in
Brighton Station Market recently for £1.50. The case was okay but the batteries
had been left in too long and there were signs of corrosion. Fortunately it
wasn't too deep seated and I was able to remove it, and once the contacts were
cleaned up it fired up straight away. What Happened to it? Like all handheld games of the late 70s and early 80s they
provided a brief diversion for those who couldn't afford video games, but as
soon as the prices stated to fall, in the mid 80s, single game consoles like
this one vanished almost overnight. Of course handheld games did survive but
only thanks to better LCD screens and cartridge programmability, which meant
that you didn't have to get bored playing one game over and again. Although the game seems tame and slow by today's standards these
little boxes of tricks are great fun to collect and I predict they will become
much sought after in the next few years. They represent a real milestone in the
history of electronic entertainment. Not many will have survived but those that
do often sell for next to nothing, but probably not for much longer... GIZMO GUIDE First seen: 1980 Original Price £15 Value Today?
£25 Features:
1 or 2 players, Pro 1 & 2 speed levels, twin 7-segment score
display, sound effects Power req. 3 x AA & 1 x PP3 Weight: 0.3g Dimensions:
220 x 150 x 40mm Made in: Japan Hen's Teeth (10 rarest):
6 Vanity Fair Electron Blaster 1979
The game was housed in a
futuristic looking case, dominated by the narrow green fluorescent display. It
was simple to play, aliens dropped down the screen, accompanied by some cheesy
sound effects and your job was to shoot them, before they shot you or made it
to the bottom of the screen. The ‘gun’ was aimed using the joystick and fired
by pressing the red fire button; there was a choice of three difficulty levels,
which altered the speed at which the aliens moved. Extra points could be gained
by shooting a spaceship, which flew across the top of the screen, and the
object of the game was to destroy as many aliens as possible, without loosing
any lives, and score the maximum 199 points in as short a time as possible. At
the time these games kept us amused for hours, though now, with the benefit of
hindsight and a highly-trained fire button thumb it seems absurdly easy to beat. What Happened to It? Hand held games never really went away though basic single-game, single player devices like Electron Blaster declined in popularity throughout the 80s and were eventually blown away by programmable games ‘consoles’, like the classic Nintendo Gameboy, which first appeared in 1989. This one still works and is in pretty good shape for its age. I picked it up at a market in Brighton a couple of years ago for 50 pence. This type of gadget has been overlooked for far too long and I suspect they could become sought after. Definitely a future collectible and pristine examples can still be found, sometimes with their original boxes for very little money. GIZMO GUIDE
First seen: 1979 Original
Price
£19.99 Value Today? £3 Features:
Flourescent display, three difficulty
levels, on/off reset switch, external DC connector Weight: 0.4kg Dimensions: 245 x 125 x 45 mm Made in: Taiwan Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 4
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The Atari VCS wasn’t the first programmable video game system, but
it was without question the most successful, with over 30 million of them being
sold throughout its 13-year life. It’s the granddaddy of all of video games and
although now horribly dated by today’s standards, many of the games are still
great fun to play, and highly addictive.
Also known as Electronic Striker this handheld electronic game
from Japanese toy maker Tomy first appeared around 1980, according to several
handheld games sites, and I'm not about to argue with the experts. I vaguely
remember this game being on the market but due to a lack of interest in the
game, real and handheld, it wasn't one that I ever reviewed, let alone owned.
Hand-held ‘video’ games
were all the rage in the late 1970s and early 80s for the simple reason that
real video games were still eye-wateringly expensive, and not very portable.
The Electron Blaster, made by the Taiwanese company Vanity Fair was a typical example,
based on the incredibly popular Taito Space Invaders game that had appeared on
arcades video games only a year earlier. Electron Blaster game was one of
several identical games, other popular variants were CGL’s Galaxy Invader, Gakken
Invader and Fire Away, which was sold exclusively in Radio Shack stores.