Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki

We're looking to revitalize this wiki! For more information, click here.

READ MORE

Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki
Advertisement
Name Fairchild Channel F Atari 2600 Bally Astrocade Magnavox Odyssey² Intellivision
Manufacturer Fairchild Semiconductor Atari Bally Technologies Magnavox Mattel
Console File:Fairchild-Channel-F-System-II-Console.png File:Atari-2600-Wood-4Sw-Set.png File:Bally-Arcade-Console.png File:Magnavox-Odyssey-2-Console-Set.png File:Intellivision-Console-Set.png
Launch price US$169.95 (equivalent to $810 in 2023) US$199[1] (equivalent to $890 in 2023) US$299[2] (equivalent to $1,340 in 2023) US$200 (equivalent to $830 in 2023)

JP¥49,800 (equivalent to ¥75,900 in 2019)[3]

US$299[4] (equivalent to $980 in 2023)
Release date
  • USA: November 1976
  • JP: October 1977
  • USA: September 1977
  • EU: 1978
  • JP: May 1983
[5]
  • EU: December 1978
  • USA: February 1979
  • JP: 1982
  • BR: 1983
  • USA: Test marketed in 1979. Official release in 1980
  • EU: 1982
  • JP: 1982
Media Cartridge Cartridge and Cassette (Cassette available via special 3rd party attachment) Cartridge and cassette/Floppy, available with ZGRASS unit Cartridge Cartridge
Top-selling games Videocart-17: Pinball Challenge Pac-Man, 7 million (as of September 1, 2006)[6][7] N/A N/A :Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack 1.939 million
Major League Baseball 1.085 million (as of June 1983)[8][9]
Backward compatibility N/A 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
  • ZGRASS unit
  • The Voice
  • Chess Module
CPU 1.79 MHz (PAL 2.00 MHz) Fairchild F8 1.19 MHz MOS Technology 6507 1.789 MHz Zilog Z80 1.79 MHz Intel 8048 8-bit microcontroller 2 MHz General Instrument CP1610
Memory Main RAM 64 bytes
Video RAM 2 kB (2×128×64 bits)
128 bytes RAM within MOS Technology RIOT chip (additional RAM may be included in game cartridges) Main RAM 4 kB (up to 64 kB with external modules in the expansion port) CPU-internal RAM: 64 bytes
Audio/video RAM: 128 bytes
352 x 16-bit system RAM

240 x 8-bit scratchpad RAM
512 x 8-bit graphics pattern table RAM

Video Resolution

102×58 to 128×64[10]

160×192 (sprites)
40x192 (playfield)

True: 160×102
Basic: 160×88
Expanded RAM: 320×204

160×200 (NTSC)

160x96 (20x12 tiles of 8x8 pixels)

Palette

8 colors

128 colors (NTSC)
104 colors (PAL)
8 colors (SECAM)

32 colors (8 intensities)

16 colors (fixed); sprites use 8 colors

16 color

Colors on Screen

8 simultaneous (maximum of 4 per scanline)

128 simultaneous (2 background colors and 2 sprite colors (1 color per sprite) per scanline)

True: 8
Basic: 2

16 simultaneous

Sprites

1

2 sprites, 2 missiles, and 1 ball per scanline

Unlimited (software controlled)

  • 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

8 sprites, 8x16 half-pixels

Other Vertical and horizontal scrolling
Audio Mono audio with:
  • 500 Hz, 1 kHz, and 1.5 kHz tones (can be modulated quickly to produce different tones)
Mono audio with:
  • two channel sound
  • 5-bit frequency divider and 4-bit audio control register
  • 4-bit volume control register per channel
Mono audio with:
  • 3 voices
  • noise/vibrato effect
Mono audio with:
  • 24-bit shift register, clockable at 2 frequencies
  • noise generator
Mono audio with:
  • General Instrument AY-3-8914
  • three channel sound
  • one noise generator
Name Emerson Arcadia 2001 ColecoVision Atari 5200 Vectrex
Manufacturer Emerson Radio Corporation Coleco Atari General Consumer Electric and Milton Bradley
Console File:Emerson-Arcadia-2001.png ColecoVision-wController-L File:Atari-5200-Console-Set.png File:Vectrex-Console-Set.png
Launch price US$200 (equivalent to $560 in 2023)[11]

JP¥19,800 (equivalent to ¥24,600 in 2019)[12]

US$175[1] (equivalent to $490 in 2023) US$270[1] (equivalent to $760 in 2023) US$199[13] (equivalent to $560 in 2023)
Release date
  • USA: November 1982
  • USA: November 1982
  • EU: May 1983
  • JP: June 1983
Media Cartridge[11] Cartridge and Cassette, available with Expansion #3 Cartridge Cartridge
Top-selling games N/A Donkey Kong (pack-in) N/A N/A
Backward compatibility N/A Compatible with Atari 2600 Via Expansion #1 Atari 2600 games through the 2600 cartridge adapter N/A
Accessories (retail) N/A
  • Expansion #1
  • Expansion #2
  • Expansion #3
  • Roller Controller
  • Super Action Controller Set
  • Trak-Ball Controller
  • Atari 2600 adaptor
  • 3-D Imager
  • Light Pen
CPU 3.58 MHz Signetics 2650 CPU 3.58 MHz Zilog Z80A 1.79 MHz Custom MOS 6502C 1.5 MHz Motorola 68A09
Memory 512 bytes RAM Main RAM 1 kB
Video RAM 16 kB
Main RAM 16 kB DRAM Main RAM 1 kB
Video Resolution

128x208 / 128×104

256×192

80×192 (16 color)
160×192 (4 color)
320×192 (2 color)[14]

Palette

16 colors

15 colors, 1 transparent

256 colors

2 (black and white)

Colors on Screen

16 simultaneous (1 color per sprite)

16 simultaneous,[14] Up to 256 (16 hues, 16 luma) on screen (16 per scanline) with display list interrupts

2 simultaneous (black and white)

Sprites

32 sprites (4 per scanline), 8×8 or 8×16 pixels, integer zoom

8 single-color sprites, full height of display; 1/2/4x width scaling

Other

Tilemap playfield, 8×8 tiles

  • 14 graphics modes (6 tilemap, 8 bitmap)[14]
  • Fine and coarse scrolling (vertical and horizontal)[15]

Built in vector CRT

Audio Mono audio with:
  • Single Channel "Beeper"
  • Single Channel "Noise"
Mono audio with:
  • 3 tone generators
  • 1 noise generator
Mono audio with:
  • 4-channel sound
Mono audio (built-in speaker)
  • 3 channel sound
  • noise generator

Sales standings[]

The best-selling console of the second generation was the Atari 2600 at 30 million units.[16] As of 1990, the Intellivision had sold 3 million units.[17][4][18] This is around 1 million higher than the Odyssey² and ColecoVision sales[19][20] and eight times the number of purchases for the Fairchild Channel F, which was 350,000 units.[21]
Console Units sold worldwide
Atari 2600 30 million (as of 2004)[16]
Intellivision 3 million (as of 2004)[22][4][23]
ColecoVision 2 million (as of 1983)[24]
Magnavox Odyssey² 2 million (as of 2005)[25]
Atari 5200 1 million (as of 1984)[26]
Fairchild Channel F 350,000 (as of 1979)[21]
Bally Astrocade Unknown
Emerson Arcadia 2001 Unknown
Vectrex Unknown
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dornbush, Jonathon (October 4, 2016). "Update: Comparing the Price of Every Game Console, With Inflation". IGN. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  2. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :2
  3. Mabuchi, Hiroaki (December 29, 2016). "テレビテニスから始まった国内家庭用ゲーム機の移り変わり". IGN Japan . Retrieved August 30, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named askhal12
  5. Wolf, Mark J. P. (2012) (in en). Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming. ABC-CLIO. pp. 67. ISBN 9780313379369. https://books.google.com/books?id=deBFx7QAwsQC&q=astrocade&pg=PA388. 
  6. Jeremy Reimer (September 1, 2006). "EA's Madden 2007 sells briskly, but are games gaining on movies?". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2008. {{cite web}}:
  7. Kent, Steven (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. 
  8. Fox, Matt (December 1, 2012) (in en). The Video Games Guide: 1,000+ Arcade, Console and Computer Games, 1962-2012, 2d ed.. McFarland. pp. 179. ISBN 9781476600673. https://books.google.com/books?id=LVc1QNGo_g0C&q=Magnavox+Odyssey%C2%B2+1979&pg=PA354. 
  9. Intellivision Lives CD PC/Mac. Intellivision Productions. 1998. 
  10. Wolf, Mark J. P. (June 15, 2012) (in en). Before the Crash: Early Video Game History. Wayne State University Press. pp. 65. ISBN 9780814337226. https://books.google.com/books?id=oK3D4i5ldKgC&pg=PA65. Retrieved October 29, 2016. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 Cohen, Henry (1982). Electronic Games. pp. 100–105. http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_nov82.pdf. Retrieved January 20, 2019. 
  12. M.B. Mook (2016). Nostalgic Famicon Perfect Guide. Japan. pp. 101. https://archive.org/details/nostalgicfamiconperfectguide. 
  13. Kent, Steven L. (2000) (in en). The First Quarter: A 25-Year History of Video Games. BWD Press. pp. 190. ISBN 9780970475503. https://books.google.com/books?id=ny-CAAAAMAAJ&q=vectrex+$199. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Atari 8-bit Forever by Bostjan Gorisek". Atari 8-bit Forever. October 18, 2018. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2019. {{cite web}}:
  15. Weigers, Karl E. (December 1985). "Atari Fine Scrolling". Compute! (67): 110. http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue67/338_1_Atari_Fine_Scrolling.php. Retrieved September 25, 2014. 
  16. 16.0 16.1 Ciesla, Robert (July 19, 2017) (in en). Mostly Codeless Game Development: New School Game Engines. Apress. pp. 162. ISBN 9781484229705. https://books.google.com/books?id=V70tDwAAQBAJ&q=atari+2600+30+million&pg=PA162. 
  17. "Mattel Intellivision – 1980–1984". ClassicGaming. IGN. Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2008. {{cite web}}:
  18. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :9
  19. ^ Forster, Winnie (2005). The encyclopedia of consoles, handhelds & home computers 1972 – 2005. GAMEPLAN. p. 30. ISBN 3-00-015359-4.
  20. Coleco Industries sales report, PR Newswire, April 17, 1984, "'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." 
  21. 21.0 21.1 Edwards, Benj (January 22, 2015). "The Untold Story Of The Invention Of The Game Cartridge". Fast Company. Retrieved July 29, 2020. {{cite web}}:
  22. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named gamespy
  23. "Intellivision Productions Timeline". Intellivision Productions. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2008. {{cite web}}:
  24. Coleco Industries, Inc. 1983 Annual Report. Coleco Industries, Inc.. 1983. p. 3. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/283473-coleco-industries-inc-annual-quarterly-reports-1981-to-1986/. Retrieved January 17, 2019. "The year's sales of 1.5 million ColecoVision units brought the installed base to over 2 million units worldwide." 
  25. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :3
  26. Schrage, Michael (May 22, 1984). "Atari Introduces Game In Attempt for Survival". Washington Post: p. C3. "The company has stopped producing its 5200 SuperSystem games player, more than 1 million of which were sold." 
Advertisement