ColecoVision - Profile of the Record Breaking Home Arcade History of ColecoVision - Visions of the Future Through Coleco Colored Glasses By D.S. Cohen, About.com Guide http://classicgames.about.com/od/history/a/ColecoVisionHis.htm http://classicgames.about.com/od/history/a/ColecoVisionHis_2.htm http://classicgames.about.com/od/history/a/ColecoVisionHis_3.htm http://classicgames.about.com/od/classicvideogames101/p/ColecoVProfile.htm ColecoVision - Profile of the Record Breaking Home Arcade From 1982 to 1984 ColecoVision was the most advance, powerful and popular console of the time, breaking sales records and digging deep into Atari and Intellivision’s profits. While the ColecoVision was well on its way to becoming the most successful console in history, its life was cut short by the Crash of the Video Game Market and a gamble on an overpriced, bug ridden attempt at transitioning the console into a home computer. The Basics: • Release Date: August 1982 • Discontinued:1984 • Manufacturer: Coleco Industries • Type: ROM Cartridge Based 8-bit Console Originally Packaged With: • Main Console Unit • Two ColecoVision Controllers • Donkey Kong Game Cartridge • TV/Video Switch Box • Video Connector Cable • AC Adaptor Cable Main Console: The ColecoVision Packaging - A rectangular unit, 14 X 8 inches in size, with the controller housing/connections on the top left side and the Images © Coleco Holdings, LLC. top-loading cartridge slot on the right. Expansion Modules connect via a slot on the front of the unit. On the back are the channel 3/4 switch, RF and power outlets. Expansion Modules: ColecoVision had the unique ability to expand its capabilities by adding external hardware modifications. These hardware add-ons were called ‘Expansion Modules’ and plugged into the front of the unit via a slot connection. Over the systems lifespan there were six Modules planned, but only three ever released. While the first Expansion Module was instrumental in making the ColecoVision a hit, the final Module caused the death of the system and eventually the entire company. Expansion Module #1: The EM1 allowed ColecoVision the ability to play most Atari 2600 (aka Atari VCS) cartridges, which gave the system the largest library of games at the time. Atari sued Coleco but lost the case as each component of the EM1 was off-the-shelf. Expansion Module #2: A driving controller expansion pack that included a steering wheel and gas pedal peripherals. Only a few titles were ever designed for the EM2, including a remake of the classic arcade game Turbo, which came in-pack with the Module. Super Game Module (Unreleased): An expansion that would increase the power of the ColecoVision as well as save information on magnetic tapes, allowing for more powerful and elaborate games. With a costly production cycle and several games developed, a prototype was built and demonstration at the New York Toy Show. After the promotional campaign had begun to roll out and all plans in place, the project was unexpectedly canceled and never went to manufacture. Expansion Module #3 - The Adam Computer: Intending to compete against the Commodore 64, Coleco replaced the SGM with Expansion Module 3 aka The Adam Computer. This hardware package converted the ColecoVision into a full computer complete with printer (SmartWriter electronic typewriter), keyboard, a cassette tape drive (Digital Data Pack), plus software and the game Buck Rodgers: Plant of Zoom. This bug ridden system was plagued with problems from defective hardware that often erased the data cassettes, to a price tag higher than purchasing a ColecoVision and Commodore 64 combined. The Adam was a flop and soon led to the end of Coleco. Super Game Module #2 (Unreleased): Confidence was so high that the SGM would be a hit that Coleco contracted Ralph Baer, inventer of the first video game console (Magnavox Odyssey), and RCA to develop a second SGM. The Super Game Module #2 would have played games and movies off disks similar to RAC’s CED VideoDisk player, a precursor to Laserdiscs and DVDs. The SGM2 never went past concept. Expansion Module #4 (Unreleased): Another planned Expansion Module which never came to fruition was an add-on that would allow Intellivision cartridges to be playable on the ColecoVision. Had this released Coleco would have completely cornered the video game market. The Games: The ColecoVision touted arcade quality games in a home system, and although these were not direct ports of the coin-op arcade games, they were remade to match the ColecoVision’s capabilities which were still more advance than anyone had previously seen in a home system. Launch Titles: • Carnival • Cosmic Avenger • Donkey Kong • Ken Uston’s Blackjack/Poker • Lady Bug • Mouse Trap • Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle • Space Fury • Space Panic • Turbo • Venture • Zaxxon Controllers: ColecoVision Controller: Two of these controllers came in-pack with the system. Taking inspiration from the Intellivision’s config/uration, the face of each rectangular controller featured a numeric keypad at the top, action buttons on the sides, and a small joystick replacing the Intllivision’s directional disk. Games that used the keypad came with a plastic overlay that fit over the keypad, revealing each key’s function. Super Action Controller: Aside from the in-pack ColecoVision Controllers, the Super Action Controller is the most fondly remembered - albeit complicated - controller for the system. Designed to be gripped like a futuristic gun, players grabbed the pistol grip with their fingers resting on Player- Select Trigger keys located on the inner-grip. This allowed players to switch between athletes in Super Action sports games. On the top of the SAC sat a modified ColecoVision Controller, with a joystick at the top, the keypad in the middle, and a speed roller at the base that controlled the speed of the on-screen action. Although the SAC was best suited for the Super Action line of games, it could also be used with most ColecoVision titles, however with these it was more dificult to use than a standard cotroller. Titles designed for the Super Action Controller: • Super Action Baseball (in-pack game) • Rocky Super Action Boxing • Spy Hunter • Subroc • Super Action Football • Super Action Soccer Roller Controller: A unique controller for use with trackball games consited of a large rectangular pannel with a trackball in the top center and four fire buttons at the base. On opposite sides of the trackball were slots to hold the standard ColecoVision Controllers. The Roller Controller had several titles specifically designed for it and could also be used with any joystick based ColecoVision titles, plus Atari 2600 games with the use of Expansion Module #1. Games Specifically Designed for the Roller Controller: • Slither (in-pack game) • Centipede • Omega Race • Victory • WarGames Champ Keypad: Created as a solution for third party joystick controllers that didn’t include a keypad, the Champ was just the keypad portion of the standard ColecoVision Controller. If players needed a keypad but wanted to stick with their joystick, the Champ can plug into the Player 2 controller port and act as the Player 1 keypad. History of ColecoVision - Visions of the Future Through Coleco Colored Glasses While the masses fondly remember the Nintendo Entertainment System as the first arcade quality home console, retro enthusiasts and hardcore gamers agree that there was one system that trumped the NES in both critical Images © Coleco Holdings, LLC. acclaim, impact and nostalgia, the ColecoVision. In its brief two year lifespan ColecoVision broke expectations, sales records and was well on its way to becoming the most successful console in history, had it not been for the industry collapse in 1983/84 and a risky gamble to convert the console into a home computer. The Pre-History: In some respects the name of this article could have been titled, Coleco: The House that Atari Built, as Coleco created an entire business on cloning and advancing Atari technology. In 1975 Atari’s Pong was a major hit in both arcades and self contained home units, far exceeding sales of their only competition, the Magnavox Odyssey. With the overnight success of Pong, all kinds of companies were attempting to make the leap into video games, including the Connecticut Leather Company (aka Coleco), who had started their business in leather goods and then moved into manufacturing plastic wading pools. A year after Pong’s release Coleco entered the video game fray with the very first Pong clone, the Telstar. In addition to containing Pong (called Tennis here) the chip had been modified to include two variations of the game, Hockey and Handball. Having more than one game also made the Telstar the world’s first dedicated console. Although Atari owned the rights to Pong, legally they couldn’t battle the tidal wave of clones hitting the market. There was already a grey area surrounding the game as Atari themselves had “borrowed” the concept and design from Tennis for Two, which some ague to be the very first video game, as well as the Magnavox Odyssey’s Tennis game that released a year prior to Pong. At first the Telstar was a big seller and over the next two years Coleco released several different models, each with more Pong variations and an increase in quality. The microchip that Telstar used was actually manufactured by General Electric. As GE wasn’t bound by an exclusive agreement any company seeking to get into the video game business could get their own Pong clone using the GE chips. Eventually even Atari turned to GE as it was a cheaper solution than manufacturing the chips themselves. Soon the market was flooded with hundreds of different Pong rip-offs, and sales started to nosedive. As people began to tire of Pong, Atari saw the potential in creating a system with a wide variety of games on interchangeable cartridges, and in 1977 they released the Atari 2600 (aka Atari VCS) .