User:PS3 wins/Second generation
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[edit] Second generation
[edit] Fairchild Channel F
The Fairchild Channel F is the world's second cartridge-based video game console, after the Magnavox Odyssey (although it was the first programmable cartridge system as the Odyssey cartridges only contained jumpers and not ROM information). It was released by Fairchild Semiconductor (though ostensibly by their parent company) in August 1976 at a retail price of $169.95. At this point it was known as the Video Entertainment System, or VES, but when Atari released their VCS the next year, Fairchild quickly renamed it.
[edit] Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, released in October 1977, was the first successful video game console to use plug-in cartridges instead of having one or more games built in.[1] Originally known as the Atari VCS—for Video Computer System—the machine's name was changed to "Atari 2600" (from the unit's Atari part number, CX2600) in 1982, after the release of the more advanced Atari 5200. It was wildly successful, and during the 1980s, "Atari" was a synonym for this model in mainstream media. The 2600 was typically bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a cartridge game.
[edit] Magnavox Odyssey²
The Magnavox Odyssey², known in Europe as the Philips Videopac G7000, in Brazil as the Philips Odyssey, in the United States as the Magnavox Odyssey² and the Philips Odyssey², and also by many other names, is a video game console released in 1978.
In the early 1970s, Magnavox was an innovator in the home video game industry. They succeeded in bringing the first home video game system to market, the Odyssey, which was quickly followed by a number of later models, each with a few technological improvements. In 1978 Magnavox, now a subsidiary of North American Philips, released the Odyssey², their new second-generation video game console.
[edit] Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television".
[edit] Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, or simply Atari 5200, was a video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari as a replacement for the famous Atari 2600. The 5200 was created to compete with the Mattel Intellivision, but wound up more directly competing with the Colecovision shortly after the 5200's release. In some ways, it was both technologically superior and more cost efficient than any console available at that time. However, a number of design flaws had a serious impact on usability, and the system is generally considered a failure.
[edit] ColecoVision
The ColecoVision was Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console, released in August, 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, the ability to play other home consoles' video games (notably the Atari 2600), and the means to expand the system's hardware. ColecoVision was released with an initial catalog of 12 video game titles, with 10 additional titles on the way for 1982. All told, approximately 170 titles were released in the form of plug-in cartridges between 1982 and 1985.
[edit] Vectrex
The Vectrex is an 8-bit video game console developed by General Consumer Electric (GCE) and later bought by Milton Bradley Company. The Vectrex is unique in that it utilized vector graphics drawn on a monitor that was integrated in the console. It was released in November 1982 at a retail price of $199. As the video game market declined and then crashed, the Vectrex exited the market in early 1984.
Smith Engineering briefly considered designing a handheld version of the device in 1988, though the success of the Nintendo Game Boy made such a project too risky. In the mid-1990s, Smith Engineering condoned the duplication of the Vectrex system image and cartridges for non-commercial uses and has expressed joy to see that it has still-thriving developer and user communities.
Unlike other video game consoles which connected to TVs to display raster graphics, the Vectrex included its own monitor which displayed vector graphics. The monochrome Vectrex used screen overlays to give the illusion of color, and also to reduce the severity of the inherent flickering caused by the vector monitor. At the time many of the most popular arcade games used vector displays, and GCE was looking to set themselves apart from the pack by selling high-quality versions of games like Space Wars and Armor Attack. The system even contained a built in game, the Asteroids-like Minestorm.
The two peripherals for the Vectrex were a light pen and 3D imager.
[edit] SG-1000
The SG-1000, which stands for Sega Game 1000, is a cartridge-based video game console manufactured by Sega. This system marked Sega's entry into the home video game hardware business, which they would continue to be in until the end of the Dreamcast in 2001. While the system was not very popular, it was the basis for the more successful Sega Master System.
