Classic video game consoles and games

Although it wasn’t the first programmable video game console (that honor belongs to Fairchild Channel F), the Atari 2600 was easily the most popular system of the late ’70s and early ’80s, which means it’s now the most sought-after system. by those looking to revisit the Golden Age (pre-Nintendo era) of video games. The 2600 (originally called the Atari VCS) was released in October 1977 and was not officially declared dead by Atari until January 1992, making it the longest-living video game system in industry history. And, with more than 30 million systems sold, it’s also one of the most commercially successful.

Compared to current offerings, Atari 2600 games have very primitive graphics. However, the actual gameplay of many of the system’s titles has a timeless quality that cannot be denied. Some of the more enjoyable releases include: Space Invaders and Phoenix (shooters); Jr. Pac-Man and Jawbreaker (maze games); kaboom! and Dig Dug (action games); and Super Breakout and Warlords (ball and paddle games). Those looking for more complex titles should look to games like Adventure (a spiritual ancestor of The Legend of Zelda), Pitfall! (a progenitor of Super Mario Bros.) and Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space (an innovative flight simulator). Hundreds of games were released for the 2600, which means gamers of all persuasions should be able to find something to their liking.

In 1979, Mattel Electronics released Intellivision, sparking the first true console war. Marketed as a more sophisticated and powerful alternative to the older Atari 2600, Intellivision boasted games with superior visual detail and more realistic features. The system’s innovative and popular sports titles (such as Major League Baseball and NFL Football) haven’t aged as well as some of the 2600’s more action-oriented efforts, but armchair athletes will definitely find Intellivision to be the system of choice. the Golden Age when it comes to sports. Fun non-sports games for the system include Beauty & the Beast (a game similar to Donkey Kong), BurgerTime (a great version of the arcade classic), Diner (the sequel to BurgerTime), Demon Attack (a game that fans of Phoenix love) and Thin Ice (a cute version of the Qix formula).

1982 saw the release of two next-generation systems, the ColecoVision and the Atari 5200, both of which surpassed previous consoles in terms of audiovisual power. Bolstered by wonderful ports of slot machine classics like Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Mouse Trap, Lady Bug and Zaxxon, ColecoVision was the first system to give players the true feel of playing their favorite arcade games on the go. comfort of their own homes. Released just a few months after ColecoVision, the 5200 was also a hit in terms of arcade quality, giving gamers exceptional ports of Defender, Moon Patrol, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Robotron: 2084, and many others. Unfortunately, both systems fell victim to The Great Video Game Crash of 1984, which, for a variety of reasons, brought the industry to a virtual standstill (until 1985, when Nintendo released the NES to great acclaim).

In addition to the aforementioned fabulous four (Atari 2600, Intellivision, ColecoVision, and Atari 5200), there were a variety of other systems released in the late ’70s and early ’80s, including the obscure APF MP1000, the interesting Arcadia 2001, the Underrated Astrocade, the Odyssey2 (which had its own keyboard), the Vectrex (which had its own monitor), and the Microvision, which was the first portable programmable system.