Second generation of video game consoles

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Atari 2600, manufactured by Atari, Inc. in the United States. Released in 1977, it was the best-selling second-generation console.

In the

Donkey Kong
with the ColecoVision when it was released in August 1982.

Built-in games, like those from the

AI simulation was also improved during this era. The generation also saw the first handheld game cartridge system, the Microvision, which was released by toy company Milton Bradley
in 1979.

In 1979, gaming giant

video game industry crash in 1983 and marked the start of the next generation. Beginning in December 1982 and stretching through all of 1984, the crash of 1983 caused major disruption to the North American market.[14][15] Some developers collapsed and almost no new games were released in 1984. The market did not fully recover until the third generation.[4] The second generation ended on January 1, 1992, with the discontinuation of the Atari 2600.[16]

Background

An opened Fairchild Channel F ROM cartridge, illustrating the ROM chips mounted to a circuit board within the casing. The cartridges were inserted into the console via the exposed contacts on the top of the board.

The primary driver of the second generation of consoles was the introduction of the low-cost

integrated circuits (ICs). Custom application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) like the AY-3-8500 were produced to replicate these circuits within a single chip, but still presented only a single fixed logic program,. Once a game was shipped, there were only minimal variations that could be made by adjusting the positions of jumpers (effectively the behavior of the "cartridges" that shipped with the Magnavox Odyssey). As Atari, Inc. recognized, spending from $100,000 to 250,000 and several months of development time on a hardware unit with a single dedicated game with only three-month shelf life before it was outdated by other competitors' offerings was not a practical business model, and instead some type of programmable console would be preferred.[17]

Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS or later known as the Atari 2600), was released in 1977 and based on the MOS Technology 6507 microprocessor, with a cartridge design influenced in part by the Channel F system.[18]
Other console manufacturers soon followed suit with the production of their own programmable consoles.

At the start of the second generation, all games were developed and produced in-house. Four former Atari programmers, having left from conflicts in management style after Atari was purchased by

third-party developer for a console. This also established a working model for licensing other third-party developers, which several companies followed in Activision's wake, partially contributing to the video game crash of 1983 due to oversaturation.[19]

As the second generation of consoles coincided with the

Japanese video game companies by 1980, which led to Jonathan Greenberg of Forbes predicting in early 1981 that Japanese companies would eventually dominate the North American video game industry later in the decade.[20]

At this stage, both consoles and game cartridges were intended to be sold for profit by manufacturers. However, by segregating games from the console, this approach established the use of the razorblade business model in future console generations, where consoles would be sold at or below cost while licensing fees from third-party games would bring in profits.[21][22]

Home systems

Fairchild Channel F

The Fairchild Channel F, also known early in its life as the Fairchild Video Entertainment System (VES), was released by Fairchild Semiconductor in November 1976 and was the first console of the second generation.[23] It was the world's first CPU-based video game console, introducing the cartridge-based game-code storage format.[24] The console featured a pause button that allowed players to freeze a game. This allowed them to take a break without the need to reset or turn off the console so they did not lose their current game progress.[25] Fairchild released twenty-six cartridges for the system, with up to four games being on each cartridge. The console came with two pre-installed games, Hockey and Tennis.[26]

Following the release of the Atari 2600, the Channel F's popularity waned quickly as the more action-driven games of the Atari 2600 drew more attention than the more educational and slow-paced games on the Channel F. By 1979, only an additional 100,000 units of the Channel F were sold for lifetime sales of 350,000.[27]

In 1978, Fairchild redesigned the system into a new model, the Channel F System II. The System II streamlined some of the initial Channel F to reduce cost and improve consumer usage compared to the Atari 2600, such as improved controller connections and using the television speakers for audio output, but by the time it was released, the Atari 2600 had too much market advantage for Fairchild to overcome. After releasing 21 games for the system, Fairchild sold the Channel F technology to Zircon International in 1979, who then discontinued the system by 1983.[27]

Atari 2600 and 5200

An Atari 2600 game joystick controller

In 1977, Atari released its CPU-based console called the Video Computer System (VCS), later called the Atari 2600.[28] Nine games were designed and released for the holiday season. Atari held exclusive rights to most of the popular arcade game conversions of the day. They used this key segment to support their older hardware in the market. This game advantage and the difference in price between the machines meant that each year, Atari sold more units than Intellivision, lengthening its lead despite inferior graphics.[29] The Atari 2600 sold over 30 million units over its lifetime, considerably more than any other console of the second generation.[30] In 1982, Atari released the Atari 5200 in an attempt to compete with the Intellivision. While superior to the 2600, poor sales and lack of new games meant Atari only supported it for two years before it was discontinued.[31]

Early Atari 2600 cartridges contained 2 kilobytes of read-only storage. This limit grew steadily from 1978 to 1983: up to 16 kilobytes for Atari 5200 cartridges. Bank switching, a technique that allowed two different parts of the program to use the same memory addresses, was required for the larger cartridges to work. The Atari 2600 cartridges got as large as 32 kilobytes through this technique.[32] The Atari 2600 had only 128 bytes of RAM available in the console. A few late game cartridges contained a combined RAM/ROM chip, thus adding another 256 bytes of RAM inside the cartridge itself. The Atari standard joystick was a digital controller with a single button, released in 1977.[33]

Bally Astrocade

The Bally Astrocade was released in 1977 and was available only through mail order.[34] It was originally referred to as the Bally Home Library Computer.[34][35] Delays in the production meant that none of the units shipped until 1978. By this time, the machine had been renamed the Bally Professional Arcade.[35] In this form, it sold mostly at computer stores and had little retail exposure, unlike the Atari VCS. The rights to the console were sold to Astrovision in 1981. They re-released the unit with the BASIC cartridge included for free; this system was known as the Bally Computer System.[35] When Astrovision changed their name to Astrocade in 1982 they also changed the name of the console to the Astrocade to follow suit. It sold under this name until the video game crash of 1983 when it was discontinued.[36]

Magnavox Odyssey 2

In 1978, Magnavox released its microprocessor-based console, the Odyssey 2, in the United States and Canada.[37] It was distributed by Philips Electronics in the European market and was released as the Philips G7000.[38] A defining feature of the system was the speech synthesis unit add-on which enhanced music, sound effects and speech capabilities.[39] The Odyssey² was also known for its fusion of board and video games. Some titles came with a game board and pieces which players had to use in conjunction to play the game. Although the Odyssey² never became as popular as the Atari consoles, it sold 2 million units throughout its lifetime. This made it the third best selling console of the generation.[40] It was discontinued in 1984.[41]

Intellivision

The

16-bit era".[43] Programs were however stored on 10-bit ROM. It also featured an advanced sound chip that could deliver output through three distinct sound channels.[43] The Intellivision was the first console with a thumb-pad directional controller and tile-based playfields with vertical and horizontal scrolling. The system's initial production run sold out shortly after its national launch in 1980.[43] Early cartridges were 4 kilobyte ROMs
, which grew to 24 kilobytes for later games.

The Intellivision introduced several new features to the second generation. It was the first home console to use a 16-bit microprocessor and offer downloadable content through the PlayCable service.[44] It also provided real-time human voices during gameplay. It was the first console to pose a serious threat to Atari's dominance. A series of TV advertisements featuring George Plimpton were run. They used side-by-side game comparisons to show the improved graphics and sound compared with those of the Atari 2600.[43] It sold over 3 million units[45] before being discontinued in 1990.[46]

ColecoVision

The ColecoVision was introduced by toy manufacturer Coleco in August 1982. It was more powerful than previous consoles, providing an experience that was closer to Arcades than what the 2600 could provide.[47] The console launched with several arcade ports, including Sega's Zaxxon, and later saw third-party support from many developers such as Activision and even their competitor Atari.[48] The ColecoVision is notable for its Atari 2600 expansion module, which enabled the console to play 2600 games, resulting in a lawsuit from Atari.[49] The ColecoVision was a victim of the video game crash, ultimately being discontinued in 1985.

Vectrex

The Vectrex was released in 1982. It was unique among home systems of the time in featuring vector graphics and its own self-contained display.[50] At the time, many of the most popular arcade games used vector displays. Through a licensing deal with Cinematronics, GCE was able to produce high-quality versions of arcade games such as Space Wars and Armor Attack. Despite a strong library of games and good reviews, the Vectrex was ultimately a commercial failure.[51] It was on the market for less than two years.[52]

Comparison

Comparison of second-generation video game home consoles
Name Fairchild Channel F Atari 2600 Bally Astrocade
Magnavox Odyssey²
Intellivision
Manufacturer
Fairchild Semiconductor Atari Bally Technologies Magnavox Mattel
Image(s)


Launch price US$169.95 (equivalent to $910 in 2023) US$199[53] (equivalent to $1,010 in 2023) US$299[34] (equivalent to $1,500 in 2023) US$200 (equivalent to $930 in 2023)

JP¥49,800 (equivalent to ¥75,900 in 2019)[54]

US$299[42] (equivalent to $1,110 in 2023)
Release date
  • USA: November 1976
  • JP: October 1977
  • USA: September 1977
  • EU: 1978
  • JP: May 1983
[55]
  • 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)[56][57]
Unknown Unknown :Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack, 1.939 million
Major League Baseball, 1.085 million (as of June 1983)[58][59]
Regional lockout Unrestricted[60] Unrestricted[60] Unrestricted[60] Unrestricted[60] Unrestricted[60]
Backward compatibility N/A N/A N/A None Atari 2600 games through the System Changer module
Accessories (retail)
  • Jet-Stick for Channel F II
  • 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 64
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

circa 102×58 [61]

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 pixel row)

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

True: 8
Basic: 2

Unknown

16 simultaneous

Sprites

Only by software

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:
Name Emerson Arcadia 2001 ColecoVision Atari 5200 Vectrex
Manufacturer
Emerson Radio Corporation
Coleco Atari General Consumer Electric and Milton Bradley
Image(s)
Launch price US$200 (equivalent to $630 in 2023)[62]

JP¥19,800 (equivalent to ¥24,600 in 2019)[63]

US$175[53] (equivalent to $550 in 2023) US$270[53] (equivalent to $850 in 2023) US$199[64] (equivalent to $630 in 2023)
Release date
  • USA: November 1982
  • USA: November 1982
  • EU: May 1983
  • JP: June 1983
Media Cartridge[62] Cartridge and Cassette, available with Expansion #3 Cartridge Cartridge
Top-selling games N/A
pack-in
)
N/A N/A
Regional lockout Unrestricted[60] Unrestricted[60] Unrestricted[60] Unrestricted[60]
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)[65]

Palette

16 colors

15 colors, 1 transparent

256 colors

2 (black and white)

Colors on Screen

16 simultaneous (1 color per sprite)

16 simultaneous,[65] 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

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