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VCS
The Development In 1975, the development of a digital version of a game console began, aiming to allow the previously developed Atari arcade machine games to be played using a television. Al Alcorn, who joined Atari shortly after its founding, was tasked with this development. As part of this process, various prototypes of the VCS (Video Computer System) were created and tested with different microprocessors from Intel, Motorola, and MOS Technologies, all without the microprocessor manufacturers' knowledge. Each of these manufacturers believed they were the chosen supplier for the VCS. MOS Technologies, with its $25 6502 CPU, held an advantage and was arguably unrivaled at the time. Despite the already low price of the MOS CPU, Atari was looking to pay a maximum of $12 for both the MOS CPU and accompanying chips. John Pavinen, the founder of MOS, consulted with Chuck Peddle, the creator of the 6502 CPU, to decide whether they should accept this seemingly absurd offer. The prevailing opinion was that Atari had the potential for large production quantities with the VCS, and even though selling a single chip might yield minimal profits, this opportunity should not be missed. Consequently, the deal was struck with Atari, and MOS secured the contract for the VCS console. Utilizing the MOS 6507, a cost-reduced version of the 6502, along with the TIA graphics chip (Television Interface Adapter) created by Jay Miner, the completion of the VCS console was ultimately achieved. Sale The introduction of the VCS game console was originally planned for 1977, but the financial resources were insufficient at the time. Therefore, in 1976, Nolan Bushnell sold Atari to Time Warner, who provided additional funding of $100 million. This allowed the VCS game console to be publicly unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the spring of 1977 and shortly thereafter, it made its way into the market. However, initially, the VCS console did not achieve the level of success needed to generate profits. At that time, Nolan Bushnell, who was still serving as a consultant at Atari, proposed selling the VCS console at cost and generating profits solely from game cartridges. The management was not in favor of this business model, and after some disagreements, Nolan Bushnell was dismissed from the company. New Marketing The turning point and the resounding success were achieved at the end of 1978 under the leadership of the new CEO, Raymond Kassar, due to a massive increase in advertising and investment in new games. In 1979, Atari was able to generate a profit for the first time. Particularly, the game "Space Invaders," which was released in early 1980 for the VCS, played a significant role in giving Atari VCS a tremendous boost in sales. Here is a chronological list of games that were released during this time: 1978 Breakout 1978 Space War 1979 Superman 1979 Video Chess 1980 Adventure 1980 Space Invaders 1980 Dodge Em 1981 Championship Soccer 1981 Missile Command 1981 Video Pinball 1981 Asteroids 1981 Super Breakout 1982 Pac Man 1982 Yars Revenge 1982 Atlantis 1982 Defender 1982 Berzerk 1982 E.T. 1983 Ms Pac Man 1983 Phoenix 1983 Centipede 1983 Galaxian 1983 Pole Position 1983 Moon Patrol David Crane at Atari David Crane, who worked at Atari during the second half of the 1970s, left Atari in 1979 and founded the company "Activision." The games from Activision also contributed to the significant success of the VCS console. Here is a chronological list of the most well-known games: 1980 Skiing 1980 Fishing Derby 1980 Laser Blast 1981 Freeway 1981 Grand Prix 1981 Kaboom! 1982 Pitfall 1982 Chopper Command 1982 River Raid 1983 Decathlon 1983 Keystone Kapers 1984 Pitfall II: Lost Caverns 1984 H.E.R.O. Games from other game companies In 1982 there were more and more game manufacturers. The most famous games from these manufacturers are shown in this list: 1982 Demon Attack (Imagic) 1982 Atlantis (Imagic) 1982 Cosmic Ark (Imagic) 1982 Spider-Man (Parker Browsers) 1982 Frogger (Parker Browsers) 1983 Star Wars (Parker Browsers) 1983 Q*bert (Parker Browsers) Best selling games 1982 Pac Man (8 mio) 1980 Space Invaders (6 mio) 1982 Pifall! (4 mio) 1982 Frogger (4 mio) 1981 Asteroids (4 mio) 1981 Donkey Kong (4 mio) 1982 Defender (3 mio) 1983 Mrs Pac Man (2 mio) 1982 E.T. (2 mio) 1982 Demon Attack (2 mio) 1981 Ms. Pac-Man (2 mio) 1982 Dig Dug (2 mio) 1981 River Raid (2 mio) 1983 Mario Bros (2 mio) 1981 Donkey Kong (1 mio) 1981 Centipede (1 mio) 1983 Pitfall II (1 mio) 1977 Adventure (1 mio) 1981 Atlantis (1 mio) 1976 Combat (1 mio) 1982 Pole Position (1 mio) 1980 Kaboom! (1 mio) 1982 Moon Patrol (1 mio) 1981 Megamania (1 mio) 1982 Jungle Hunt (1 mio) 1982 Joust (1 mio) 1981 Cosmic Ark (1 mio) 1980 Defender (1 mio) 1976 Air-Sea Battle (1 mio) 1981 Donkey Kong Junior (1 mio) 1981 Spider-Man (1 mio) 1982 Enduro (870.000) 1981 Custer's Revenge (820.000) 1981 Alien (790.000) 1982 Yars' Revenge (780.000) 1983 Jr. Pac-Man (780.000) 1982 Galaxian (770.000) 1981 Air Raid (770.000) 1980 Boxing (770.000) 1983 Crystal Castles (770.000) 1981 Berzerk (730.000) 1982 Kangaroo (720.000) 1981 King Kong (690.000) 1981 Adventures of Tron (670.000) 1982 Keystone Kapers (660.000) In the end, the VCS console was sold worldwide approximately 30 million times, and over 500 games were developed for it. UNI64 - The further development of the VCS 2600 One of the things that is very close to my heart is the vision of the future, not looking back. Enabling things and connecting to something that brings about something fascinatingly new, yet not retrogressive (worshipping of originals and slow, cumbersome things), but rather making something simpler, more convenient, and different, while opening new paths, not only for entertainment but also representing an intellectual progress The new "FANTASY" U2600+8 series extracts the best from the old VCS 2600 chips from 1977 and combines it with the internet. Not to surf normal websites on the internet and then look at unsightly pixelated websites, but to build something completely new and unique. Equipped with new sound chips and an HDMI option, this opens up entirely new worlds with the new U2600+8 boards. Further information will follow... |
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