Replay: The History of Video Games (77 page)

Manufacturer: Commodore International

Year released: 1977

Origin: USA

Type: Personal computer

One of the first mass-produced personal computers. PET stood for Personal Electronic Transactor. Came encased in 1970s futuristic plastic that fused keyboard, monitor and computer together. The PET lacked the graphical capabilities of its key rival the Apple II, being monochrome and only capable of displaying ASCII characters.

D

Data General Nova

Manufacturer: Data General

Year released: 1969

Origin: USA

Type: Minicomputer

Created by a team of former Digital Equipment Corporation staff.

DEC GT40

Manufacturer: Digital Equipment Corporation

Year released: 1972

Origin: USA

Type: Terminal

Vector graphics terminal that connected to the PDP-11 minicomputer.

Dendy

Manufacturer: Steepler Company

Year released: 1993

Origin: Russia

Type: Home console

Pirated copy of Nintendo’s NES console. Became very popular in the former USSR. The games on sale were usually illegal copies of games available in Japan and the US.

Donkey Kong

See Game & Watch

Dreamcast

Manufacturer: Sega

Year released: 1998

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Sega’s final console. Featured an in-built 56k dial-up modem. A keyboard and mouse was also available.

E

EDSAC

Manufacturer: University of Cambridge

Year released: 1949

Origin: UK

Type: Vacuum tube computer
ont>

The first computer with memory.

Elektronika 60

Manufacturer: Elektronika

Year released: Unknown, probably late 1970s

Origin: USSR

Type: Minicomputer

Soviet clone of the Digital Equipment Corporation’s PDP-11 minicomputer.

ENIAC

Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania

Year released: 1946

Origin: USA

Type: Vacuum tube computer

The first programmable multi-purpose computer.

Epoch TV Block

Manufacturer: Epoch

Year released: 1979

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

The Japanese version of Atari’s Video Pinball console

Epoch TV Tennis

Manufacturer: Epoch

Year released: 1975

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Japan’s first games console – a version of the Magnavox Odyssey.

Exelvision EXL100

Manufacturer: Exelvision

Year released: 1984

Origin: France

Type: Personal computer

Created by a group of former Texas Instruments employees.

F

Fairchild Channel F

Manufacturer: Fairchild Semiconductor, Zircon International

Year released: 1976

Origin: USA

Type: Home console

The first console to use cartridges. Zircon International bought the rights in 1979 and launched a redesigned version, the Channel F System II.

Famicom

See NES

Famicom Disk System

Manufacturer: Nintendo, Sharp

Year released: 1986

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console add-on

A disk storage device for the Famicom, the Japanese version of the NES. Offered more memory for games than cartridges and the possibility to save games. Sharp released the Twin Famicom, an all-in-one Famicom console and Famicom Disk System, in the same year as the Disk System was released.

FM-7

Manufacturer: Fujitsu

Year released: 1982

Origin: Japan

Type: Personal computer

One of Japan’s most popular computers during the 1980s.

FM Towns

Manufacturer: Fujitsu

Year released: 1989

Origin: Japan

Type: Personal computer

A multimedia-based PC for the Japanese market. A home console version of the computer, the FM Towns Marty, was launched in 1991.

Football

Manufacturer: Mattel Electronics

Year released: 1977

Origin: USA

Type: Handheld game

Portable LED game.

G

Game & Watch 

Manufacturer: Nintendo

Year released: 1980

Origin: Japan

Type: Handheld game

Nintendo released 60 Game & Watch games betwe
en 1980 and 1991.

Game Boy 

Manufacturer: Nintendo

Year released: 1989

Origin: Japan

Type: Handheld console

The original was monochrome. 1998’s Game Boy Color a
dded basic colour visuals. The Game Boy Advance, launched in 2001, was a full upgrade of the handheld.

Game Boy Advance

See Game Boy

Game Boy Color

See Game Boy

Game Gear

Manufacturer: Sega

Year released: 1990

Origin: Japan

Type: Handheld console

A portable Master System.

Gamecube

Manufacturer: Nintendo, Panasonic

Year released: 2001

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Panasonic released a DVD-playing version, the Panasonic Q, in Japan. The Wii can play Gamecube games.

Genesis

See Megadrive

H

Halcyon

Manufacturer: RDI Video Systems

Year released: 1985

Origin: USA

Type: Home console / Personal computer

The Halcyon was a Laserdisc player, games console and home computer. It cost $2,500 and just two games were released before RDI Video Systems closed down.

Hector 1

Manufacturer: Micronique

Year released: 1983

Origin: France

Type: Personal computer

A souped-up version of Micronique’s 1981 computer the Victor Lambda, which in turn was based on the US-made Interact Computer that was launched in 1979.

Hitachi TV-Game VG-104

Manufacturer: Hitachi

Year released: 1977

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Part of Japan’s 1977 home Pong boom. Monochrome visuals and four built-in games.

I

IBM 1130 Computing System

Manufacturer: IBM

Year released: 1965

Origin: USA

Type: Minicomputer

IBM minicomputer that made computing affordable to smaller businesses.

IBM 701

Manufacturer: IBM

Year released: 1952

Origin: USA

Type: Vacuum tube computer

One of the first computers produced in quantity rather than being custom-made.

IBM 7094

Manufacturer: IBM

Year released: 1962

Origin: USA

Type: Mainframe computer

Transistor-based update of the IBM 709 mainframe, which used vacuum tubes.

IBM PC

See PC