Replay: The History of Video Games (79 page)

Origin: USA

Type: Personal computer

A slimmed-down version of the IBM PC targeted at the educational and home computer markets.

PDP-1

Manufacturer: Digital Equipment Corporation

Year released: 1960

Origin: USA

Type: Minicomputer

The first of DEC’s long-running PDP series of minicomputers. The birthplace of Spacewar!.

PDP-6

Manufacturer: Digital Equipment Corporation

Year released: 1963

Origin: USA

Type: Minicomputer

Just 26 were sold worldwide.

PDP-7

Manufacturer: Digital Equipment Corporation

Year released: 1965

Origin: USA

Type: Minicomputer

The first version of the Unix operating system was made on this computer.

PDP-8

Manufacturer: Digital Equipment Corporation

Year released: 1965

Origin: USA

Type: Minicomputer

With its $18,000 price tag it was the cheapest of the PDP minicomputers.

PDP-10

Manufacturer: Digital Equipment Corporation

Year released: 1967

Origin: USA

Type: Minicomputer

Its success with universities in the 1970s made it a hotbed of early computer games.

PDP-11

Manufacturer: Digital Equipment Corporation

Year released: 1970

Origin: USA

Type: Minicomputer

New models were still being made as late as 1990.

Ping-O-Tronic

Manufacturer: Zanussi

Year released: 1974

Origin: Italy

Type: Home console

Based on similar technology to the Magnavox Odyssey.

PLATO

Manufacturer: n/a

Year released: 1960

Origin: USA

Type: Computer network

A computer network designed to serve terminals in schools and created by the University of Illinois. PLATO stands for Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations. Most of the groundbreaking games designed for it ran on PLATO IV terminals, which were introduced in 1972.

PlayStation

Manufacturer: Sony Computer Entertainment

Year released: 1994

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Born out of Sony and Nintendo’s falling out over the creation of a CD version of the Super NES. In 1997 Sony launched Net Yaroze, a development kit aimed at hobby programmers who wanted to write PlayStation games.

PlayStation 2

Manufacturer: Sony Computer Entertainment

Year released: 2000

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Its built-in DVD player helped encouraged the shift from VHS cassettes to DVDs. Also plays PlayStation games.

PlayStation 3

Manufacturer: Sony Computer Entertainment

Year released: 2006

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Includes an in-built Blu-Ray player. Early models could play PlayStation 2 and PlayStation games. Later ones only played PlayStation games.

PSP

Manufacturer: Sony Computer Entertainment

Year released: 2004

Origin: Japan

Type: Handheld console

Short for the PlayStation Portable. Used Sony’s Universal Media Disc (UMD) storage format.

R

RCA Studio II

Manufacturer: RCA

Year released: 1977

Origin: USA

Type: Home console

Black and white competitor to the Fairchild Channel F.

S

Saturn

Manufacturer: Sega

Year released: 1994

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Sega’s most successful console in Japan.

Sears Tele-Games Pong 

Manufacturer: Atari

Year released: 1975

Origin: USA

Type: Home console

Atari’s first home version of Pong. Atari released their own version,
Atari Pong, in early 1976.

Sega CD

See Megadrive

Sharp MZ-80K

Manufacturer: Sharp

Year released: 1978

Origin: Japan

Type: Personal computer

Early home computer with monochrome visuals.

Simon

Manufacturer: Milton Bradley

Year released: 1978

Origin: USA

Type: Handheld game

With its flying saucer design and its Close Encounters of the Third Kind musical motif, Simon became a pop culture icon. Given the status it went on to achieve, it was appropriately launched at New York City’s legendary Studio 54 nightclub.

Sinclair QL

Manufacturer: Sinclair Research

Year released: 1984

Origin: UK

Type: Personal computer

Sinclair Research’s successor to the ZX Spectrum, marketed as a computer for small businesses rather than home users. Discontinued in 1986 after Amstrad took over Sinclair Research.

Slipstream

See Konix Multisystem

Speak & Math

Manufacturer: Texas Instruments

Year released: 1980

Origin: USA

Type: Educational toy

Used in the Pet Shop Boys’ song Two Divided by Zero.

Speak & Read

Manufacturer: Texas Instruments

Year released: 1980

Origin: USA

Type: Educational toy

One of Texas Instruments’ three speech synthesis-enhanced portable educational aids.

Speak & Spell

Manufacturer: Texas Instruments

Year released: 1978

Origin: USA

Type: Educational toy

Its speech synthesis was the height of technology at the time and its educational benefits helped it sell by the truckload.

Super Cassette Vision

Manufacturer: Epoch

Year released: 1984

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

Epoch’s last home console. Released in response to the Famicom.

Super NES

Manufacturer: Nintendo

Year released: 1990

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

In 1995, Nintendo launched a Japan-only satellite modem add-on for the Super NES called Satellaview. Users could download games and online magazines through the service at a set hour of the day when the satellite service, run by St.GIGA, broadcast the data.

SuperVision 8000 

Manufacturer: Bandai

Year released: 1979

Origin: Japan

Type: Home console

The first Japanese-designed home console to use game cartridges.

T

Tamagotchi

Manufacturer: Bandai

Year released: 1996

Origin: Japan

Type: Handheld game

Portable virtual pet. More than 40 versions have been released and tens of millions sold across the world.

Telstar

Manufacturer: Coleco

Year released: 1976

Origin: USA

Type: Home console

The first console to use General Instruments’ AY-3-8500 chip.

Thomson MO5

Manufacturer: Thomson

Year released: 1984

Origin: France

Type: Personal computer

Designed to compete with the ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64. Widely used in French schools.

Thomson TO7

Manufacturer: Thomson

Year released: 1982

Origin: France

Type: Personal computer

Came with a built-in light pen.

TI-99/4

Manufacturer: Texas Instruments

Year released: 1979

Origin: USA

Type: Personal computer

Sold with a 13-inch colour Zenith monitor as TI lacked an approved modulator for connecting to televisions.

TI-99/4A

Manufacturer: Texas Instruments

Year released: 1981

Origin: USA

Type: Personal computer

TI’s mass market computer that helped spark the home computer price war of the early 1980s, which in turn helped cause the video game console crash.

TK-80

Manufacturer: NEC

Year released: 1976

Origin: Japan

Type: Kit computer

NEC’s first venture into home computing.

TR-DOS

See ZX Spectrum

TRS-80

Manufacturer: Tandy / Radio Shack

Year released: 1977

Origin: USA

Type: Personal computer

One of the first mass-produced home computers.