ColecoVision


The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second-generation home video-game console that was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered a closer experience to more powerful arcade game systems, compared to competitors such as the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200, along with the means to expand the system's basic hardware.
The initial catalog of twelve games included Nintendo's Donkey Kong as the pack-in cartridge, Sega's Zaxxon, and some lesser known arcade titles that found a larger audience on the console, such as Lady Bug, Cosmic Avenger, and Venture. Approximately 145 titles in total were published as ROM cartridges for the system between 1982 and 1984. Coleco released a series of hardware add-ons and special controllers to expand the capabilities of the console.
The ColecoVision was discontinued in 1985 when Coleco withdrew from the video game market.

History

By Christmas of 1982, Coleco had sold more than 500,000 units, in part on the strength of Donkey Kong as its bundled game. ColecoVision's main competitor was the less commercially successful Atari 5200 which used the same custom graphics and sound chips developed for the Atari 8-bit family of computers launched in 1979.
The ColecoVision was distributed by CBS Electronics outside of North America, and was branded the CBS ColecoVision. In Europe the console was released in July 1983, nearly one year after the North American release.
Sales quickly passed 1 million in early 1983, before the video game crash of 1983. By the beginning of 1984, quarterly sales of the ColecoVision had dramatically decreased.
Over the next 18 months, the Coleco company ramped down its video game division, ultimately withdrawing from the video game market by the end of the summer of 1985. The ColecoVision was officially discontinued by October 1985. Total sales of the ColecoVision are uncertain but were ultimately in excess of 2 million units, due to the console continuing to sell modestly up until its discontinuation the following year. The video game crash of 1983 has been cited as the main cause of the ColecoVision's being discontinued less than three years after its launch.
In 1983, Spectravideo announced the SV-603 ColecoVision Video Game Adapter for its SV-318 computer. The company stated that the $70 product allowed users to "enjoy the entire library of exciting ColecoVision video-game cartridges".

Hardware

On NTSC ColecoVision consoles, all first-party cartridges and most third-party software titles feature a 12.7 second pause before presenting the game select screen. CBS Electronics reduced this pause in the BIOS to 3.3 seconds for their PAL and SECAM ColecoVision consoles.

Expansion Modules and accessories

From its introduction, Coleco touted the ColecoVision's hardware expandability by highlighting the Expansion Module Interface on the front of the unit. These hardware expansion modules and accessories were sold separately.

Atari 2600 expansion

Expansion Module #1 makes the ColecoVision compatible with Atari 2600 cartridges and controllers. Functionally, this gave the ColecoVision the largest software library of any console of its day. The expansion module prompted legal action from Atari. Coleco and Atari settled out of court with Coleco becoming licensed under Atari's patents. The royalty based license also applied to Coleco's Gemini game system, a stand-alone clone of the 2600.

Driving controller

Expansion Module #2 is a driving controller that came packaged with the cartridge Turbo. The gas pedal is merely a simple on/off switch. Although Coleco called the driving controller an expansion module, it actually plugs into the controller port, not the Expansion Module Interface. The driving controller is also compatible with the cartridges Destructor, Bump 'n' Jump, Pitstop, and The Dukes of Hazzard.

Adam computer expansion

Expansion Module #3 converts the ColecoVision into the Adam computer, complete with keyboard, digital data pack cassette drive, 64 kB RAM, and printer.

Roller Controller

The Roller Controller is a trackball that came packaged with the cartridge Slither, a conversion of the arcade game. The roller controller uses a special power connector that is not compatible with Expansion Module #3. Coleco mailed an adapter to owners of both units who complained. The other cartridge programmed to use the roller controller is Victory. A joystick mode switch on the roller controller allows it to be used with all cartridges including WarGames, Omega Race, and Atarisoft's Centipede.

Super Action Controller

The Super Action Controller Set is a set of two handheld joystick controllers that came packaged with the cartridge Super Action Baseball. Each controller has a ball-top joystick, four finger triggered action buttons, a 12-button numeric keypad, and a "speed roller". The cartridges Super Action Football, Rocky Super Action Boxing, and a conversion of the arcade game Front Line are also designed to be used with the Super Action Controller.

Unreleased

Expansion Module #3 was originally the Super Game Module. It was advertised for an August 1983 release but was ultimately cancelled and replaced with the Adam computer expansion. The Super Game Module added a tape drive known as the Exatron Stringy Floppy with 128KB capacity, and the additional RAM, said to be 30KB, to load and execute programs from tape. Games could be distributed on tiny tapes, called wafers, and be much larger than the 16KB or 32KB ROM cartridges of the day. Super Donkey Kong, with all screens and animations, Super Donkey Kong Jr, and Super Smurf Rescue were demonstrated with the Super Game Module. The Adam computer expansion with its 256KB tape drive and 64KB RAM fulfilled the specifications promised by the Super Game Module.

Games

Legacy

During the creation of the Nintendo Entertainment System, the ColecoVision was a huge influence. Takao Sawano, chief manager of the project, brought a ColecoVision home to his family, who were impressed by the system's capability to produce smooth graphics, which contrasted with the flickering commonly seen on Atari 2600 games. Masayuki Uemura, head of Famicom development, stated that the ColecoVision set the bar that influenced how he approached the creation of the Famicom.
In 1986, Bit Corporation produced a ColecoVision clone called the Dina, which was sold in the United States by Telegames as the Telegames Personal Arcade.
IGN named the ColecoVision their 12th-best video-game console out of their list of 25, citing "its incredible accuracy in bringing current-generation arcade hits home."
In 1996, programmer Kevin Horton released the first homebrew game for the ColecoVision, a Tetris clone entitled Kevtris.
In 1997, Telegames released Personal Arcade Vol. 1, a collection of ColecoVision games for Microsoft Windows, and a 1998 follow-up, Colecovision Hits Volume One.
In 2012, Opcode Games released their own Super Game Module expansion, which increases RAM from 16KB to 32KB and adds four additional sound channels. This expansion brings the ColecoVision close to the MSX architecture standard, allowing MSX software to be more easily ported.
In 2014, AtGames began producing the ColecoVision Flashback console that includes 60 games, but not the original pack-in game, Donkey Kong.