Atari… Intellivision… ColecoVision… THUD! (Where Were You During the Great Crash of ‘83/84?)
Written: Aug 16 '09 (Updated Aug 16 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: The most "complete" reference available on home video game systems of the pre-Nintendo NES period.
Cons: Black-and-white (no color) pictures are blurry, boring and sparse, making this overpriced hardcover underwhelming.
The Bottom Line: At last: a "complete reference guide" on the "pre-Nintendo" period. Weiss's text seldom disappoints; however, such a book needs numerous, sharp, color (not merely a smattering of blurry, black-and-white) photos.
Prefatory note #2: A freelance writer and former comic book store owner, Brett Weiss has also written an analogous volume titled Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988 (ISBN: 0786436603), which was recently published byMcFarland & Co.
Will Fortune never come with both hands full? I'd waited 25 years for a book that would comprehensively cover precisely the home-video-gaming period that I myself (a former collector and enthusiast primarily in the early eighties) could fully relate to. [Not that the late Ken Uston's Guide to Buying and Beating the Home Video Games (1982) altogether lacked charm.] However, when it finally appeared, this book was far less captivating than it could--and should--have been. Why? A browsable book dealing with video games cries out for countless, colorful pictures; but Weiss's otherwise worthy work includes only a smattering of rather small, blurry, black-and-white photos.
To compound the prospective buyer's disappointment, this 306-page, typically sized (10-by-7-inch) hardcover is outrageously expensive at $55.00. [It's currently discounted to "only" $44 at Amazon.com, but that's still exorbitant for a medium-sized, colorless volume of this ilk.]
No dust jacket is included, and none is really needed. The hard, glossy, water-resistant cover's art encompasses a rather small photo collage depicting, on the front, several vintage consoles, including the original Intellivision; the redesigned Atari 2600 "Junior," and the Vectrex stand-alone system. The rear cover's art has an analogous collage that includes the Fairchild Channel F; the Bally Astrocade, and the original ColecoVision console. Those cover photos, though in color, are so small as to seem unduly subdued. On the one hand, I can respect the publisher's evident intent to achieve a "tastefully restrained" aesthetic; on the other hand, I'm speaking of video games here, and I can't help wondering if a larger, more eye-catching collage wouldn't have proved more effective. After all, though the rhetorical approach of Weiss's discussion is--agreeably--sedately authoritative and comprehensive, that needn't preclude vibrant graphics evoking the rampant fever that hordes of home gamers (including me) caught back in ‘82. Though I'm altogether satisfied (not delighted) with the outward look and feel of this book, it somewhat more resembles a junior college text than a mass-market guide. [That said, at least its cover doesn't smack of the garishly pink treatment tainting the otherwise vaguely comparable The Video Game Explosion (ISBN: 031333868X), not to mention certain other titles in this general vein.]
Similarly, the inner pages' layout evinces authoritativeness and descriptiveness but only a modicum of nostalgic excitement. Unlike Robert P. Wicker and Jason W. Brassard's Classic 80s Home Video Games: Identification & Value Guide (ISBN: 1574325736), which encompasses countless crisp, memory-evoking photos (but only a bare modicum of sans-serif text explicating its preponderant game boxes and cartridges), the generally smallish, consistently blurry, and altogether pedestrian photos here seem to have been included more as an afterthought than a selling point. As for the textual content, the tastefully serifed typeface evinces sophistication rather than hype, and though the font is by no means large, it's satisfyingly readable.
The glossless, off-white paper has a fairly high quality feel. However, its somewhat perceptible yellowish tint suggests premature tanning, which further restrains the reader's enthusiasm for Weiss's inarguably informative discussion.
Complementing the 16 chapters that constitute the bulk of this book, there's a compelling, three-and-a-half-page preface; a two-page appendix on "Homebrew Games;" a seven-page glossary; a brief bibliography; and a satisfactory, ten-page index.
The chapters (not to mention their respective, encyclopedic sections on game-cartridge titles) are arranged alphabetically based on the names (but not necessarily the brands) of the 16 game systems that I'll highlight directly below. I would much prefer a chronological presentation of the game systems. Given that this book has the look and feel of a history, it makes little sense for discussions of early to mid seventies systems to occur well after analogous discussions of systems from the early to mid eighties. In any case, my below summation of chapters retains Weiss's alphabetical sequence; but I'll parenthetically cite the year that each system actually appeared in retail stores. Having owned all but four of these systems myself, I could readily appreciate the many strong points, not to mention the occasional shortcomings, of Weiss's respective discussions. [Note: Many of the below console and/or game names can be searched on at YouTube.com, where some more or less amusing videos--including game-system sounds--have been posted.]
Chapter 1: (Entex) Adventure Vision (1982).As with each of the ensuing, analogous chapters, Weiss begins with a brief--yet rather impressively thorough--history and description of the game system [comprising four paragraphs in this instance]. The remainder of the chapter comprises single-paragraph summaries of the respective, compatible game cartridges.
In the case of the short-lived (and now rare) little Adventure Vision system, which incorporated a unique, spinning-mirror/red-LED monitor, only four compatible cartridges were released. Those games--Defender, Space Force, Super Cobra and Turtles--were adaptations of early 1980s arcade classics. Weiss succinctly notes the publisher and developer of each Adventure Vision game; he likewise notes whether the game includes a 1-player and/or 2-player mode; and he cites the manufacturer and date of the original coin-op arcade version from which each game was adapted. Although he does provide a satisfactorily detailed description of each game's essential elements, in this particular chapter (unlike subsequent ones) he fails to provide his personal assessment/impression of each game's playability/likeability.
For example, he doesn't mention that Turtles and Super Cobra were the two most enjoyable games for Adventure Vision, while Defender, which came bundled with the wee console, was the least likable translation of the lot. I wonder if the author himself ever owned this obscure system. [Around the winter of 1983/84, I phone-ordered what was evidently the last available "direct-from-Entex" functional specimen (a customer return), which, along with its four cartridges, I finally sold at a tidy profit six years ago.] Chapter 2: APF MP1000 (1978). Of the four game systems here that I myself never owned, the obscure APF MP1000 was the only one that (back in the day) I actually wished I did own. Since I always figured that the games comprising its limited library were generally pathetically weak, I mostly wanted it purely for the sake of "completing" my collection. Accordingly, I appreciated that Weiss confirms (in his initial, three-paragraph overview), "The games [with the notable exception of Space Destroyers (a Space Invaders clone)] were unexceptional" and that the system overall was "mediocre (at best) by any standards."
I also appreciated that, in his ensuing discussion of the system's 13 available cartridges, Weiss adds that the exceptional Space Destroyers, for all its virtues, still lacked "the tricked up options found in the Atari 2600 version of Space Invaders." [Note: As of this writing, you can see and hear Space Destroyers being played via an online video. (Search on "APF MP1000" at YouTube; then click the pertinent link.).]
Chapter 3: (Emerson) Arcadia 2001 (1982). Unfortunately, this system--whose games were collectively superior to those of the Atari 2600--hit the market around the same time that still better, "third wave" systems (i.e., ColecoVision, Atari 5200 and, arguably, Vectrex) were being released. Thus the Arcadia 2001 was doomed from its inception.
This system's conspicuous disc/keypad controllers made it suspiciously resemble the first Intellivision system, whose capabilities it--more or less--rivaled. I recall buying this compact console and most of its games starting in late December of 1983. That year prices had been slashed due to the Great Video Game Crash of the "oversaturated" American market that continued through the following year (until the arrival of the Nintendo NES, which, starting in 1985, spearheaded a renaissance in home video gaming).
I was pleased to see that in this chapter Weiss injects still more in the way of personal assessment of the respective games' merits or shortcomings. And I was especially happy to note that he agrees with me that a noteworthy number of the titles (e.g., Cat Trax; Red Clash; Star Chess; Tanks a Lot; and Grand Slam Tennis) in this system's library of games were actually pretty darn good (though many others were mediocre or worse).
Chapter 4: (Bally) Astrocade (1978). Weiss asserts, "The Astrocade was an underrated system that should have garnered more mainstream consumer support." Having owned two of these consoles--and many compatible cartridges, which outwardly resembled cassette tapes--in the early eighties, I wholeheartedly agree. However, as with the aforementioned Arcadia 2001, the Astrocade game library included some proverbial turkeys. Fortunately, with this system's games there was a higher proportion of winners to losers; and Weiss does a generally splendid job of clarifying which titles are which. Even by today's standards, some of the original Astrocade games (e.g., its versions of Galaxian, Space Invaders, and Wizard of Wor) featured impressively colorful--albeit slightly low-res--graphics; good, dynamic sounds, and captivating playability. And the uniquely friendly and versatile configuration of the hand controllers intensified the entertainment. Considering that this system hit the market only two or three months after the significantly less powerful Atari 2600, Bally's Astrocade was somewhat ahead of its time.
Chapter 5: Atari 2600 (1977). Unsurprisingly, a full third of this 306-page book is allocated to the humble yet venerable 2600, which was, by far, the most popular system of the pre-Nintendo NES era. Weiss appropriately notes that "to much of the general public, [this system] made the word ‘Atari' synonymous with the word ‘video game' (at least until Nintendo assumed the throne in the mid-to late 1980s)."
Although the author allocates almost twice as much space to this chapter's initial "overview" section as he does for most of the other game systems, it still amounts to only about two pages of text. Otherwise, this predictably bloated chapter embodies countless one-paragraph synopses of the compatible game cartridges--including those from third-party publishers. Weiss does a good job here. And I appreciate that he doesn't rhapsodize or unduly glorify the rather weak-brained 2600 simply because it (ironically) happened to be the "most popular" console of the era.
Chapter 6: Atari 5200 (1982). In his introductory overview, Weiss succinctly states the bottom line regarding this once highly promising but ultimately somewhat disappointing system:
"The Atari 5200 is comparable (at least internally) to the Atari 800 computer" [and although it was generally] "a fine system, [it] has fragile controllers that work poorly with a number of the games in its library."
Indeed, if only its ambitious, "sophisticated," non-self-centering hand controllers (with their short-lived, rubbery fire buttons) had been as straightforwardly user-friendly as those of the Atari 7800 (or even those of the original 2600), I would've relished my 5200 system more unreservedly than I did. In this regard, Atari made somewhat the same mistake that Mattel had done with the "disc" controllers for their Intellivision (not that I myself had nearly as many quibbles with Mattel's generally adequate controllers as I did with the 5200's generally frustrating ones).
Chapter 7: Atari 7800 (1984/1986). This Atari system, originally called the 3600, was introduced in mid 1984; however, it was canceled shortly thereafter and didn't reappear--as the 7800--till 1986. It fairly significantly improved upon the 5200's capabilities (primarily because of its less problematic, "self-centering" joysticks); however, this system became widely available at least one year too late, given that the Nintendo NES had appeared in ‘85.
Although I did enjoy my 7800, its marginally more advanced games didn't look or play dazzlingly better than their 5200 counterparts. But I did greatly appreciate the friendlier hand controllers, which, ironically, were backwardly compatible with the then "oldfangled" 2600 consoles. [Indeed, whenever I (rarely) dust off my surviving 2600 Junior, I connect a "7800" controller.] Weiss capably assesses the entire library of 7800 cartridges and praises the best of the lot. For example, I especially appreciated that he meticulously compared and contrasted this system's "extremely accurate port" of Xevious with its 1982 coin-op antecedent, which I likewise relished back in the day.
Chapter 8: ColecoVision (1982). In his overview Weiss states the obvious about this important "third-wave" system with its advanced graphics and sound: in the summer of 1982 it blew the "second-wave" Atari 2600 out of the proverbial water.
He also rightly emphasizes that this generally admirable system's most ambitious "expansion module"--the Adam computer--was a commercial disaster that, "along with the notorious Great Video Game Crash," helped Coleco decide to abandon the ColecoVision system altogether late in 1984."
Having owned not only both configurations of the Adam but also the original ColecoVision console plus all of its connectable expansion modules and optional controllers, I much appreciated Weiss's thorough coverage of all the peripheral hardware (excepting Adam per se), as well as the large library of game cartridges, for this once popular system. Chapter 9: Fairchild Channel F (1976). By early 1984, Zircon International--which had owned Channel F distribution rights since 1979--was unloading the last surviving "new" specimens of this pioneering game system (which, Weiss notes, originally "hit stores in August of 1976"). Given the closeout pricing, I belatedly added a Channel F to my collection of consoles. Moreover, via a long-distance phone call to Zircon, I managed to nab what evidently was the very last "new" specimen of Video Whizball, which not only Ken Uston (in his aforementioned 1982 classic) but also Weiss himself deems "a fun, competitive, head-to-head game." Too bad that (with the possible exception of Alien Invasion, which "borrowed heavily from Space Invaders") none of the other 25 game cartridges were even remotely so captivating.
Weiss concludes his overview by duly noting that the Channel F is historically significant insofar as it's "the first cartridge-based game system," it "introduced the pause button," and "it was the first console to contain a microprocessor." Having played Alien Invasion, Video Whizball,and sundry other (less likable) Channel F games in the early eighties, I might add that all the games' on-screen graphics were mediocre at best, and their sounds (often amounting to scarcely more than "clicking") were rather pathetically primitive. Chapter 10: (Mattel) Intellivision (1979/1980). I got my first Intellivision console around late 1981, somewhat before I belatedly bought the still more popular (but generally not as satisfying) Atari 2600. Thus--not counting my abortive ownership of Coleco's "Telstar Arcade" (see below)--the Intellivision was my first video game system. Partly because of this, and partly because I thoroughly savored many of its games (especially prior to my acquisition of the "third wave" systems in late 1982), this "second wave" system evokes extra nostalgia for me.
Accordingly, I was pleased to note that Weiss's overview here is fully as lengthy as that for the Atari 2600. Nonetheless, while admirably summarizing Intellivision's various advantages over its archrival, Weiss observes, "despite its technological advantages," the Intellivision "is severely overmatched by the Atari 2600 when it comes to speed, arcade-like action, and arcade ports." Though I myself wouldn't have used the word "severely," on balance I'm compelled grudgingly to agree with those particular points.
Considering the author's essentially comprehensive coverage of the system and his helpful assessments of the many compatible game cartridges (e.g., he interestingly describes how the 1983 port of Pac-Man looks vastly better than its infamous Atari 2600 counterpart), Weiss earns high marks for his work on this reasonably extensive (34-page) chapter.
Chapter 11: (Milton Bradley) Microvision (1979). Although this wee system from Milton Bradley is historically noteworthy as "the world's first programmable [cartridge-based] handheldvideo game system," with its tiny library of ten "extremely simplistic games," it doesn't even remotely rival Nintendo's remarkable Game Boy, which appeared one decade later. Unsurprisingly, the Microvision only survived in the marketplace two years.
Even by mid-seventies standards, this teensy toy seems simplistic, if not archaic. And Weiss's overview and assessment of its minuscule display and nondescript games don't make me regret that, back in the day, I had no interest in touching, much less owning, the too tiny, laughably limited, Microvision.
Incidentally, according to Wikipedia, "The Microvision was designed by Jay Smith, the engineer who would later design the Vectrex gaming console" [about which see below].
Chapter 12: (Magnavox) Odyssey (1972). The original Odyssey, beyond the historically significant fact that it was "the world's first commercially available video game console," never much interested me, and I never owned one. In his overview Weiss observes, "Unlike subsequent video game systems, the Odyssey doesn't have microprocessors. Rather, it contains transistors and diodes." [Note: The earliest microprocessor had barely even been invented when the Odyssey first reached the marketplace. Moreover, the initial working prototype of the Odyssey had already appeared in 1968.]
Weiss likewise calls attention to this pioneering system's inability to generate on-screen color, scorekeeping, and sound. [Now I recall why I never bothered collecting one of those all-but-forgotten relics of my youth.] Chapter 13: Odyssey2 (1978).In 1984, when the Great Video Game Crash had made consoles and cartridges available at fire-sale prices, I grudgingly bought an Odyssey2, as well as its compatible voice-synthesis module, which mounted semi-permanently atop the original console, making the whole appear (outwardly) marginally more impressive than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, nothing could make this weak-brained system's games appear impressive, and mine was shortly relegated to a neglected "display" shelf.
But Weiss clearly enjoyed this system better than I, and he opines, "The Odyssey2 had a number of interesting, highly entertaining games...." Hmmm. I suppose my ingrained predilection for Astrocade, Intellivision, ColecoVision and Vectrex (not to mention certain exceptional Atari 2600, 5200 and 7800 games) precludes my agreeing with the author regarding the (rather overrated) Odyssey2. In fact, to me most of the games for this system had on-screen renderings and sounds that seemed altogether infantile.
That said, Weiss's pertinent coverage is generally satisfactorily informative.
Chapter 14: RCA Studio II (1977). Here's yet another short-lived, obscure system that I myself never owned or played. According to Weis, I didn't miss much:
"The system seemed like a poor deal from the start, offering primitive, black-and-white pong variants, educational titles, and a few meager attempts at arcade-like games."
Chapter 15: (Coleco) Telstar Arcade (1978). Not to be confused with Coleco's non-programmableTelstar console of 1976 (a dedicated, "first-wave" video game system containing mere "Pong" variants), the cartridge-based, Telstar Arcade system was outwardly enticing in the seventies, what with its triangular console's permanently attached steering wheel, gear shifter and light gun. To see what I mean, you could use the following URL:
pong-story.com/pics/coleco/arcade4.jpg
That now laughably outdated product was--technically--my very first video game system. Around late 1979, when it was being closed out for 20 bucks at sundry department stores, I took one home. After testing it for fifteen underwhelming minutes, I disgustedly demanded a refund.
Weiss understatedly observes that the Telstar Arcade "was hopelessly outclassed by other cartridge-based systems and was quickly relegated to the bargain bins."
Chapter 16: Vectrex. Last on Weiss's alphabetical list, but far from the least significant system, the Vectrex--with its built-in "vector-graphics" monitor--was not only unique but also highly entertaining. I owned two of these consoles (the second one cost nearly nothing in 1984 during the Great Crash) plus all peripheral devices and cartridges.
Weiss points out that "the line-drawn visuals were a nice change of pace from other systems' more conventional raster graphics" but "the fact that third-party companies never got behind the console ... hurt its standing in the marketplace."
Reading Weiss's astute assessments of the various, captivating Vectrex games and innovative peripherals (especially the thrilling "3D Imager" goggles), I almost nostalgically wish I hadn't auctioned my completed Vectrex collection in 2003.
What about the (so-called) "home computers" of the era?
I would've applauded a chapter--or appendix--discussing the most popular "home computers" of the early eighties, whose rising popularity contributed to the Great Video Game Crash. Back in the day, when I collected (most of) the above video game systems, I simultaneously collected Commodore's VIC-20 and 64/128 computers, not to mention the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A, Atari 800XL, Coleco Adam and Mattel Aquarius [my Apple IIe and IBM "Peanut" represented a somewhat discrete category]. Those systems were generally weak "computers" but significantly included cartridge slots (and sometimes tape/floppy-disk drives) for games. Consequently, many owners of cheap "computers" essentially had glorified video game consoles that happened to include showy (but only trivially or occasionally used) keyboards.
Closing thoughts: Generally, I'm more than satisfied with Brett Weiss's eminently informative, impressively comprehensive and pleasantly readable discussion of the respective game systems; however, this essentially definitive "complete reference guide" scarcely seems a charmingly browsable volume from a "graphical" standpoint. Indeed, no one could ever confuse Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984 with a coffee table book.
That the quantity of pictures is so disappointingly small is bad enough; but that those photos are black-and-white and blurry--in such an expensive book on video games--is inexcusable. Readers would be justified in resenting that Weiss's work falls woefully short of the profusely illustrated masterpiece that it should have been.
As things presently stand, book-loving fans of vintage home video game systems are compelled to own not only this volume (for its textual content) but also Wicker and Brassard's Classic 80s Home Video Games: Identification & Value Guide, whose sharp, colorful graphical content is rather impressive but whose discussion of the respective game cartridges is frustratingly slight. Moreover, the latter book covers only the seven most populargame systems of the early eighties--and (excepting the Atari 2600 and the Odyssey2) none of the systems that were widely marketed in the seventies.
Thus, what has yet to appear is a single volume combining a profusion of pleasing pictures with comprehensiveness of discussion. Hopefully, a future edition of Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984 will finally constitute the "bible" on pre-Nintendo NES systems.
If I were rating this overpriced book solely on the merits of its text, I'd give it at least "four out of five stars." On balance, I'll vouchsafe three (virtually three and a half) stars and a fairly solid, albeit tepid, recommendation.
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