alternatehistory.com
Home Arcades of 1976
Coleco Telstar
Coleco was the third major American firm to enter the home arcade market. All it played was a variety of Pong clones, but it was the most successful of the abundance of Pong clones in general. Coleco would later release many other Telstar models, some of which introduced new games to the series. However, as the market for primitive all-in-one arcades dwindled, Coleco began to approach near-bankruptcy.
Atari Space Race
Space Race was nowhere near as successful as Pong was in the arcades, but Atari decided to give it a second life by giving it the Pong treatment. Released in the late summer of 1976, it was only a moderate success at 150,000 units sold.
Fairchild Channel F
A major step forward in the home arcade industry was the invention of programmable ROM cartridges, which was credited to Jerry Lawson of Fairchild Semiconductor. Released November 1976, the Channel F would eventually reach 350,000 units sold. Despite the low number, it was an early mover, and the "big two" - RCA and Atari - were taking notes.
Magnavox Odyssey
Magnavox regretted turning down the Brown Box. Despite this, they found little to no success rushing a Pong clone into the home arcade market in the middle of December. The system was regarded as a flop, and Magnavox quietly exited the home arcade business after a few months.
Coleco Telstar
Coleco was the third major American firm to enter the home arcade market. All it played was a variety of Pong clones, but it was the most successful of the abundance of Pong clones in general. Coleco would later release many other Telstar models, some of which introduced new games to the series. However, as the market for primitive all-in-one arcades dwindled, Coleco began to approach near-bankruptcy.
Atari Space Race
Space Race was nowhere near as successful as Pong was in the arcades, but Atari decided to give it a second life by giving it the Pong treatment. Released in the late summer of 1976, it was only a moderate success at 150,000 units sold.
Fairchild Channel F
A major step forward in the home arcade industry was the invention of programmable ROM cartridges, which was credited to Jerry Lawson of Fairchild Semiconductor. Released November 1976, the Channel F would eventually reach 350,000 units sold. Despite the low number, it was an early mover, and the "big two" - RCA and Atari - were taking notes.
Magnavox Odyssey
Magnavox regretted turning down the Brown Box. Despite this, they found little to no success rushing a Pong clone into the home arcade market in the middle of December. The system was regarded as a flop, and Magnavox quietly exited the home arcade business after a few months.
- StomperYoshi
- Word Count: 230