Changing the Game
- Thread starter StomperYoshi
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RCA Studio 2
Ralph Baer met with the newly-hired Jerry Lawson. Much was said about the home arcade industry during that meeting, but what ultimately came out of the meeting was that Baer was looking to retire his position as the leading engineer of RCA's gaming division and give it to Lawson. Baer had admired Lawson's Channel F's ROM cartridges, calling it "the next step" for the industry, and he had been planning to retire from RCA since he wanted to work of more things. Indeed, he co-developed a light-up memory game named Simon and distributed it through Milton Bradley. Lawson was set to lead the development of the RCA Studio 2.
The Studio 2 launched in the early winter of 1978, just in time for the holiday season. Unlike the Studio (often referred to as the Studio 1), the woodgrain was swapped for silver-colored plastic. It came with two hard-wired joysticks and a keyboard on the central unit. The keyboard was used for educational games and programming software, albeit it uses a dome-switch keyboard unlike the membrane keyboard in OTL's Odyssey². The system was initially bundled with a cartridge containing three games - a one-player racing game, a two-player racing game, and a game involving alphabet ciphers. The Studio 2 and the VCS went toe-to-toe during the Christmas of '78, with no clear sign of a leader yet.
The Studio 2 launched in the early winter of 1978, just in time for the holiday season. Unlike the Studio (often referred to as the Studio 1), the woodgrain was swapped for silver-colored plastic. It came with two hard-wired joysticks and a keyboard on the central unit. The keyboard was used for educational games and programming software, albeit it uses a dome-switch keyboard unlike the membrane keyboard in OTL's Odyssey². The system was initially bundled with a cartridge containing three games - a one-player racing game, a two-player racing game, and a game involving alphabet ciphers. The Studio 2 and the VCS went toe-to-toe during the Christmas of '78, with no clear sign of a leader yet.
Intellivision and the Computer Wars
The home arcade industry was beginning to boom. In development for two years, the Intellivision was released by the electronics division of famous toy company Mattel in 1979, planning to join the ranks of RCA and Atari. The system launched with titles such as ABPA Backgammon, Armor Battle, The Electric Company Math Fun, and Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack. Like the Studio 2 and VCS, the Intellivision later saw success by licensing arcade titles from famous arcade companies.
As Mattel expanded into a new industry, so did Atari. Whereas the home computer landscape had an array of successful firms like Apple with the Apple II line, Tandy with their TRS-80 series, and Commodore with the PET line, Atari made their computing debut in 1979 with the Atari 400 and the Atari 800. The computers used cartridges like the VCS for ease of use. However, Atari's involvement in the computer industry would be shorter than expected due to unforeseen circumstances back in 1979.
Nintendo's involvement might not be the same as OTL, but I'll save that for later.
As long yamauchi belives in videogame they will push, they go whatever he wanted, if he decide to goes another way that is another butterfly(seriously, Nintendo is a freaking butterfly swarm of all the ideas and posibilites they explored), so that end anywhere anywayNintendo's involvement might not be the same as OTL, but I'll save that for later.
I'm looking to see if Nintendo does PlayStation.Nintendo's involvement might not be the same as OTL, but I'll save that for later.
Kicking off a New Decade: Pop Culture of 1980
The dawn of a new decade began, and with it came plenty of crazes.
Atari's Missile Command was an arcade game that simulated nuclear warfare and missile defense, but was popular in its own right.
However, Namco's Pac-Man prevented Missile Command from being the most popular arcade game of 1980. Americans just couldn't get enough of that dot-munching action.
Nintendo made their debut in the western gaming industry with the Game & Watch series, a line of LCD handheld games developed by Gunpei Yokoi.
As for the home arcade business, RCA continued to keep up with Atari and newcomer Mattel, but all three were popular gifts by Christmastime.
Speaking of popular toys, the Rubik's Cube made its international debut in 1980.
1980 was a big year for horror films, with the debut of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and popular slasher film Friday the 13th.
But the biggest movie of the year had to be Lucasfilm's iconic sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. Its success turned a blockbuster sci-fi film (and a crappy holiday special) into a beloved franchise.
As for Japanese pop culture, the first Gundam model kit was released this year.
But the most shocking pop cultural news piece of 1980?
On December 8th, ex-Beatle John Lennon was shot walking out of the Dakota Apartments. His would-be killer, Mark David Chapman, fired towards him and successfully wounded him with one bullet, but his aim went awry for a few seconds, allowing Lennon to survive for just enough time before the police intervened. Chapman had one bullet left, but when he saw the police arrive, he suddenly opened his mouth and shot himself into a vegetative state. Lennon was rushed to the hospital and was expected to recover.
Atari's Missile Command was an arcade game that simulated nuclear warfare and missile defense, but was popular in its own right.
However, Namco's Pac-Man prevented Missile Command from being the most popular arcade game of 1980. Americans just couldn't get enough of that dot-munching action.
Nintendo made their debut in the western gaming industry with the Game & Watch series, a line of LCD handheld games developed by Gunpei Yokoi.
As for the home arcade business, RCA continued to keep up with Atari and newcomer Mattel, but all three were popular gifts by Christmastime.
Speaking of popular toys, the Rubik's Cube made its international debut in 1980.
1980 was a big year for horror films, with the debut of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and popular slasher film Friday the 13th.
But the biggest movie of the year had to be Lucasfilm's iconic sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. Its success turned a blockbuster sci-fi film (and a crappy holiday special) into a beloved franchise.
As for Japanese pop culture, the first Gundam model kit was released this year.
But the most shocking pop cultural news piece of 1980?
On December 8th, ex-Beatle John Lennon was shot walking out of the Dakota Apartments. His would-be killer, Mark David Chapman, fired towards him and successfully wounded him with one bullet, but his aim went awry for a few seconds, allowing Lennon to survive for just enough time before the police intervened. Chapman had one bullet left, but when he saw the police arrive, he suddenly opened his mouth and shot himself into a vegetative state. Lennon was rushed to the hospital and was expected to recover.
Nah there some more incredible miraccle saves OTL too, not bad butterflies buddy
It wouldn't be impossible or even unlikely for Chapman to miss his shots, so this doesn't seem that ASB-ish to me.
I say Yoko should have gotten it, than there might be the possibility for a Beatles Reunion Tour.
Gaming in 1981 - An Overview
Arcade
To say 1981 was a good year for arcades would be an understatement. Pac-Man fever was still going strong and showed no signs of stopping all year. In face, it was only boosted by its sequel, Ms. Pac-Man. Pitched to Namco by engineers at Midway, Ms. Pac-Man was just as successful - if not more successful - than the titular character's husband. Namco's in-house space shooter Galaga also ate up plenty of quarters.
Nintendo would also find themselves hitting the big time this year, and it only took one game: Donkey Kong. The platform game was originally envisioned as a Popeye game, but when Nintendo was unable to obtain the licenses to the characters, director Shigeru Miyamoto would end up creating his own characters: an damsel-in-distress named Lady, a blue-collar Italian-American guy named Jumpman, and brutish ape named Donkey Kong. Back then, Miyamoto had no idea that his characters would eventually eclipse the Popeye gang in popularity.
Other notable titles include Frogger and Defender.
RCA Studio 2
Like the other two firms in the home arcade race, RCA mostly got by with ports of the latest hit arcade games and a few minigames here and there. That would change with Quest for the Rings. Quest for the Rings was unique for its time in that it was a hybrid of a board game and a video game. The game required three players - two heroes who have to find ten lost keys using the joysticks, and the "dungeon master" who managed the game with the console's keyboard. The game received positive reception all around, and its success would indicate that it wouldn't be the last video/board game hybrid.
Intellivision
After being teased a few times since launch, the Mattel Keyboard Component was finally launched. This allowed the Intellivision to function as a personal computer, and as such, most of the software that would be released for the add-on would mostly be financing and educational software.
While the Keyboard Component was the most talked-about, the Intellivision did have plenty to offer on the gaming side of things. The influential city-building game Utopia saw its release this year, as well as the fixed shooter Astrosmash.
Atari VCS
Atari's first-party games were nothing new - most were ports of their earlier arcade games. In addition, a port of Pac-Man was released by Atari themselves, but its rushed release for the Christmas season would in time be regarded as a failed cash-in on Pac-Man fever. Most eyes were on third-party companies such as Activision, such as the best-seller Kaboom!. Overall, RCA's Master Strategy series and Mattel's Keyboard Component would mark 1981 as the year Atari began to decline.
To say 1981 was a good year for arcades would be an understatement. Pac-Man fever was still going strong and showed no signs of stopping all year. In face, it was only boosted by its sequel, Ms. Pac-Man. Pitched to Namco by engineers at Midway, Ms. Pac-Man was just as successful - if not more successful - than the titular character's husband. Namco's in-house space shooter Galaga also ate up plenty of quarters.
Nintendo would also find themselves hitting the big time this year, and it only took one game: Donkey Kong. The platform game was originally envisioned as a Popeye game, but when Nintendo was unable to obtain the licenses to the characters, director Shigeru Miyamoto would end up creating his own characters: an damsel-in-distress named Lady, a blue-collar Italian-American guy named Jumpman, and brutish ape named Donkey Kong. Back then, Miyamoto had no idea that his characters would eventually eclipse the Popeye gang in popularity.
Other notable titles include Frogger and Defender.
RCA Studio 2
Like the other two firms in the home arcade race, RCA mostly got by with ports of the latest hit arcade games and a few minigames here and there. That would change with Quest for the Rings. Quest for the Rings was unique for its time in that it was a hybrid of a board game and a video game. The game required three players - two heroes who have to find ten lost keys using the joysticks, and the "dungeon master" who managed the game with the console's keyboard. The game received positive reception all around, and its success would indicate that it wouldn't be the last video/board game hybrid.
Intellivision
After being teased a few times since launch, the Mattel Keyboard Component was finally launched. This allowed the Intellivision to function as a personal computer, and as such, most of the software that would be released for the add-on would mostly be financing and educational software.
While the Keyboard Component was the most talked-about, the Intellivision did have plenty to offer on the gaming side of things. The influential city-building game Utopia saw its release this year, as well as the fixed shooter Astrosmash.
Atari VCS
Atari's first-party games were nothing new - most were ports of their earlier arcade games. In addition, a port of Pac-Man was released by Atari themselves, but its rushed release for the Christmas season would in time be regarded as a failed cash-in on Pac-Man fever. Most eyes were on third-party companies such as Activision, such as the best-seller Kaboom!. Overall, RCA's Master Strategy series and Mattel's Keyboard Component would mark 1981 as the year Atari began to decline.
Now that Thanksgiving's through, I can finally get back to continuing this timeline - and I'm accepting ideas for TTL-exclusive games if anyone's interested!
It may be a while before you can use these but check this site out.
I would help but when we got to the nes or nes equivalent onward, i knew little of videogame before
Gaming in 1982 - An Overview
Arcade
The arcade industry was certainly not slowing down at this point in time. Games like Dig Dug, Donkey Kong Jr., Q*bert, BurgerTime, and Joust proved that arcades were still going strong. So much so that ex-Disney animator Don Bluth would turn towards arcades as a profitable industry, planning two Laserdisc games to be released next year.
Atari VCS
In minor news, the VCS's casing switched from woodgrain to black plastic this year. In other news, the VCS was doomed not only by stiff competition, but sleazy scandals regarding quality control. Unauthorized, poor-quality porn games such as Custer's Revenge came incredibly close to tainting Atari's reception. As a result, Atari decided to cut back on game development for the VCS and focus on its upcoming successor. Controversially, moving projects from the VCS to the upcoming home arcade meant recoding the project from scratch on the new system. As a result, a tie-in game for the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial would not be released by the end of the year as originally planned. The VCS did have one saving grace in the form of Pitfall!, but that would eventually be ported to other platforms.
Intellivision
The Mattel Keyboard Component sales figures peaked this year. Another component saw a release this year - the Intellivoice, which allowed certain games to "speak" in a synthesized voice. Games like B-17 Bomber would be remembered for hammy voice direction, which was hilarious even for a computer to manage.
RCA Studio 2
After Quest for the Rings struck gold, the next logical step would be to emulate that success. Two Master Strategy games saw release this year. The first game, Conquest of the World, was functionally similar to Risk except battles were settled by competitions on the screen instead of rolling dice. The second, The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt, simulated a stock market, with news events affecting stock prices. The goal of the game is to have more money than your opponents by the end of the year. Both games sold incredibly well, and as a result, the Studio 2 was the hottest gift of the holiday season.
ColecoVision
After the short-lived success of the Telstar line, Coleco would eventually make a comeback to the public eye with the ColecoVision. Thanks to a deal with Nintendo, the ColecoVision was launched with Donkey Kong as a pack-in cartridge, and things could not be better for Coleco. Sales were strong enough that ColecoVision sold more units than the Intellivision this year.
Atari SuperSystem
Atari was determined not to give up the ghost. The SuperSystem, released in November 1982, boasted better graphical capabilities than the VCS, but was still capable of playing VCS games via backwards compatibility. The launch titles were mainly arcade ports, but Pitfall! was quickly ported to the home arcade in early December, allowing Atari to have a successful year in the end. All a good move - at the cost of their computer division.
With the rise of the IBM PC and MS-DOS, the computer industry was beginning to change. The rise of IBM PC clones contributed to IBM's rise to the top, much to the dismay of other computer firms. Apple dedicated themselves to improving the Apple II line after the failure of the Apple III. Tandy would spend the next few years trying to catch up only to leave the computer industry by the end of the decade. Commodore would keep themselves afloat with the Vic-20 and its eventual successor. As for Atari, the computer industry's new direction plus the decline of the VCS would force them to cut costs. The final decision was to focus solely on the home arcade industry, which meant that they would sell off their computer division. It eventually made its way into the hands of emergent computer firm Compaq, who would spend the next few years building upon the Atari 8-bit line.
Oh, and speaking of computers...
Commodore 64
While computer gaming proved possible in the '70s, it wasn't until the Commodore 64 era where things really heated up. The Commodore 64 had a humble start with clones of arcade games and ports of other computer games (like Choplifter and Fort Apocalypse), but things looked strong for this computer.
The arcade industry was certainly not slowing down at this point in time. Games like Dig Dug, Donkey Kong Jr., Q*bert, BurgerTime, and Joust proved that arcades were still going strong. So much so that ex-Disney animator Don Bluth would turn towards arcades as a profitable industry, planning two Laserdisc games to be released next year.
Atari VCS
In minor news, the VCS's casing switched from woodgrain to black plastic this year. In other news, the VCS was doomed not only by stiff competition, but sleazy scandals regarding quality control. Unauthorized, poor-quality porn games such as Custer's Revenge came incredibly close to tainting Atari's reception. As a result, Atari decided to cut back on game development for the VCS and focus on its upcoming successor. Controversially, moving projects from the VCS to the upcoming home arcade meant recoding the project from scratch on the new system. As a result, a tie-in game for the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial would not be released by the end of the year as originally planned. The VCS did have one saving grace in the form of Pitfall!, but that would eventually be ported to other platforms.
Intellivision
The Mattel Keyboard Component sales figures peaked this year. Another component saw a release this year - the Intellivoice, which allowed certain games to "speak" in a synthesized voice. Games like B-17 Bomber would be remembered for hammy voice direction, which was hilarious even for a computer to manage.
RCA Studio 2
After Quest for the Rings struck gold, the next logical step would be to emulate that success. Two Master Strategy games saw release this year. The first game, Conquest of the World, was functionally similar to Risk except battles were settled by competitions on the screen instead of rolling dice. The second, The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt, simulated a stock market, with news events affecting stock prices. The goal of the game is to have more money than your opponents by the end of the year. Both games sold incredibly well, and as a result, the Studio 2 was the hottest gift of the holiday season.
ColecoVision
After the short-lived success of the Telstar line, Coleco would eventually make a comeback to the public eye with the ColecoVision. Thanks to a deal with Nintendo, the ColecoVision was launched with Donkey Kong as a pack-in cartridge, and things could not be better for Coleco. Sales were strong enough that ColecoVision sold more units than the Intellivision this year.
Atari SuperSystem
Atari was determined not to give up the ghost. The SuperSystem, released in November 1982, boasted better graphical capabilities than the VCS, but was still capable of playing VCS games via backwards compatibility. The launch titles were mainly arcade ports, but Pitfall! was quickly ported to the home arcade in early December, allowing Atari to have a successful year in the end. All a good move - at the cost of their computer division.
With the rise of the IBM PC and MS-DOS, the computer industry was beginning to change. The rise of IBM PC clones contributed to IBM's rise to the top, much to the dismay of other computer firms. Apple dedicated themselves to improving the Apple II line after the failure of the Apple III. Tandy would spend the next few years trying to catch up only to leave the computer industry by the end of the decade. Commodore would keep themselves afloat with the Vic-20 and its eventual successor. As for Atari, the computer industry's new direction plus the decline of the VCS would force them to cut costs. The final decision was to focus solely on the home arcade industry, which meant that they would sell off their computer division. It eventually made its way into the hands of emergent computer firm Compaq, who would spend the next few years building upon the Atari 8-bit line.
Oh, and speaking of computers...
Commodore 64
While computer gaming proved possible in the '70s, it wasn't until the Commodore 64 era where things really heated up. The Commodore 64 had a humble start with clones of arcade games and ports of other computer games (like Choplifter and Fort Apocalypse), but things looked strong for this computer.