Colecovision

The Colecovision is Coleco's third generation video game console, released in August 1982. It offered arcade-like graphics and controllers, and an initial catalog of 12 titles, with 10 more promised titles on the way. All told, approximately 170 titles were released on plug-in cartridges during its lifetime. The majority of titles in its catalog were conversions from coin-operated arcade games.

Coleco offered an add-on module that made it compatible with the industry-leading Atari 2600, giving it the largest software library of any console of its day. The module prompted legal action from Atari, but Atari was unable to stop sales of the module. A second module came with steering wheel and pedal controllers, for use with the games Turbo and Destructor. The third and final module, released in the summer of 1983, expanded it into a full-fledged computer, the Coleco Adam.

By Christmas of 1982, Coleco had sold 500,000 units, mainly on the strength of its bundled games. While Atari's fortune had risen on the popularity of Space Invaders, Colecovision was the first console to feature the hit Donkey Kong, by Nintendo.

Sales quickly passed one million in early 1983, before the video game crash of 1983. The Colecovision was discontinued in the spring of 1984. Even with its late difficulties, the Colecovision still sold more than six million units.

Today, Coleco emulators and games are widely available as abandonware on the internet. Although the games remain copyrighted, the holders of Colecovision games have tended not to enforce their copyrights, in contrast to Intellivision and some Atari games.

Screenshots

Technical specifications

• CPU: Zilog Z80A @ 3.58MHz
• Video processor: Texas Instruments TMS9928A
  • 256x192 resolution
  • 32 sprites
  • 16 colors
• Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489A
  • 3 tone generators
  • 1 noise generator
• VRAM: 16KB
• RAM: 8KB
• Storage: Cartridge: 8/16/24/32KB