Coleco entered the second generation of video games consoles with the impressive ColecoVision. It was a follow up to their 1976 ‘Pong’ machine, the Telstar. When compared to the home computers of the time, Atari’s 2600 was starting to get a little long in the tooth, although it was now becoming cheaper to buy. Coleco Industries decided it was time to properly compete and try and level the playing field a little in 1982. In August of that year they released the cartridge based ColecoVision on to the North American market. (Commodore had released their home computer, the Commodore 64, in February of the same year).

At the heart of this new console was the increasingly popular Zilog Z80A CPU. This was teamed up with the Texas Instruments TMS9928A video processor. This allowed for a 256 x 192 pixel resolution, 16 colours, and an impressive 32 on-screen sprites. In addition, the machine provided 16kb of dedicated video RAM along with 1kb of standard RAM. Texas Industries also provided the PSG sound chip that had been designed for their TI-99/4 micro-computer. For its time the total package on off was really quite impressive. It was able to offer what the consumer craved, something much more similar to the arcade experience in the home- something that had been promised by other manufacturers machines over the years.

It had two detachable controllers included which looked similar the Intellevision's controllers, the main difference being that instead of a flat directional ‘disk’ it features a stubby joystick which also be twisted to act as a paddle. Some games included plastic overlays that clipped over the number keypad which offered game specific bespoke button indicators.

The systems capabilities coupled with Coleco’s wealth of marketing and arcade experience ensured that around half a million units were sold in the three and a half month period from release to the end of the year in North America alone. The arcade quality pack in game ‘Donkey Kong’ helped its cause no end. The hit the UK and European markets in 1983 and very quickly surpassed one million units sold. However, The UK and European markets were dominated by home computers, a phenomenon not realized in quite the same way in North America. This meant that the ColecoVision’s main selling ground remained the USA.

If the crash had not have happened and had the machine hit the UK the previous year, as it had in North America, it could have been very influential on both sides of the Atlantic, but unfortunate timing meant the video game crash of 1983 took hold early in its life and crushed its early prowess in sales. The 1983 European launch had allowed home computers to get a foothold and become the must have systems due to them being more than just games machines.

This forced Coleco to withdraw from the video games industry altogether towards the end of 1985.


Expanding in more ways than one.

The ColecoVision had a number of expansions and peripherals, some of which were never released, but a notable and bizarre add on to the system (by today’s standards) was the Expansion Module 1. This allowed the ColecoVision to use Atari2600 cartridges and controllers. This unofficially gave the ColecoVision the largest games library of any console of its day. The expansion module obviously enraged Atari who promptly started legal action. Coleco and Atari ended up settling out of court with Coleco being allowed to continue and becoming licensed under Atari's patents. The royalty based license also applied to Coleco's Gemini Gaming System, a stand-alone clone of the Atari 2600.