History of video game consoles (second generation)

The **second generation** of video game consoles began in 1976. The second generation began with the release of the Fairchild Channel F and Radofin Electronics' 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System. This generation is sometimes called the "early 8-bit era". Many consoles were released in the second generation. The Atari 2600 was the most popular video game console for much of the second generation. Other consoles such as Intellivision, the Odyssey 2, and ColecoVision were also popular.

The second generation ended in 1984. This was because of the video game crash of 1983. As of 2004, the Atari 2600 has sold 30 million units. As of 1990, the Intellivision had sold 3 million units. As of April 1984, the ColecoVision had sold 2 million units. As of 1977, the Fairchild Channel F had sold 250,000 units.

### Comparison

|style="width: 5%"|Name|style="width: 19%;"|Fairchild Channel F|style="width: 19%;"|Atari 2600|style="width: 19%;"|Magnavox Odyssey²|style="width: 19%;"|Intellivision|style="width: 19%;"|Atari 5200|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Fairchild Semiconductor|Atari|Magnavox|Mattel|Atari||||||||
|US$169.95|US$199|US$200 ¥49,800|US$299|US$270||||||||
|Cartridge|Cartridge and Cassette (Cassette available via special 3rd party attachment)|Cartridge|Cartridge|Cartridge||||||||
|N/A|_Pac-Man_, 7 million <small>(as of September 1, 2006)</small>|N/A|_Astrosmash_ (1 million)|N/A||||||||
|N/A|N/A|None|Atari 2600 games through the System Changer module accessories (retail)|N/A|*Driving controller *Keypad *Game Brain *Starpath Supercharger *GameLine|*The Voice *Chess Module|*Keyboard component (cancelled) *Entertainment Computer System *Intellivoice|*Trak-Ball Controller *Atari 2600 adaptor||||
|Fairchild F8 1.79 MHz (PAL 2.00 MHz)|MOS Technology 6507 1.19 MHz|Intel 8048 8-bit microcontroller 1.79 MHz|General Instrument CP1610 894.886 kHz|Custom MOS 6502C 1.79 MHz (_not_ a 65c02)||||||||
|64 bytes, 2 kB VRAM (2×128×64 bits)|(within a MOS Technology RIOT chip): 128 bytes (additional RAM may be included in the game cartridges)|CPU-internal RAM: 64 bytes Audio/video RAM: 128 bytes|1456 bytes main RAM|16 kB main RAM||||||||
|*102 × 58 pixels visible *8 colors, maximum of 4 per scanline|*160 x 192 resolution *2 sprites, 2 missiles and 1 ball per scanline. Sprites can be use multiple times through the HMOVE command. *2 backgrounds colors and 2 sprite colors per scanline *128 colors (NTSC) *104 colors (PAL)|* 160×200 resolution (NTSC) * 16-color fixed palette; sprites use 8 colors * 4 8×8 single-color user-defined sprites * 12 8×8 single-color characters; 64 shapes built into ROM BIOS; * 4 quad characters; * 9×8 background grid; dots, lines, or blocks|*159x96 pixels (159x192 display on a TV screen, scanlines being doubled) *16 color palette, all of which can be on the screen at once *8 sprites.|*320×192 resolution, *16 (out of 256) on-screen colors per scan line with 256 colors capable of being displayed at once.||||||||
|Mono audio with: *500 Hz, 1 kHz, and 1.5 kHz tones (can be modulated quickly to produce different tones)|Mono|Mono audio with: * 24-bit shift register, clockable at 2 frequencies * noise generator|Mono audio with: * three channel sound * one noise generator|Mono audio with: *4-channel sound||||||||

|style="width: 5%"|Name|style="width: 19%;"|Vectrex|style="width: 19%;"|Arcadia 2001|style="width: 19%;"|ColecoVision|style="width: 19%;"|Bally Astrocade|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|General Consumer Electric and Milton Bradley|Emerson Radio Corporation|Coleco|Bally Technologies|||||||
|US$199|N/A|US$199|N/A|||||||
|Cartridge|Cartridge|Cartridge and Cassette, available with Expansion #3|Cartridge and cassette/Floppy, available with ZGRASS unit|||||||
|N/A|N/A|_Donkey Kong_ (pack-in)|N/A|||||||
|N/A|N/A|Compatible with Atari 2600 Via Expansion #1|N/A|||||||
|*3-D Imager *Light Pen|N/A|*Expansion #1 *Expansion #2 *Expansion #3 *Roller Controller *Super Action Controller Set|*ZGRASS unit|||||||
|Motorola 68A09 1.5 MHz|Signetics 2650 CPU 3.58 MHz|Zilog Z80A 3.58 MHz|Zilog Z80 1.789 MHz|||||||
|1 kB main RAM|512 bytes|8 kB main RAM 16 kB VRAM|4k (up to 64k with external modules in the expansion port)|||||||
|Built in vector CRT|*128x208 / 128x104 *8 Colours|* 256x192 resolution * 32 sprites, maximum of 4 sprites per scanline * 16 colors|* Resolution: True 160x102 / Basic 160x88 / Expanded RAM 320x204 * Colors: True 8* / Basic 2|||||||
|Mono (built in speaker)|Mono audio with: *Single Channel "Beeper" *Single Channel "Noise"|Mono audio with: * 3 tone generators * 1 noise generator|Mono audio with: *3 voices *noise/vibrato effect|||||||

## Handheld systems

The first handheld game console was the Microvision designed by Smith Engineering. It was distributed and sold by Milton-Bradley in 1979. It was the first handheld game console that could use different game cartridges. The Microvision had a small LCD display. There were only a few games that could be played with this system. It was discontinued two years later.

The Epoch Game Pocket Computer was released in Japan in 1984. The game system did not sell very well. Because of this, only five games were made for it. Nintendo's Game & Watch was more successful. It was very popular until it was discontinued in 1991.

## Other websites

- The Dot Eaters: Pixel Boxes