Consoles, handhelds & home computers 1972 - 2005 The - UTC

The encyclopedia of 

Consoles, handhelds 

& home computers 1972 - 2005 

From Atari 

to Sega, from 

Apple to Nintendo DS: 

The illustrated history of 

500 machines, 

600 pictures, 

history & 

technical data 

Winnie Forster

2 

Contents 

Preface 4 

Explanation of hardware chapters 6 

Introduction to game storage media 7 

First era: Birth of electronic games. 

Mainframes, arcades and TV games 10 

1972 Magnavox Odyssey 14 

1976 Saba Fairchild 16 

1977 TRS-80 17 

1977 Apple II 19 

1977 CBM Pet 23 

1977 Atari VCS 24 

1978 Interton VC4000 28 

1978 Philips G7000 30 

1979 NEC PC-8001 33 

1979 Atari 800 34 

1979 Sharp MZ 39 

1979 Mattel Intellivision 40 

1979 Microvision 43 

1981 Sinclair ZX81 44 

1981 Texas Instruments TI99/4 45 

1981 Commodore VC 20 46 

Second era: Videogame crash and 

home computer success story 48 

1982 CBS Colecovision 50 

1982 Entex Adventurevision 53 

1982 Vectrex 54 

1982 Hanimex HMG 2650 56 

1982 Sinclair Spectrum 58 

1982 Acorn BBC B 61 

1982 Commodore C 64 62 

1982 VT Creativision 67 

1982 Atari 5200 68 

1982 Sharp X1 70 

1983 Oric-1 72 

1983 MSX 74 

1983 Sega SG-1000 & Master System 80 

1983 Nintendo Famicom & NES 84 

1984 Epoch Super Cassettevision 89 

1984 Commodore 16 & Plus/4 90 

1984 Atari 7800 92 

1984 Amstrad CPC 94 

Third era: 16-Bit 96 

1984 IBM PC-AT 98 

1984 Apple Mac 100 

1985 Atari ST 104 

1985 Commodore Amiga 106 

1985 Enterprise 112 

1987 Acorn Archimedes 113 

1987 NEC PC-Engine 114 

1987 Sharp X68000 120 

1988 Sega Mega Drive 122 

1989 Nintendo Game Boy 128 

1989 Atari Lynx 132 

1989 FM Towns 134 

1990 SNK Neo Geo 136 

1990 Sega Game Gear 139 

1990 Super Nintendo 140

Fourth era: Rendered crazy 144 

1991 Philips CDi 146 

1991 Supervision 149 

1993 Atari Jaguar 150 

1993 Panasonic 3DO 152 

1994 Sega Saturn 154 

1994 Sony PlayStation 158 

1994 NEC PC-FX 162 

1995 Nintendo Virtual Boy 163 

1996 Nintendo 64 164 

1996 Bandai Pippin 168 

1997 Tiger Gamecom 169 

Fifth era: The 21st century: 

Caught in the net of gaming 170 

1998 Sega Dreamcast 172 

1998 Neo Geo Pocket 176 

1999 Bandai Wonderswan 178 

2000 Sony PlayStation 2 180 

2000 Nuon 183 

2001 Nintendo Game Boy Advance 184 

2001 Microsoft Xbox 188 

2001 Nintendo Gamecube 191 

2002 Gamepark GP32 194 

2003 Nokia N-Gage 195 

2004 Nintendo DS 196 

2004 Sony PSP 197 

Other formats: Home computers 198 

Other formats: Game consoles 200 

Appendix: Technical data 

8-Bit home computers 202 

8-Bit and 16-Bit game consoles 204 

16-Bit home computers 206 

32-Bit and CD-ROM consoles 208 

64-Bit and DVD consoles 210 

Handhelds 212 

Multimedia handhelds 214 

Technical data: Explanations 215 

Index A: Hardware 216 

Index B: Games 220 

Bibliography 224 

Imprint 224 

Bandai Wonderswan 

Tare Panda no Gunpey 

Edition (Japan, 2001) 

3

104 

The Tramiel clan extended the Atari range with a `Jackintosh´. Despite similar technology, 

the 520 ST and its variants couldn’t match the audio and visuals of Commodore’s Amiga. 

Atari ST 

USA, 1985 

In 1984, while devising its 16-Bit computer range, Atari 

invested in the Amiga company, owned by ex-employee Jay 

Miner. However, a bullish negotiating-style drove the 

hardware team to competitor Commodore, which promptly 

swallowed Amiga and released a computer of the same 

name simultaneously to the Atari ST. 

Miner’s graphics chips were missing from the ST, but other 

than that it was similar to the Amiga: Both machines used a 

Motorola 68000 CPU, 3.5” disks and a mouse as input 

device, and both enticed punters with a graphical user 

interface. GEM was the name given to Atari’s GUI with its 

Units sold: 6 Million 

Number of games: 1,000 

Game storage: Disk 

Games developed until: 1994 

Musicians and DTP artists bought their Atari ST with 

the 12” monitor SM 146 and got a small, but crisp picture. 

small drive and drawer symbols accompanied by the 

`Tramiel Operating System´ (TOS). The Atari ST was cheaper 

than other 16-Bit machines and was supported by many 

games manufacturers. 1987 turned out to be its most 

successful year: In the US, the real-time RPG Dungeon 

Master was released, along with Dan `Choplifter´ Gorlins’ 

Typhoon Thompson and Midi Maze which networked 16 

computers anticipating the deathmatches of the ‘90s. After 

that, the scene shifted to Europe. Prominent programmers 

like the Bitmap Brothers (Speedball, Cadaver), Eric Chahi 

(Another World), the adventure specialists Magnetic Scrolls 

as well as 3D pioneers Paul Woakes (Damocles) and Jez 

French adventure artists dropped 8-Bit in favor 

of the ST: Future Wars by newcomers Delphine. 

San (Starglider) supported the platform right into the ‘90s. 

Germany was another stronghold for Atari, where Thalion 

developed mainly for the ST, releasing huge RPGs 

(Dragonflight) and fast action games (Wings of Death). 

By 1990, the Amiga overtook the Atari as a graphics and 

games machine, but due to its MIDI port, the ST remained 

the first choice for professional musicians. Similarly, small 

DTP offices used it as an affordable alternative to Macs. The 

final variant was the 68030-driven Falcon in 1992. 

New wine in old bottles: The last ST compatible was 

called Falcon and was audio-visually more powerful 

than its predecessors, though it wasn’t a success. 

Variants and successors 

In the UK, most games were developed for both ST and Amiga: 

A cheering Speedball 2 player from 1990. 

Dungeon Master was a revolution. If you didn't own an ST, you 

had to wait ages for a conversion of this realtime expedition. 

520ST 1985 The 512 K ST first shipped with a monochrome monitor, an external power supply as well as 

TOS on disk. It was replaced by the 260ST and 520ST+ (1 MB) and was also available as STm 

(with TV modulator) and STf (internal floppy drive). 

260ST 1986 This short-lived 520ST twin (also with 512 K, external floppy) was shipped only in Europe. 

1040ST 1986 A 1 MB computer with TOS in ROM and internal power supply. An `m´ in the name stands for TV 

modulator; `f´ for a sideward floppy drive. 

Mega ST 1987 A desktop PC with separate keyboard, integrated floppy, up to 4 MB memory as standard and two 

new chips for graphics acceleration. Professional add-ons were hard-drive and removable media with 

up to 60 MB as well as a DTP-suitable 19” monitor. 

1040STe 1989 The 520ST successor was enhanced in terms of graphics (4,096 colour palette, hardware scrolling, 

Blitter) and memory, shipping with 1 to 4 MB, in the UK and France along with 512 MB RAM as 

520STE. Apart from two ordinary 9-pin ports Atari used its own 12-pin controller ports. 

STacy 1989 The laptop with monochrome LCD, mini-trackball, 4 MB RAM and 40 MB hard-drive was replaced in 

the early ‘90s by a lighter, just as unsuccessful ST-Book (no LCD backlight, no floppy). 

Atari TT 1990 A compatible successor with new 68030 CPU (2 MB RAM, up to 8 MB on top of the TT’s RAM) and 

better graphic modes: 320x480 in 256 of 4096 colours, 640x480 in 16 colours and a monochrome 

mode in 1280x960 pixels. It was replaced by the Falcon. 

Mega STe 1991 Mega-ST successor with separate keyboard, a CPU clocked at 16 MHz, cache and an optional 

co-processor. 

Falcon 1992 A keyboard computer with integrated floppy, 68030 CPU as well as a programmable DSP, 4 to 14 MB 

RAM and a graphics resolution of 640x480 pixels in 16-Bit colours. 

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122 

Trendsetter Sega commenced the age of 16-Bit consoles, becoming popular in 

western markets. Supporting the console were almost 1,000 games, add-ons for 

all purposes and tastes, as well as several upgrades. 

Sega Mega Drive 

Japan, 1988 

Units sold: 30 Million 

Number of games: 850 

Game storage: Cartridge, CD 

Games developed until: 1997 

Japanese games manufacturer Sega had always come 

in second – producing accomplished technology and 

brilliant arcade and console games, but lacking the 

worldwide success of Nintendo. In joining the 16-Bit fray, 

Sega finally sought to capture the market from its rival: As 

the successor to the Master System, the Mega Drive was 

released in Japan in 1988, arriving in Europe two years 

later. 

American and European gamers welcomed the new 

hardware: The console was technically similar to the 

successful Amiga and ST home computers, but 

graphically superior and thanks to proven and well 

documented chips, pretty easy to code for. 

Early releases like Altered Beast had good visuals, but 

were a let-down gameplay-wise. Thereafter new 

cartridges went to prove both the hardware’s 

capabilities, as well as the creativity and talent of Sega’s 

developers: The RPG Phantasy Star II, the Capcom 

conversion Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and – a year after the 

launch – the excellent action skirmish Revenge of 

Shinobi. But in spite of Sega’s internal development 

teams programming full steam ahead, the large third- 

Sega itself created the best cartridges: Advanced Military 

Commander even supported the Mega Drive modem. 

parties held back in order to avoid complications with 

Nintendo. Square, Enix and Konami ignored Sega; 

Capcom preferred to sell licences instead of developing 

and publishing Sega software under its own logo. 

In the west, the machine was much more welcome, as 

developers thirsted for an alternative to Nintendo’s 

licence-dictatorship. At first, Atari ST and Amiga games 

were converted, followed by original Mega Drive game 

concepts. In the UK Virgin supported Sega with games 

and hardware distribution, in the US Electronic Arts 

immediately stood by Sega. Nearly all EA Sports series 

The peaceful dolphin Ecco was brought to life by Novotrade in 

Hungary, later known as Appaloosa. 

This is excellent vertical action: Musha Aleste was coded by 

Compile for Sega and published in late 1990. 

started out on the Mega Drive, while computer-hits like 

Populous, Budokan and Starflight were converted, the 

action-adventure Immortal even with enhanced 

graphics. From 1992 on, the Mega Drive became the 

most popular platform amongst western developers. 

Sega countered the introduction of the Super Nintendo 

with a CD-ROM upgrade: The Mega CD introduced a 

second 68000 chip, and was placed under the actual 

console, merging with it to become more powerful than 

any hardware. However, as few Mega Drive users bought 

the upgrade, the market remained too small to attract a 

Mickey Mouse was charming as 

one of the first licensed Mega Drive 

heroes: Castle of Illusion (1990). 

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To fight Nintendo, 

Sega invested heavily in 

internal game 

development (picture: 

Story of Thor) and... 

Core proved their competence and squeezed the most out 

of the complicated Mega CD setup: Thunderhawk 

Unreliable ports, area-coded lock out and dependence on a second 

mains outlet limited the Mega CD’s use. The picture shows the Japanese, 

first variant; the Mega CD II was shipped world wide in a new look. 

...manufactured the flat Mega Drive 2 (sparing minor details 

like the volume control) as well as a cheaper Mega CD device. 

major commitment by the software companies; developers 

rarely utilized the CD capacity or the power of the second 

CPU. Just a few months after release (12.12.1991 in 

Japan), the CD system was perceived to be dead whilst 

Nintendo’s new cartridge machine the Super Famicom 

replaced the market-leading NES. 

In the west, Sega closed in on their arch-rival selling 12 million 

consoles before the end of 1993 in the US alone, where 

A glimpse into the future: The polygon background in Silpheed 

streamed from CD. Smaller vehicles were rendered in realtime. 

the console was released as the Genesis, and where the 

industry veteran Tom Kalinske was in charge. According to 

US magazine ‘Wired’, Sega’s market share of 45% overtook 

Nintendo’s 44%; in Europe as many as 66% of gamers 

played with the Mega Drive. With Sonic the Hedgehog, 

Sega provided their console with a mascot that was more 

modern and swaggering than Mario. Now, Acclaim and 

Konami, previously exclusive Nintendo partners, joined 

Sega’s bandwagon. 

With adapters for the 

cart port, the Mega Drive 

played both, past and future: 

The Master System 

Converter for 8-Bit 

cartridges and cards was 

released 1992 ... 

In 1993, Japanese developer Treasure unleashed a late 

sprite- and pixel-feast starring the Gunstar Heroes. 

‘Sega’s Plan for World Domination’ declared Wired as it put 

the blue hedgehog on its cover and quoted EA’s Bing 

Gordon: ‘The Genesis has an older custom base than 

Nintendo. And that’s the growth market for the back half of 

the ‘90s.’ 

Gordon was eventually to be proved right, but it wasn’t 

Sega that tapped into this adult market of gamers, but Sony. 

Following the introduction of the Mega CD, the Sonic- 

... four years later, the 32X add-on with its 

RISC chips appeared. It required its own 

power supply and had only 40 games. 

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Avoiding any additional cables the Mega Jet was a 

combination of pad and console, designed for in-flight use. 

empire fell apart. Projects such as virtual reality glasses 

were stopped, and a hardware update, the 32X, was 

released but failed. 

The combination of Mega Drive, Mega CD and 32X 

made use of two 16-Bit CPUs, two RISC processors and 

various supporting chips. At least, in theory. Three 

power-supplies were required; for both players and 

developers, the set-up was far too complicated. 

With the announcement of the Saturn, Sega itself began 

digging the grave for the hardware. At the same time, the 

industry awaited Sony’s 32-Bit entry. In 1995, the 

cartridge market collapsed and Sega’s heyday in 

the west receded. 

In America, the Mega Drive was more successful than in 

Japan. The screenshot shows US hero Vectorman from 1995. 

The Multimega was a 

portable combination 

of Mega Drive and CD 

– available only in the 

western market. 

Mega Drive variants and successors 

Mega Drive 1988 Sega’s first 16-Bit console was shipped world wide in a similar case, but branded Genesis in the US. 

Including the Altered Beast cartridge it initially retailed for 21,000 yen and $189 respectively. It was 

later bundled with Sonic the Hedgehog. 

Terradrive 1991 Retailing for 148,000 yen this black desktop PC had a Mega Drive built in and hence came with two CPUs 

(80286, 68000) as well as a Z80A for support, up to 2.5 MB RAM, disk- and hard-drive, additional graphics 

and sound memory as well as connectors for monitor and TV. The European model was built and sold by 

Amstrad. 

Mega CD 1991 The CD-ROM drive expanded the Mega Drive with a second 68000 CPU, which was clocked nearly twice as 

fast as the console’s processor. The add-on sold 2 million units world wide and saw the release of around 80 

original games and about the same amount of conversions. The initial retail price in Japan was 49,800 yen. 

JVC Wondermega 1992 The combination of Mega Drive and Mega CD was sold from April on by JVC for 82,800 yen. Audio controls, 

Karaoke- and Midi ports made the Wondermega a well-equipped music and games console. The mascot 

Wonderdog was created by English company Core, the Wondermega however was never released in Europe. 

Mega Drive 2 1993 World wide case update in combination with a price reduction to 12,800 yen: The second Mega Drive is 

rounder and smaller than the predecessor but apart from missing headphone jack and volume control 

technically identical. The Mega CD also got new clothing, turned into a top loading device and shipped as 

the Mega CD 2 in July 1993. 

JVC Wondermega 2 1993 The externally revised Wondermega successor was sold for 59,800 yen by JVC (starting July) and 

was shipped with Midi port and a wireless infrared 6-button controller. 

Pioneer MegaLD 1993 The Control Pack was available as an add-on for Pioneer’s Laser Active disc player. It was pushed into a 

special slot and contained the complete Mega Drive hardware (chips, joypad and cartridge ports) making 

the disc player compatible with Sega games as well as interactive Laser Discs like Taito’s 3D ride Pyramid 

Patrol. 

Mega Jet 1994 This combo consisted of a Mega Drive and 6-button controller (port for second joypad included) and was 

devised for use on board the JAL and sold in Japan only (starting price: 15,000 yen). With an LC display, 

the compact system could have been a handheld. 

Multimega 1994 CD Drive, cartridge port and two CPUs in a Discman-like case: The most 

powerful and beautiful Mega Drive was available in limited numbers in the 

west only. The name used in the US was Genesis CDX. 

Aiwa CSD-GM1 1994 Retailing for 45,000, this ghetto blaster with integrated Mega Drive ran 

cartridges, Mega- and Audio-CDs as well as CD-G discs and was sold as a 

Karaoke machine in Japan only. 

32X 1994 This hardware add-on topped the Mega Drive with two Hitachi SH2 RISC 

processors, 2 Mbit of main- and video memory respectively, as well as new 

sound and graphics chips. Sold for 16,800 yen it multiplied the Mega Drive’s power, 

yet only 40 cartridges and CDs supported it. 

Nomad 1995 Console, joypad and LCD combined. The only true handheld version of the Mega Drive was sold in the US 

and box-moved just shortly after release. Today, it’s a collector’s item. 

Genesis 3 1998 The last Mega Drive was marketed by American distributor Majesco as a very compact cartridge console 

Varianten und Nachfolger: 

including the 6-button joypad. 

Neo Geo 1990 Das Ur-Modell wird mit einem Joyboard ausgeliefert und war in Japan kurzzeitig 

auch mit roten Feuerknöpfen erhältlich. 

Neo Geo CD 1994 Die verbilligte Hardware-Variante ohne Modulschacht (und Pad statt Joyboard) 

gibt´s sowohl als Front-, als auch als Top-Lader. 

Neo Geo CDZ 1995 Technisch nicht verbesserte Gehäuse-Variante mit Top-Lader-CD-Laufwerk. 

Hyper Neo Geo 64 1997 Völlig überarbeiteter 64-Bit-RISC-Nachfolger des Neo Geo/MVS, mit dem 

16-Bit-Systemen nicht kompatibel und nicht als Heimkonsole veröffentlicht. 

Für das technisch starke, aber erfolglose Arcade-System erscheinen sieben 

Spiele, darunter 3D- und Polygon-Updates zu Samurai Spirits und Fatal Fury. 

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Consoles, handhelds & home computers 1972 - 2005 The - UTC

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