Many people believe that the Atari 2600 started the home video game market. While it was the system that made home video games a hit, it was not the first. Here are the systems that preceded the famous 2600.
Magnavox Odyssey
In 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey became the first game system released for the home market. In spite of its crude graphics and lack of sound, it sold at a decent pace. One of the misconceptions that that sales was the misleading idea that it would only work on Magnavox TVs. It was the first and only home system that operated off batteries.
Pong
Pong was released by Atari in 1975 and became a hit. The fold of imitators soon followed but none would become as popular as Atari’s version. This also started the longstanding relationship between Sears and Atari.
Magnavox Odyssey 100-5000
Magnavox decided to release a series of Pong-style home systems beginning with the Magnavox 100. The first one only had tennis and hockey. Each version was a slightly upgraded model over the previous one, but they still trailed the famous Atari Pong.
Coleco Telstar
The Coleco Telstar was released in 1976 and became an instant hit. The $50 price tag proved to a be popular with consumers and it had 3 different skill levels.
Wonder Wizard 7702
The Wonder Wizard was a pong-style system with a nice wood grain front. The system had 3 difficulty switches for ball speed, paddle size, and ball angle.
Fairchild Channel F
The Fairchild Channel F was the first system to use plug-in cartridges. It was released in 1976 and there were a total of 26 games for it. Fairchild numbered all the cartridges to entice people to collect the whole series. The system saw its sales plummet when the Atari 2600 was released in 1977.
RCA Studio II
The RCA Studio II was beaten to the home video market by The Channel F by just a few months. The rush job on the Studio II was very evident as it was in all black & white and only had 8 games released with the system. It became dead in the water when Atari released the 2600.
