History of video games/Platforms/Color TV-Game
A Nintendo Computer TV Game console
History[edit | edit source]
Development[edit | edit source]
Nintendo licensed the Odyssey technology from Magnavox to produce the Color TV Game 6 and Color TV Game 15.[1] Noted engineer Masayuki Uemura assisted in the development of Color TV-Game systems.[2]
Launch[edit | edit source]
Released in 1977, the Color TV-Game line were the first consoles released by Nintendo, starting with the Color TV Game 6.[3]
The Color TV Game 15 was released in 1978 at a cost of 15,000 yen.[3][4]
The Color TV Game Racing 112 had the worst market performance of the Color-TV-Game series.[5] The price of this system was cut multiple times.[6]
Legacy[edit | edit source]
350,000 Color TV Game 6 consolers were sold, but were not profitable due to high production costs.[3][7] The complete Color TV game series sold about three million consoles.[8]
The Color TV-Game was succeeded by the cartridge based Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom, which featured much improved capabilities over the Color TV Game line.
Technology[edit | edit source]
Models of the Color TV Game 6 used 6 C type batteries as a power source, with an optional power adapter being available for the CTG-6V model.[9]
Often Japanese televisions of the 1970's were not capable of easily accepting an input from consumer hardware, so the Color TV-Game line was designed with this in mind.[10]
Notable games[edit | edit source]
The Color TV-Game 6 and 15 both shared their primary Mitsubishi integrated circuit, with the Color TV-Game 15 exposing 9 more games then the Color TV-Game 6.[11]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Color TV Game Variants[edit | edit source]
Color TV Game 6
TV Game 15
Color TV Game Racing 112
.jpg)
.jpg)
Blockbreaker Kuzushi[edit | edit source]
Pictures below the mode switch show what kind of games can be played.
The Blockbreaker Kuzushi with an informational sticker still attached.
Unlike most devices, all ports are on the console side.
The back of the Blockbreaker Kuzushi is just it's iconic orange plastic.
The bottom of the unit. Holes to adjust picture settings can be seen, as well as a switch to change the channel.
Blockbreaker Kuzushi Internals[edit | edit source]
The ribbon cable loops underneath the motherboard to the front panel.
A top down view of the Color TV Game. The large Mitsubishi M58821P 9592 chip can be seen.
Origin of Nintendo[edit | edit source]
Nintendo was founded in Kyoto, Japan in 1889 to make Hanafuda cards,[12] making it one of the oldest companies to have a major impact on the video game industry.
Nintendo's first headquarters in Kyoto, Japan - 1889.
1890 poster showing Nintendo playing cards.
Nintendo Staff in 1949.
External References[edit | edit source]
- Centre for Computing History - Color TV Game 6 page.
- Centre for Computing History - Color TV Game 15 page
- Before Mario - Color TV Game series page.
- Gamester81 - Color TV Game history, model info, and trivia page.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Persuasive Games: Wii Can't Go On, Wii'll Go On" (in en). www.gamasutra.com. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182294/persuasive_games_wii_cant_go_on_.php. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ↑ "Masayuki Uemura, the designer of the NES and SNES, has died age 78". VGC. 9 December 2021. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/masayuki-uemura-the-designer-of-the-nes-and-snes-has-died-age-78/.
- ↑ a b c "Nintendo's First Console Is One You've Never Played" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/nintendos-first-console-is-one-youve-never-played-5785568. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ↑ Voskuil, Geplaatst door Erik. "Nintendo Color TV Game 15 - Service Manual (カラー テレビゲーム 15 サービス マニュアル)". http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/12/nintendo-color-tv-game-15-service.html. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ↑ "Designing the Nintendo Entertainment System - Masayuki Uemura talk" (in en). http://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/designing-the-nintendo-entertainment-system-masayuki-uemura-talk. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ↑ Voskuil, Geplaatst door Erik. "Nintendo Color TV Game Racing 112 (任天堂 カラー テレビゲーム レーシング 112, 1978)". http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/05/nintendo-color-tv-game-racing-112-112.html. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ↑ "Looking Back at Nintendo's Forgotten Console". 26 April 2020. https://www.cbr.com/nintendo-history-forgotten-console/. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ↑ "Color TV Game 6 - Game Console - Computing History". https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/20732/Color-TV-Game-6/. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ↑ Voskuil, Geplaatst door Erik. "Nintendo Color TV-Game 6 (カラー テレビゲーム 6, 1977)". http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/04/nintendo-color-tv-game-6-6-1977.html. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ↑ O'Kane, Sean (18 October 2015). "7 things I learned from the designer of the NES" (in en). https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/18/9554885/nintendo-entertainment-system-famicom-history-masayuki-uemura. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ↑ Voskuil, Geplaatst door Erik. "Nintendo Color TV-Game 15 (カラー テレビゲーム 15, 1977)". http://blog.beforemario.com/2012/01/nintendo-color-tv-game-15-15-1977.html. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ↑ "Video game:Nintendo Color TV Game 6 - Nintendo" (in en). https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/video-game-nintendo-color-tv-game-6-nintendo/KgHPq-FZO-1gLQ?hl=en. Retrieved 11 November 2020.