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History of video games/Platforms/TV Tennis Electrotennis

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  • The Epoch TV Tennis Electrotennis
    The Epoch TV Tennis Electrotennis

History[edit | edit source]

The Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan where Epoch is based.

Launch[edit | edit source]

TV Tennis Electrotennis was released by Epoch on September 12th, 1975 at a cost of either ¥19,000 yen or ¥19,500 yen.[1][2] The TV Tennis Electrotennis was the first Japanese video game console.[2][3]

Legacy[edit | edit source]

The TV Tennis Electrotennis

Sales figures[edit | edit source]

Most sales figures for the TV Tennis Electrotennis are in the ballpark of around 10,000,[2] to 20,000 consoles sold.[4]

The German website Gamona even goes so far as to say the console could have sold over three million units, though this source notes that they were unsure of this claim.[5]

Influences[edit | edit source]

The ability for the TV Tennis Electrotennis to broadcast television signals inspired Famicom and NES designer Masayuki Uemura to consider adding a similar wireless broadcast function to the Famicom, though this was not pursued due to cost.[6]

TV Tennis Electrotennis (テレビテニス) is also known by its affectionate nickname "Pon Tennis" (ポンテニス).[7]

Technology[edit | edit source]

As the name suggests, the TV Tennis Electrotennis could only play tennis.[3] The system broadcast a television signal over a UHF antenna and ran on batteries so it did not need to be plugged into anything to work.[3][8]

External Resources[edit | edit source]

Wikipedia has related information at TV Tennis Electrotennis

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: TV Tennis Electrotennis

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "ニッポンのゲーム37年史を学ぼう！". nippon.com (in Japanese). 3 October 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c "Japan’s 1st Video Game Console was released 40 Years ago!" (in en). Toarcade. 12 September 2015. https://toarcade.wordpress.com/2015/09/12/japans-1st-video-game-console-was-released-40-years-ago/. Retrieved 26 October 2020. 
  3. ↑ a b c "1st Generation – Game Bros Central". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  4. ↑ "TV Tennis Electrotennis". Wikipedia. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Retro-Gaming: Die allererste japanische Videospielkonsole feiert 40. Jubiläum". web.archive.org. 22 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190122044225/http://www.gamona.de/games/retro-gaming,die-allererste-japanische-videospielkonsole-feiert-40:news.html. 
  6. ↑ "Feature: NES Creator Masayuki Uemura On Building The Console That Made Nintendo A Household Name". Nintendo Life. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "アタリ・ヴィデオ・コンピューター・システム – ザ・プロトタイプ20世紀が見た夢". WIRED.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  8. ↑ Picard, Martin (December 2013). "The Foundation of Geemu: A Brief History of Early Japanese video games". Game Studies. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
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