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Consoles of the '70s

Our guide to the grandfathers of gaming

Words: Shane Patterson, GamesRadar US


Nintendo Color TV-Game 6 - Japan

Only a few hundred of these units were ever produced of Nintendo’s first shot at a dedicated game console. The TV Game 6 contained six variations of Pong, with the players controlling their paddles with dials that were attached directly to the machine. Nintendo was never heard from again.


Apple II Home Computer

This little number was the first mass produced computer from Apple and was one of the first popular computers for home use - due in fact to the agreeable price range. Popular with schools and businesses alike, the Apple II had simple spreadsheets and word processor applications. Its popularity helped bolster the computer game market. Chances are that if you’re at least in your early twenties, you’ve used this hardware. Apple went on to make some mp3 players and faded away from the spotlight.


Coleco Telstar Ranger

Another release in the Telstar line, Ranger included four Pong variants and had two light gun games. Guys had enough Pong yet? Us neither.


Coleco Telstar Alpha

Not much different here. Four Pong variants, complete with a black and white plastic case. Also: fixed dials on the console itself. Yup.


Coleco Combat!

Thankfully no Pong was seen here, but rather up to four players controlled variants of the game, Tank. Four joysticks were included on the console itself and the only color it came in was pea soup military green.


Magnavox Odyssey 2000

You thought you were done with Pong. Think again - Magnavox released three Odyssey consoles in 1977. Three. The O2000 is notable for being similar to the O300 (the one with only one playable knob) and for not having the color graphics introduced in the O400.


Magnavox Odyssey 3000

The O3000 contained the same games and was exactly like the 2000 except for a brand new case design (gasp!) and detachable controllers. This system also played Pong and three other games.


Magnavox Odyssey 4000

The last Pong system released by Magnavox contained eight games (!) that were in color (!!). The O4000 sported a sleek, white design that’s more attractive than the plastic or wood paneled systems that came before it - reminiscent of today’s Wii or any Mac product. Too bad the market had been bombarded by roughly a trillion Pong consoles by this point.


 
12 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
lynx987  - 1 year 2 months ago 
dam there was a a lot of crap..........i only had 7 of them
Spybreak8  - 1 year 2 months ago 
lol wow, we have the Atari 2600, the paddles don't work anymore, was how I got into the love of games though.
ClusterShart  - 1 year 2 months ago 
long before my time
Thequestion 121  - 1 year 2 months ago 
I didn't know there were so many consoles that played Pong. Thank god they moved on to bigger and better things.
Alcyones  - 1 year 2 months ago 
Imagine if it got far enough to....Pong HD!
rockykid19  - 1 year 2 months ago 
i know my family first got the nes, and super mario, i still think its the greatest game ever
MegaGamer1000  - 1 year 2 months ago 
i never knew there were so many systems in the 70's i thought there was only pong
Sukururu  - 1 year 2 months ago 
My first console wa the NES (some of the best games I've played) and there were alot before it. I only Knew About The First Pong.
AQRippinPwner  - 1 year 1 month ago 
omfg! Thank god its not like that today or i would get SOOOO Bored with playing pong!!!
blu2580  - 1 year 1 month ago 
OMFG! the coleco combat was disgusting!
beefandonion  - 1 year 1 month ago 
when do we get the 80's consoles? I used to love my Vectrex and Colecovision!!
ender707  - 1 year 1 month ago 
The Coleco Combat Looks a Lot Like The Halo 3 LE XBOX 360 WTF???
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