Colecovision!
- Thread starter Performa
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Performa
Well-known member
For the uninitiated, Colecovision was a 1982 video game console produced by the Connecticut Leather Company "CO-LE-CO" and was a direct competitor to the Atari VCS/2600, Mattel Intellivision, and (kinda) the Magnavox Odyssey 2 video game systems. It's often cited as being more powerful than the others, with more sophisticated graphics. All the same, Coleco didn't survive the 1980's- and the Colecovision was their last true console. There's a whole Wiki article on it HERE for those interested.
As for this system here, it had a few other goodies with it, including these crazy things:
Wikipedia describes these as the "Super Action Controllers" and I'm rather impressed with them. It's like the guard on a pirate's cutlass, and they're surprisingly solid in the hand. Like, if I'd never seen them before and someone said they were for some motion control VR setup, I would have believed it. Four buttons, a number pad, a joystick (not microswitches as far as I can tell, but solid) and a "scroll wheel" that no doubt helps when playing pong round out a wide array of input options for an 8-bit machine. According to Wikipedia, a few games were made with these specifically in mind that use all the buttons, so I did a bit of eBay shopping so we can all give em' a whirl when we're together again.
As for this system here, it had a few other goodies with it, including these crazy things:
Wikipedia describes these as the "Super Action Controllers" and I'm rather impressed with them. It's like the guard on a pirate's cutlass, and they're surprisingly solid in the hand. Like, if I'd never seen them before and someone said they were for some motion control VR setup, I would have believed it. Four buttons, a number pad, a joystick (not microswitches as far as I can tell, but solid) and a "scroll wheel" that no doubt helps when playing pong round out a wide array of input options for an 8-bit machine. According to Wikipedia, a few games were made with these specifically in mind that use all the buttons, so I did a bit of eBay shopping so we can all give em' a whirl when we're together again.
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Performa
Well-known member
Finally, there's this thing. I didn't see it in the seller's photos, but it was in the box when it arrived- Coleco Expansion Module 1. It lets the Colecovision play Atari VCS/2600 games- it's got all the "guts" of a 2600 inside of it.
Apparently Atari wasn't too happy about this when it was new. Can't imagine why...
Apparently Atari wasn't too happy about this when it was new. Can't imagine why...
Performa
Well-known member
Tomorrow is Friday, so I'll be taking a jaunt over to Gaming Generations to see what games I might be able to get from them- if memory serves they had a fairly good sized array of them. I'll need at least one cartridge for testing over the weekend.
Excited as I am, testing will have to wait- the system is incredibly dirty, and reeks of cigarette smoke, both of which will need to be remedied before it goes any further. That said, these old systems tend to hold up pretty well- I'd give it a 50/50 that if it were powered up right now, it would take off without a problem. Dirty contacts are the most likely point of failure right now. That and I'm sure all the joysticks could use a tune-up!
Excited as I am, testing will have to wait- the system is incredibly dirty, and reeks of cigarette smoke, both of which will need to be remedied before it goes any further. That said, these old systems tend to hold up pretty well- I'd give it a 50/50 that if it were powered up right now, it would take off without a problem. Dirty contacts are the most likely point of failure right now. That and I'm sure all the joysticks could use a tune-up!
Performa
Well-known member
Looks like eBay prices have it between $40-$60, though I do see most are sold as "untested" or "for parts."
I haven't tested this one yet as I'm still working on getting the main system back in shape. I'd expect it'll work though- these old consoles are surprisingly hardy.
