ColecoVision

The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second-generation home video-game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered a closer experience to more powerful arcade game systems compared to competitors such as the Atari 2600, along with the means to expand the system's basic hardware.

The main console unit consists of a 14×8×2 inch rectangular plastic case that houses the motherboard, with a cartridge slot on the right side and connectors for the external power supply and RF jack at the rear. The controllers connect into plugs in a recessed area on the top of the unit.

The design of the controllers is similar to that of Mattel's Intellivision—the controller is rectangular and consists of a numeric keypad and a set of side buttons. In place of the circular control disc below the keypad, the Coleco controller has a short, 1.5-inch joystick. The keypad is designed to accept a thin plastic overlay that maps the keys for a particular game. Each ColecoVision console shipped with two controllers.

Technical Specs

CPU: NEC version of Zilog Z80A @ 3.58 MHz
Video processor: Texas Instruments TMS9928A

• 256×192 pixel resolution
• 32 sprites on-screen at once
• 16 colors

Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489A PSG

• 3 tone generators
• 1 noise generator

Video RAM: 16 KB (as eight 16K x 1-bit chips
RAM: 1 KB
ROM: 8 KB Texas Instruments TMS4764 Mask ROM
Storage: ROM Cartridge of 8, 16, 24 or 32 KB capacity.