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Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick game controller, controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle (game controller), paddle controllers, and a game cartridgeinitially ''Combat (video game), Combat'' and later ''Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game), Pac-Man''. Sears sold the system as the Tele-Games Video Arcade. Atari rebranded the VCS as the Atari 2600 in November 1982, alongside the release of the Atari 5200. Atari was successful at creating arcade video games, but their development cost and limited lifespan drove Chief executive officer, CEO Nolan Bushnell to seek a programmable home system. The first inexpensive microprocessors from MOS Technology in late 1975 made this feasible. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Television Interface Adaptor
The Television Interface Adaptor (TIA) is the custom computer chip which, along with a variant of the MOS Technology 6502, constitutes the heart of the 1977 Atari Video Computer System game console. The TIA generates the screen display, sound effects, and reads the controllers. At the time the Atari VCS was designed, even small amounts of RAM were expensive. The chip was designed without the extra circuitry of a framebuffer, instead requiring detailed programming to create even a simple display. Development of the CO10444/CO11903 TIA was led by Jay Miner, who continued at Atari expanding on the design of the TIA for the Atari 8-bit computers with the ANTIC, CTIA/GTIA and POKEY chips which allow for more graphical and sound capabilities. Miner later led the design of the custom chips for the Amiga computer. Design Background Around 1975, Atari's engineers at Cyan Engineering led by Steve Mayer and Ron Milner had been considering alternatives to the development dedicated h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Driver (video Game)
''Night Driver'' is an arcade video game developed by Atari, Inc. and released in the United States in October 1976. It's one of the earliest first-person racing video games and is commonly believed to be one of the first published video games to feature real-time First person (video games), first-person graphics. ''Night Driver'' has a black and white display with the hood of the player's car painted on a plastic overlay. The road is rendered as scaled rectangles representing "pylons" that line the edges. Two arcade cabinet styles were manufactured: upright and sit-down. The upright version has a blacklight installed inside the cabinet which illuminated the bezel setting, bezel. Atari published a color version for the Atari 2600, Atari Video Computer System in 1980. Gameplay The player controls a car which must be driven along a road at nighttime without crashing into the sides of the road as indicated by road side reflectors. The game is controlled with a single pedal for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari, Inc
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. The company was founded in Sunnyvale, California, in the center of Silicon Valley, to develop arcade games, starting with ''Pong'' in 1972. As computer technology matured with low-cost integrated circuits, Atari ventured into the consumer market, first with dedicated home video game console, home versions of ''Pong'' and other arcade successes around 1975, and into programmable consoles using game cartridges with the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS or later branded as the Atari 2600) in 1977. To bring the Atari VCS to market, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976. In 1978, Warner brought in Ray Kassar to help run the company, but over the next few years, gave Kassar more of a leadership role in the company. Bushnell was fired in 1978, with Kassar name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combat (video Game)
''Combat'' is a multidirectional shooter developed and published by Atari, Inc. as a launch title for the 1977 Atari Video Computer System (later called the Atari 2600). Two players, controlling either tanks, biplanes, or jets, fire missiles at each other for two minutes and sixteen seconds. Points are scored by hitting the opponent, and the player with more points when the time runs out wins. Variations on the gameplay introduce elements such as invisible vehicles, missiles that ricochet off of walls, and different playing fields. Based on Atari's 1974 arcade video game ''Tank'', ''Combat'' was initially developed by Steve Mayer and Ron Milner. Joe Decuir tested it on the in-development Atari VCS hardware. Larry Wagner completed the game and added the two plane variations. By the early 1980s, ''Combat'''s graphics and gameplay were seen as being out-of-date. A sequel titled ''Combat Two'' was planned for the Atari 2600, but never completed. A prototype of the sequel was later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Invaders
is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter, the sequel to the Atari 2600's Pong and the first video game with endless gameplay (meaning there was no final level or endscreen) and set the template for the genre. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser cannon to earn as many points as possible. Designer Tomohiro Nishikado drew inspiration from video games such as ''Gun Fight'' (1975) and ''Breakout (video game), Breakout'' (1976), Electro-mechanical game, electro-mechanical target shooting games, and science fiction narratives such as the novel ''The War of the Worlds'' (1897), the anime ''Space Battleship Yamato'' (1974), and the film ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'' (1977). To complete development, he had to design custom ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taito
is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Jukebox, jukeboxes into Japan. It began production of video games in 1973. In 2005, Taito was purchased by Square Enix, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary by 2006. Taito is recognized as an important industry influencer in the early days of video games, producing a number of hit arcade games such as ''Speed Race'' (1974), ''Western Gun'' (1975), ''Space Invaders'' (1978), ''Bubble Bobble'' (1986), and ''Arkanoid'' (1986). Alongside Capcom, Konami, Namco, and Sega, it is one of the most prominent video game companies from Japan and the first that exported its games into other countries. Several of its games have since been recognized as important and revolutionary for the industry – ''Space Invaders'' in particular was a major contributor to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Killer Application
A killer application (often shortened to killer app) is any software that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as its host computer hardware, video game console, software platform, or operating system. Consumers would buy the host platform just to access that application, possibly substantially increasing sales of its host platform. Usage The earliest recorded use of the term "killer app" in print is in the May 24, 1988 issue of '' PC Week'': "Everybody has only one killer application. The secretary has a word processor. The manager has a spreadsheet." The definition of "killer app" came up during the deposition of Bill Gates in the '' United States v. Microsoft Corp.'' antitrust case. He had written an email in which he described Internet Explorer as a killer app. In the questioning, he said that the term meant "a popular application," and did not connote an application that would fuel sales of a larger product or one that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breakout (video Game)
''Breakout'' is an arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. and released on May 13, 1976. ''Breakout'' was released in Japanese arcades by Namco. The game was designed by Nolan Bushnell and Steve Bristow and prototyped via discrete logic chips by Steve Wozniak with assistance from Steve Jobs. In the game, eight rows of bricks line the top portion of the screen, and the player's goal is to destroy the bricks by repeatedly bouncing a ball off a paddle into them. The concept was predated by Ramtek (company), Ramtek's ''Clean Sweep'' (1974), but the game's designers were influenced by Atari's own ''Pong'' (1972). The arcade version of ''Breakout'' uses a Monochrome monitor, monochrome display underneath a translucent colored overlay. The game was a worldwide commercial success. It was among the top five highest-grossing arcade video games of 1976 in the U.S. and Japan, and among the top three in both countries for 1977. A port of the game was published in 1978 for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warner Communications
Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warner in 1990 and was known by that name for most of its history, following a merger between Time Inc. and Warner Communications. The company had film, television and cable operations. Its assets included WarnerMedia Studios & Networks (which consisted of the entertainment assets of Turner Broadcasting, HBO, and Cinemax as well as Warner Bros., which itself consisted of the film, animation, television studios, the company's home entertainment division and Studio Distribution Services, its joint venture with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, DC Comics, New Line Cinema, and, together with CBS Entertainment Group, a 50% interest in The CW); WarnerMedia News & Sports (consisted of the news and sports assets of Turner Broadcasting, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyan Engineering
Cyan Engineering was an American computer engineering company located in Grass Valley, California.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfFGrQLuY8s Atari's Cyan Engineering - Splendor in the Grass documentary It was founded by Steve Mayer and Larry Emmons. The company was purchased in 1973 by Atari, Inc. and developed the Atari Video Computer System console, which was released in 1977 and renamed the Atari 2600 in November 1982. It also carried out some robotics research and development work on behalf of Atari, including the Kermit mobile robot A mobile robot is an automatic machine that is capable of locomotion.Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Lanzon, A.,Group Coordinated Control of Networked Mobile Robots with Applications to Object Transportation IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 202 ..., originally intended as a stand-alone product intended to bring a beer. The company also programmed the original "portrait style" animatronics for Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre pizza chain in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Codename
A code name, codename, call sign, or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial counter-espionage to protect secret projects and the like from business rivals, or to give names to projects whose marketing name has not yet been determined. Another reason for the use of names and phrases in the military is that they transmit with a lower level of cumulative errors over a walkie-talkie or radio link than actual names. Origins Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire under Darius I employed a network of spies called the King’s Eye or the King’s Ear. These agents operated under anonymity, and “King’s Eye” was not a specific person but rather a code name for the intelligence network that reported directly to the king. Punic Wars The Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca reportedly used coded re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MOS Technology
MOS Technology, Inc. ("MOS" being short for Metal Oxide Semiconductor), later known as CSG (Commodore Semiconductor Group) and GMT Microelectronics, was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Audubon, Pennsylvania. It is most famous for its 6502 microprocessor and various designs for Commodore International's range of home computers. History Three former General Instrument executives, John Paivinen, Mort Jaffe and Don McLaughlin, formed MOS Technology in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in 1969. The Allen-Bradley Company was looking to provide a second source for electronic calculators and their chips designed by Texas Instruments (TI). In 1970 Allen-Bradley acquired a majority interest in MOS Technology. In the early 1970s, TI decided to release their own line of calculators, instead of selling just the chips inside them, and introduced them at a price that was lower than the price of the chipset alone. Many early chip companies were reliant on sales of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
