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Coleco
Coleco Industries, Inc. ( ) was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. The name "COLECO" is an abbreviation derived from the company's original name which combines the first two letters of "Connecticut," "Leather," and "Company." It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consoles, the Coleco Telstar dedicated consoles and ColecoVision. While the company ceased operations in 1988 as a result of bankruptcy, the Coleco brand was revived in 2005, and remains active to this day. Overview 1932: origins as The Connecticut Leather Company Coleco Industries, Inc. began in 1932 as The Connecticut Leather Company. The business supplied leather and "shoe findings" (the supplies and paraphernalia of a shoe repair shop) to shoe repairers. In 1938, the company began selling rubber footwear. During World War II demand for the company's supplies increased and by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ColecoVision
ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer experience to more powerful arcade video games compared to competitors such as the Atari 2600 and Intellivision. The initial catalog of twelve games on ROM cartridge included the first home version of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' as the pack-in game. Approximately 136 games were published between 1982 and 1984, including Sega's '' Zaxxon'' and some ports of lesser known arcade games that found a larger audience on the console, such as '' Lady Bug'', '' Cosmic Avenger'', and '' Venture''. Coleco released a series of hardware add-ons and special controllers to expand the capabilities of the console. "Expansion Module #1" allowed the system to play Atari 2600 cartridges. A later module converted ColecoVision into the Adam home computer. ColecoVisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coleco ADAM
The Coleco Adam is a home computer and expansion device for the ColecoVision by American toy and video game manufacturer Coleco. The Adam was an attempt to follow on the success of the company's ColecoVision video game console. It was available as Expansion Module #3 for the ColecoVision, converting it into a home computer, and as a standalone unit. As such, it had the benefit of being entirely compatible with all ColecoVision games and peripherals. The computer came with 64 kilobyte, KB of memory, a tape drive for a proprietary medium called Digital Data Packs, a daisy wheel printer, and productivity applications, along with two DDPs for SmartBASIC and ''Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom, Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Super Game''. It was released in October 1983 with the initial price of $700. Although its presentation and concept were positively received, the Adam was heavily criticized upon launch for numerous hardware defects in early units, with some potentially rendering the device ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donkey Kong (1981 Video Game)
is a 1981 platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ... developed and published by Nintendo for arcade video game, arcades. As Mario (occasionally referred to as "Jumpman" at the time), the player runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline (Nintendo), Pauline from a giant gorilla, Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong. It is the first game in the ''Donkey Kong'' series and Mario's first appearance in a video game. ''Donkey Kong'' was created to salvage unsold arcade cabinets following the failure of Nintendo's ''Radar Scope'' (1980), and was designed for Nintendo of America's audience. Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo's president at the time, assigned the project to first-time video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coleco Telstar
The Coleco Telstar brand is a series of dedicated first-generation home video game consoles produced, released and marketed by Coleco from 1976 to 1978. Starting with Coleco Telstar '' Pong'' clone based video game console on General Instrument's AY-3-8500 chip in 1976, there were 14 consoles released in the Coleco Telstar series. About one million units of the first model called Coleco Telstar were sold. Coleco sold over 1 million units at the price of $50 in 1976. Coleco was unaffected by a chip shortage that year as their early orders meant it was entirely supplied. The large product lineup and the impending fading out of the ''Pong'' machines led Coleco to face near-bankruptcy in 1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys .... Model comparison References W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telstar (game Console)
The Coleco Telstar brand is a series of dedicated first-generation home video game consoles produced, released and marketed by Coleco from 1976 to 1978. Starting with Coleco Telstar ''Pong'' clone based video game console on General Instrument's AY-3-8500 chip in 1976, there were 14 consoles released in the Coleco Telstar series. About one million units of the first model called Coleco Telstar were sold. Coleco sold over 1 million units at the price of $50 in 1976. Coleco was unaffected by a chip shortage that year as their early orders meant it was entirely supplied. The large product lineup and the impending fading out of the ''Pong'' machines led Coleco to face near-bankruptcy in 1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys .... Model comparison References Works ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coleco Telstar Series
The Coleco Telstar brand is a series of dedicated first-generation home video game consoles produced, released and marketed by Coleco from 1976 to 1978. Starting with Coleco Telstar ''Pong'' clone based video game console on General Instrument's AY-3-8500 chip in 1976, there were 14 consoles released in the Coleco Telstar series. About one million units of the first model called Coleco Telstar were sold. Coleco sold over 1 million units at the price of $50 in 1976. Coleco was unaffected by a chip shortage that year as their early orders meant it was entirely supplied. The large product lineup and the impending fading out of the ''Pong'' machines led Coleco to face near-bankruptcy in 1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys .... Model comparison References Works ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabbage Patch Kids
Cabbage Patch Kids are a line of cloth dolls with plastic heads first produced by Coleco Industries in 1982. They were inspired by the Little People soft sculptured dolls sold by Xavier Roberts as collectibles. The brand was renamed 'Cabbage Patch Kids' by Roger L. Schlaifer when he acquired the exclusive worldwide licensing rights in 1982. The doll brand set every toy industry sales record for three years running, was one of the most popular lines of children's licensed products in the 1980s, and has become one of the longest-running doll franchises in the United States. Additional Cabbage Patch products include children's apparel, bedding, infants' wear, record albums and board games. Production history Creation and development According to court records, Roberts, a 21-year-old art student at a missionary school in North Georgia, discovered craft artist Martha Nelson's Doll Babies. They came with a birth certificate and adoption papers. With the help of artist Debbie Moo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coleco Gemini
The Coleco Gemini is an Atari 2600 clone manufactured by Coleco Industries, Inc. in 1983. Technical specifications * Processor: 8-bit 6507 * CPU speed: 1.19 MHz * RAM: 128 bytes * Resolution: 160x200, 128 colors History In 1982, Coleco released Expansion Module #1 for its ColecoVision video game system. With a custom-made clone of the Atari 2600 TIA chip and off-the-shelf components, the module enabled the ColecoVision to be compatible with Atari 2600 software. Later that year, Atari, Inc. sued Coleco for patent infringement, and the companies wound up settling out of court, with Coleco becoming a licensee of Atari's patents. Gemini vs. 2600 The main difference between the Coleco Gemini and the Atari 2600 is the controller design. The Coleco Gemini controllers (dubbed the 'Dual Command') featured an 8-way joystick and a 270- degree paddle on the same controller (the joystick was at the top of the controller, and the paddle was at the bottom of the controller). To play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arnold Greenberg (Coleco)
Arnold Greenberg (June 12, 1933 - March 19, 2025)https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/wfsb/name/arnold-greenberg-obituary?id=57943227 was an American businessman best known as the CEO of Coleco in the 1970s and 1980s. He began his career in law but joined Coleco, a family toy business, in 1966. He worked aggressively to gain a large share of the video game market while maintaining Coleco's position as a manufacturer of other toys. Greenberg's drive to develop and market the Adam Computer in 1982 and 1983 eventually led the company into bankruptcy. Early life and career Arnold Greenberg was born on June 12, 1933 in Hartford, Connecticut to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. His father, Maurice Greenberg, started Coleco. Arnold Greenberg entered law and practiced until 1966. He then joined Coleco, where he quickly came to dominate the company as its driving force and chief of marketing while his brother, Leonard Greenberg, provided engineering and manufacturing know-how. At this t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electronic Quarterback
''Electronic Quarterback'' is a handheld electronic game made by Coleco in 1978. It is powered by a 9-volt battery or an AC adaptor, and it differentiated itself from the other similar handheld electronic American football games of the era, notably Mattel Electronics' version, by having two blockers and giving the quarterback the ability to pass. Like many electronic games in the late 1970s, it was also released by Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ... under their own brand and the name ''Electronic Touchdown''. Gameplay The game plays a simplified version of American football with three offensive players and either six or seven computer-controlled defensive players depending on the player-selected difficulty. As implied by the game's name, the focus is on r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pac-Man
''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating large flashing dots called "Power Pellets" causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to also eat the ghosts for bonus points. Game development began in early 1979, led by Toru Iwatani with a nine-man team. Iwatani wanted to create a game that could appeal to women as well as men, because most video games of the time had themes that appealed to traditionally masculine interests, such as war or sports. Although the inspiration for the Pac-Man character was the image of a pizza with a slice removed, Iwatani has said he rounded out the Japanese character for mouth, kuchi (). The in-game characters were made t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galaxian
is a 1979 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who dive down towards the player in an attempt to hit them. Designed by company engineer Kazunori Sawano, ''Galaxian'' was Namco's answer to '' Space Invaders'', a similar space shooter released the previous year by rival developer Taito. ''Space Invaders'' was a sensation in Japan, and Namco wanted a game that could compete against it. Sawano strove to make the game simple and easy to understand. He was inspired by the cinematic space combat scenes in '' Star Wars'', with enemies originally being in the shape of the film's TIE Fighters. ''Galaxian'' is one of the first video games to feature RGB color graphics and the first ever to use a tile-based hardware system, which was capable of animated multi-color sprites as well as scrol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
