The is the first video game system ever made by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

. The system was released as a series of five dedicated

home video game consoles A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. While initial consoles were dedicated units with only a few game ...

between 1977 and 1983 in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

only. Nintendo sold three million units of the first four models: one million units of each of the first two models, Color TV-Game 6 and 15; and half a million units of each of the next two models, ''Block Breaker'' and ''Racing 112''. The Color TV-Game series has the highest sales figures of all the

first generation of video game consoles In the history of video games, the first generation era refers to the video games, video game consoles, and handheld video game consoles available from 1972 to 1983. Notable consoles of the first generation include the Odyssey series (excludin ...

History

Background

By the late 1970s,

began moving away from

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

s and

playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...

s and into the rapidly-growing video game market. This decision was based on the smash success of the

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

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 s ...

'' (1978) by

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 Juk ...

and the

1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...

making toys expensive to produce. Nintendo's first foray into video gaming was the arcade game ''Computer Othello'' in 1978. This was followed by games such as ''

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

'', '' Space Fever'', and '. Most of these were unsuccessful but made Nintendo view video games as its next major market. The home console market also rose in popularity, particularly in North America with the release of

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

's ''

Pong ''Pong'' is a 1972 sports video game developed and published by Atari for arcades. It is one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but B ...

'' system in 1972. The market was flooded with similar video tennis games as companies scrambled to cash in on its success. Nintendo made its own dedicated ''Pong'' system to import this popularity to Japan. The Color TV-Game consoles were produced jointly by

Nintendo Research & Development 2 commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D2, was a Japanese team within Nintendo that developed software and peripherals. While usually occupied in system operating software and technical support, the team would come back to early development in the 1 ...

(R&D2) and Mitsubishi Electronics. Nintendo had no prior experience in manufacturing electronics, and had previously contracted Mitsubishi for production of ''EVR Race'', so this continued. For the first two consoles, Color TV-Game 6 and Color TV-Game 15, Nintendo acquired a license from

Magnavox Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", often stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics brand. It was purchased by North American Philips in 1974, which was absorbed into Dutch electronics company Philips in 1987. The predecessor to Magnavox w ...

production of its own ''Pong'' clone game consoles. Magnavox created the original concept for ''Pong'' for its

Magnavox Odyssey The Magnavox Odyssey is the first commercial home video game console. The hardware was designed by a small team led by Ralph H. Baer at Sanders Associates, while Magnavox completed development and released it in the United States in September ...

console, which inspired Atari to create a similar game for arcades. For this, Magnavox sued Atari and other ''Pong'' console manufacturers for copyright infringement. Nintendo president

Hiroshi Yamauchi Hiroshi Yamauchi (; 7 November 192719 September 2013) was a Japanese businessman and the third president of Nintendo, joining the company on 25 April 1949 until stepping down on 24 May 2002, being succeeded by Satoru Iwata. During his 53-year t ...

specified that the consoles be produced quickly and with cheaper parts to reduce production costs. He wanted a competitive edge by making the systems cheap for the consumer to purchase. The TV-Game 6 and 15 required little production time due to their simplicity. Mitsubishi made minor changes and corrections to the systems before they were released.

Color TV-Game 6 (1977)

The Color TV-Game 6 was launched on June 1, 1977. It retailed at a price of , significantly lower than competing systems. Nintendo used this as a marketing tool. It contains six variations of ''Pong'', such as adding additional paddles, decreasing the size of the paddles, and adding deflective shields in the center of the screen. It can be powered by batteries or by a power adapter sold separately. Shortly after its release, Nintendo released an improved version of the TV-Game 6, featuring a cream-white outer casing and removing the power adapter. A second variation was produced as part of a promotion with food company House Foods to promote its House Shanmen instant noodles. It is identical to the original TV-Game 6 but has the House Shanmen logo on the casing. This version was produced in very limited quantities, making it extremely rare. Sharp Electronics produced dark orange-colored versions of the TV-Game 6 to bundle with its television sets.

Color TV-Game 15 (1977)

One week later on June 8, Nintendo released the Color TV-Game 15. It retailed for , roughly 50% more than the TV-Game 6. Essentially, the TV-Game 15 is an enhanced version of the TV-Game 6. Both consoles house the same fifteen games; however, only six are accessible on the TV-Game 6 without modification. The TV-Game 15 has detachable controllers which are stored in a small compartment on the system. Nintendo produced a second model of the TV-Game 15 with a reddish-orange casing, which had a longer production run and are more common. Sharp made a white-colored version that was renamed Color TV-Game XG-115.

Color TV-Game Racing 112 (1978)

The third unit, the Color TV Game Racing 112, was published on June 8, 1978. It is significantly larger than the previous two units, with a larger shipping box to accompany it. Racing 112 was set to be released at , but was lowered to to ensure competitiveness. It was later reduced to . To prevent the machine from requiring a larger box, the wheel is detachable from the console. The built-in game is a top-down racer similar to ''

Speed Race is a 1974 arcade racing video game developed and manufactured by Taito and released under the titles ''Racer'' and ''Wheels'' in North America by distributor Midway Manufacturing in 1975. Designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the gameplay involves ...

'', an arcade game released by Taito in 1974. Variations include a smaller screen width and opponents that move faster, with all possible game combinations totaling to 112. The console also comes with two paddle controllers for multiplayer support.

Color TV-Game Block Kuzushi (1979)

Color TV Game Block Kuzushi was released on April 23, 1979, at ¥13,500. The system was produced by Nintendo, allowing its name to be prominently displayed. Block Kuzushi includes six variations of '' Breakout'', an arcade game released in America by Atari. Nintendo released a clone of ''Breakout'' titled ''Block Fever'' for Japanese arcades in 1978. Rival company

Epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

released the TV Block console in Japan, which was successful and gave way to steady competition by other companies, including Nintendo. The system's casing was designed by ''

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

'' creator

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, video game producer, producer and Creative director#Video games, game director at Nintendo, where he has served as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one o ...

. It is one of his first video game projects after joining Nintendo in 1977. The built-in games for Racing 112 and Block Kuzushi were designed by Takehiro Izushi. Nintendo held competitions in department stores to promote the Block Kuzushi, where winners received a congratulatory note and a medal.

Computer TV-Game (1980)

The final console, the Computer TV Game, was released in 1980. Because dedicated consoles were decreasing in popularity, the Computer TV Game was only produced in limited quantities, making it extremely rare. Miyamoto again designed the system's white-colored casing and the packaging. It was produced internally. Computer TV-Game contains a version of ''Computer Othello'', and is built around an original ''Computer Othello'' arcade system board. This makes it an arcade-perfect rendition, an uncommon sight during the early 1980s. The entire Color TV-Game series was discontinued in favor of the

Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the U ...

in 1983, a cartridge-based system with a library of hundreds of games. Nintendo sold millions of the Famicom and its international counterpart, the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

, and solidified the company's presence in the video game hardware market.

Legacy

The Color TV-Game series was very successful for Nintendo, and was a commercial hit. Nintendo sold one million units each of Color TV-Game 6 and Color TV-Game 15. One half million units each of Racing 112 and Block Kuzushi were sold. Their success prompted Nintendo to continue pursuing the video game console market, leading to the creation of the Family Computer and the Nintendo Entertainment System. Erik Voskuil, writing for his blog ''Before Mario'', believes that part of the reason for the success of the Color TV-Game series was its low price point, far below the competition. He wrote: "Almost thirty-five years and multiple generations of ever improving, multi-million selling Nintendo video game consoles on, we can reflect on this moment as the beginning of something very, very big." In his 2004 book ''Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life'', Chris Kohler claims that the colorful casing played a part in the systems performing well, saying they resembled toys more than video game consoles. Luke Plunkett of ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' acknowledged the consoles for their importance as Nintendo's first foray into the market, and for it being influential for its next system. Plunkett also said the series was successful for their low price, as it established Nintendo's "consoles must be sold at a profit" attitude that continued onward. ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...

''s Benj Edwards noted that the Color TV-Game 6 and Color TV-Game 15 units in particular gave Nintendo faith in the market due to their commercial success. He noted that the Block Kuzushi marked the debut of

, an important figure within the company. Nintendo has referenced the Color TV-Game systems and their built-in games in other franchises. '' Alleyway'', a launch game for the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

, is believed to be based on the Color TV-Game Block Kuzushi. Jeremy Parish said that ''Alleyway'' is a throwback to Block Kuzushi, due to it having been cemented in Nintendo's corporate roots. '' WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!'' includes a minigame based on ''Racing 112'', where the player has five seconds to dodge the moving cars. It is part of 9-Volt's stage, which comprises minigames featuring older Nintendo video games. A Color TV-Game 6 minigame appears in 9-Volt and 18-Volt's stage in '' WarioWare: Smooth Moves''. An assist trophy based on the TV-Game 15 appears in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' and ''Wii U'' and its follow-up '' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. When summoned, it spawns a pair of paddles that launch a ball across the stage, which will inflict damage on fighters that touch it. In late 2020, a Nintendo 3DS game developed by Butterfly called ''The Queen TV-Game 2'' was influenced by the console series name along with gameplay broadly based on Color TV-Game 6. Retrieved December 4, 2020.

Notes

References

{{Dedicated consoles Computer-related introductions in 1977 Dedicated consoles First-generation video game consoles Home video game consoles Japan-exclusive video game hardware Nintendo consoles Pong variations Discontinued video game consoles 1977 establishments in Japan