technical innovations

THE VECTREX ARCADE SYSTEM (1982)

These days, it’s impossible to overlook the charm and technical prowess of the Vectrex Arcade System, especially for anyone who grew up watching a television set that still relied on cathode ray tube technology. The Vectrex is small but very sturdy, weighing approximately 15 pounds. As a self-contained system — it’s a PnP that rests somewhere between a small TV and an 8-bit computer — it stands the test of time, avoiding the need for an adaptor or emulator.

It’s also one of the most interesting and overlooked innovations of early computing and video game console development, owing its erasure from cultural significance to the unfortunate timing of its release in November 1982. According to the Vectrex Museum, “It used the speedier and more advanced Motorola 68A09 (6809) instead of the cheap MOS Technology 6502 8-bit microprocessor found in early Apple, Atari and Commodore computers. Likewise, its sound generator, a General Instrument AY-3-8910, supported a competitive three simultaneous channels of sound with a dynamic range of effects.” This was an important feat for developers who were interested in recreating the arcade gaming experience in the home and reaching a younger clientele. “Developed and distributed by [the American company] General Consumer Electronics (GCE), a subsidiary of the Milton Bradley Company, the Vectrex comes closer to duplicating a real arcade game than any other game system on the market,” wrote Byte Technical Editor Pamela Clark, following its initial release.

In short, as a standalone system, the Vectrex operated independently of household television sets, employing a convergence of TV and computer systems with its plug-and-play abilities, a 9-inch display monitor, the integration of a microprocessor chip (8-bit), and impressive sound effects and vector graphics. The latter, which inspired the console’s name, are composed of lines defined by mathematical formulas, which require less memory to display than raster graphics, or pixel-based imagery, and lend themselves to creating images that are scalable and interactive. Though lacking certain details, vector graphics were common among popular arcade games at the time and more easily facilitated three-dimensional rotation and zoom capabilities, adding the illusion of depth and realism afforded by arcade games. The Vectrex Arcade System came with a built-in Asteroids-style game called Mine Storm and cartridges for additional games, including Berzerk, Star Trek, and others.

Despite the system’s extraordinary resume, it was a commercial failure. Its release nudged up against the impending North American video game crash of 1983, a result of an oversaturated market of poorly developed third-party video games. Additionally, retailing at $200 USD ($540, adjusted for inflation), the system’s price point was likely a hard sell for a population of largely inexperienced gamers and computer novices.

References: Byte Magazine Volume 07 Number 12 — Game Plan, November 1982; Internet Archive; Old-Computers.com; VectrexMuseum.com