Also known as Kōsokusen
35 Vectrex games, all playable free in your browser.
The Vectrex was developed by Smith Engineering and launched by General Consumer Electronics in October 1982 in selected North American markets at $199, with national distribution in early 1983. Milton Bradley, which bought General Consumer Electronics on the strength of early sales, took it to parts of Europe in 1983 and to Japan through Bandai, where it was sold as the Kōsokusen.
TIMELINE
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1982 | 17 |
| 1983 | 15 |
| 2007 | 1 |
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
1.5MHz
Below: Atari 2600 1.19 MHz · Above: Atari 5200 1.79 MHz
The 6809 is an 8-bit microprocessor with some 16-bit features
1KB
Below: Atari 2600 128 bytes · Above: NES 2 KB
3channels
Three tone channels with a shared noise generator and envelope generator; 3-inch built-in speaker. The chip also reads the controller inputs.
Cartridge
$199
THE STORY
It is the only home console designed around a vector display. A vertically mounted monochrome CRT is built into the unit, so it needs no television, and games come with translucent color overlays for the screen. The Asteroids-inspired Mine Storm is built in, the wired controller folds into the base, and optional peripherals include the 3D Imager goggles and a light pen.
Sales stalled during the 1983 video game crash, and in February 1984 Milton Bradley, having lost $31.6 million on the system, announced its discontinuation. Despite its commercial failure, the Vectrex was praised for its library, its graphics and its built-in monitor. Smith Engineering later allowed non-commercial copying of the original games and royalty-free development of new hardware and software, and a homebrew community remains active.
THE LIBRARY
35
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1982–2007
<p class="lib-span">5 developers</p>24 games with a known number of players.
THE GAMES
Includes games with a known number of players.
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Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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