Vectrex
Encyclopedia
The Vectrex is a vector display-based video game console
that was developed by Western Technologies/Smith Engineering
. It was licensed and distributed first by General Consumer Electric (GCE), and then by Milton Bradley Company
after their purchase of GCE. It was released in November 1982 at a retail price of $199 ($ compensated for inflation); as Milton Bradley took over international marketing the price dropped to $150 and then $100 shortly before the video game crash of 1983
. The Vectrex exited the market in early 1984.
Unlike other non-portable video game consoles, which connected to television
s and rendered raster graphics
, the Vectrex has an integrated vector monitor
which displays vector graphics
. The monochrome Vectrex uses plastic screen overlays to simulate color and various static graphics and decorations. At the time, many of the most popular arcade games used vector displays, and through a licensing deal with Cinematronics
, GCE was able to produce high-quality versions of arcade games such as Space Wars
and Armor Attack
.
Vectrex comes with a built in game, the Asteroids-like MineStorm. Two peripherals were also available for the Vectrex, a light pen
and a 3D imager.
The Vectrex was also released in Japan under the name Bandai
Vectrex Kousokusen.
While it is a mainstay of disc-based console systems today, the Vectrex was part of the first generation of console systems to feature a boot screen, which also included the Atari 5200
and Colecovision
.
in late 1980. The system was originally conceived as a handheld called the Mini Arcade, but as Smith Engineering shopped the idea around to developers, it evolved into a tabletop with nine-inch screen.
The system was ultimately licensed to General Consumer Electronics in 1981. After an exceptionally brief hardware and software development period, the Vectrex was unveiled in July of the following year at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. It was released to the public in November, just in time for the holidays. The launch sales were strong enough that Milton Bradley
bought out General Consumer Electronics in early 1983.
Milton Bradley's far greater resources allowed the Vectrex to be released in parts of Europe within a few months of the buyout, and through a co-branding agreement with Bandai
, in Japan as well. However, the Video game crash of 1983
turned Milton Bradley's support of the Vectrex into a costly mistake. In May of 1984, Milton Bradley merged with Hasbro
, and the Vectrex was discontinued a few months after. Over its lifetime, it had cost Milton Bradley tens of millions of dollars.
After the rights reverted to Smith Engineering, the company made plans to revive the Vectrex as a handheld, but the imminent arrival of Nintendo's Game Boy
put an end to the matter. In the mid-1990s, head of Smith Engineering Jay Smith put the entire Vectrex product line into public domain
.
's SegaScope 3D by about four years.
The Vectrex was not a commercial success, due in part to its release just prior to the North American video game crash of 1983. However, it retains a small, devoted fan base. In addition, critics have praised the system's durability, the design of its controllers, and its library of games.
model 240RB40 monochrome
unit measuring 9 × 11 inches, displaying a picture of 240 mm diagonal; it is an off-the-shelf picture tube manufactured for small black/white television sets. The brightness of the CRT is controlled using a circular knob on the back of the display. A vector CRT display such as the one in the Vectrex does not require a special tube, and differs from standard raster-based television sets only in the control circuits. Rather than use sawtooth wave
s to direct the internal electron beam in a raster
pattern, digital-to-analog converter
s feed linear amplifiers to drive the deflection yoke, which has similar, if not identical inductances, unlike a TV deflection yoke. The yoke uses a standard TV core, and the high-voltage transformer
is also an off-the-shelf TV component. This design was based on similar uses of existing television technology in arcade games such as Asteroids.
Early units have a very audible "buzzing" from the built-in speaker that reacts to the graphics generated on screen. This is due to a lack of shielding between the built-in CRT
and the low-level audio circuitry, and was eventually resolved in later production models. This idiosyncrasy has become a familiar characteristic of the machine.
A single object that does not lie on the plane of the monitor (i.e., in front of or into the monitor) is drawn at least twice to provide information for each eye. The distance between the duplicate images and whether the right eye image or the left eye image is drawn first will determine where the object will appear to "be" in 3-D space. The 3-D illusion is also enhanced by adjusting the brightness of the object (dimming objects in the background). Spinning the disk at a high enough speed will fool the viewer's eyes/brain into thinking that the multiple images it is seeing are two different views of the same object. This creates the impression of 3-D and color. The same 3-D effect is in fact possible with raster or film-projection images, and the shutter glasses used in some 3-D theaters and virtual reality theme park rides work on the same principle.
A healthy percentage of the Vectrex's library consisted of ports of arcade hits, most of them brought to the console through a licensing deal with Cinematronics
.
The liquor company Mr. Boston
gave out a limited number of customized cartridges of Clean Sweep. The box had a Mr. Boston sticker on it. The overlay was basically the regular Clean Sweep overlay with the Mr. Boston name, logo, and copyright info running up either side. The game itself had custom text, and the player controlled a top hat rather than a vacuum
.
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
that was developed by Western Technologies/Smith Engineering
Smith Engineering
Smith Engineering/Western Technologies was a videogame company started by Jay Smith, an engineer who was previously an employee at Mattel. The company proposed and developed the Vectrex gaming system for GCE, which was subsequently purchased by Milton Bradley...
. It was licensed and distributed first by General Consumer Electric (GCE), and then by Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
after their purchase of GCE. It was released in November 1982 at a retail price of $199 ($ compensated for inflation); as Milton Bradley took over international marketing the price dropped to $150 and then $100 shortly before the video game crash of 1983
Video game crash of 1983
The North American video game crash was a serious event that brought an abrupt end to what is considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. Beginning in 1983, the crash almost destroyed the then-fledgling industry and led to the bankruptcy of several companies producing...
. The Vectrex exited the market in early 1984.
Unlike other non-portable video game consoles, which connected to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s and rendered raster graphics
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
, the Vectrex has an integrated vector monitor
Vector monitor
A vector monitor or vector display is a display device used for early computers. It is a type of CRT, similar to the oscilloscope, but typically uses magnetic, rather than electrostatic, deflection...
which displays vector graphics
Vector graphics
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
. The monochrome Vectrex uses plastic screen overlays to simulate color and various static graphics and decorations. At the time, many of the most popular arcade games used vector displays, and through a licensing deal with Cinematronics
Cinematronics
Cinematronics Incorporated was a pioneering arcade game developer that had its heyday in the era of vector display games. While other companies released games based on raster displays, early in their history, Cinematronics and Atari released vector-display games, which offered a distinctive look...
, GCE was able to produce high-quality versions of arcade games such as Space Wars
Space Wars
Space Wars was the first vector graphics arcade game. It is based on Spacewar!, a PDP-1 program. It was ported to the Vectrex in 1982...
and Armor Attack
Armor Attack
Armor Attack is a top-down vector shoot 'em up arcade game released by Cinematronics in 1980, licensed to Sega in Japan. The game was originally released as a coin-operated arcade cabinet. It was also licensed for conversion to the Vectrex video game console....
.
Vectrex comes with a built in game, the Asteroids-like MineStorm. Two peripherals were also available for the Vectrex, a light pen
Light pen
A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's CRT TV set or monitor. It allows the user to point to displayed objects, or draw on the screen, in a similar way to a touch screen but with greater positional accuracy...
and a 3D imager.
The Vectrex was also released in Japan under the name Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
Vectrex Kousokusen.
While it is a mainstay of disc-based console systems today, the Vectrex was part of the first generation of console systems to feature a boot screen, which also included the Atari 5200
Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600...
and Colecovision
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
.
History
The idea for the Vectrex was conceived by John Ross of Smith EngineeringSmith Engineering
Smith Engineering/Western Technologies was a videogame company started by Jay Smith, an engineer who was previously an employee at Mattel. The company proposed and developed the Vectrex gaming system for GCE, which was subsequently purchased by Milton Bradley...
in late 1980. The system was originally conceived as a handheld called the Mini Arcade, but as Smith Engineering shopped the idea around to developers, it evolved into a tabletop with nine-inch screen.
The system was ultimately licensed to General Consumer Electronics in 1981. After an exceptionally brief hardware and software development period, the Vectrex was unveiled in July of the following year at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. It was released to the public in November, just in time for the holidays. The launch sales were strong enough that Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
bought out General Consumer Electronics in early 1983.
Milton Bradley's far greater resources allowed the Vectrex to be released in parts of Europe within a few months of the buyout, and through a co-branding agreement with Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
, in Japan as well. However, the Video game crash of 1983
Video game crash of 1983
The North American video game crash was a serious event that brought an abrupt end to what is considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. Beginning in 1983, the crash almost destroyed the then-fledgling industry and led to the bankruptcy of several companies producing...
turned Milton Bradley's support of the Vectrex into a costly mistake. In May of 1984, Milton Bradley merged with Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
, and the Vectrex was discontinued a few months after. Over its lifetime, it had cost Milton Bradley tens of millions of dollars.
After the rights reverted to Smith Engineering, the company made plans to revive the Vectrex as a handheld, but the imminent arrival of Nintendo's Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
put an end to the matter. In the mid-1990s, head of Smith Engineering Jay Smith put the entire Vectrex product line into public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
System features
The Vectrex was the first and only home-based system to ever use a vector-based screen. It was also the first system to offer a 3D peripheral (the Vectrex 3D Imager), predating the Sega Master SystemSega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
's SegaScope 3D by about four years.
The Vectrex was not a commercial success, due in part to its release just prior to the North American video game crash of 1983. However, it retains a small, devoted fan base. In addition, critics have praised the system's durability, the design of its controllers, and its library of games.
Circuit board
- CPUCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
: Motorola 68A09Motorola 6809The Motorola 6809 is an 8-bit microprocessor CPU from Motorola, designed by Terry Ritter and Joel Boney and introduced 1978...
@ 1.5 MHz - RAMRandom-access memoryRandom access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...
: 1 KBKilobyteThe kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
(two 4-bit 2114 chips) - ROMRead-only memoryRead-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
: 8 KB (one 8-bit 2363 chip) - Cartridge ROMRead-only memoryRead-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
: 32KB
Sound
- SoundSound chipA sound chip is an integrated circuit designed to produce sound . It might be doing this through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics...
: General Instrument AY-3-8910General Instrument AY-3-8910The AY-3-8910 is a 3-voice Programmable Sound Generator designed by General Instrument, initially for use with their 16-bit CP1610 or one of the PIC1650 series of 8-bit microcomputers... - 3" electrodynamic paper cone speaker
Display
The cathode ray tube is a SamsungSamsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
model 240RB40 monochrome
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
unit measuring 9 × 11 inches, displaying a picture of 240 mm diagonal; it is an off-the-shelf picture tube manufactured for small black/white television sets. The brightness of the CRT is controlled using a circular knob on the back of the display. A vector CRT display such as the one in the Vectrex does not require a special tube, and differs from standard raster-based television sets only in the control circuits. Rather than use sawtooth wave
Sawtooth wave
The sawtooth wave is a kind of non-sinusoidal waveform. It is named a sawtooth based on its resemblance to the teeth on the blade of a saw....
s to direct the internal electron beam in a raster
Raster scan
A raster scan, or raster scanning, is the rectangular pattern of image capture and reconstruction in television. By analogy, the term is used for raster graphics, the pattern of image storage and transmission used in most computer bitmap image systems...
pattern, digital-to-analog converter
Digital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
s feed linear amplifiers to drive the deflection yoke, which has similar, if not identical inductances, unlike a TV deflection yoke. The yoke uses a standard TV core, and the high-voltage transformer
Flyback transformer
A flyback transformer , also called a line output transformer , is a special transformer, which is used for conversion of energy in electronic circuits. It was initially designed to generate high current sawtooth signals at a relatively high frequency...
is also an off-the-shelf TV component. This design was based on similar uses of existing television technology in arcade games such as Asteroids.
Early units have a very audible "buzzing" from the built-in speaker that reacts to the graphics generated on screen. This is due to a lack of shielding between the built-in CRT
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
and the low-level audio circuitry, and was eventually resolved in later production models. This idiosyncrasy has become a familiar characteristic of the machine.
3D Imager
The 3-D imager spins a disk which is half black and half colored bands that radiate from the center (usually red, green and blue) between the viewer's eyes and the Vectrex screen. The Vectrex is synchronized to the rotation of the disk (or vice versa) and draws vectors corresponding to a particular color and/or a particular eye. Therefore only one eye will see the vectrex screen and its associated images (or color) at any one time while the other will see nothing.A single object that does not lie on the plane of the monitor (i.e., in front of or into the monitor) is drawn at least twice to provide information for each eye. The distance between the duplicate images and whether the right eye image or the left eye image is drawn first will determine where the object will appear to "be" in 3-D space. The 3-D illusion is also enhanced by adjusting the brightness of the object (dimming objects in the background). Spinning the disk at a high enough speed will fool the viewer's eyes/brain into thinking that the multiple images it is seeing are two different views of the same object. This creates the impression of 3-D and color. The same 3-D effect is in fact possible with raster or film-projection images, and the shutter glasses used in some 3-D theaters and virtual reality theme park rides work on the same principle.
Software
The game built into the Vectrex, MineStorm, would crash at level 13. However, on some machines the game would continue until the highest level, in which more mines were laid than would hatch. Consumers who complained to the company about the crash at the 13th level received a replacement cartridge in the mail. Entitled MineStorm II, it was the fixed version of the Vectrex's built in game. However, very few wrote to the company about it due to the difficulty in reaching level 13, making MineStorm II one of the rarest cartridges for the Vectrex system.A healthy percentage of the Vectrex's library consisted of ports of arcade hits, most of them brought to the console through a licensing deal with Cinematronics
Cinematronics
Cinematronics Incorporated was a pioneering arcade game developer that had its heyday in the era of vector display games. While other companies released games based on raster displays, early in their history, Cinematronics and Atari released vector-display games, which offered a distinctive look...
.
The liquor company Mr. Boston
Old Mr. Boston
Old Mr. Boston was a distillery located at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts from 1933 to 1986. It produced its own label of gin, bourbon, rum, and brandies, as well as a few cordials and liqueurs.-History:...
gave out a limited number of customized cartridges of Clean Sweep. The box had a Mr. Boston sticker on it. The overlay was basically the regular Clean Sweep overlay with the Mr. Boston name, logo, and copyright info running up either side. The game itself had custom text, and the player controlled a top hat rather than a vacuum
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
.
External links
- Vectrex Portal
- Vectrex Museum
- Spike's Big Vectrex Page Vectrex portal, recent games/projects/news, information archive
- Vectrex infosite News, manuals, reviews, screenshots, FAQs, scanned manuals, scanned boxes and more.
- ParaJVE Freeware Vectrex emulator for Windows, GNU/Linux and MacOS X, packaged with games.