Amiga CD32: Commodore’s last stand

Amiga CD32: Commodore’s last stand

On September 17, 1993, just seven and a half months before it went bankrupt, Commodore trotted out one last new product: the Amiga CD32. It was a 32-bit game console based on the Amiga 1200. Was this yet another case of Commodore ineptitude, or did Commodore actually have a good idea this time that failed for other reasons?

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Atari 2600 launch titles

Atari 2600 launch titles

The Atari 2600 was first released on September 11, 1977, along with nine titles. It wasn’t the first home video game console to connect to a TV and it wasn’t even the first one to use cartridges, but it was the first one to gain widespread success, selling 30 million units over its long lifetime. Let’s take a look at the nine Atari 2600 launch titles.

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Tengen and its legal battles with Nintendo

Tengen and its legal battles with Nintendo

Tengen was a video game publisher in the 1980s and 1990s. What platform you remember them for probably depends on which part of the world you grew up in. In the United States, we remember Tengen as a Nintendo NES publisher. Europeans may remember them as a Megadrive or Amiga publisher. Thickening the plot, they had a direct connection to another storied video game company. On September 10, 1992, Tengen lost one of its multiple lawsuits with Nintendo. It ended Tengen as an NES publisher, but not from the game industry entirely.

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Atari Lynx: The first color handheld game console

Atari Lynx: The first color handheld game console

What did the original Amiga design team do after the Amiga went to market and Commodore wasted the opportunity? Jay Miner went back to designing medical devices, but three other members of the team designed the first color handheld game console, which, ironically, became the Atari Lynx. The Lynx reached the market September 1, 1989.

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Legend of Zelda released August 22, 1987

Legend of Zelda released August 22, 1987

38 years ago this week, The Legend of Zelda was released in the United States. Today, people are divided on what kind of game it was, but in 1987, no one cared. It was the first time anyone had seen anything like it on a game console. And it was a sensation.

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Colecovison: the hard-luck 1982 console

Colecovison: the hard-luck 1982 console

Colecovision was a game console released by toymaker Coleco in August 1982. In the context of its era, it was reasonably successful, selling about 2 million units before being discontinued in 1985. Colecovision’s main draw was a faithful port of the arcade hit Donkey Kong, which it licensed from Nintendo. Its original retail price was $175 and it measured 14 inches by 8 inches by 2 inches (35 cm by 20 cm by 5 cm). Adjusted for inflation, it cost $581 in 2025 dollars.

Colecovision sold well at first, selling 550,000 units in 1982 and another 500,000 units in the first quarter of 1983. Its catchphrase in its advertising was “we bring the arcade experience home.”

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When Nintendo sued Blockbuster

When Nintendo sued Blockbuster

Here’s a late ’80s memory you may not have thought about in a while. Do you remember going to the video rental store to rent a video game and getting the cartridge but not getting the instruction booklet? The reason video stores would rent you a cartridge without instructions dates back to events that started in late July 1989, when Nintendo sued Blockbuster.

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Nintendo Famicom and the secret of Nintendo’s success

Nintendo Famicom and the secret of Nintendo’s success

On July 15, 1983, the Famicom, or Family Computer, launched in Japan. Despite the name, the Family Computer was a game console, and it went on to shatter Atari’s record for the most sales worldwide by a game console. The Famicom remains one of the most successful and popular game consoles of all time, even if you know it better as the Nintendo NES, and even if it wasn’t as popular in Europe as it was in other parts of the world.

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Electronic Arts founded May 28, 1982

Electronic Arts founded May 28, 1982

Electronic Arts was founded May 28th, 1982. It was founded to be a different kind of software company, a reaction to what was happening at the time in the software industry.

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M.U.L.E.: 1983’s best video game

M.U.L.E.: 1983’s best video game

Game designer Danielle Bunten Berry was born February 19, 1949. Her best game was called M.U.L.E., a multiplayer turn-based strategy game in a sci-fi setting originally developed on the Atari 800 and then ported to other systems like the Commodore 64, MSX 2, IBM PC, and, eventually, the Nintendo NES. It was one of Electronic Arts‘ debut five titles.

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