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Info for coleco |
Known Issues:
This emulation runs most cartridges accurately. Games requiring analogue controls (Steering
Wheel, Roller Controller) are not playable. See coleco.crc for further compatibility notes.
History and Trivia:
The ColecoVision video game system was released in August of 1982 for a suggested retail
price of $175 US. Similar at it's core to the MSX computers, ColecoVision had both superior
graphics and more expansion capabilities compared to it's chief rivals: the Atari 2600 and
Intellivision. Among the expansion module options were a hardware Atari 2600 emulator, and a
Steering Wheel for driving games, both unheard of at the time.
The competitive price, technical superiority, and perhaps more importantly, the inclusion of
Donkey Kong as the pack-in cartridge, led to Coleco becoming an industry leader. With the
emergence of the popularity of home computers, however, the console market seemed in jeopardy
of losing it's share to the likes of Commodore and Apple. Coleco responded by releasing the
Adam Family Computer as both a standalone unit and as an expansion to the ColecoVision itself.
The Adam was a phenomenal market failure though, and Coleco pulled itself from both the
console and computer markets just before the game market crash in late 1984.
Telegames purchased the rights to the system, and many of the manufactured games, and released
a clone, The Personal Arcade, in 1988. It was later re-released by them, as the DINA.