– Atari Stunt Cycle
Atari Stunt Cycle CC Image – Wikipedia – Marty Goldberg
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1977
Origin: U.S.A.
CPU: None (Discreet – runs on logic)
In-Built Games: 4
Ah, good ol' Atari. You guys did so much right in the video game industry, but you sure did also make some very odd decisions. I am not saying that the Atari Stunt Cycle is terrible, but it is certainly rather odd. Stunt Cycle was actually an arcade game and one of the guys at Atari decided that they wanted to bring it into people's homes. The Atari Stunt Cycle console is regarded as one of the coolest consoles that Atari ever produced.
The Atari Stunt Cycle was first released in 1975 in the arcades. The idea was that they would cash in on the popularity of stuntman Evel Knievel. The arcade machine was a moderate success and Atari decided that they wanted to bring the same experience to home gamers.
It would take until 1977 for the Atari Stunt Cycle to make its way into the home and unfortunately for Atari they could not have released it at a worse time. 1977 would be the death of the dedicated video game console, as the Fairchild Channel F video game system was released that was able to play games off cartridges. After this it was really hard to sell someone a dedicated video game system. As well as this, Atari had released multiple Pong consoles in this year along with their Atari 2600. Perhaps if Atari had released it just a year earlier it would have done so much better. Or maybe even if they had delayed the release and produced it as an add-on for the Atari 2600 (which was actually planned at one point.)
Sears did release their own version of the Atari Stunt Cycle. Theirs was called the Sears Telegame Motocross. Sears knew the writing was on the wall for the demise of this type of video game system, so they threw in some add-on paddles and some Pong games, but this was all in vain as the system did not really sell that well.
Anyway, let's take a closer look at . . .
The Atari Stunt Cycle – 1977
From a looks point of view this thing is simply awesome. It has a really cool black plastic case with some very sturdy motorcycle style handles. Near the bottom of the Atari Stunt Cycle were a bunch of game switches that could be used to change the various settings that the game had to offer. The best way to use the Atari Stunt Cycle was with the console on a table, but I am sure many people ended up playing with it on their knees.
As far as the games go, the box with the Atari Stunt Cycle makes the claim that you can jump buses in your living room. The idea of the game is that you need to pick up enough speed in order jump a number of buses which will increase with each turn.
Atari Stunt Cycle was actually a very fun and addictive game. The handle on the left would be pulled back to control your speed. You can pull the thing back to pull off some awesome wheelies. It may sound basic, but it was a ton of fun and was a blast to play with your friends and family, trying to see who could jump the most buses.
15 – Bildschirmspiel 01 (BSS 01)
BSS 01 CC Image – Wikipedia - liftarn
Developer: VEB
Release Date: 1980
Origin: East Germany
Initial Price: 500 East German Marks
CPU: General-Intstruments AY-3-8500-7
Built-In Games: 5
The Bildschirmspiel 01 or the BSS 01 as it is more commonly known as and what it will be known as for the rest of this review (I mean come on, would you want to keep on writing Bildschirmspiel 01?) is an obscure console that's bound to perk up someone's interest if they spot it in your collection. One thing that makes this quite an interesting console is that it is the only retro video game system to have been developed in East Germany. The BSS 01 was first released in 1980 and would have a four year shelf life. I should add that many people refer to this console as the TV-Spiel as that is what is written on the console.
The BSS 01 was a joint venture by the company Kombinat Mikroelektronic Erfurt and the semiconductor factory VEB. Now we really have no reason to go into the history of these companies, but they did make a great deal of electronics in Germany back in the day so we can assume they wanted to get in on the video game craze. The console did not sell well simply because of the cost. This console was way out of the average household's price range, and for the most part could be found in places like education centres.
The look of the console I feel kind of sums up the 80s pretty well. To start off with it is black plastic. I may be the only one here, but to me when I think of electronics in the 70s I think of wood panel and when I think of electronics in the 80s I think of black plastic. Anyway, back on topic. The BSS 01 is a Pong clone system, that has two detachable paddle controllers. These paddle controllers are all black and there is no silver on them like there is on many other Pong clones.
In the middle of the console you had all your games and settings. You had the big red button that was for the power and you also had a series of big orange buttons that were used to select the games. As well as this there was a series of big black buttons to change various game settings. The buttons on the BSS 01 really stand out, as they are much bigger and bulkier than many other Pong clone systems were at the time. I would not say it's a horrible looking system, but it is without a doubt a product of the 80s.
All of the standard Pong games that you could want are included on the BSS 01. You had the two player games of Tennis, Football and Squash and as well as this you had the single player game of Pelota. Each game had a few different game play changes that you could make by messing with the buttons on the console. The games look and play just like all the other Pong systems that were around at the time, although they were in black and white which is surprising when you consider that this console was available until 1984.
Despite not setting Germany on fire with its sales there was a follow up to the BSS 01 planned. It was to be called the BSS 02 and not much is known about it, apart from the fact that it was going to be in colour. What is interesting though is that the guys behind the BSS 01 eventually decided not to make a new console and instead focused their energy on making clock radios.
16 – An Overview of The Second Generation Games Console Era
The second generation of video game consoles is a very interesting one. It certainly is the one that opened the door for the way that things are now. Many innovations were made during this time, probably the most notable one being that game cartridges were used, as opposed to most of the previous generation one systems that had multiple games built into the actual hardware.
The console war was also fierce during this generation with over ten main popular consoles trying to find a place under people's television sets. Of course you would have to say that the real winner was Atari with their 2600 console, but the interesting thing about Atari, even when they were on top, is that if you really go back and look closely at some of the things they did and decisions
