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Colecovision

The Colecovision was another of the great consoles from the early eighties. The console was released in 1982 in the United States by Coleco (formerly the COnnecticut LEather COmpany) who had had some earlier dealings in the video game market with their Telstar game unit, a simple Pong close that they released in 1976. CBS were the company responsible for sales and marketing in Europe.

The Telstar console had initially sold well, but missed the Christmas sales peak due to striking dock workers and experienced a number of other problems. The company lost over $20 million dollars on the Telstar, but were determined to press ahead into the video game market nonetheless.

Coleco had contacted the Japanese company Nintendo and secured the rights to produce a console version of their arcade hit 'Donkey Kong' for a princely $250,000. The console manufacturers promised 'arcade quality' games, and better sound and graphics than the two other main consoles of the time, the Atari & the Intellivision. This proved to be a fair description - the console outperformed both the Atari & Mattel machines on all aspects, sound, graphics & power.

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The Colecovision sold almost 1 million units in its first year, which was unheard of at the time for any consoles initial year. While the Atari & Mattel machines were enjoying good sales figures, they had been slow to get where they were. By 1983 the Colecovision was outselling them both.

Another selling point of the console, was the Expansion Pack Module #1. This expansion pack was an add-on that connected to the Colecovision, and allowed the owner to play Atari 2600 Games through their Colecovision. This dramatically increased the back catalogue of titles available to the machine. The company promised a similar add-on for the Intellivision, which would give 100% compatibility of games currently on the market.

Unfortunately, this never came about. Coleco had poured all the profits from the Colecovision into their new Adam Home Computer. The Adam was an attempt by Coleco to crack the Home Computer market - sales of the Colecovision had started to dip due to some parents concerns that video games consoles were bad for their children. The Adam was the solution to this; while the console still played all the Colecovision games, it also had all the educational benefits that came with a home computer.

Unfortunately, the initial release was more than problematic - over 50% of machines had to be returned from new. This coupled with the high price tag for the computer meant sales plummeted (well, in reality, they never plummeted as they never reached any decent numbers) and eventually Coleco pulled out of the Computer & Video games market all together in 1984.

Given that the market was collapsing at the time, this would have happened anyway, and Coleco managed to survive on sales of its Cabbage Patch Dolls, if only for a short while. Over the next few years the company went from a profit of millions to losses of millions. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy in 1989.

The Colecovision may have been short lived, but produced some of the most accurate Arcade conversions of its time. Games from Nintendo, Sega & Universal remain pretty faithful to their coin-operated counterparts. Notable games are Mr Do!, Gyruss, Donkey Kong & Looping.

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Space Fury

Box: 
yes
£16.00
Manual: 
yes
£16.00

You have only your space fighter to beat off attacks from the Alien Commanders powerful fleet. Knock out alien ships before they continue to form Superships firing deadly fireballs. Complete Mission One and you can dock at the mother ship to get even more firepower for Mission Two. Each time you beat off the alien fleet, build up your fighter into a starship and use its amazing artillery to defeat the enemy.

Space Panic

Box: 
yes
£16.00
Manual: 
yes
£16.00

Chase your spaceman around the girders, digging holes to trap unwary aliens. When an alien is caught in a trap, race to fill in the hole to finish him off. If aliens escape your trap they become more powerful and you must lay doubly clever traps. Beware the Super Blue Alien; be quick to plot his downfall, but watch your oxygen supply.

Smurf - Rescue in Gargamels Castle

Box: 
yes
£16.00
Manual: 
yes
£16.00

Smurf sets out to rescue the Smurfette from Gargamel's Castle. In an open countryside beware of obstacles and dangerous animals. Hazards in the cavern include low flying bats set to stop the Smurf. In the castle dungeons the Smurf must outwit the spiders to save Smurfette.

Q Bert

Box: 
yes
£18.00
Manual: 
yes
£18.00

Lively and Lovable, Q*Bert Hops to it! Hop Q*Bert from one cube to another. It is up to you to help him escape his enemies, touch every cube and reach the next level. It is complete entertainment with all the exciting colour graphics and sounds of a true arcade game.

Popeye

Box: 
yes
£20.00
Manual: 
yes
£20.00

In this game, you're Popeye! And your goal is to catch all of Olive's hearts, notes and x's (kisses!) before they hit the water and sink - or before Brutus or the Sea Hag's bottles knock you overboard. Each time you complete a round, you'll automatically proceed to the next - and more difficult one.

Pitstop

Box: 
yes
£0.00
Manual: 
yes
£0.00

As you race around the circuit your tires wear down and fuel decreases. Approaching the pits. Do you stop and refuel, change tyres or chance another high speed lap? In the pits, guide your mechanics through a super fast pit stop and get back to the track.

Pepper 2

Box: 
yes
£16.00
Manual: 
yes
£16.00

Choose one of four different mazes to present first challenge: zip around each room to claim a bonus. Zip all the rooms and move onto the next maze, but beware the Evil Eyes. If you zip up the centre room you can chase the Evil Eyes to earn extra points. Complete four mazes and you meet the devilish disappearing tracks - an even greater challenge for Pepper!

Mr Do!s Castle

Notes: 
This game is the plastic box version.
Box: 
yes
£16.00
Manual: 
yes
£16.00

Mr Do! The king of arcade clowns is in a bit of a bind again! This time, a pack of pesky unicorns is trampling the bricked hallways of his castle. Help Mr Do! rid his dwelling of these crafty, quick-challenging (and deadly!) creatures with the skilful swing of his hammer.

Omega Race

Box: 
yes
£18.00
Manual: 
yes
£18.00

Steer your Omega fighter around the maze and fire laser beams to destroy the alien force. Use your thrust button and bounce off the maze walls to escape your enemies. In the head-to-head mode you fight the aliens - and each other.

Looping

Box: 
yes
£18.00
Manual: 
yes
£18.00

Taxi along the runway, pull back on the joystick and off you go and a flight of mystery and imagination. Knock out balloons which are launched from the ground, and blow up the rocket to open the maze gate. Beware the tricky tangle of pipes, one false move and your plane blows up. Almost home, but deadly green drops can vaporise your aeroplane. If they miss, you take on the lethal bouncing balls.

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