Celebrating a Decade of European Consoles

This chapter examines the evolution of European consoles from 1973 to 1983, focusing on their unique development in the context of the video gaming industry. It aims to highlight the significance of this often-overlooked period in gaming history.

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TCW Podcast Episode 241 - The First 10 Years of European Consoles

The first decade of European consoles began with imports of the Magnavox Odyssey, but soon local experiments took shape. In Spain, the Overkal may have been tied to a possible attempt to bring the Odyssey into the country, though no hard evidence survives, and it is generally treated as a local product. Across Europe, companies like Videomaster in the UK, Zanussi in Italy, and Interton and Grundig in Germany built dedicated ball-and-paddle systems. Many went beyond Pong using discrete logic hardware to support more advanced play, a technical achievement later supplanted by programmable consoles. A key shift came when General Instrument’s Scottish branch developed the “Pong on a Chip,” enabling mass-produced systems like Videomaster’s Superscore and Zanussi’s Play-O-Tronic. By the late 1970s, firms such as Philips, Radofin, and Hanimex moved into programmable systems like the Videopac. The arrival of Atari, Mattel, and other American companies displaced Europe's fragmented but inventive hardware scene, but the North American video game crash killed their systems at the same time European gamers were shifting their focus to home computers.

TCW 105 - The Big Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/

TCW 106 - The Small Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/

TCW 177 - The Intellivision Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-intellivision-part-1/

TCW 178 - The Intellivision Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-intellivision-part-2

TCW 076 - A Fairchild Story: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/a-fairchild-story/

Overkal: https://prehistoricgaming.com/en/overkal-console/

Interton Video 2000: https://www.pong-story.com/v2000.htm

GI Gemini Systems: https://www.pong-story.com/pc-50x.htm

RCA Studio III Variants: http://videogamekraken.com/rca-studio-iii-by-rca

Philips Videopac G7000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgG9F9SsgCw

Interton VC 4000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yqVcULUqOU

Radofin Programable Video System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvCFYLfQrC0