My 100 video game system collections

Magnavox Odyssey - 1972

Before I get started, a little about this album. These are pics I've taken over the past six months of each of my video game collections for individual systems. I was gonna put them in order of release, but there are so many images in this album, and Imgur's rearrange system is a nightmare when you have this many pics in an album. So, they're kind of in random order. Some are big, some are small, some are common, some you've probably never seen before.

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This is the Magnavox Odyssey. Released in 1972, it's the first video game console. Pictured are the set of extra games released in 1972 plus the Game Cards, screen overlays, and other accessories that the console came with. Oh, also there's Shooting Gallery, which has the rifle. I bet you noticed that right off. This has been one of my favorite systems to collect for because it's really unique. The only thing I don't like about it is that you can't play it alone, and I have a difficult time getting friends to sit down with me for a few rounds. That said, its version of Tennis is very cool and a lot of fun because since the console isn't computerized, there are really no rules and you can move about anywhere on the screen. And you can control the direction of the ball once you hit it, and make it zig zag and stuff like that. You gotta keep track of your own score, though. This is part of a small group of first generation consoles that are really like paleo first gen consoles because they lack a CPU.

Magnavox Odyssey, continued

I didn't even have these two games when I took the first pic. I've been looking for them for like 10 years, or something. These are two of the 1973 extra games that were released. There were four in the set. So I still have two more games to go to complete my collection.

Coleco Telstar Combat! - 1977

Telestar was Coleco's home console brand during the first generation. The system plays just one built-in game, which is pretty much exactly like Atari's Combat, but a lot less sophisticated. What's really cool about it are the tank controls. It says you can play it in single player mode, but that mode doesn't work. I checked around and it's not just my console where it doesn't work right. It's everyone's.

Atari Lynx - 1989

This handheld was developed by Epyx. They couldn't afford to do a console so they turned to Atari Corp., which had no idea what to do with a console. Atari's successful consoles were done in the Atari, Inc. days. The console itself is pretty impressive. It's a 16-bit handheld that far outclasses Game Gear and of course Game Boy. It even had more power than a TurboGrafx. S.T.U.N. Runner on this thing looks amazing. I always thought it was a really big missed opportunity that Atari never released a console version of this as well, kind of the opposite of what NEC did with the Turbo Express.

Milton Bradley Microvision - 1979

This is the first handheld to actually have interchangeable cartridges. This is also every game released for the system, including both versions of Phaser Strike (same game, but the first run had the Star Trek license), and the sole game to not see a U.S. release, Super Blockbuster. I had a lot of fun collecting this, and when I did it no one really knew what it was, even in collector circles, or they did and they didn't care. Not a lot of people probably care today, but some of the games are very fun. In particular, Sea Duel is a fantastic turn based strategy game for one or two players that's so original that it's like nothing that has come before it, or even since, really. None that I can think of, anyways.

Emerson Arcadia 2001 - 1982

Never heard of it? Ya, neither did anyone alive in 1982 either. When this came out the "next-gen" ColecoVision and Atari 5200 SuperSystem had also just come out. The Arcadia 2001 was reported to be on par with those consoles, but what we got was a system somewhere between a 2600 and an Intellivision, which themselves were already outdated. The console ended up in the discount bin pretty quick. It does have a some good games, like Spiders, which for reasons I don't understand fully was never licensed to a proper console, and pictured here in Jungler, a Konami license that they managed to snag. I think all of the games were programmed by a company called UA Limited. Some of their original Arcadia titles, like Cat Trax (pictured) were ported to Atari 2600. Since the console bombed so badly, it was licensed overseas to a ton of other companies. There are probably more licensed versions of this console out there than any other ever. Most notably, in Japan it was licensed to Bandai, which released three or four exclusive games for it themselves, including a highly sought after Gundam game. Worth noting, this is the only console I own that actually caught on fire.

Memorex Video Information System - 1992

According to Wikipedia, only 11,000 of these units were made. They were sold exclusively through Radio Shack and it was also known as the Tandy Video Information System. Mostly it had PC edutainment shovelware. It was easy to port PC games to the VIS because it used a version of Windows 3.1 called Modular Windows. This is Microsoft's first attempt to get into the living room space. It was about as expensive as a PC and cost a lot of money. It sold so poorly that there still a website know of that sells new old stock, but for a lot more than you'd pay on eBay. Note the wireless controller. It uses IR technology, so it's useless unless you have it pointed directly at the receiver. Extremely annoying. Also it uses four AAA batteries. There are, as far as I am aware, no exclusive games for this. They're all ports. Sherlock Holmes is probably the best game, and the most game-like software on the system, and that's been ported to everything. The video is bad, the controller is bad, and I can't think of anything good to say. Moving on...

Philips CD-i - 1991

CD-i is actually a format that stands for Compact Disc Interactive. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips, just like the CD format. Numerous companies made CD-i players, including Sony, but the company that really supported it was Philips. It plays CDs, Video CDs (movies) and of course, video games. Philips pivoted to video games and focused on that because like VIS, no one cared to have interactive media in their livingroom. People do like video games, though. CD-i is a pretty capable gaming machine, especially with the video cart expansion. It's at least as powerful as a Super Nintendo. Problem is that no one who knew how to make video games made video games for it. Essentially, almost all of its games were made by what we'd consider to be indie developers today. There are some good games here, however. Mario Hotel is fun and challenging. Burn:Cycle is neat. There are some others. Most are really, really bad, which part of why it never took off when it was marketed as a video game console. The other reason is that it was pretty expensive compared to other 16-bit machines. Pictured here is the CD-i 450, which is one of the most common "console" versions of the machine. Also pictured is a 370 model, which is portable. The 450 works and plays great. I really like the 400 series because the CD is top loading. Other models that used a front loading system break often. My 370 works but doesn't read games. I need a new laser and that's pretty much impossible to find.

Sega Master System - 1986

By the time Master System came out Nintendo was killing it. The fact that it was marketed by Tonka did Sega no favors. There are some pretty good games for it, and I used to own a bunch, but not so much anymore, as you can see. One thing you'll notice about it right away when you play one is that the graphics are better than NES. However, Nintendo had the exclusive publishing agreements and therefore all of the games. I didn't even know Master System existed until I was like 13 at a flea market looking at Genesis games, and the seller had Master System games. He explained what it was to me, and it blew my mind that there was an 8-bit Sega console. The 3-D Glasses, though, those are pretty amazing. They work with shutter technology, and the effect produced is pretty amazing.

Nintendo Entertainment System - 1985

I am very much a hardware collector. I love neat peripherals like the R.O.B. and Power Glove, even though neither are very good. What is good is that Miracle Piano. It works extremely well and you can actually learn to play piano with it. Can't say that about Guitar Hero.

NES, continued

And here are the small amount of games that I own so far. We didn't have an NES when I was a kid because I was poor, so I got to play it only at my friends' houses. I have picked up most of the games I always bogarded from them.

Tiger R-Zone - 1995

This here was a straight market grab based on the Virtual Boy hype, which also fell flat, but not as flat as this. It's hands down one of the worst consoles out there. The headgear model is barely playable. It should've come with an eye patch, because holding one eye closed so you can see the game gets tiring. The controller is bad, and so far all of the games I've played aren't good either. I wasn't even one of those kids who hated Tiger handhelds. I loved them. I had a few growing up because my parents couldn't get me a Game Boy. So I got Tiger games. But by the mid 90s Tiger was trying way too hard to make these simplistic LCD games as complex as home console games, or even Game Boy games. It just didn't work. Also pictured here is the R-Zone XPG, which is more of a traditional handheld. There was another version called SuperScreen that was a tabletop and used color overlays. You can see that Panzer Dragoon comes with an overlay. I only recently learned that there was something called R-Zone DataZone which was a Tiger electronic organizer (another 90s trend that went nowhere) that could also play R-Zone games. I know a few units exist, I am just not sure if it was ever released.

Nintendo Virtual Boy - 1995

Funny that this came up after the R-Zone since it's what Tiger was ripping off. Like a lot of people, my little center stand thing is cracked. I've had to repair it a few times as well via the "bake it in the oven" method because it has a critical design flaw. Other than all that, though. I really like the console a lot. I think it's amazing. Yeah, it wasn't virtual reality, but even as a kid I never thought that it was supposed to be, just 3D, and it is, and the 3D effects are great. I've never had headaches or any of that jazz either. Of course, I've never played it longer than the recommended intervals. The console, by default, will tell you to take a break when it's time.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System - 1991

Yeah, okay, laugh. My SNES collection is super small. As you see when we get to Genesis, I was totally a Sega kid growing up. I'd have a lot more games in my SNES collection, but the prices on Nintendo anything are really high. So I only buy SNES games when I find a deal and really want the game. And there are a lot of games on my want list.

VM Labs NUON - 2000

I have a thing for failed hardware. It's interesting to me. Especially when I think it was a good idea, like NUON here. If you don't know what this is, it's a technology that was put into DVD players. VM Labs was founded by ex-Atari employees, so in some ways this is the spiritual successor to Jaguar. The idea was that they'd get a bunch of companies like Toshiba, Samsung, and RCA to put their Aries 3 chip in DVD players. This allowed the player to play enhanced DVDs as well as video games. Although RCA NUON players don't play video games. But this Toshiba SD-2300 model does. There were a whole mess of different controllers released for it, most of them sort of inspired by the N64 controller. Problem with this platform is that it is essentially a 5th gen console when the 6th gen was already out. NUON can't touch Dreamcast or PS2. I'd say it's probably close to an N64 in what it can do. Of the games I own, Tempest 3000 is by far my favorite. This, by the way, is almost a complete collection. I am only missing two U.S. released games. ya, games on this were slim pickings.

Tiger Telematics Gizmondo - 2005

This is a pretty neat machine. First, it had pretty good graphics and pretty good games. I like all of the games pictured here, except for maybe Motocross because that's sealed and it doesn't seem that interesting. It just occured to me that I picked up a fifth game recently and that's not in the picture. The console runs on Windows CE. It's a bit slow to start up, but once you're in a game it blazes. The console tried to do a lot of things, like have GPS, deliver ads, download movies and MP3s. You actually need to have a SIM card in it to play it, which is very annoying. It doesn't have to be actually online, but it has to be in there. What's the best about this console is its story. It was literally made by a gangster. The story is fantastic and needs to be a movie. Do yourself a favor and google 'wired gizmondo' and the first result will be a really indepth article that I promise you, you're going to love.

Sega CD - 1992

It was released in Japan in 1991, but I've been doing U.S. release dates this whole time, so I am sticking with that. Sega CD gets shit on pretty hard for having a lot of crappy FMV games, but FMV games are less than half of its library, and I think even a lot less than that. These are my four consoles that can play Sega CD games. The JVC X'Eye is a Sega CD and Genesis in one. The Sega CDX was a "portable CD player" that is also a Genesis and a Sega CD. By the way, it was more expensive than just buying a Genesis and a Sega CD. There's a Pioneer LaserActive shown too, and I'll get to that later. I got a Model 1 Sega CD on my Model 1 Genesis because first, two Model 1s just look cool together, and second the Model 1 Sega CD is really pretty because it has these red and green lights on the front of it. I like it. There are a lot of great games in the Sega CD library, some of which are pictured, but there are a lot more. Sega CD's real downside was first, the price, and second that the games weren't a big step up over Genesis games for the most part. A lot of games were almost straight ports, few took advantage of Sega CDs technical abilities, and the marketing was focused a lot on FMV, and that's why to this day many people believe it has mostly FMV games. Sega CD was really important in gaming history. What a lot of people don't know is that Sony was a partner with Sega on this and paid for about half of the R&D. Their experience with Sega CD helped to speed up the process of PlayStation development. Yes, Sony was involved with CD-ii, and yes, Sony was involved with Nintendo. But Sega CD actually had a userbase and actually came to market, so it allowed Sony and other developers to learn how to make games on this new medium, which would be very important for the next generation.

Atari 7800 ProSystem - 1986

I use 1986 as the release date for the 7800. It was test marketed in LA in 1984, but when Warner sold off the Atari home division, the new company, Atari Corp., refused to pay GCC, the company that designed it, and shelved it. It wasn't until they saw how popular NES was that they changed their mind, paid up, and put it to market. So I count 1986 as the release date. If this came out in 1984 maybe gaming would be different. And 8-bit console on the American market a year before Nintendo might've revitalized the industry, the console might've done well, and Nintendo might not have been able to get publishers to agree to exclusivity. But none of that ever happened, so we'll never know. I do really like this console. I only have two games for it, but I really use it as my primary 2600 player, since it's backwards compatible. The graphics aren't quite NES, but they're good enough. The sound chip is bad, though. It's the same sound as the 2600. The idea was that in the future carts would come with an additional sound chip called Pokey. Only two games used it, so most games have really outdated sound. Kinda sad. I also don't like the controller. There is an NES style pad that was released for it. You can also use a Genesis controller for any games that only use one button.

TRS-80 Model 100 - 1983

Ya, it's a stretch that I am calling this a game system. It's a portable computer from the 80s. But you can program into it a number of games in BASIC. I've tried this, and it's actually pretty cool as long as you don't make any typos.

Pioneer LaserActive CLD-A100 - 1993

There were a lot of consoles in the 90s, y'all. This is one. I mentioned in the Sega CD section that I'd get to this. The LaserActive is a modular LaserDisc player. In the bottom left where the controller is plugged into is a port where you can add a Genesis module (called a PAC), which I have. This allows it to play Genesis and Sega CD games. It also allows it to player LaserDisc games, like Pyramid Patrol (pictured) that are based on the Genesis hardware. Basically these are 16-bit games with really pretty pre-rendered 3D backgrounds using the LaserDisc to play them. You could also get a module to play NEC TurboGrafx HuCard and CD games. That I do not have. Only real game released in the U.S. used the NEC module. Also an edutainment title and an interactive mystery. All the rest require the Sega PAC. It's simply a neat system. I like it a lot. Due to the fact that it was a thousand dollars at launch, literally, and that both the Sega and NEC modules were $600 each, few were sold and there aren't many around. It's literally the most expensive game console ever if you bought the LD player and one of the PACs. It's still expensive, and it may be the most valuable hardware I own. Maybe.

Watara Supervision - 1992

Game Boy had competition from companies not called Sega, NEC, or Atari. Of those competitors, Supervision was the most successful. It sold for only $50 which would've made it attractive to consumers if they only knew about it. A lot of the games are generic. Crystball here was the pack-in, and it's Breakout. I also have Tennis. Both are pretty good games, but there's no Super Mario Land. The one thing that is cool about it is that it can connect to a television via a super rare and very expensive link cable. Why didn't all handhelds do this?!?

TurboGrafx-16 - 1989

This came out in the U.S. like a month after Genesis. Since PC-Engine was popular in Japan and Mega Drive was not, retailers told Sega that they'd be killed as soon as the TG-16 came out and that they'd only carry Genesis until Christmas. Whoops, they were wrong. Genesis went on to capture the majority of the 16-bit market and held that position until 1995. TG-16 is cool. I particularly love strategy games, so Military Madness is right up my alley, and Bonk's Revenge looks great. The system has a lot of other great games too. Problem is that other people have realized that in recent years and the prices have shot up.

Tiger Game.com - 1997

It's called "Game Com" not "Game Dot Com" even though it has a dot right in the middle of its name. Whatever. It's a stupid name no matter which way you say it. The system is shit. There are no good games for it. Sonic there runs at like 8-12 frames a second. It can't handle almost any of the games that were made for it. I used to have a lot more games for this, including Mortal Kombat Trilogy (which only has like five characters), Fighters MegaMix (which is a port of a 3D Saturn fighter), Resident Evil 2, and Duke Nukem. Tiger was waaaaaay over ambitious with this. There's nothing good about it. It had a touch screen and internet capabilities. It couldn't handle sound. Getting a ring in Sonic, for example, causes the whole thing to slow down and actually lag. You know what, I can't think of another console that has lag. Worst console ever? It very well could be. At least R-Zone didn't lag.

Atari XEGS - 1987

Here we have the most 80s thing I've ever seen. Look at those pastels! The diagonal cart slot, however, may be the best. This is a consolized version of the Atari 8-bit XE computer line. Specifically it's a 65XE. This is perhaps the biggest WTF moment in gaming history. Atari had just released 7800 a year earlier. Now they've got two 8-bit consoles on the market, and one's actually a computer. The XE "Game System" is fully compatible with all Atari 8-bit games and software. I really like it for that, because there are a lot of good Atari 8-bit games out there that I obviously don't have yet. It also has Missile Command built-in, which is one of my favorite games ever.

Atari 5200 SuperSystem - 1982

5200 has a terrible controller. It wasn't as popular as the ColecoVision, getting outsold 3:1. It does look about as good as a ColecoVision does, graphically, so it did represent the next-gen at the time of its release. Thing is massive, by the way. Except for the LaserActive, this is the largest console I own.

Game Boy (family) - 1989-2005

I like Game Boy and I need to buy more games for it. I just don't play portable games as much. Maybe if I modded my original Game Boy so that it had a light I'd play it more, or if I imported a Game Boy Light, which I've been meaning to get around to for like a decade. I really love the Game Boy Micro. I do still sometimes carry it with me, especially when I fly. The battery life lasts forever. I just wish it could play GB and GBC games.

ColecoVision - 1982

ColecoVision was a the future when it came out. People rag on the controller, but I like them. Then again the Xbox 'Duke' is my favorite controller ever. I don't play this as often as I should, and like most of my consoles I don't own as many games as I should. Pictured here is also the ColecoVision Module 1, which allows it to play Atari 2600 games. Earlier Coleco released a 2600 clone called Gemini made with off the shelf parts. Atari sued and the court sided with Coleco. The fact that this module existed, and the fact that 5200 could not play 2600 games, was probably one of the reasons why ColecoVision sold as well as it did. Also pictured here is a Telegames DINA 2-in-One. It plays ColecoVision games too. More on that later on.

Sega Advanced Pico Beena - 2005

Bet you didn't know that Sega released a console in 2005, did you? Whelp, they did. This is a machine aimed at young audiences. I just have the one game, which like all Pico games consists of a series of mini games. It's pretty neat. Sega supported it until, well, I am not sure when support ended. Within the past three years, though. I guess it's also worth mentioning that this is a Sega Toys product.

Texas Instruments TI-994/a - 1979

It's not a calculator. It's a personal computer. While it's TI's first PC, they had been making business computers since 1971. It's also the first 16-bit home computer. I really like that it's silver and that it uses carts. I do have the thing to play tape programs, but I normally use that for my Atari 2600. More on that later. The games I have are pretty good. Nothing mindblowing here, though.

Tomy Kiddievision - 1983

Not really a video game console. I just threw it in here for fun. A total of three cartridges were released for this toy. You just plug one in and mash the buttons down. It's fully mechanical.

VTech "V" series of consoles - 2004+

From left to right: V.Flash, a 32-bit console designed for children ages 5 and up. It has PlayStation like graphics. It does seem to be a capable video game player, but never had any really good games made for it. All of them are edutainment. V.Smile and V.Motion. Designed for ages 3-9, these are essentially 16-bit consoles that have pretty bad controllers and worse games. V.Smile Baby, a video game console made for infants. Ya, that's a thing.

SSD Co. XaviXPORT - 2004

A complete U.S. XaviXPORT collection consists of only nine games. The company has discontinued the product, but still sell new games, consoles, and accessories through their website. Of all of my game collections, this one takes up the most space. Each game comes with some kind of an accessory, like a baseball bat or bowling ball. All games are based around motion detection. It's kinda like a 16-bit Wii if you think about it that way. But there is no universal controller. Some of the games are pretty fun. Others will give you a good cardio workout. The games themselves contain the CPU. The idea was that the PORT would then be able to be upgraded as technology got cheaper. That never really happened. These are all of the U.S. released games and a few accessories, like the soft bowling ball and the left-handed golf clubs.

Toymax Arcadia Electronic Game System - 1998

This is also called Arcadia Electronic Skeet Shoot, as it says on the box, but I am going with what the manual calls it. This is a combination of a projector and a light gun. I have the extra light gun for two players. The projector moves around and you shoot stuff on the walls. The images are all static, but it can change between a few different images. Each cart requires an overlay that is inserted into the projector. Sound comes from the guns as well as the console.

Amstrad GX4000 - 1990

This is a console that was only released in Europe. It's essentially an Amstrad CPC Plus computer, which were popular in the U.K. and around Europe in the 80s. They decided to make a console version to compete with the 16-bit consoles on the market. It didn't do well. There is still new old stock on the market, which is what this is. It's compatible with a lot of CPC games.

Commodore 64 - 1982

The world's best selling computer in history. This is my most recent pick up and I haven't really started collecting for it yet. The first thing I wanna do is get a floppy drive because none of the best games are on cart.

Microsoft Xbox One - 2013

I don't have a console in this pic because technically the console belongs to my son, as I bought it for him for Christmas. But I play it too and bought a few games for myself. These are the physical ones. Most, though, are digital.

Mattel HyperScan - 2006

These consoles can be had for really cheap. Like less than 10 bucks cheap, which is what I paid for both of them. The load times are so slow that it can take up to five minutes to actually play a game. I am gonna time it and make a gif of it one of these days. The gimmick here is that the video games are also card games. While you're playing you'll be asked to swipe cards to do things. Lose a card and you won't be able to progress in the game. This mechanic barely even works. Without a doubt one of the worst consoles ever made.

RCA Studio II - 1977

Speaking of worst consoles, I think this is probably the worst. Here we had a major electronics company get into the game space, but used a CPU from the 60s, decided to not include controllers, and decided to not make it output color, despite the fact that the game are programmed in color. It has a few built in games, the rest are on carts. This is the second console to use ROM based carts. And yet, the one that came before it was far more advanced. Studio II games barely look like games at all. Like Arcadia 2001, it was quickly discontinued and the tech was licensed to various companies overseas. There are a lot of official clones out there as a result.

Milton Bradley Omni Entertainment System - 1980

This is a console of a different color. It's an audio game console and not a video game console. The programs come on 8 track cassettes. Every game is a quiz game. I like the packaging because of how similar it is to the Microvision.

Ohio Arts Etch-A-Sketch Animator 2000 - 1986

I only discovered this console recently. I knew of the Etch-A-Sketch Animator, a toy that lets you animate drawings, but I didn't know that they released a game console version. This is more of a tabletop than a handheld. Despite the low resolution screen, the one out of the three games I was able to find for it looks pretty good. The cart, Overdrive, is a racing game similar to Namco's Pole Position. Except you use the stylus to control the speed and direction of the car. I am not sure, but I think this is the first time a touch pad was used in a game console.

Nintendo Duck Hunt Kosenju - 1976

I mentioned before that the LaserActive might be the most valuable console in my collection. Well, it also might be this. This is also pretty damn cool. So the console itself is a projector that has a motorized mirror and projects ducks flying across the wall. This is actually a lot more advanced than the Arcadia machine from earlier, which only creates static images. Here the ducks actually flap and fly. What's more is that when you hit one it plays a falling animation similar to the popular NES game. It even quacks when you shoot one. It's pretty slick. The gun just shoots a pulse of light. I've been able to trigger this before with the flashlight on my cellphone.

Sega Pico - 1994

The console was released at the height of Sega's market influence when they had 54 percent marketshare. The idea was to create a console for children ages 3-7 that was more affordable than a Genesis. Well, it's based on Genesis hardware and ended up costing more than a Genesis. It was short-lived in the U.S., but stuck around in Japan until 2005 when the Advanced Pico Beena replaced it. Each game is "storyware." It's a cartridge with a book. Each page has different mini games to choose from. Some games are played with a stylus, others with buttons on the console. I'll have to admit, some are fun. After all, this is Sega.

Sega Video Driver - 1988

When I found out that Sega made a VHS based console, I had to have. As far as I can tell, only two games were released for it other than the one it comes with, and they're impossible to find. Let me try and describe how this works. The grey part with the car connects to a TV set. The video plays. Then you drive the car along with the video. The goal is to earn points by not crashing.

ZAPiT Game Wave Family Entertainment System - 2005

This might be the first console developed by a Canadian company. As obscure as this is, I find them with some frequency. They're not worth more than $15 even when they're complete in the box. The games are inexpensive too. Almost all of the games are bar style trivia. The game Gemz is a puzzle game that's similar to like Sega Swirl or something like that. The idea here it's that it's a DVD player that also plays family friendly games. So you buy it as a DVD player and it's a bonus game system. That didn't work. The company tried to pivot to being a smart phone developer before going under.

Worlds of Wonder ActionMax

Another VHS console, ActionMax's focus is light gun shooting. You play the tape, point the gun at the targets on the television, and shoot. The console itself is little more than a point counter that also makes the shooting sounds. All of the videos made for this game are on YouTube, and the light gun actually works with a LCD screen, so usually when I play this I just pull up a YT video and blast a way. Much simpler than dragging out my VCR.

Atari Super Pong - 1976

It has four versions of Pong on a chip. I mean, it's Pong. What do you want?

APF TV Microcomputer System MP-1000 - 1978

There was a video game industry crash before the big crash. The first crash happened in the late 70s when a ton of companies were making first generation "pong" consoles, consoles that were dedicated to only play the built in games on a chip. APF was a calculator manufacturer that got in on making such consoles, their line was called "TV Fun." I mention this because they're one of only four game companies to remain in the gaming market after that first crash, the others being Atari, Coleco, and Magnavox. This is commonly referred to as just the M-1000 or MP-1000, depending on the model number. But the real name of it is TV Microcomputer. It's actually a late-ish entry into the second generation console market. And it didn't compare well to Channel F or Atari 2600 or Bally Astrocade, which were already in stores. It's just not very good. APF released a module for it called Imagination Machine that turned it into a computer. The company had plans to make a more powerful computer based on this tech before the big crash, then they went out of business. Due to low popularity and almost zero market presence, there are few of these around today.

Nintendo Color TV-Game Block Kuzushi (CTG-BK 6) - 1979

In Japan Nintendo was getting into the home video game market in the 70s with their Color TV-Game line of first generation consoles. This one plays six variants of Breakout.

Microsoft Xbox 360 - 2005

This is my first 360 that I got in 2006. So, it's the model that has HDMI out. I forgot to put controllers in the pic. Oh well. I think I have like six of them in the house. The console still works after all these years, so I count myself lucky. There's a 360E model in the house too, but I got it for my son. Not pictured because it's not really mine. Not sure if you caught it, but an original Xbox game snuck its way into this pic. Whoops.

Microsoft Xbox 360, continued

What I really like about 360 these days is that a lot of really good games are really dirt cheap.

Nintendo DS Lite - 2006

Never really got into this when it was new. But I have a lot of games on my "to buy" list. Actually, this was my son's and he wanted to trade it in, but I offered to give him more money than GameStop would. He never really played it either.

Radio Shack Electronic TV Scoreboard - 1976

This is one of dozens of first gen pong consoles made. This one is unique in that it you hold it in your hand and the controls are on it. The player two controller disconnects. It's also unique in that it's the only console to have ever given me an electrical shock.

Mattel Intellivision - 1979

The last of the major second generation consoles to be released, Intellivision was much more advanced than the Atari 2600 and became its main competitor until the "third wave" consoles were released, and then Coleo took that role. Games on Intellivision look great compared to 2600. The controller still takes me time to adjust. The disc is like a proto d-pad that offers 16-way movement. It's just never been intuitive for me.

Coleco Telstar Arcade - 1977

This is the last first generation console released by Coleco. After this they focused on handhelds and tabletops until ColecoVision in 1982. This is most likely the greatest console shaped like a triangle to have ever been released. One side is for gun games, one for driving games, and the other has normal paddle controls. What makes it really unique is that, as far as I know, it's the only first generation home console to use cartridges. Unlike consoles from the second generation and on, first gen consoles are not reprogrammable. So in this case the chip is actually on the cart and the console acts as the controller and method to connect it to the television. Atari almost released one like this called Brain Games just to clear out their inventory of pong chips, but decided against it in order to prevent consumer confusion while they were pushing the VCS (2600).

View-Master Interactive Vision Television System - 1988

Yet another VHS console, the third we've seen so far. This one is much more advanced than the previous two (and the one coming up). While other VHS consoles just play some video and you can't interact with it, with this one you can. The system uses multi-track VHS tapes. One example of how this works is like this. Imagine your screen is divided into four boxes. In one box there's Bert, another has Ernie, and another has Big Bird, and another has an option to select all. In the scene Ernie is singing the rubber ducky song. Now you can select a different character to hear them sing it, or use the select all box to hear all three sing it. This happens in real time. The console also has maybe the power of an Intellivision in it, and there are areas in video where the system will overlay graphics. The technology here is great, it's just a shame is was used for edutainment. There was a lot of video game potential here. Also, worst controller ever. Just awful. Night Trap was actually designed for a console like this called NEMO, which was canceled.

PlayStation Portable - 2005

I really love the PSP as a console. It's really great hardware. I love playing it on my TV. And Jeanne D'Arc is one of my favorite games ever. Just fantastic.

Sega Genesis - 1989

Finally getting to my very favorites. This is the very Sega Genesis that I got for Christmas in 1991. Box and all. With it are other Genesis playing machines. We've talked about all of these so far except for the Nomad, which was a portable Genesis released only in the U.S. in 1995. It required a power supply to play. However a battery pack was sold separately. I can't imagine how bad the battery life must've been. Pretty sure it would also use eight batteries. Nomad today is more of a novelty. It can be used as a Genesis and played on the TV, but its own screen is pretty poor by today's standards and has too much blur.

Sega Genesis, continued

Games!

Sega Genesis, continued

More boxed games.

Sega Genesis, continued

Lose games

Sega Genesis, continued

Accessories. What Sega fan wouldn't have a ton of useless accessories like the Activator or Menacer? That power strip, though, let me tell you what, you really need that when you've got a Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, and an Activator hooked up all at once. I've included Miracle Piano here too since it also works with Genesis, and I have all of the Genesis connectors and stuff.

Captain Power - 1988

Yet another VHS based game console, this one is hybrid game system and toy. The what space plane, the PowerJet XT-7, is the main console. It's battery powered. Like ActionMax, this is light gun based. You play a video and stand it front of the TV and use the jet to shoot stuff. Unlike ActionMax, stuff can shoot back. If you get hit too much the guy will eject. The first time this happened to me he broke his arm off. The black one is called Phantom Striker. It's the "bad guy" ship. It works the same as the XT-7. They can also be used without the game system in "room mode" where you can chase your friend and shoot their ship. The little dude standing on the thing is called the Power On Energizer. You can shoot that to get shields back. I am also told that there were game segments in the Captain Power TV show as well. I never seen it, though, so I don't know for sure. The thing in the back is just a toy that has nothing to do with the game.

Sega 32X - 1994

People hate it, but I love it. Got this for Christmas that year. I was a pretty happy kid. Didn't get a game because my mom was only able to afford the console. I waited a few months for my birthday to get a game. Also, Blockbuster actually rented these, so that was good. This is almost a complete set. I had a complete set and sold off two of the game in 2012, which I am still mad at myself for doing.

Nokia N-Gage - 2003

I never had one of these when they were new, but I maintain that it was a good idea to have a cellphone also be a video game console, and I think smartphones have shown Nokia to be correct in their thinking. The problem here was the cost of the device and how cell phone contracts work. Okay, the vertical screen is problematic too. I get why they did that though, and it actually works fine for games actually designed for the system, like Pathway to Glory, which is really good. I actually like the Taco model better than the QD. Its buttons are stiffer, and it's bigger, so it's more comfortable for me to hold. Also my QD has lag in places. Not sure if that's what all QDs are like, or if it's just mine because it's a refurbished unit. The QD does have the obvious advantage of not having to remove the battery to change carts. Also my QD holds a way better charge.

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - 1978

When I first started collecting I had little interest in this console. I asked on some forum what the point of it was. What a dick I was. But people put me in my place. So I got one that came with the The Voice module, which is useful for the talking power of Smithereens! I also like how all games end with a ! Odyssey 2 is a really good console with some very sharp graphics even if it's a bit underpowered. It's colorful and its game designers knew what they were doing. It's very cheap, probably the cheapest of its era, and the games are cheap too. This is probably the most affordable jumping off point to get into second gen gaming. I recommend.

Magnavox Odyssey 2, continued

More games!

Sega Saturn - 1995

If you look closely you might be able to tell that there's a price sticker on this that reads $299.99. Bless my mom for getting me the super expensive thing I wanted for Christmas. Again, I had to wait until my birthday to get a game, which was Virtua Fighter 2, which as it turns out, is not a game I like at all. Despite that, Saturn became my favorite console, I think ever. I definitely have more time in this one than any other. I have two Saturns, a first and second model, because my first one stopped reading the 3D controller, and that's necessary for NiGHTS, which is a big favorite of mine. I said before that I wasn't sure of the LaserActive or Duck Hunt was my most valuable console. I do know for sure that there's one game in this picture that's worth more by itself than any other game or console I own. It's also my favorite game ever, IMO the best game ever made.

Sega Saturn, continued

More awesome Saturn games. ALso there's my Net Link Game Pack. The Net Link itself was actually in the first pic. It was my first way onto the internet. I got it in 1996 or 1997. I used it so much that my Saturn was almost never off. We finally got a PC Christmas 1999.

Saturn, continued

I prefer the American controller.

Sony PlayStation, 1995

Clearly I grew up with Sega, so that's gonna be my excuse from here on out why some other collections are still small. When I first got a job in like 1998 or whenever it was, the first thing I did was buy games for systems I had. It was until later that I started buying other systems, and that shows here with PSX. I try to focus on really good games that I'll actually play, as opposed to buying any old game. Not sure how I ended up with that copy of Madden, though.

Microsoft Xbox - 2001

This is the very last console I bought the day it came out. For whatever reason, after this generation gaming got a lot less exciting for me. Although depending on Switch specs, I might get that on day one. The "Duke" controller is my favorite ever, and I was pretty bummed when they made the dopey little S-controller standard thanks to all the people with Donald Trump-sized hands. It's a pretty great console.

Xbox, continued

The rest of my Xbox games.

Xbox, continued

No Xbox collection is complete without the most gigantic controller ever made.

Xbox, concluded

I forgot Halo 2. It's on a different shelf than the others, and I didn't want it to feel left out.

Sega Dreamcast - 1999

This is the first time I bought a console with my own money. Got it right on 9.9.99. Woke up, walked to my girlfriend's house like I did every morning, got dumped, ditched school, went to the mall, came home, unlocked everything in Soul Calibur. Dreamcast was awesome. The online communities were awesome, especially Dricas.

Sega Dreamcast, continued

More games

Sega Dreamcast, continued

More games and the Sonic 10th anniversary thing.

Sega Dreamcast, concluded

You gotta have two keyboards for The Typing of the Dead. These was such a great game to have out at parties, and remains to this day the only game to ever get me laid. Also pictured is this Sega system selector that only came out in Japan.

Sega Game Gear - 1991

Growing up, I had the Genesis and my sister had the Game Gear. At some point she ended up giving it to me. Honestly, I am not that into it due to low battery life. We never ever had batteries for it when we were kids so it was almost never played. Gotta plug this into to play it. Our parents never got us a power cord, and I only had a Model 1 Genesis growing up, and this is compatible with the model 2 Genesis power supply. The Game Gear on the left is the Sega version and it needs some new caps. It has the Master Gear converted plugged into it (I guess I could've put this in my Master System collection pic). The Game Gear on the right that has the box is the 2001 released Majesco version, which has no cap problems and a better screen. The easy way to tell them apart is by the color and the color of the logo. The Majesco version is black and has a white logo. The Sega version is gray and has a colorful logo.

Atari 2600 - 1977

When it was released it was called the Video Computer System (VCS). I only have a Junior model here and the Flashback 2, which can be modded to take carts since it's a 2600 on a chip and not an emulator, but I never did it because, well no skills. The cool thing here is the Super Charger. I alluded to this when talking about the TI-994/A earlier. The Super Charger lets the 2600 play video games programs on cassette tape.

Atari 2600, continued

GCE Vextrex - 1982

Vectrex is really a tabletop console. It's kinda portable and has its own screen. The Animator 2000 is a tabletop, and a few other such consoles were released; Entex Select-A-Game, Entex AdventureVision, and the Tiger R-Zone SuperScreen which I mentioned before. The console uses arcade-like Vector graphics. What makes the console really cool is the very active homebrew scene. Many of the homebrew games and compilations are better than most of the officially released ones.

Fairchild Channel F - 1976

Channel F is the first console to use reprogrammable ROM cartridges, and the first console of the second generation. It's a great console. Way over looked. The controllers are amazing and have eight way control and four actions, unlike the 2600 which had just one button. It comes with four built-in games, including Hockey, which is the best Pong variant ever made. On the left is the original Channel F. When it was launched it was actually called Video Entertainment System (VES), but Fairchild changed the name when Atari called their console Video Computer System (VCS), which they possibly did on purpose to create some consumer confusion. Channel F games are all original in house games, though some are clearly inspired by 2600 and arcade games. They didn't officially license any arcade titles, which became Atari's strategy. I got off track, so on the right is the Channel F System II, which is the same as the original except for two things. First, it has detachable controllers. Second, sound comes from the television. The original has a built in speaker and sound comes from the console.

Channel F, continued

I am still working on completing this collection, and I am a good percent of the way there. Pac-Man is a homebrew game, and it totally outclasses Atari's version. The controller here is a special one that adds a fire button. It's the same action as pressing the head of the controller down. I mentioned above that the controller can perform four actions. The head can be pulled up, pushed down, or twisted left or right in addition to being an eight directional joystick. You'll notice that the copy of Alien Invaders, a Space Invaders clone, is in a fairly generic box. This is because Fairchild left the industry rather quickly, and sold off their stock and rights to Zircon, a tool manufacturer. Zircon made the system mail order only. So colorful retail boxes were not needed.

Nintendo Wii - 2006

It's a hacked WIi so I don't own a lot of physical games for it... yet. That'll change. I am including Rodea because it comes with the Wii version of the game and I haven't yet picked up a Wii U. Hoping for some price drops in the near future on that. I also have the Pro Controller, but forgot to include it in the pic. I use this mostly as an emulation station.

Atari Jaguar - 1993

The thing that the Jaguar takes the most shit for is for not being really a 64-bit machine. I can't argue with that. I feel like it and 32X exist in their own little generation. There's no way you could play a game like Tomb Raider on Jaguar or 32X. They just could not handle it, so I don't think they're true 5th gen consoles, but both are a step up from the 4th gen. It was probably also embarrassing for Atari that 3DO's 32-bit console beat them to the market, and it's a ton more powerful and is a proper 5th gen machine. One thing that Jaguar also take flack for is the controller. But you guys, it's a pretty good controller. It's perfectly comfortable and holds like Genesis 3-button. The "dial pad" is not a bad idea. This is a really good idea. Games came with overlays for the pad as shown here. This allows you to quickly change weapons, for example, without having to flip through them. Think of it as a way to have keyboard shortcuts on a console.

Nintendo 64 - 1996

N64 was late to the party, but it's a great little console. I used to have a lot more games for this and I plan on buying more of them back. For now I have the ones that make me the most happy. And somehow a Madden snuck its way in there. Like seriously, I probably own a Madden for every system and I've never played them. It's just one of those games that gets thrown in with everything.

Bandai WonderSwan Color - 2000

This was designed by Gunpei Yokoi who used to work for Nintendo. He invented the d-pad as well as the Game Boy. His company Koto Laboratory designed WonderSwan for Bandai. The console also has links to Sega, because after Bernie Stolar was fired he went to work for Bandai. This is a great console. It has the ability to be played sideways or vertically for shooters and puzzle games. It looks really good. It was designed to give the Game Boy Color a run for its money, and it did for a while. But it could not stand up to the GBA.

3DO Interactive Multiplayer - 1993

The 3DO is perhaps the most underrated console of all time. In 1993 it was doing the same things that Saturn and PSX would be doing when they launched in the U.S. two years later. It is less powerful, but it still had a lot of power, and that shows in a lot of its games. The FZ-10 is my favorite model. It doesn't have the mechanical issues of the FZ-1, which I used to own. There are a lot of great games here that are sadly overlooked.

Palm Zire 71 - 2003

I picked this up at Goodwill and decided that I needed a game for it. So I looked for games and found this really cool Sega Classic compilation. Turns out not a whole lot of physical media released on this. The Palm works fine, but I haven't opened the package as I own all of these games, and can't imagine Sonic would be good on this device. Shining Force II, maybe.

Bally Astrocade - 1978

I am gonna call this Astrocade because that's what it's best known as. My model is the Bally Computer System model that came with the BASIC cart. It was originally called the Bally Home Library Computer, then the Bally Professional Arcade, and when Bally left the game market to focus on slot machines and Astrovision bought it, it became Astrocade and that's the name that stuck. This is truly a hidden gem of consoles. Few people know about it let alone own one, but it's always a big hit when I take to to conventions and such. It has fantastic graphics and sound. Also some very good games. It is the first console to have four controller ports, so it's good at parties.

Sony PlayStation 3 - 2006

My PS3 collection is small. I didn't pick one up until a year ago when I found one for really cheap. I am really liking that the games for it are also really cheap these days. I am really enjoying getting to play through a lot of adventures that were not available to me on the 360.

Sony PlayStation 2 - 2000

I went from Dreamcast straight to Xbox, so I missed out on a lot of PS2 games during its era. Like the original Xbox, PS2 games are dirt cheap now. I haven't even beat half the games I own.

Sega SG-1000 - 1983

Although this is my Sega SG-1000 collection, I do not own a real Sega SG-1000. What I have here is a Telegames DINA 2-in-One that plays SG-1000 games. It also kind of looks like a SG-1000 II. SG-1000 games are on par with ColecoVision and MSX1 games. In fact, I showed this console in the ColecoVision section because it also plays ColecoVision games. Despite that, Sega released it on the same day that Famicom came out, which is a generation ahead of it technology-wise. The games I have are very cool, and there are others I want, they're just kinda hard to find at good prices without taking a trip to Japan. Girls Garden, designed by Sonic creator Yuji Naka, is impressive as it introduces a real time system in a game of this era. The Card Catcher allows for Sega My Card games to be played on a first model SG-1000, since it didn't have a card slot. It also works for this DINA.

Nintendo GameCube - 2001

Pikmin is my favorite GameCube game. I know I have a lot to go before getting all of the GameCube games I want. I do have two more third party controllers, though, that aren't pictured. The one shown here was sent to me by a redditor who saw that I didn't have an official Nintendo controller when I did my 'controllers throughout history' post last year or so. I do have the GBA Player and disc, which is nice.

Neo Geo Pocket Color - 1999

This really is a nice piece of hardware. This era in handheld gaming was interesting because you have this, GBC, and WonderSwan. This is a Japanese import version, though the console was released here in the U.S.

PC Games

The reality of today is that few people buy physical copies of PC games. Most of my PC games are on Steam just like everyone else. But I do still have a few physical copies that I've obtained over the years and managed to hold on to.

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And that's it. This is the longest reddit post I've ever made. Between writing this and taking the pictures it took many hours to put together. I don't even know how many. I hope someone people read this and enjoyed it. Let me know if you have any questions.