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DW FACTS by Dark Watcher
After nearly bankrupting itself in 1978 with overstocked Telstar units, Coleco once again entered the console market looking to dethrone Atari 2600 and Intellivision, the current kings of the hill. ColecoVision was released in 1982 and boasted amazing specs for its time which showed in its arcade conversions. To secure their success Coleco reached out to a Japanese based company called "Nintendo", paying $250,000 for the rights to a super popular arcade game called Donkey Kong, which would become the pack in game with the console. Since the Atari 2600 contained no patented material and was made up of all "off-the-shelf" hardware, Coleco took another step to insure ColecoVision's marketing power. The ColecoVision's Expansion Module #1 was essentially an entire 2600 which fit into the Coleco's expansion port. This gave gamers access to Atari's large library of games.
Home computers were starting to overtake game consoles simply because they were more "respectable" in the eyes of parents. So in June 1983, Coleco decided to focus its energies on the Adam computer system. They stopped support and sadly ColecoVision owners suffered. With the video game crash of 1983, Coleco officially ceased production of the unit with over 6 million units sold in just two years. FACT: Coleco's software approach was to go after licensed arcade games that Atari had missed. Realizing that Atari had firm support from 3rd party developers like Namco (creators of Pac-Man and many other hits), Coleco involved itself with companies like Sega, Konami and Universal. Amazing how far some of these developers have come.

MODELS Officially licensed releases
The ColecoVision was released in the United States by Coleco and by CBS Electronics abroad. The systems are identical with the exception of branding and voltage\AV output.


ColecoVision Expansion Modules
Module 1 - Atari 2600 Game Converter	Module 2 - Steering Wheel Controller	Module 3 - ADAM Computer Interface

CLONES Non-licensed hardware releases
SpliceVision This odd clone, developed by a telephone company named Splice, appeared in the Brazilian market in 1984. To say that the system's design is utilitarian would be an understatement. It seems that this console had two releases, one with a beige casing and the other with a matte black housing. Splice also released 17 bootleg games. These are not compatible with the standard ColecoVision system due to their larger cartridge size. For more information, please check out this excellent article on this rare bird at ColecoVision Zone.


MicroDigital Onyx Another Brazilian clone, but we have never actually seen one to verify that it this was released to the public.


Dina 2 in one (2-in-1) The Dina 2-in-1 was an authorized clone that was compatible with ColecoVision games. Click here for information on this system.


Bit Corporation BIT-90 The BIT-90 was a computer released by the Taiwanese company Bit Corporation that accepts ColecoVision game cartridges. Bit Corp was also the original creators of the Dina 2 in one (2-in-1) pictured above.

FORMAT, PACKAGING & GENERAL INFO Interesting facts on software for this system
Software for the ColecoVision was distributed on ROM cartridges, packaged in large cardboard boxes that are rather fragile and prone to accidental crushing. First party arcade ports featured the upright cabinet that one would see back in the hey day of the video game arcades along with the moniker "Plays Like The Real Arcade Game". Third party offerings created unique cover art that highlighted their own brand in addition to the actual game. These vary greatly in both presentation and overall appeal. The launch lineup for the ColecoVision was quite impressive, boasting 11 additional games to compliment the Donkey Kong pack-in. These titles included Carnival, Cosmic Avenger, Ken Uston's Blackjack/Poker, Lady Bug, Mouse Trap, Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle, Space Fury, Space Panic, Turbo, Venture and Zaxxon.
	applemctom's Games that Defined Compiliation

ColecoVision Game Boxes


SCREENSHOTS Captured in-game images
2010: The Graphic Action Game	Artillery Duel	Buck Rodgers: Planet of Zoom
BurgerTime	Cabbage Patch Kids	Carnival
Choplifter	Congo Bongo	Cosmic Avenger
Donkey Kong Jr.	Dragonfire	Dukes of Hazard
Flipper Slipper	Frogger	Jumpman Jr.
Lady Bug	Miner 2049er	Mouse Trap
Mr. Do	Nova Blast	Popeye
Rocky Super Action Boxing	Sir Lancelot	Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle
Space Panic	Spy Hunter	Star Wars: The Arcade Game
Super-Action Baseball	Super Action Football	Super Cobra
Super DK Junior	Tarzan	Tournament Tennis
Turbo	Tutankham	Venture
Victory	War Games	Zaxxon

EMULATION
First and third party system emulators

ColEm

This is an amazing emulator for Windows. There are other
emulators available, but this one is one of our favorites.

SPECS & MANUALS
For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.

Processor Type	Processor Speed	Other Processor Information	RAM \ Video RAM
NEC D780C-1 (8-bit)	3.58 MHz	Texas Instruments TMS9928A (VDC)	1 KB \ 16 KB
Screen Resolution	Color Palette	Polygons \ Sprites	Audio
256 x 192	16 colors	32 sprites (on screen)	Texas Instruments SN76489AN (3 tone channels, 1 noise)
Media Format	Media Capacity	Games Released	Other Supported Formats
Cartridge	32 KB	144	Atari 2600 (with optional converter)
Internal Storage	External \ Removable Storage	Game Controllers	Other Game \ Peripheral Devices
8 KB ROM	None	Joystick with numeric keypad	Atari 2600 Converter, Steering Wheel, Adam PC Expansion
Controller Ports	Network Ports	Other Ports	Audio \ Video
Two (2) - Hardwired	None	Expansion Module Port	RF
Power Supply - External	Other Outputs	Other Details \ Notes
Input: AC 120V, 60 Hz .25A Output: +5 9A, -5 1A, +12 .3A, Grnd	None	Two other alternative controllers were also released that utilized the expansion port bay
Manuals
Coleco ColecoVision Owners Manual (PDF) - 7.87 MB CBS ColecoVision Owners Manual (PDF) - 3.74 MB