h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In addition to my dabbling in PC games, there were some other consoles that came out about the time of the Atari 2600. Mattel introduced the Intellivision, which touted more "realistic" sports games than its competition and had a really strange controller.

At this point, I feel I must digress and discuss early video game controllers. The earliest systems like the Sears TV Game and Magnavox Odyssey had paddle controllers that resembled small dials on a palm-sized box, each with one button. These were suited well to the games they supported (i.e. Pong and its ilk). When the Atari 2600 came out, it was supplied with (thankfully much-improved) paddle controllers and joysticks. Those joysticks were horrible. I'm sorry, but I hated them then and I hate them now. They were stiff and unforgiving and the darn fire button was on the wrong side. You were required to move the joystick with your right hand and press the fire button with your left. This meant that you also had to grip the base of the controller with your left hand. As a righty, and hopefully like all other righties out there, I was not that strong or dextrous in my left hand and it was uncomfortable and awkward in the extreme. Plus I couldn't mash the fire button as quickly with my left thumb. Yes, I'm griping, but the reason I am griping is this: When the Intellivision was released and I saw it for the first time I said "What a bizarre controller!" But it wasn't bizarre. It was ingenious and prefigured every video game console controller to come.

The Mattel controller didn't have a joystick, but a small disc to be manipulated by the thumb of either hand. There were also LOTS of buttons-not just one-so that games could have more intricate control schemes and therefore be more complex. Lots of people initially rejected the Mattel controller (myself included), and there were even lttle stick-on joystick handles sold to modify the control disc, but the revolution had begun. No longer would gamers be forced to use their whole hand to move a character/ship/whatever around the screen. A simple (and much more accurate) press of the thumb did all the work, freeing up the other fingers to press buttons on either side of the controller. It was a turning point.

Beyond that, the Intellivision wasn't that great if you weren't into sports games, and at the time, I most definitely was not. I never owned one.

Another system that came out about the same time was the Colecovision. This was another console that I never had the privilege of owning, but, as usual, I found ways to get to play them. One of the older boys in the neighborhood was a bit strange, but his parents were loaded, so he got all the latest stuff, including game consoles. He got a Colecovision and the keyboard sold for it. The components (sold seperately, of course) combined to form a personal computer/console hybrid called Adam. This could be used to program in basic and had some preprogrammed software that supposedly helped kids do their homework, but we all knew that this was just a helpful ploy to get our moms and dads to buy us video game systems. Anyway, this kid got a Colecovision and of course told everyone about it, so we made friends and hung out in order to play the games.