Bally Professional Arcade (1978)

the Bally Professional Arcade released in 1978, was a video game maker Bally's only entry into the home console market, complete with typical late 1970's woodland grain. The little console from the 70's. it enjoyed some rebirths analogous to the Fairchild VES Channel F and significant home brew/customer following.

In 1972, Bally missed an early item into video games, by telling one Mr. Nolan Bushnell they were not interested in his Pong game. With Pong early the video game arcade revolution, by 1975 Bally decided to make a video game division named Midway (termed Bally/Midway) for the intent of entering this market.

It was decided to base the new console around the Zilog Z-80 microprocessor. A processor making its way into an arcade games and becoming the choosen processor of wealth in the still developement microcomputer progress. The graphics system was to have an advanced display system that known as bit mapped graphics. In pixel on the screen mapped to a corresponding memory.

Coleco Telstar Arcade (1978)

The Telstar Arcade is maybe the most interesting systems made by Coleco, and the most superior PONG system that ever released in America, while it played non-PONG games. Made in a triangular case, the Telstar Arcade could play 3 types of games, each being played on one of the three sides of the case. Obviously, the 1st side allowed playing PONG games, and the 2nd side allowable playing target shooting games. Not very different with most other systems, except the gun storeroom. The 3rd faced was the most interesting: it allowable to car racing games. Very few systems gift that type of games were released at this time, and the games were only played using rotating controllers or some joysticks.

Coleco worn a very uncommon cartridge structure: a silver traingle case which connects on the top of the console. Nothing in common with the other black cartridges with plug vertically. Coleco only released 4 cartridges. The 1st one was sold with the system and the others were sold separately for $25. Two flyers came with the system to order cartridges #2 and #3.

Coleco Telstar Colortron (1978)

Released in 1978, The Telstar Colortron is one of the only systems based on the AY-3-8510 chip, a derivation of the AY-3-8500. This system offers four games instead of six, but the picture is in colour, which is much better that the older. Sound is not unpleasant like on most of the other systems, since it comes from a little piezo beeper which produces a discreet sound.

The game selection is done with a push button rather than a switch (easier to use and more strong). Curiously, the Telstar Colortron requires two 9V batteries: one for the "video", and the another one for the "sound"