???? – 1984retired
Arcadia 2001
“35 games, 18 months, endless clones — the Arcadia lived on in everyone else's living room.”
“Four knobs, two buttons, one nation hooked before Nintendo showed up.”
Released in Japan on July 30, 1981, the Cassette Vision was Epoch Co.'s second-generation home console, roughly as powerful as an Atari 2600. The 'cassette' in its name meant ROM cartridge, not tape, and its controls were unusual: four knobs built right into the console, two per player for horizontal and vertical movement, plus two buttons each. At ¥13,500 with games at ¥4,000, it caught on in a big way.
It sold around 400,000 units and held the title of best-selling console in Japan until Nintendo's Family Computer arrived. Along the way Epoch released the Cassette Vision Jr. redesign, and its run ended in August 1984 with a successor, the Super Cassette Vision, ready to carry the torch. Not a bad legacy for a box with knobs.
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“35 games, 18 months, endless clones — the Arcadia lived on in everyone else's living room.”
“First family of home gaming, bowing out with dignity while the party crashed around it.”
“Sega's first swing, and every game it loved still runs on its children.”