Entex Adventure Vision
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 | |
| Manufacturer | Entex Industries |
|---|---|
| Type | Video game console |
| Generation | Second generation |
| Release date | 1982 |
| Introductory price | $79.95 |
| Discontinued | 1983[1] |
| Units sold | 50,757[1] |
| Media | ROM cartridge |
| CPU | Intel 8048 @ 733 kHz |
| Memory | 64 bytes, 1K |
| Display | 150 x 40 monochrome oscillating red LED display |
| Sound | National Semiconductor COP411L @ 52.6 kHz |
| Dimensions | 13.25 by 10 by 9 inches (337 mm × 254 mm × 229 mm) |
| Predecessor | Entex Select-A-Game |
Adventure Vision is a cartridge-based video game console released by Entex Industries in either August or October 1982. The launch price of the system was $79.95.[2] The monitor, game controls, and computer hardware are all contained within a single portable unit. The LED monitor can only display red pixels. Four games were released, all of which are arcade ports. Approximately 10,000 were produced.[3][2]
Adventure Vision was Entex's second-generation system following the Entex Select-A-Game, released a year earlier in 1981.
Description[edit]
Control is through a single multi-position joystick and two sets of four buttons, one on each side of the joystick, for ease of play by both left- and right-handed players. Rather than using an LCD screen or an external television set like other systems of the time, the Adventure Vision uses a single vertical line of 40 red LEDs combined with a spinning mirror inside the casing.[2] This allows for an effective screen resolution of 150 × 40 pixels.[2] The mirror motor draws a great deal of power from the batteries, which can be avoided by using the built-in AC adapter.[4]
Games[edit]
Entex released four Adventure Vision games, all of them ported from arcades:
- Defender, originally by Williams Electronics
- Super Cobra, originally by Konami
- Turtles, originally by Konami
- Space Force, originally by Venture Line (similar to Asteroids)
Technical specifications[edit]
- CPU: Intel 8048 @ 733 kHz
- Sound: National Semiconductor COP411L @ 52.6 kHz, headphone jack[2]
- RAM: 64 bytes (internal to 8048), 1K (on main PCB)
- ROM: 1K (internal to 8048), 512 bytes (internal to COP411L), 4K (cartridge)
- Input: 4 direction joystick, 4 buttons duplicated on each side of the joystick
- Graphics: 150x40 monochrome red pixels
- Expansion port[5]
- Dimensions: 13.25 by 10 by 9 inches (337 mm × 254 mm × 229 mm)[6]
Legacy[edit]
A similar display technique combining red LEDs with a moving mirror was used by Nintendo in the 1995 Virtual Boy.
Because of the moving parts used by the system, many units no longer work, with an estimated 100 known operational units left.[7]
On March 31, 2013 at the Revision demoparty, the first-ever homebrew/demo ROM for the system was demonstrated[8] by MEGA - Museum of Electronic Games & Art. MEGA also released[9] the source code for the demo as well as all development tools.
The system is supported by the MESS emulator and AdViEmulator.[10]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Forster, Winnie (2005). The encyclopedia of consoles, handhelds & home computers 1972 - 2005. GAMEPLAN. p. 53. ISBN 3-00-015359-4.
- ^ a b c d e "Adventure Vision by Entex – The Video Game Kraken". Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Entex Adventure Vision". www.handheldmuseum.com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ Gechter, Frédéric (December 22, 2016). "Entex Adventure Vision - tu es si fragile !". www.rom-game.fr (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2022.
- ^ Combs, Jim (February 2008). "ADVENTURE VISION: A History of Entex and the rarest Tabletop system". No. 2. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Entex Adventure Vision". Video Game Console Library. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Bit Museum #4: what the hell is an Entex Adventure Vision?". Destructoid. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ Revision 2013 demoparty entry on pouet.net
- ^ "Open Source Adventure Vision development kit including demo source code". Archived from the original on 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
- ^ AdViEmulator, a specialized Open Source Adventure Vision emulator
External links[edit]
- Video Game Console Library
- TheGameConsole.com
- Handheld Games Museum
- AdventureVision.com
- Mini-Arcade.com
- Games Database.org
- Picture and some information about Entex Adventure Vision (Dutch language)
- Information about the first Adventure Vision demo and the making-of Archived 2020-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Adventure Vision games playable for free in the browser at the Internet Archive Console Living Room.