1st May 2013, 8:51 PM
Well, the Odyssey 1 is a "console" of sorts, thanks to those cards... but yeah, the home Pongs and home Pong clones, calling those consoles... it is a bit iffy. If those are consoles, why aren't those Tiger (and others) LCD games handheld videogame systems? And those Jakks Pacific and other joysticks-with-games-built-in things are consoles too, right?
But no, normally those other things are not counted as videogame systems, because they do not have any games other than the ones built in, while the Home Pongs generally are, probably because there were no consoles really, during that time, and it set the groundwork for the console industry, so they're listed as "consoles" even though they really aren't.
And of course, as you've said, even the Odyssey is only sort of a console, considering that the cards don't have full separate games on them, but only modify the circuitry. The only Home Pong which is a legitimate, full console is the Coleco Telstar Arcade, a very short-lived thing which has like 3-5 cartridges, but DOES use cartridges. It apparently launched in 1977, so after the first real console (1976's Fairchild Channel F), but it kind of looks more like a home pong than a full console -- it's got paddles for Pong-style games, a lightgun for shooting games, and a wheel for driving games, but no joystick. So is it first-gen or second? Probably second, I guess, even though it's usually included with the home pongs, and not consoles.
And on that note, the home Pongs are counted as "first-gen consoles", even though many weren't released until after the Fairchild. Yeah, it was a somewhat messy, early time, but should those really be counted as consoles? I agree with you, it's a somewhat questionable case. But the Odyssey... that I, at least, think probably should count.
Anyway though, the 5200, Colecovision, and Vectrex were definitely starting a new generation, and it should be the "third", the same as the NES -- as I said, one year difference is not a generational leap. The Intellivision is tougher, as it released about halfway in between the 2nd and 3rd gen consoles, but as it did test-market in 1979, I think I'd count it as a late second-gen system, not an early third-gen one. There were, after all, a good 2 2/3rds years between the Intellivision's test market and the Colecovision and 5200 releases.
But no, normally those other things are not counted as videogame systems, because they do not have any games other than the ones built in, while the Home Pongs generally are, probably because there were no consoles really, during that time, and it set the groundwork for the console industry, so they're listed as "consoles" even though they really aren't.
And of course, as you've said, even the Odyssey is only sort of a console, considering that the cards don't have full separate games on them, but only modify the circuitry. The only Home Pong which is a legitimate, full console is the Coleco Telstar Arcade, a very short-lived thing which has like 3-5 cartridges, but DOES use cartridges. It apparently launched in 1977, so after the first real console (1976's Fairchild Channel F), but it kind of looks more like a home pong than a full console -- it's got paddles for Pong-style games, a lightgun for shooting games, and a wheel for driving games, but no joystick. So is it first-gen or second? Probably second, I guess, even though it's usually included with the home pongs, and not consoles.
And on that note, the home Pongs are counted as "first-gen consoles", even though many weren't released until after the Fairchild. Yeah, it was a somewhat messy, early time, but should those really be counted as consoles? I agree with you, it's a somewhat questionable case. But the Odyssey... that I, at least, think probably should count.
Anyway though, the 5200, Colecovision, and Vectrex were definitely starting a new generation, and it should be the "third", the same as the NES -- as I said, one year difference is not a generational leap. The Intellivision is tougher, as it released about halfway in between the 2nd and 3rd gen consoles, but as it did test-market in 1979, I think I'd count it as a late second-gen system, not an early third-gen one. There were, after all, a good 2 2/3rds years between the Intellivision's test market and the Colecovision and 5200 releases.