With the Switch 2 on the horizon, Nintendo is once again capturing our hearts (and wallets) with a brand-new console. The hype surrounding the upcoming system has basically become a tradition for Nintendo consoles, but it’s easy to forget how they began.
Most people believe Nintendo’s very first console was the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) or its Japanese counterpart—the Family Computer (or “Famicom” for short). Some would also argue that itsGame & Watchhandhelds were the original Nintendo gaming devices. However, both of these common beliefs are wrong, and there is an entire line of Nintendo consoles that predates all of these systems.
The Color TV-Game Series Was a Humble Start for a Console Giant
Before becoming the gaming icon we know today, Nintendo made its home console debut with the Color TV-Game series, a line of Japan-only game consoles that predates even the earliestGame & Watchhandhelds. The Color TV-Game consoles weren’t Nintendo’s first shot at creating video games—the company had already been releasing arcade games since 1973—but they were the first time Nintendo had ever designed its own gaming systems. Although you won’t see the Nintendo seal of quality on any of these systems, they paved the way for one of the biggest brands in the industry.
The first console in this collection was the Color TV-Game 6, launched exclusively in Japan in 1977. Being Nintendo’s first console, the Color TV-Game 6 is as basic as you might expect. The console features a bright orange exterior, which gave it a toy-like appearance that helped Nintendo’s system stand apart from the colorless boxes that comprised most of the70s console market.
Later versions switched to a more traditional look, swapping out the orange plastic for a white shell. On top of the Color TV-Game 6 are two knobs that serve as the controls for you and another player, as well as a separate control panel for changing in-game settings and swapping between different games.
While the Color-TV Game 6 may sound like the sequel to five other consoles, the name actually refers to the console’s two standout features: its ability to output games in color and the six games included within the console. The only problem is that all the games on the Color TV-Game 6 are just variations ofPong, albeit with stiffer controls and more bugs than the game it copied.
Despite its problems, the Color TV-Game 6 sold an impressive 350,000 units across its lifetime, largely thanks to its low price of ¥9,800—which was equal to about $35 in 1977, or $185 after adjusting for inflation. Compared to other consoles released in the same year, such as TOMY’s “TV Fun” consoles and Bandai’s “TV Jack” system, the Color TV-Game 6 was much more affordable than most of its competitors.
At the time, most companies released new game consoles within the span of months, but Nintendo may have set a world record by launching its second game console—the Color-TV Game 15—only a week after the Color TV-Game 6 hit store shelves. As its name implies, the Color TV-Game 15 includes a whopping fifteen games for only ¥15,000—equal to $55 in 1977, or about $291 today. That sounds like a great bargain until you discover that the new games are just more variations ofPong.
To be fair, the Color TV-Game 15 does come with a few notable improvements. Instead of two knobs located on top of the console, the Color TV-Game 15 includes two separate controllershardwired to the console—a design choice that Nintendo would later reuse for theFamicom. The new games it added were also much more varied than the ones featured on the Color TV-Game 6. Thanks to these improvements and its overall affordable price, the Color TV-Game 15 proved to be an even bigger success than Nintendo’s first console, selling over one million units across its lifetime.
The Color TV-Game consoles coasted by on their affordability, but the launch of theAtari 2600only a few months later meant Nintendo’s next console would be pitted against a fierce rival. The only way to properly compete against Atari’s revolutionary system would be to deliver a similar cartridge-based console with better graphics and bigger games. In response to this rising challenge, Nintendo simply ignored Atari and decided to produce something completely different for its next console.
Nintendo’s third console, the Color TV-Game Racing 112 (which I will be referring to as the “Racing 112”), launched the following year. Unlike the previous Color TV-Game consoles, the Racing 112 features aracing wheeland gear stick, two paddle controllers for its multiplayer mode, and one built-in knockoff of Taito’sSpeed Race—at least it wasn’tPongagain. However, the console offers a robust selection of gameplay options, letting you adjust the vehicle speed, enemy driving style, course size, and a few other difficulty tweaks that add up to 112 possible ways to play.
The next console, the Color TV-Game Block Kuzushi (which will hereon be shortened to the “Block Kuzushi”), launched another year later in 1979. Along with being the first single-player-only system in the series, the Block Kuzushi marked a return to the simplicity of the original Color TV-Game console. The individual wired controllers were abandoned in favor of a single movement knob located on the top of the console. Much like the Color TV-Game 6, the Block Kuzushi also included six games, all of which areknockoffsofBreakout—again, be glad it wasn’t morePongclones.
To be fair, the Block Kuzushi builds uponBreakout’s simple premise with multiple unique modes and difficulty tweaks that drastically transform the original game. Despite being the simplest of the Nintendo Color TV-Game consoles, the Block Kuzushi was already showcasing Nintendo’s penchant for constantly innovating, even if it wasn’t with the most original ideas.
The Computer TV-Game Brought Arcade Quality to a Home Console
There is one final console in the Color TV-Game series, and it’s easily the strangest of the bunch. Released in 1980, the Computer TV-Game is almost a tech demo rather than a proper console. The Computer TV-Game trades the sleek and colorful exteriors of Nintendo’s earlier consoles for a bulky, white shell; a significant departure from the toy-like designs of its predecessors.
Another Color TV-Game staple that was left behind is the paddle controls, which were replaced by a simpler multi-button layout for two players—though the controls were still located on the console itself. Even its name, the “Computer TV-Game,” made it clear that it was a very different type of console compared to Nintendo’s previous releases.
And that was largely true because the Computer TV-Game wasn’t a collection of variants based off other popular games. Instead, it contained an arcade-perfect port of Nintendo’s ownComputer Othello, a 1978arcade tabletop renditionof the popular board-gameOthello. At the time, most console ports struggled to even come close to the quality of their original arcade versions, so the Computer TV-Game was an impressive rarity for its time.
Part of the reason the Computer TV-Game was able to fit an arcade experience under its shell was due toComputer Othellonot being very hardware intensive in the first place, with visuals consisting solely of simple shapes on a square grid. If Nintendo had tried to port a faster game likeSpace InvadersorGalaxian, the console certainly wouldn’t have struggled to keep the authentic arcade experience intact. Despite this, the Computer TV-Game still impressively contained the same arcade board as the originalComputer Othellocabinets, which made it a more powerful system than most of its contemporaries.
Due to its unusual hardware, limited appeal, and the overall declining popularity of the Color TV-Game consoles, the Computer TV-Game was the only system in the series to receive a limited release. Despite its comparatively low popularity, the Computer TV-Game is one of Nintendo’s most important consoles. Future Nintendo consoles followed its lead with their own original games and arcade-quality experiences, even without the benefits of having arcade-perfect hardware. The Computer TV-Game also introduced the aesthetic that would define Nintendo’s later systems. Its simple colors and bulky design would carry over into the Famicom and (to a lesser extent) the NES.
The Color TV-Game Series Has a Legacy Like No Other
Although it’s easy to poke fun at the Color TV-Game series and its less-than-original games, it undoubtedly represents the most important consoles in gaming history. These systems are responsible for launching Nintendo’s career as a console manufacturer. Since the launch of its first game console in 1977, Nintendo has defined itself as the industry titan that revolutionized console gaming with the Famicom, revived the video game industry with the NES, became the face of handhelds with the Game Boy, and pioneered motion controls with the Wii.
Like every other successful game developer and console manufacturer, Nintendo’s earliest works are some of its worst. However, the Color TV-Game series was a testing ground for the ideas and innovations that would shape Nintendo’s future consoles. After working on the Color TV-Game series, Nintendo used its newly gained experience to create original games for the handheldGame & Watchseries, which itself brought many highs and lows for the company. Nintendo’s history certainly isn’t spotless, but its rough patches are what shaped it into the gaming powerhouse we know today.
Unlike every other console manufacturer from the 70s and 80s, Nintendo is still going strong today. While we can attribute the company’s long-running success to any of its consoles from the past 40 years—okay, maybe not theWii U…or theVirtual Boy—it might be time to give the Color-TV Game its long-overdue credit.
