GetWiki

{{short description|Home video game consoles by RCA}}{{more citations needed|date=April 2011}}

factoids

WEBSITE=ATARIAGE.COM, March 2013, | unitsshipped = | media = | os = | power = | soc = RCA 1802 microprocessor, 1.78 megahertz>MHzbytes (normally used as 256 bytes display random access memory>RAM + 256 bytes program RAM)| storage = | memory card = ROM cartridge| display = 64x32, monochrome graphics| graphics = RCA CDP1861 "Pixie"| sound = | input = | controllers = Ten-button keypads| camera = | touchpad = | connectivity = | platform = | service = | dimensions = | weight = | topgame = | compatibility = | predecessor = | successor = | related = | website = }}The RCA Studio II is a home video game console made by RCA that debuted in January 1977. The graphics of Studio II games were black and whiteBOOK, Kent, Steven L., Steven L. Kent, The Ultimate History of Video Games, 2001, Three Rivers Press, 0-7615-3643-4, and resembled those of earlier Pong consoles and their clones. The Studio II also did not have joysticks or similar game controllers but instead used two ten-button keypads that were built into the console itself.WEB,weblink Popular Mechanics - Google Books, December 1977, 2019-07-18, Hearst Magazines, The console was capable of making simple beep sounds with slight variations in tone and length. The Studio II included five built-in games.BOOK, Dillon, Roberto, The Golden Age of Video Games, 2011, A K Peter/CRC Press, 978-1-4398-7323-6, The Studio II was not a successful product; the previously released Fairchild Channel F made it obsolete at launch and the Atari 2600, superior to both, was released ten months later. After poor Christmas sales in 1977, RCA discontinued the Studio II.

Development

RCA engineer Joseph Weisbecker began building his own personal computer at home in the late 1960s, and encouraged the company to sell small computers. RCA introduced the Studio II video game console—using Weisbecker's COSMAC 1802 CPU—in January 1977.NEWS,weblink Rediscovering History's Lost First Female Video Game Designer, Edwards, Benj, 2017-10-27, Fast Company, 2017-10-27, en-US, Joyce Weisbecker, the daughter of the console's designer, learned how to program her father's homemade home computer as a child. After graduating from high school in 1976, she used her familiarity with the architecture to create School House I and Speedway/Tag for the Studio II, becoming the first woman to develop a commercial video game.{{r|edwards20171027}}

Market loss

The Studio II sold poorly. An internal sales document put RCA's own sales estimate for the console between 53,000 and 64,000 units sold between February 15, 1977, and January 31, 1978. It was released after the superior Fairchild Channel F, and the very successful Atari 2600 also appeared in 1977. RCA announced the console's discontinuation in February 1978{{r|edwards20171027}} because of low Christmas sales. While losses were not disclosed, the company laid off 120 workers at its plant that produced the system in North Carolina. Some analysts blamed the fact the RCA Studio II's games were in black and white, and could not compete with systems offering color.TV Games Cutback, Page 21, Spokane Daily Chronicle, 1978-02-14, Spokane Daily Chronicle - Google News Archive Search

Technical specifications

(File:RCA-Studio-II-Opened-FL.jpg|thumb|right|The RCA Studio II used mostly RCA-built chips.)File:RCA-Studio-II-Back.jpg|thumb|right|Like the Atari 5200Atari 5200

• RCA 1802 microprocessor, 1.78 MHz
• 2 KB ROM (includes the five built-in games)
• 512 bytes RAM
• RCA CDP1861 "Pixie" video chip, 64x32, monochrome graphicsWEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090415051408weblink">weblink 2009-04-15, RCA Studio 2 Technical Information,

List of games

Built-in games

• Addition
• Bowling
• Doodle
• Freeway
• Patterns

Released cartridges

1. 18V400|TV Arcade I: Space War
2. 18V401|TV Arcade II: Fun with Numbers
3. 18V402|TV Arcade III: Tennis/Squash
4. 18V403|TV Arcade IV: Baseball
5. 18V404|TV Arcade Series: Speedway/Tag
6. 18V405|TV Arcade Series: Gunfighter/Moonship Battle
7. 18V500|TV School House I
8. 18V501|TV School House II: Math Fun
9. 18V600|TV Casino I: Blackjack
10. 18V601|TV Casino Series: TV Bingo (very limited release; only 3 copies are known to exist as of 1/7/2018){{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}
11. 18V700|TV Mystic Series: Biorhythm

Cartridges released on the MPT-02 clones (France/Australia)

1. MG-200 Grand Pack (Doodle, Patterns, Blackjack and Bowling)
2. MG-201 Bingo
3. MG-202 Concentration Match
4. MG-203 Star Wars
5. MG-204 Math Fun (School House II)
6. MG-205 Pinball
7. MG-206 Biorythm
8. MG-207 Tennis/Squash
9. MG-208 Fun with Numbers
10. MG-209 Computer Quiz (School House I)
11. MG-210 Baseball
12. MG-211 Speedway/Tag
13. MG-212 Spacewar Intercept
14. MG-213 Gun Fight/Moon ship

Cartridges released on the Visicom COM-100 clone (Japan)

1. CAS-110 Arithmetic drill (Math Fun & Fun with Numbers)
2. CAS-130 Sports fan (Baseball & Sumo Wrestling)
3. CAS-140 Gambler I (Blackjack)
4. CAS-141 Gambler II (Slot Machine and Dice)
5. CAS-160 Space Command (Space War)
6. CAS-190 Inspiration (Bagua, Blood typing and Astrology)

Other

1. M1200-05 Star Wars (Sheen M1200)
2. M1200-07 Pinball (Sheen M1200) or Flipper (German Clone)

Legacy

The Studio II was followed by the Studio III which can also display color and uses the RCA CDP-1802 microprocessor.WEB, Modla, Andy, RCA Studio II and Studio III Home TV Programmer Emulator: ajavamind/rca-studio2, 2019-05-13,weblink Github.com, 2019-07-18, WEB,weblink September 1977, Programming Manual for STUDIO III, Bitsavers.org, 2022-03-13, BOOK, RCA 1800 microprocerssor, Studio III, CDP 1802, COSMAC microprocessor {{!, 102727712 {{!}} Computer History Museum|url=https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102727712|access-date=2019-07-18}} A Studio IV was planned but not created.

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• History of Home Video Games - RCA Studio II {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120004648weblink |date=2020-01-20 }}
• The Dot Eaters article, featuring the RCA Studio II
• Emma 02 including RCA Studio II Emulator
• Studio II Owner's Manual

{{Second generation game consoles}}{{Home video game consoles}}