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History of video games/Platforms/Action Max

< History of video games‎ | Platforms
  • The Action Max system with headphones, light gun, and red light.
    The Action Max system with headphones, light gun, and red light.

History edit

Development edit

The Action Max was developed by Worlds of Wonder, a company founded by former Atari Employees who helped Nintendo distribute the NES in America.[1]

Launch edit

 
Action Max logotype.

Worlds of Wonder had a limited launch of the Action Max in 1987.[2] The system was a poor seller due to needing a VCR,[3] and unable to bail out the company from it's massive debts. Worlds of Wonder went bankrupt in 1988, with many employees going on to join Nintendo.[4][1]

Technology edit

The Action Max ran lightgun games off of VHS tapes.[5] A small seven segment display on the unit displayed the player score.[2][6]

Compute edit

The Action Max CPU is an an 8-bit Hitachi HD401010 clocked at 4MHz.[2][4][7] The Action Max has 32 bytes of RAM.[4]

Notable games edit

Five games were released for the Action Max.[4]

  • The Rescue of Pops Ghostly
  • Blue Thunder - Based on the film
  • Hydrosub: 2021
  • Sonic Fury - Pack in game
  • .38 Ambush Alley

Gallery edit

Console edit

  •  
    Headphone and light gun jacks are located on the console front.
  •  
    Switches, dials, and the segmented display are on the top of the unit. Note that the top is not smooth, but slightly textured.
  •  
    Rear IO ports are on the back of the console.
  •  
    The power jack is in the bottom right.

Accessories edit

  •  
    The Action Max gun controller. Note the lack of an orange tip on the barrel or other indicators to clearly indicate that this is not a real firearm.
  •  
    This red light was used to indicate successful hits.
  •  
    Action Max Stereo Headphones.
  •  
    Sonic Fury PAL VHS tape for Action Max.

Internals edit

  •  
    Much of the console internals are empty.
  •  
    Action Max has a main board and two daughterboards, as well as an internal speaker.
  •  
    The casing top is spartan.
  •  
    A ring is used to hold the speaker.
  •  
    The motherboard bottom.
  •  
    The motherboard top, with a two character 7 segment display.
  •  
    Note the custom WOW chip, as well as the large number of discrete components compared to integrated circuits.

References edit

 

Wikipedia has related information at Action Max

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Action Max

Parts of this page are based on materials from:
 Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia.
  1. ↑ a b "System Overview: System Overview - Worlds of Wonder Action Max - Beyond the Mind's Eye - Thoughts & Insights from Marriott_Guy". www.rfgeneration.com. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c "ActionMax - Game Console - Computing History". www.computinghistory.org.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "BIG TROUBLE IN TOYLAND : Debt-Ridden Worlds of Wonder, the Maker of Teddy Ruxpin, Is Looking for Way Out of Woods". Los Angeles Times. 14 December 1987. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. ↑ a b c d "Home Page". Video Game Console Library. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "Only In The 80's Would They Put Video Games On A VHS Tape" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/only-in-the-80s-would-they-put-video-games-on-a-vhs-tap-5786220. Retrieved 26 October 2020. 
  6. ↑ "Action Max". thegamesdb.net. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "About - WoW Action Max - Games Database". www.gamesdatabase.org. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
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