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History of video games/Platforms/Fairchild Channel F

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  • Fairchild Channel F
    Fairchild Channel F
  • Fairchild Channel F II
    Fairchild Channel F II

History

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Pro Football for the Fairchild Channel F.

Jerry Lawson

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Fairchild Semiconductor Engineer Jerry Lawson made an early arcade cabinet called Demolition Derby, which prompted Fairchild Semiconductor to quietly expand into the game industry.[1][2]

While working on the Fairchild Channel F, Lawson made the first real game cartridges, which contained software and could expand the RAM of the System.[3][2] Because of this Jerry Lawson is recognized as one of the most important figures in early gaming technology history for his invention of the cartridge, as well as one of the first African American engineers in the video game industry.[4][5]

Laswson's philosophy on games favored games that were skillful and grew the player.[6][7] He is remembered as an important early video game and computer industry figure in general, and became a symbol of African Americans in the gaming industry.[8][9]

Launch

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Fairchild Channel F logotype.

The Fairchild Channel F was released in November of 1976 at a cost of $169.95.[1][2]

The system was acquired by Zircon and relaunched around 1981 as a budget system.[10]

In 1981 Channel F cartridges cost as little as $18.95 and as much as $29.95.[10]

Legacy

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A Fairchild Channel F in a museum.

The Fairchild Channel F was discontinued in 1984,[11] coinciding with the video game market crash in the United States, but having been on the market for an exceptional amount of time. Around 250,000 Channel F consoles were sold.[6]

Following the Fairchild Channel F, Jerry Lawson would pursue other ventures, including an early attempt at console based network play.[12]

Technology

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The Fairchild Channel F used Fairchild Semiconductor's own 8-bit F8 processor clocked at 1.7897725 megahertz.[13][2][14] It could process about 0.14 million instructions per second (MIPS).[15] Importantly, the F8 processor eliminated the need for many support chips required by competing processors,[16] and allowed for horizontal integration, making it a very economical choice for use in the Channel F.

The Fairchild Channel F had 64 bytes of RAM and 2 kilobytes of video RAM.[7]

The original Fairchild Channel F used an internal speaker, while the model II used television speakers.[17]

Games

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A novelty at the time, some Fairchild Channel F games supported computer players, as well as pause functionality, which was known as "Hold" on games for the system.[18][17]

1978

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Video Whizball

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One of the first games to include an "Easter egg".[19][20]

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Cartridge

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  •  
    Black Jack cartridge.
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    Cartridge contact pins.
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    Cartridge internals, showing the printed circuit board and two integrated circuits.

SABA Videoplay

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    SABA Videoplay, the German version of the Fairchild Channel F
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    Controller internals.

Technology

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  •  
    The Fairchild F3850 CPU, the heart of the F8 platform and similar to the chip used in the Channel F. This chip, an F3850PC 8621D△, was made in Malaysia.
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    PCB for the derivative Grandstand Video Entertainment Computer. Chips on this board come from Singapore, and a QA mark can be seen. Strangely, most metal on the circuit board has not been etched off, with only areas around the traces having been removed.

References

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Wikipedia has related information at Fairchild Channel F

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fairchild Channel F

  1. ↑ a b Orland, Kyle. "Obituary: Fairchild Channel F Creator Jerry Lawson" (in en). www.gamasutra.com. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/124369/Obituary_Fairchild_Channel_F_Creator_Jerry_Lawson.php. Retrieved 24 October 2020. 
  2. ↑ a b c d "Jerry Lawson And The Fairchild Channel F; Father Of The Video Game Cartridge". Hackaday. 14 July 2020. https://hackaday.com/2020/07/14/jerry-lawson-and-the-fairchild-channel-f-father-of-the-video-game-cartridge/. Retrieved 24 October 2020. 
  3. ↑ "Jerry Lawson, Inventor of Modern Game Console, Dies at 70" (in en-us). Wired. https://www.wired.com/2011/04/jerry-lawson-dies/. Retrieved 24 October 2020. 
  4. ↑ Laurel, Capitol Technology University 11301 Springfield Road. "Gerald". www.captechu.edu. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Jerry Lawson: The Black Man Who Revolutionized Gaming As We Know It - IGN". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  6. ↑ a b Snider, Mike. "Before Nintendo and Atari: How a black engineer changed the video game industry forever". USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/02/27/how-black-engineer-forever-changed-video-game-consoles/4752682002/. Retrieved 25 October 2020. 
  7. ↑ a b "VC&G » VC&G Interview: Jerry Lawson, Black Video Game Pioneer". https://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/545/vcg-interview-jerry-lawson-black-video-game-pioneer. Retrieved 25 October 2020. 
  8. ↑ Chalk, Andy (2021-05-11). "Black videogame pioneer Jerry Lawson has a USC Games endowment named after him". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/black-videogame-pioneer-jerry-lawson-has-a-usc-games-endowment-named-after-him/. 
  9. ↑ Miller, Alex. "An Unsung Hero of Gaming History Deserves a Higher Profile". Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/jerry-lawson-unsung-hero-gaming-history-podcast/. 
  10. ↑ a b Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (21 November 1981). "THE VIDEOGAMES: HOW THEY RATE (Published 1981)". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/21/style/the-videogames-how-they-rate.html. 
  11. ↑ "Fairchild Channel F / Channel F System II (1976 – 1984)". Museum of Obsolete Media. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Ltd, Earl G. Graves. Black Enterprise. Earl G. Graves, Ltd. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Fairchild Channel F". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "Fairchild Channel F Pre-83". pre83.com. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  15. ↑ Murnane, Kevin. "From Pong To Playstation: The 40-Year Evolution Of Gaming Processing Power". Forbes. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  16. ↑ "Great Microprocessors of the Past and Present (V 13.4.0)". www.cpushack.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  17. ↑ a b "Fairchild Channel F (1976-1982)" (in en). History of Console Gaming. 23 September 2016. https://hiscoga.wordpress.com/fairchild-channel-f/. 
  18. ↑ "Early Home Video Game History: Making Television Play - The Strong National Museum of Play". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  19. ↑ "Easter Eggs in Video Games". Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  20. ↑ Fries, Ed. "The Hunt For The First Arcade Game Easter Egg" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/the-hunt-for-the-first-arcade-game-easter-egg-1793593889. 
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