Tv Scoreboard
Encyclopedia
The TV Scoreboard is a Pong
-like game console manufactured from 1976 through the early '80s
and made by Tandy
. Distribution was handled exclusively by Radio Shack
. The machines were constructed in Hong Kong
. The TV Scoreboard consisted of a left and right player, with dials or paddles
on the hand held piece, and had multiple Pong
era games. It also came with a revolver
-type light gun, which was used for a clay pigeon shooting
game. Using additional cosmetic
attachments to the light gun
, the user could change its appearance to be that of a rifle
. The games included but were not restricted to tennis, squash, hockey and practice. Games and game modes, including difficulty settings
and serving settings, could be adjusted with switches. It ran on either an AC adapter, or (6) 1.5v AA batteries.
The console belong to the first-generation of video game console
and is based on one single chip: the General Instruments AY-3-8500
.
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
-like game console manufactured from 1976 through the early '80s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
and made by Tandy
Tandy Corporation
Tandy Corporation was a family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Tandy was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store, and acquired RadioShack in 1963. The Tandy name was dropped in May 2000, when RadioShack Corporation was made the official name.-History:Tandy began in 1919...
. Distribution was handled exclusively by Radio Shack
Radio shack
Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
. The machines were constructed in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The TV Scoreboard consisted of a left and right player, with dials or paddles
Paddle (game controller)
A paddle is a game controller with a round wheel and one or more fire buttons, where the wheel is typically used to control movement of the player object along one axis of the video screen...
on the hand held piece, and had multiple Pong
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
era games. It also came with a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
-type light gun, which was used for a clay pigeon shooting
Clay pigeon shooting
Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, and formally known as Inanimate Bird Shooting, is the art of shooting at special flying targets, known as clay pigeons or clay targets, with a shotgun or any type of firearm....
game. Using additional cosmetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
attachments to the light gun
Light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
, the user could change its appearance to be that of a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
. The games included but were not restricted to tennis, squash, hockey and practice. Games and game modes, including difficulty settings
Difficulty level
In general usage, difficulty level refers to the relative difficulty of completing a task or objective.In computer and video games, the term specifically delineates the ease or difficulty with which an average user may complete a game or a part of a game. Arcade games as well as many early console...
and serving settings, could be adjusted with switches. It ran on either an AC adapter, or (6) 1.5v AA batteries.
The console belong to the first-generation of video game console
History of video game consoles (first generation)
The first generation of video game consoles lasted from 1972, with the release of the Magnavox Odyssey, until 1977, when "pong"-style console manufacturers left the market en masse due to the introduction and success of microprocessor-based consoles....
and is based on one single chip: the General Instruments AY-3-8500
AY-3-8500
The AY-3-8500 "Ball & Paddle" integrated circuit was the first in a series of ICs from General Instrument designed for the consumer video game market. These chips were designed to output video to an RF modulator which would then display the game on a domestic TV set. The AY-3-8500 contained six...
.