View source for Microvision

{{Short description|First handheld game console that used interchangeable ROM cartridges}}
{{distinguish|Macrovision}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox CVG system
| title = Microvision
| aka = Milton Bradley Microvision<br/>MB Microvision
| logo = Milton Bradley Microvision Logo.png
| image = Milton-Bradley-Microvision-Handheld-FL.jpg
|caption = A Microvision with ''Block Buster'' cartridge inserted
| manufacturer = [[Milton Bradley Company]]
| family = 
| type = [[Handheld game console]]
| generation = [[Second generation of video game consoles|Second generation]]
| price = {{USD|49.99|1979|about=yes}}
| CPU = 
| media = [[ROM cartridge]]s
| unitssold = 
| topgame = 
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1979|11}}
| discontinued = 1981
| cpu = [[Intel 8021]]/[[Texas Instruments TMS1000|TI TMS1100]] (on cartridge) clocked at 100 kHz
| display = 16 × 16 [[pixel]]s resolution
| memory = 64 bytes [[RAM]], 2K [[Read-only memory|ROM]]
| power = 1 × 9V battery (TMS1100 processors), 2 × 9V battery (Intel 8021 processors)
}}
The '''Microvision''' (aka '''Milton Bradley Microvision''' or '''MB Microvision''') is the first [[Handheld console|handheld game console]] that used interchangeable [[ROM cartridge|cartridges]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1aAAwAAQBAJ|title=Game Preview|last=Sfetcu|first=Nicolae|date=2014-05-04|publisher=Nicolae Sfetcu|language=en}}</ref><ref name=NGen40>{{cite magazine |title=Cribsheet No. 15: Milton Bradley's Microvision |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=40|publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=April 1998|page=25}}</ref> and in that sense is reprogrammable.<ref name=":1" /> It was released by the [[Milton Bradley Company]] in November 1979<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepcmuseum.net/timeline.php|title=PC Timeline. The Freeman PC Museum... Largest Collection of Vintage Computers On The Web.|first=MICHAEL J. BARNES, ILTD DESIGN SERVICES|last=www.lookingtodraw.com|access-date=22 January 2017}}</ref> for a retail price of $49.99,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2014-02-19|title=Milton Bradley Microvision – Pop Culture Maven|url=https://www.popculturemaven.com/games/milton-bradley-microvision/|access-date=2020-07-21|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Microvision by Milton Bradley – The Video Game Kraken|url=http://videogamekraken.com/microvision|access-date=2020-08-06|language=en-US}}</ref> equivalent to $221.00 in 2025.

The Microvision was designed by Jay Smith, the engineer who later designed the [[Vectrex]] video game console.<ref name=NGen40/> The Microvision's combination of portability and a cartridge-based system led to moderate success, with Smith Engineering grossing $15 million in the first year of the system's release. However, its small game library, its small screen, and a lack of support from established home video game companies led to its discontinuation in 1981.<ref>Donald Melanson, March 3, 2006, [https://www.engadget.com/2006-03-03-a-brief-history-of-handheld-video-games.html A Brief History of Handheld Video Games] [[Engadget]]</ref> According to [[Satoru Okada]], the former head of [[Nintendo]]'s [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|R&D1 Department]], the Microvision inspired the [[Game Boy]], the follow-up to [[Game & Watch]], after Nintendo designed around Microvision's limitations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2016/12/31/new-interview-with-satoru-okada-delves-into-the-hidden-history-behind-nintendos-gaming-handhelds/|title=New Interview With Satoru Okada Delves Into The Hidden History Behind Nintendo's Gaming Handhelds|last=Barder|first=Ollie|date=December 31, 2016|website=Forbes.com|access-date=22 January 2017}}</ref>

==Production==
[[File:Microvision - Block Buster (1979) - Gameplay screenshot.svg|thumb|left|140px|Screenshot of Block Buster, which came packaged with the Microvision]]
Unlike most later consoles, the Microvision did not contain an onboard processor ([[Central processing unit|CPU]]). Instead, each game included its own processor contained within the removable cartridge.<ref name='hh_museum' /><ref name='simply_eighties' /><ref name='mus_obs' /> This meant that the console itself effectively consisted of the controls, [[Liquid-crystal display|LCD]] panel and LCD controller.<ref name='hh_museum' /><ref name='mus_obs' />

The processors for the first Microvision cartridges were made with both [[Intel 8021]] (cross-licensed by [[Signetics]]) and [[Texas Instruments]] [[Texas Instruments TMS1000|TMS1100]] processors. Due to purchasing issues, Milton Bradley switched to using TMS1100 processors exclusively, including reprogramming the games that were originally programmed for the 8021 processor. The TMS1100 was a more primitive device, but offered more memory and lower power consumption than the 8021. First-revision Microvisions needed two batteries due to the 8021's higher power consumption, but later units (designed for the TMS1100) only had one active battery holder. Even though the battery compartment was designed to allow the two 9-volt batteries to be inserted with proper polarity of positive and negative terminals, when a battery was forcefully improperly oriented, while the other battery was properly oriented, the two batteries would be shorted and overheat. The solution was to remove terminals for one of the batteries to prevent this hazard. Due to the high cost of changing production molds, Milton Bradley did not eliminate the second battery compartment, but instead removed its terminals and called it a spare battery holder.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

==Problems==
[[File:Milton-Bradley-Microvision-Casing-Open-02.jpg|upright|thumb|The uncovered LCD screen of a Microvision, showing screen damage]]
Microvision units and cartridges are now somewhat rare.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Brown|first=Jason|date=2022-01-14|title=12 Best Microvision Games Of 2022|url=https://retrododo.com/best-microvision-games/|access-date=2022-02-13|website=RetroDodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lester|first=John "Gamester81"|date=2013-04-28|title=History of Consoles-Microvision (1979)|url=https://gamester81.com/history-of-consoles-microvision-1979/|access-date=2022-02-13|website=Gamester81.com}}</ref> Those that are still in existence are susceptible to three main problems: "screen rot," [[electrostatic discharge|ESD]] damage, and keypad destruction.

===Screen rot===
The manufacturing process used to create the Microvision's [[Liquid crystal display|LCD]] was primitive by modern standards. Poor sealing and impurities introduced during manufacture have resulted in the condition known as ''screen rot''. The liquid crystal spontaneously leaks and permanently darkens, resulting in a game unit that still plays but is unable to properly draw the screen. While extreme heat, which can instantly destroy the screen, can be avoided, there is nothing that can be done to prevent screen rot in most Microvision systems.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.revrob.com/sci-a-tech-topmenu-52/86-milton-bradley-Microvision-the-worlds-first-handheld-game-console|title=Milton Bradley Microvision: The World's First Handheld Game Console|last=Vinciguerra|first=Robert|date=November 25, 2007|publisher=The Rev. Rob Times|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125081809/http://www.revrob.com/sci-a-tech-topmenu-52/86-milton-bradley-Microvision-the-worlds-first-handheld-game-console|archive-date=January 25, 2013|access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref>

===ESD damage===
A major design problem on early units involves the fact that the [[microprocessor]] (which is inside the top of each cartridge) lacks [[Electrostatic discharge|ESD]] protection and is directly connected to the copper pins which normally connect the cartridge to the Microvision unit. If the user opens the protective sliding door that covers the pins, the processor can be exposed to any [[Static electricity|electric charge]] the user has built up. If the user has built up a substantial charge, the discharge can jump around the door's edge or pass through the door itself ([[dielectric breakdown]]). The low-voltage [[integrated circuit]] inside the cartridge is extremely ESD sensitive, and can be destroyed by an event of only a few dozen volts which cannot even be felt by the person, delivering a fatal shock to the game unit. This phenomenon was described in detail by [[John Elder Robison]] (a former Milton Bradley engineer) in his book ''[[Look Me in the Eye]]''; according to Robison, up to 60% of units were returned as defective during the 1979 holiday season, causing significant panic among Milton Bradley staff and prompting extensive modifications to both later Microvision units (which were his own design) and Microvision factories to better dispel stray static charges.<ref name="Robinson">{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=John Elder |title=Look Me in the Eye |date=25 September 2007 |publisher=Three Rivers Press |isbn=978-0-307-39598-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lookmeineyemyl00robi/page/197 197-203] |language=en |chapter=Chapter 21: Being Young Executives |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/lookmeineyemyl00robi/page/197 }}</ref>

===Keypad destruction===
The Microvision unit had a twelve-button [[keypad]], with the switches buried under a thick layer of flexible plastic. To align the user's fingers with the hidden buttons, the cartridges had cutouts in their bottom (over the keypad). As different games required different button functions, the cutouts were covered with a thin printed piece of plastic, which identified the buttons' functions in that game. The problem with this design is that pressing on the buttons stretched the printed plastic, resulting in the thin material stretching and eventually tearing. Having long fingernails exacerbated the condition.  Many of the initial games were programmed to give feedback of the keypress when the key was released instead of when the key was pressed.  As a result, users may press on the keypad harder because they are not being provided with any feedback that the key has been pressed.  This resulted from a keypad used for prototyping being different from the production keypad; the prototyping keypad had tactile feedback upon key pressing that the production units lacked.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}

==Technical specifications==
{{More citations needed|section|date=August 2020}}
[[File:Milton-Bradley-Microvision-Cartridge-Motherboard.jpg|upright|thumb|The PCB of a Sea Duel game cartridge, showing the TI3496 processor from the TMS1100 family]]

* [[Central processing unit|CPU]]: [[Intel 8021]]/[[Texas Instruments TMS1000|TI TMS1100]] (on cartridge)
* Screen type and resolution: 16 × 16 pixel LCD<ref name=NGen40/><ref name=":2" />
* Register width: 4 bit (TMS1100), 8 bit (8021)
* Processor speed: 100&nbsp;kHz
*[[Random-access memory|RAM]] (integrated into CPU): 64 bytes
*[[Read-only memory|ROM]]: 2K (TMS1100), 1K (8021)
* Cartridge ROM: 2K (TMS 1100), 1K (8021) masked (integrated into CPU; each game's CPU was different)
* Video Display Processor: LCD Custom Driver (made by Hughes)
* Sound: Piezo beeper
* Input: Twelve button keypad, one [[paddle (game controller)|paddle]]
* Power requirements: One or two 9 volt batteries on earlier Microvision consoles, one 9 volt battery on later Microvision consoles
* Power Dissipation: 110&nbsp;mW (TMS 1100), 1 W (8021)

==Games==
While the game cartridge plastic cases were beige colored in the USA, in Europe they came in a variety of different colors, and the games were numbered on the Box. The age range in Europe for the console and its games was from 8 to 80 years old or 8 to Adult.

There were '''{{table row counter|id=microvisiongames|ignore=2}}''' titles known to have been released.

:{{legend|#FFE8E8|size=50%| ''Background shading indicates canceled games.'' }}

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" id="microvisiongames"
|-
! scope="col" | #
! scope="col" | US title
! scope="col" | Overseas titles
! scope="col" | Game number (EU)
! scope="col" | Release date
! scope="col" | Microprocessor/s<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://atarihq.com/danb/MicrovisionCarts.shtml|title = Dan B's Atari Microvision Tech Page}}</ref>
!PCB Revision(s)
|-
| 1 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''Block Buster'' 
4952
|{{flagicon|UK}} ''Block Buster''<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} ''Block Buster''<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} ''Block Buster''<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} ''Block Buster''<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} ''Casse Brique'' ||{{flagicon|UK}} 1<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} 1<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} 1<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} 1<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} 1 || {{dts|1979-11}} || '''''TI MP3450A'''''
|'''4952 REV A'''
'''4952-56 REV A'''

'''4952-79 REV B'''
|-
| 2 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''Bowling'' 
4972
|{{flagicon|UK}} ''Bowling''<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} ''Bowling''<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} ''Bowling''<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} ''Bowling''<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} ''Bowling'' ||{{flagicon|UK}} 2<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} 2<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} 2<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} 2<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} 2 ||{{dts|1979-11}}|| '''TI MP3475NLL'''
|'''4952 REV A'''
|-
| 3 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''[[Connect Four (Microvision)|Connect Four]]'' 
4971
| {{flagicon|UK}} ''Connect 4''<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} ''4 Gewinnt''<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} ''Vier Op'n Rij''<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} ''Forza 4''<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} ''Puissance 4'' ||{{flagicon|UK}} 5<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} 5<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} 5<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} 5<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} 5||{{dts|1979-11}}|| '''Signetics Intel 8021''' 
'''TI MP3481NLL'''
|'''4971 REV C'''
'''4952 REV -'''
|-
| 4 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''Pinball''
4974
|{{flagicon|UK}} ''Pinball''<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} ''Pinball''<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} ''Flipper''<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} ''Flipper''<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} ''Flipper'' ||{{flagicon|UK}} 4<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} 4<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} 4<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} 4<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} 4 ||{{dts|1979-11}}|| '''TI MP3455NLL'''
|'''4952 REV A'''
|-
| 5 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''Mindbuster''
4976
|N/A ||N/A ||{{dts|1979}}|| '''TI MP3457NLL'''
|'''4952 REV A'''
|-
| 6 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''[[Star Trek: Phaser Strike]]''<br/>(later just ''Phaser Strike'')
4973
|{{flagicon|UK}} ''Shooting Star''<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} ''Shooting Star''<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} ''Shooting Star''<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} ''Shooting Star''<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} ''Shooting Star'' ||{{flagicon|UK}} 3<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} 3<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} 3<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} 3<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} 3||{{dts|1979}}|| '''TI MP3454NLL'''
|'''4952 REV A'''
|-
| 7 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''Vegas Slots'' 
4975
|N/A ||N/A ||{{dts|1979}}||'''TI MP3474-NLL'''
|'''4952-56 REV -'''
|-
| 8 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''Baseball'' 
4974
|N/A ||N/A ||{{dts|1980}}||'''TI MP3479-N1NLL'''
|'''4952-56 REV -'''
|-
| 9 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''[[Sea Duel]]''
''4064''
|{{flagicon|UK}} ''Sea Duel''<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} ''See-Duell''<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} ''Duel''<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} ''Duello Sul Mare''<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} ''Bataille Navale (Battleship)'' ||{{flagicon|UK}} 6<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} 6<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} 6<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} 6<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} 6 ||{{dts|1980}}||'''TI MP3496-N1'''
|'''4952-56 REV -'''
|-
| 10 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''Alien Raiders'' 
4176
| {{flagicon|UK}} ''Space Blitz''<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} ''Blitz''<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} ''Blitz''<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} ''Blitz''<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} ''Blitz'' ||{{flagicon|UK}} 7<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} 7<br/>{{flagicon|NED}} 7<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} 7<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} 7 ||{{dts|1981}}||'''TI M34009-N1'''
|'''4952-79 REV B'''
|-
| 11 || {{flagicon|USA}} ''Cosmic Hunter'' 
4177
|N/A ||N/A ||{{dts|1981}}||'''TI M34007-N1'''
|'''4952-79 REV B'''
|-
| 12 || N/A || {{flagicon|UK}} ''Super Block Buster''<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} ''Super Blockbuster''  611497800<br />{{flagicon|ITA}} ''Super Block Buster''<br />{{flagicon|FRA}} ''Super Casse Brique (Super Brick Breaker) 611497801''
|{{flagicon|UK}} 8<br/>{{flagicon|GER}} 8<br/>{{flagicon|ITA}} 8<br/>{{flagicon|FRA}} 8 ||{{dts|1982}}||'''TI M34047-N2LL'''
|'''7924952D02 Rev B'''
|-
|style="background:#FFE8E8; | 13 ||style="background:#FFE8E8; | ''Barrage'' || style="background:#FFE8E8; " |? ||style="background:#FFE8E8; |?||style="background:#FFE8E8; |{{dts}}Unreleased<br/>(supposed to be released in 1982)||?
|
|}

==Reviews==
*1980 Games 100 in ''[[Games (magazine)|Games]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/games-20-1980-november/page/52/mode/2up | title=GAMES Magazine #20 | date=November 1980 }}</ref>
* [https://archive.org/details/games-26-1981-november/page/50/mode/2up 1981 Games 100] in ''[[Games (magazine)|Games]]''

==See also==
* [[Mattel Auto Race]]
* [[Vectrex]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name='hh_museum'>{{cite web|url=http://www.handheldmuseum.com/MB/uVUS.htm|quote=the console itself is nothing more than controls, LCD panel and a controller chip for the LCD panel. Each cartridge contains the microprocessor, which happens to have a small amount of ROM space on it that MB loaded the game code onto.|title=Milton Bradley Microvision (U.S.)|website=Handheld Museum|access-date=2018-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821212220/http://www.handheldmuseum.com/MB/uVUS.htm|archive-date=2018-08-21}}</ref>
<ref name='simply_eighties'>{{cite web|url=https://www.simplyeighties.com/mb-microvision-game-console.php#.XAQiaTFBqUk|website=Simply Eighties|title=MB Microvision Handheld Games Console|access-date=2018-12-02|quote=In fact, it was the cartridge itself that contained the CPU, and just to confuse everyone two different ones were used.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710171115/https://www.simplyeighties.com/mb-microvision-game-console.php|archive-date=2017-07-10}}</ref>
<ref name='mus_obs'>{{cite web|url=https://obsoletemedia.org/milton-bradley-microvison/|title=Milton Bradley Microvison (1979 – 1981)|website=Museum of Obsolete Media|date=27 September 2013|access-date=2018-12-07|archive-date=2018-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121012836/https://obsoletemedia.org/milton-bradley-microvison/|quote=The main unit was little more than a housing for the display, batteries, switches and controller, while the brains of each game was a combined microprocessor/memory chip inside the clip-on cartridge.}}</ref>
}}

{{commons cat}}
{{Second generation game consoles}}
{{Handheld game consoles}}
{{Milton Bradley}}

[[Category:Microvision| ]]
[[Category:Handheld game consoles]]
[[Category:Monochrome video game consoles]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1979]]
[[Category:1970s toys]]
[[Category:Milton Bradley Company games]]
[[Category:Discontinued handheld game consoles]]