I learned about this system by watching Friday the 13th part II. The movie was released in 1981. About 28 minutes into it I saw a character playing some sort of hand held video game thing. I wasn't aware of any hand held video games in 1981 but behold, it was a microvision!
It may look terrible now but that's because there's so much more to compare it to. When this came out, there wasn't much of anything else but those red-dot LED games. So this was pretty sophisticated by comparison.
Quite surprised there was no Space Invaders type game on the system in hindsight, but then again this was out before Space Invaders hit it big. But they're rare here too, I had to import one from Germany for my collection.
After staring at eBay listings for the Microvision for months I really thing the systems themselves tend to be more common here than in Europe. However the games seem to be pretty even. I theorise that is becuase prices had dropped somewhat by the EU release enabling those who did buy systems to buy more games on average.
I actually knew someone with one of these back when I was a kid. He really wanted a DS but he couldn't get his parents to buy one for him. One day I went to his house and he showed me something his parents got him. It was the Blockbuster Microvision game. I had no idea it was old or rare at the time; I just assumed it was something cheap they got from Walmart. In hindsight, they probably found it at a yard sale. Honestly haven't thought about it in a very long time.
I had two Microvision machines back in the day, the second replacing a failed first one, probably because of the static issue. I had Vegas Slots, Bowling, and Sea Duel in addition to two copies of the pack-in Blockbuster game, which was really the best of the lot. I got pretty good at it, which gave me an edge on future Break-Out style games which were generally easier. Sea Duel was my next favorite, and is worth tracking down if you score a Microvision today.
This was before my time; I had to rely on the good folks at Tiger whenever I needed a portable game that was way too simple, controlled poorly and got old quick. I think they really helped themselves by leaning into licenses a lot more.
I desperately wanted one of these when they first came out. I remember huge stacks of them on display in Beatties (a shop here in Northampton that is long gone).
I had the micro vision when I was a kid. I had the games blockbuster, bowling and the Star Trek game. I loved it back then. I thought it was a lot of fun
Ok that suprise me 6:04 , didn't expect fluid movement, thought it be exactly like a *Tiger Handheld* or game n watch , where there a picture backgrounds and a few black pixels that sorta move
@@dennisneo1608 Yeah, my grandfather(rip) loved computers. He saw video games as brain teasers. He loved figuring how to master them. I'm talking about arcade high score type of games.
I had one of these as a kid. Like my VIC-20, My ColecoVision, etc. My little brother sold it to friends for almost nothing when I went to the Airforce. So one night about 10 years ago I got a couple systems, 1 boxed manual, etc. All the games boxed and many duplicates. All for about$100 USD. This was like 3 lots, so I have some boxed and unboxed duplicates as well. These are all US versions and I am missing Super BlockBuster. Just one of those slightly drunk/nostalgic Ebay nights that paid off.
I have a boxed copy with a bunch of the games that I got about a dozen years ago or so. Always wanted one back when they were new. I couldn't really say when the last time that I've actually played the thing was though.
I had one when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. Took it everywhere with me. I just recently found it and about a half dozen games after clearing out my parents attic. It does still work, remarkably, though the plastic overlays are well worn. Watching this brought a rush of memories back!
Sometime in the early to mid 80s I ran across one of these, or something very similar. Given the time period it pretty much had to have been this console. It was in a thrift store / Goodwill type store if I remember correctly. I can't remember what game it had with it, and I'm not sure it worked. I just remember it had a dot-matrix LCD, which I had never seen before, and had interchangeable games. I do remember the face coming off exposing the internals. It reminded me somewhat of the ColecoVision controllers in that they had overlays that were specific to each game. Thanks for the video - it definitely jogged my memory about it. No, I didn't buy it, because it seemed too beat up and as a kid didn't have my own money anyway. :) Plus it was already outdated by that time.
Interestingly, this display seems to have better responsiveness and less blur than the original Gameboy. Of course this is lower resolution, but it looked decent in the games with the fast moving ball. I
For rare/obscure consoles I’d like to see you cover, my local game store recently got in an Ultrasonic Tournament 150, I’d never heard of it before. While in the annals of video game history this is just a forgotten Pong clone, it was pretty interesting; it looks like shiny stainless steel, it came with a lightgun shotgun that you assemble, and the fact that Pong clones were a thing in the first generation of home gaming is pretty interesting ( to me at least).
A friend of mine has the European version. Still works and is in good condition. 2 games >>>Blockbuster and 4 connect . Original boxes in good condition. Could this be something of value?
Your insertion of (free?) generic stock video footage in your videos is what really drags down your channel, they are very fake looking/cringe inducing and really take you out of the rhythm .
I learned about this system by watching Friday the 13th part II. The movie was released in 1981. About 28 minutes into it I saw a character playing some sort of hand held video game thing. I wasn't aware of any hand held video games in 1981 but behold, it was a microvision!
I got the system as a kid back in 1979. I loved Blockbuster and got really good at it. I also enjoyed playing the slot Machine game.
It may look terrible now but that's because there's so much more to compare it to. When this came out, there wasn't much of anything else but those red-dot LED games. So this was pretty sophisticated by comparison.
Quite surprised there was no Space Invaders type game on the system in hindsight, but then again this was out before Space Invaders hit it big.
But they're rare here too, I had to import one from Germany for my collection.
After staring at eBay listings for the Microvision for months I really thing the systems themselves tend to be more common here than in Europe. However the games seem to be pretty even. I theorise that is becuase prices had dropped somewhat by the EU release enabling those who did buy systems to buy more games on average.
Alien Raiders was slightly like space invaders
I actually knew someone with one of these back when I was a kid. He really wanted a DS but he couldn't get his parents to buy one for him. One day I went to his house and he showed me something his parents got him. It was the Blockbuster Microvision game. I had no idea it was old or rare at the time; I just assumed it was something cheap they got from Walmart. In hindsight, they probably found it at a yard sale. Honestly haven't thought about it in a very long time.
Poor kid. He likely could have sold it to a collector for the price of a DS ironically.
So cool
I had that ! I never saw another one until now. Brought me back to my childhood, thank you ! Great video
I had two Microvision machines back in the day, the second replacing a failed first one, probably because of the static issue. I had Vegas Slots, Bowling, and Sea Duel in addition to two copies of the pack-in Blockbuster game, which was really the best of the lot. I got pretty good at it, which gave me an edge on future Break-Out style games which were generally easier. Sea Duel was my next favorite, and is worth tracking down if you score a Microvision today.
Because memory prices were so high it was cheaper to put a CPU in every freaking cart. That's like the 1st Odessey system on Roids.
You literally make zero sense
This was before my time; I had to rely on the good folks at Tiger whenever I needed a portable game that was way too simple, controlled poorly and got old quick. I think they really helped themselves by leaning into licenses a lot more.
I had one in ‘79. I remember Connect 4 and Block Buster very well. My dad got it for me and I played it a lot on airplane flights.
Great review!!
I still have my working original Microvision and 8 carts from back in the day. Great memories for this ancient gamer.
Interesting, I've never heard of this handheld before. The Vectrex should probably be your next video...
Yes. I had a Vectrex too. Had the 3D headset too.
I desperately wanted one of these when they first came out. I remember huge stacks of them on display in Beatties (a shop here in Northampton that is long gone).
I had the micro vision when I was a kid. I had the games blockbuster, bowling and the Star Trek game. I loved it back then. I thought it was a lot of fun
Ok that suprise me 6:04 , didn't expect fluid movement, thought it be exactly like a *Tiger Handheld* or game n watch , where there a picture backgrounds and a few black pixels that sorta move
Growing up in the 80's, my grandparents had one. I loved playing it when I went over their house. I have 2 cib with all NA games cib.
That's quite the collection! Have you considered picking up Super Block Buster to complete the set?
Your grandparents??????
@@dennisneo1608 Yeah, my grandfather(rip) loved computers. He saw video games as brain teasers. He loved figuring how to master them. I'm talking about arcade high score type of games.
Thanks for watching this look at the Microvision! Have you ever used one?
I had one of these as a kid. Like my VIC-20, My ColecoVision, etc. My little brother sold it to friends for almost nothing when I went to the Airforce. So one night about 10 years ago I got a couple systems, 1 boxed manual, etc. All the games boxed and many duplicates. All for about$100 USD. This was like 3 lots, so I have some boxed and unboxed duplicates as well. These are all US versions and I am missing Super BlockBuster. Just one of those slightly drunk/nostalgic Ebay nights that paid off.
I have a boxed copy with a bunch of the games that I got about a dozen years ago or so. Always wanted one back when they were new. I couldn't really say when the last time that I've actually played the thing was though.
I had one when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. Took it everywhere with me. I just recently found it and about a half dozen games after clearing out my parents attic. It does still work, remarkably, though the plastic overlays are well worn. Watching this brought a rush of memories back!
@@The_Original_Hawkezdamn man.. I'd have disowned him for that.. not even joking.
@@Gameboy-Unboxings I sort of did, we were not friends until years later when we were both adults.
I was hooked on Block Buster! I don't even remember having any other games for it.
If you have this system, try to get Connect 4. I think it was the best game. You can play against another person or the computer.
Sometime in the early to mid 80s I ran across one of these, or something very similar. Given the time period it pretty much had to have been this console. It was in a thrift store / Goodwill type store if I remember correctly. I can't remember what game it had with it, and I'm not sure it worked. I just remember it had a dot-matrix LCD, which I had never seen before, and had interchangeable games. I do remember the face coming off exposing the internals. It reminded me somewhat of the ColecoVision controllers in that they had overlays that were specific to each game. Thanks for the video - it definitely jogged my memory about it. No, I didn't buy it, because it seemed too beat up and as a kid didn't have my own money anyway. :) Plus it was already outdated by that time.
I had an armory full of handheld games. Tiger, Nintendo and lesser known companies.
I have 3 of them, one has a new backlit LCD and 7 games. It’s extremely primitive but cool.
we gotta be grateful for this console because it created the handheld consoles.
Which retro video game console would you like to see us cover next?
How about something from left field. The Java based Doom RPG for older cell phones.
I used to look at that thing in the Sears Christmas catalog as a kid and dream about how much fun it must be. Whew, dodged that bullet.
Mah you missed out
Such a cool little (big) device!
Interestingly, this display seems to have better responsiveness and less blur than the original Gameboy. Of course this is lower resolution, but it looked decent in the games with the fast moving ball. I
For rare/obscure consoles I’d like to see you cover, my local game store recently got in an Ultrasonic Tournament 150, I’d never heard of it before. While in the annals of video game history this is just a forgotten Pong clone, it was pretty interesting; it looks like shiny stainless steel, it came with a lightgun shotgun that you assemble, and the fact that Pong clones were a thing in the first generation of home gaming is pretty interesting ( to me at least).
Never heard of that particular system but we've recently been picking up quite a few pong systems for future videos
I totally don't have 4 Microvisions, one with a brand new screen...
But is it backlit?
I wanna tour your studio!
A friend of mine has the European version. Still works and is in good condition. 2 games >>>Blockbuster and 4 connect . Original boxes in good condition. Could this be something of value?
Please provide links to the sites mentioned.
Oh my GOODNESS that game boy is yellow
I loved my microvision. I played my first one to death and hounded my parents to get me a second one. I had three games, though. expensive.
When it first came out, I SOOO wanted one,
But my mother wouldnt buy me one! Hmph. :(
How do you know it has a 100 Kilohertz processor?... I mean I know thats probably accurate but where did you find these specs out?
The MicroVision is pretty much a novelty item.
But it's a COOL novelty item!
I had one of these BITD however my older sister busted it in a rage for whatever reason. :-/
You sound a little bit young to truly have the feel for this but I hope you're doing a good job because I'm trusting.
I had one of those.
This console was featured in one of the Friday the 13th movies. I think the 4th movie.
It was part II, and the 2 games they mention don't actually exist!
I’d love to see Texas Instruments “speak & “
I'm not sure if the ugly beige cartridges of the US or the colorful carts of Europe are more interesting
9:10 get european games. That's the "solution", as they have plastic buttons rather than a film that you need to press to press the buttons.
1 year ago? Looks like you might have to adjust for inflation again!
That is the most disgustingly yellowed Game Boy I have ever seen.
What's really sad is that it was pristine like a year ago.
This stock photography really.... just not good. I love these videos, but these stock videos intermixed... just take me out of the video. sorry.
Your insertion of (free?) generic stock video footage in your videos is what really drags down your channel, they are very fake looking/cringe inducing and really take you out of the rhythm .