RCA Studio II

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RCA Studio II

RCA Studio II
Manufacturer	RCA
Type	Home video game console
Generation	Second generation
Released	February 1977; 49 years ago (1977-02)
Introductory price	US$149 (equivalent to $791.64 in 2025)
Discontinued	1978 (1978)
Units sold	53,000-64,000
CPU	RCA 1802 microprocessor, 1.78 MHz
Memory	512 bytes (normally used as 256 bytes display RAM + 256 bytes program RAM)
Removable storage	ROM cartridge
Display	64x32, monochrome graphics
Graphics	RCA CDP1861 "Pixie"
Controller input	Ten-button keypads

The RCA Studio II is a home video game console made by RCA that debuted in January 1977. The graphics of Studio II games were black and white and resembled those of earlier Pong consoles and their clones. The Studio II also did not have joysticks or similar game controllers but instead used two ten-button keypads that were built into the console itself. The console was capable of making simple beep sounds with slight variations in tone and length. The Studio II included five built-in games.

The Studio II was not a successful product; the previously released Fairchild Channel F made it obsolete at launch and the Atari 2600, superior to both, was released ten months later. After poor Christmas sales in 1977, RCA discontinued the Studio II.

The console was licensed and marketed under other names: Mustang 9016 Telespiel-Computer, Conic M-1200 Micro Computer, Trevi M-1200 Micro Computer, Sheen M-1200 Microcomputer, Toshiba Visicom COM-100, Hanimex MPT-02, Soundic Victory MPT-02 e Academy Apollo 80.

Development

RCA engineer Joseph Weisbecker began building his own personal computer at home in the late 1960s, and encouraged the company to sell small computers. RCA introduced the Studio II video game console—using Weisbecker's COSMAC 1802 CPU—in 1977. It was first put out in limited test markets in four U.S. cities in February, and released nationally later in the year.

Joyce Weisbecker, the daughter of the console's designer, learned how to program her father's homemade home computer as a child. After graduating from high school in 1976, she used her familiarity with the architecture to create School House I and Speedway/Tag for the Studio II, becoming the first woman to develop a commercial video game.

Market loss

The Studio II sold poorly. An internal sales document put RCA's own sales estimate for the console between 53,000 and 64,000 units sold between February 15, 1977, and January 31, 1978. It was released after the superior Fairchild Channel F, and the very successful Atari 2600 also appeared in 1977. RCA announced the console's discontinuation in February 1978 because of low Christmas sales. While losses were not disclosed, the company laid off 120 workers at its plant that produced the system in North Carolina. Some analysts blamed the fact the RCA Studio II's games were in black and white, and could not compete with systems offering color. The remaining inventory was purchased in 1978 by Radio Shack and was sold for $59.95 which included the game unit, the Blackjack game cartridge, the Tennis/Squash game cartridge, and a random third cartridge out of the inventory they acquired.

Design

The Studio II is a home video game console designed around a microprocessor, allowing it to render games on a television screen through software printed on interchangeable cartridges. It was the second console to be designed in this way, following the Fairchild Channel F. The console is composed of a beige and tan plastic shell with gold and silver colored trim and two numerical keypads with ten keys each for user input. These keypads are built directly into the console and cannot be removed. There is a speaker on board that generates variable tone beeps, which can be switched on or off. Video is generated using an radio frequency (RF) cable which sends a signal in the same format as analog television sent over the air. This cable plugs into an RF adapter which then connects to a television's antenna port. This RF adapter also provides power for the system and contains its only power switch. Running power and video signal through the same cable was not a common design among competitors, although it would be used again in the Atari 5200 in 1982. The case also features a cartridge port, a power light, and a "clear" button.

Inside is an RCA 1802, an 8-bit microprocessor designed by RCA engineer Joseph Weisbecker and originally known as the COSMAC. It also has 2 kilobytes of read only memory (ROM), half of which is dedicated five built-in games: Addition, Bowling, Doodle, Freeway, and Patterns. The other half is dedicated to a basic input/output system (BIOS) featuring an interpreter for the custom programming language that cartridges are written in. Graphics are rendered by an RCA CDP1861 video chip, also known as the "PIXIE" graphics system. In this console, the chip was configured to render exclusively black and white squares in a 64 x 32 grid. This requires a 256 byte framebuffer, taking up half of the system's 512 bytes of random access memory (RAM).

List of games

Ten games received a wide release for the system over the course of 1977. Four more games were released for clones of the unreleased Studio III around the world. TV Bingo has been found in the United States but in extremely low quantities. Early games were developed by Joseph Weisbecker and his daughter Joyce Weisbecker. Other games were developed by Phil Baltzer, Andy Modla, and Gooitzen van der Waal.

Legacy

The Studio II was followed by the Studio III which can also display color: it was never released due to the failure of Studio II, but was licensed and marketed through its cheap Asian clones. A Studio IV was planned but not created.

Notes

References

External links

• History of Home Video Games - RCA Studio II. Archived 2020-01-20 at the Wayback Machine.
• The Dot Eaters article, featuring the RCA Studio II
• Emma 02 including RCA Studio II Emulator
• Studio II Owners Manual