How-To Geek
Answer: Fairchild Channel F
We’ve come to expect Easter Eggs–bits of code tucked away inside applications by the programmers and left as a surprise for the users–to be fairly novel and sophisticated. Google, for example, frequently hides Easter Eggs inside the Google logo that include full animations and games. In the early days of software and game design, however, there wasn’t much room to spare for elaborate Easter Eggs.
The first known Easter Egg in a video game console is from the Fairchild Channel F. The Fairchild Channel F was a second-generation game console released by Fairchild Semiconductor in 1976. Other consoles from the same generation including the Atari 2600, the Magnavox Odyssey, and the Mattel Intellvision.
The Fairchild Channel F was unique in many ways. It was the first programmable ROM cartridge-based game console and it was the first game console to use a micro-processor. It also had a “hold” button on the console–the first appearance of a pause-like feature on a video game console–users could hit the hold button and freeze the action indefinitely, returning to it at a later date. The hold feature wasn’t quite as developed or useful as a game-save feature, but it was unique at the time.
In addition to all that, the Fairchild Channel F can also boast the first known Easter Egg in a console video game. The system had 27 cartridge based games and 2 demo cartridges. Cartridge #20, Video Wizball, was a Pong-like game where you bounced a ball across a court and into an opponents goal. By playing a sequence of games with the match set up on a certain level with a certain fixed score for completion, you could make the programmer’s name, Reid-Selth, appear in the center of the court as an in-game object your balls would bounce of off.
Less interactive and on Democart #1 for the system, there was an Easter Egg which would print the programmer’s name if you pressed buttons 1,3, and 4, at the same time after the demo was over.
Since then, video game Easter Eggs have become increasingly sophisticated and range from subtle references to other video games to entire mini-games hidden within the host game.
- By Jason Fitzpatrick on 04/8/12
“The Fairchild Channel F was a second-generation game console released by Fairchild Semiconductor in 1976. Other consoles from the same generation including the Atari 2600, the Magnavox Odyssey, and the Mattel Intellvision.”
The Magnavox Odyssey was part of the first generation, not part of the second.
You tend to get people pointing stuff out alot. Please work on that!
acutually the min
I actually HAD one of these as a kid os 12 or so… I remember Space Invaders and the whole family sitting around watching me play, and wondering what would happen when my score reached 1,000,000 – Because in the score area there was only room for 999,999… Sure enough, once that magical number was reached it went back to the first level and a zero score… Kind of a let down, but neat nonetheless…
To this day I always remember that as the game that I first “Beat”….
I still have the console in storage.. I wonder if it’ll still work on my 1080P LED??? And just what it will look like..
@MrWild
Please try it out and do let us know if it works and what it looks like!
;-)
We had Atari and played Space Invaders too!!! It was a well used cartridge! I think we also had a game called Popeye where Brutus would chase Popeye all over this building and when he walked off the end you had to manoever these rising planks to go under him or he would fall! lol!
@MRWILD Mate some really old game consoles can sell for thousands. There was an Atari that sold for £5,000 I think. If it works and you have a few games that work as well you have a potential fortune in your home. Of course it depends on the demand and how popular it was/is.