The Fairchild Channel F Story - Archive Annex Episode 3
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2024
- The Fairchild Channel F was the first programmable video game system on the planet to reach stores, transforming home entertainment in the process. In this third episode of the special Archive Annex series, we trace the history of the platform from a small Connecticut-based computer company through the early days of the microprocessor revolution and to storefronts. Why did the Channel F struggle and fail to dominate the marketplace it effectively created? We explore those questions here with a variety of contemporary reporting and behind-the-scenes insight from Fairchild staff.
Special thanks to Greg Sewart and Alex Smith for providing voices for former Fairchild personnel!
Sources:
Richard Olney, correspondence with the author, February 2020-November 2021
Rich Page, interview with the author, June 26 2020
Bob Hartmann, interview with the author, June 28 2020
Vilas Munshi, interview with the author, July 29 2019
Nicholas Talesfore, interview with Channel F Files podcast, January 4 2015
Nicholas Talesfore, correspondence with the author, December 2021
Brad Reid-Selth, correspondence with Fredric Blåholtz, May 2001
The Richard Olney papers, provided to author
The Jerry Lawson papers, Strong Museum of Play
The Joe Weisbecker papers, Hagley Museum and Library
The Untold Story of the Invention of the Game Cartridge, Benj Edwards, January 22 2015
TV POWW!: The Earliest Televised Video Game Competition from the 1970s, Cat DeSpira, June 16 2017
Jerry Lawson, interview with Benj Edwards, 2009
Jerry Lawson keynote, Classic Gaming Expo 2005
Jerry Lawson and Rick Maurer keynote, Classic Gaming Expo 2004
Jerry Lawson keynote, Vintage Computer Festival West 2006
Weekly Television Digest, various dates (see video)
Merchandising, various dates (see video)
Electronic News, various dates (see video)
Home Electronic Games and Computers, February 1979
Businessweek, August 15 1977, February 20 1984
Electronic Engineering Times, February 20 1978
Channel F News, October 1977, January-March 1978
Creative Computing, September 1978, October 1979
Fairchild Annual Reports, 1977, 1978, and highlights report for 1976 (via Computer History Museum)
Zircon Fairchild Game Announcement, August 26 1980 (via FND Collectables)
Business Opportunity Analysis for Alpex Video Game, Gene Landrum, 1975 (via Benj Edwards)
They Create Worlds: Vol. 1, Alex Smith, 2019
All in Color for a Quarter, Keith Smith, unpublished manuscript from 2016
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Hands down the best overview of the Channel F on RUclips.
Fantastic research and detail on a fairly obscure system!
This was a most excellent watch - I think for a lot of folk, playing the library of systems like the Channel F is a fair bit harder than the VCS, if only because of its unique controller. So getting a chance to learn a bit more about it and its history was seriously worth it.
Great video! I have a Fairchild system I picked up several years ago that I pull out occasionally. Always great to see new content dedicated to that obscure system!
Great video. Seriously underrated piece of tech.
Just came across this channel and have been binging all day. Excellent content
I really appreciate the technical detail that is missing from other accounts of this I have seen. Great episode and excellent channel!
This is amazing. I think this is your best video yet!
Once again, just a remarkable and comprehensive video essay, this time focused on the little system that is often overlooked despite being a pioneer and important piece of video game history. The engineering that was put into this steep uphill battle deserves its spotlight.
Beautiful work as always
Fascinating with a ton of great material. Regarding the Invaders type game, didn't Atari's guys say they were astonished when Maurer first showed his demo (can't recall why, number of different moving sprites?) - if so, isn't the attempt here on the Fairchild quite admirable?
Color Bar Generator is still one of my favorite dev tools for box TV's.
Nice video (as always) !
We had TV POW in Houston, TX. It was only in recent years I learned what system was behind it.
We had it in New York on channel 11 (currently the local CW station).
I noticed you briefly mention Gene Landrum. That the same one who later helped Atari and Nolan Bushnell invent Chuck E Cheese later?
Yep! Landrum went to Atari not too long after his work on the Channel F business plan.
I don't care what anyone says. The Fairchild controllers were ahead of their time.