My dad was a sales-rep and Vectrex was one of his lines, so when I was 4 (1982) I was fortunate to have a Vectrex system in the house. My brothers and I would still play it even after we got a NES and then the SNES. One day when I was thirteen I went to closet because we wanted to play Blitz! only to find out my mom "donated to charity" claiming we never played with it. I still bring it up twenty years later.
My family had one of these growing up. We got it for Christmas 1983. Having 12 kids in the family, we had a schedule for our playtime. Wish we still had it.
Most electronics of that era were actually built to mil-spec, which meant they went through extensive testing before they were approved for sale and guiding design principle was durability. As the demand for affordable computers and consumer electronics grew the manufacturing standards and quality control went down several orders of magnitude, instead of testing each component and circuit board, manufacturers started testing only one in 10, 100..etc.
Fast forwarded to 2017 where we have Nintendo calling their Switch and bait system having dead pixels and called it completely normal. Electronics used to be built to last now they built to ditch.
This video game was and is the system I played before getting my Genesis in 1991. I must have played it so much my original controller stopped working in the 1990s and I literally destroyed it trying to repair it. I improvised by using my original Genesis controller and it worked to an extent. My Vectrex stopped working a few years back and had it fixed a couple of years ago. I got a new controller (Gen. 6-button-based) and more games to add to the games I already had. My Vectrex play lives on.
Just love me some good old Mark Enthusiasm! I especially enjoy his love for the Vectrex!! Congrats mark on making my favorite Vectrex videos on RUclips......Ever!!
The day our Pops got us a "Veptrex" from Child World is one of our fondest memories, it was just out of the blue for no reason or holiday. We loved it, though the screen overlays became frisbees and weapons.Yea it took alot of abuse but it performed hardily, never broke or wore out. It was a really Dope machine.
I had a reason to look up the Vectrex recently and your video came up. Instant nostalgia explosion as I watched your channel when I first discovered youtube. Man, time to go back on memory lane with these vids
Picked the vectrex up at a comic book shop today! Its in great condition, especially the controller. It just doesn't have the overlay for the built in game but hey what can you do. Wouldn't have even paid any attention to that weird tv that is the vectrex if it wasn't for your show Mark!
I have bought several of these over the past 35 years from goodwill and yard sales for very little money just so they would be saved. I have a bunch of games still also. They are awesome
@@Adamchevy yea right now I have 14 consoles and numerous games and screen overlays in 6 boxes. All the consoles work perfectly. They are built so good it's crazy
@@coinslotsandjoysticks2572 I agree! I’ve owned 4 over the years and one I had shipped from the Netherlands to Utah. It arrived in great condition and fired right up! I like the controller we got here in the states much more. The European buttons felt big and to mushy in comparison. I just purchased my 5th Vectrex Yesterday with 12 games 3 controllers and a light pen for $960.00. I thought it was a good deal. I haven’t played any Vectrex in about a year and I’m going through major Vector Withdrawl! If you ever want to sell a Vectrex I would be interested! They are my favorite game system of all times!
@@Adamchevy that's why I have different types of controllers I didn't know they used different ones in different country's. Crazy huh. I'll sell you one if you want it. I'll hook you up with one and give you ten games for 500. I have seven that are in the original boxes they have been played but the people put em up afterwards. That includes the owners manual and paperwork it came with
I love the part where he gives it a hug, and the Vectrex makes a sound, like it approves. But then you realize it's the sound the game makes when you die. :(
Actually, I usually get 1 or 2 people who mistake mine storm for asteroids and start telling me stories about their selves/ their kids who used to play it back in the day
This is both a cool score, and sad at the same time. All these old machines, some designers poured a lot of their dreams into, only to have them be flash in the pans, or never catch darling status and disappear into oblivion. The whim of the public is a cruel fickle thing. I got a Milton Bradley Microvision handheld console with overlays like that one Xmas... with two games... breakout and some mine game... for the first time in my life, I felt accidentally filthy rich.
This is probably one of the best systems I have ever played. My friend has one of these, and it's amazing. People who think this system sucks don't even know....
My dad and I have 2 of these sitting in the man cave down stairs BOTH WITH LIGHT PENS TOO! This is such a classic system I hold on to both like they are made of solid gold.
This is by far the best on RUclips. I have been a life long gamer and I am building a home arcade right now. I know you guys are always looking for the rare to review....I have a very good friend (my old school dealer...sorry, I could not help it) that runs a gane store. This store is the size of a Target Super Store. Is there anything you guys are pining after to review? If so let me know, I might be able to get my hands on it. I just want to point out...the Vectrex has some obvious dark demons it needs to get out. He literally tried to kill you when you gave him a hug. Thank God you had more lives!
still got my vextrex and its still up and running! awesome console! my fave games were spike and scramble! when you spaceship crashed in that game it sounded like a fart!
Mark! Still the best reviewer on the interweb. Once again, I have been convinced to buy an old piece of gaming history by you. Thanks for the dedication and hard work! Really enjoyed the review.
I used to sneak into my older brothers room when we where kids and play this when he went out...yeh around 83 ,screw his penthouse collection.......Vectrex trumped everything.
you probably dont care but if you're stoned like me atm you can stream pretty much all of the new movies on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my brother these days =)
For the noneagle-eyed viewer watch the video at 6:05 . He puts the screen overlay over the screen upside-down and then in the next shot it's right-side up. That's truly the magic of editing.
I probably got a dud one. Ive had my xbox 360 for 4 years. My point is though, older consoles were built to last longer than newer consoles. Also, cartridge consoles are more reliable because they have no moving parts.
A buddy of mine had one of these in 1992 when we were in middle school. It was fucking awesome. We spent our time playing the Vectrex and Street Fighter 2. Good times.
I love to get a Vectrex. They are sweet systems!! The only negative is they are not easy to come by for a low price and the games as well. They are in such high demand. They usually run from $200-$500 on ebay.
I don't know why, but for some reason the vertex scares me, it literally frightens me to even see one. It's not that they suck I just for some reason am terrified of these things.
I'd take one in ANY condition.. as long as it works! Great video and review.. I Really want a Vectrex. I've been on the fence about them for years but with new homebrews and multicarts coming out, its a lot more appealing to me nowadays. Game On!
Quick explanation: with a standard CRT, the ray starts at the top line, traces it left-to-right, drops to the next line, and so on down to the bottom. Repeat about 50 times a second. With a vector beam monitor, software can aim the ray wherever you want it.
I have a vectrex. My dad bought it for us so we wouldn't hog the TV. The vector graphics work like an oscilloscope. If you turn the brightness all the way up you can see how each line is two points and a line segment in between. My favorite is how heads up soccer the guys grow and shrink to look like they are moving to the far side of the field.
In this context, "bits" refers to the largest word size the CPU can process in a single instruction. The Vectrex is an 8-bit console since it uses a Motorola 6809 CPU.
Ha, one of my friends had one of these. I remember back then I was about 12 or 13, ...I thought the machine was super cool, even back then. I was and am still impressed by how different the graphics were from the Atari's. It was a totally different approach to gaming.
The venerable Vectrex is indeed large for her day, 1982. Back then and up until the early '90s, I would watch a 13-inch Hitachi TV set with rabbit ears and simulated wood trim. Got the local, network and UHF channels just fine. Doctor Who (Tom Baker & Jon Pertwee) came in just fine. The UHF dial broke, but lock-down pliers did the trick. I was far too impoverished to afford such things as a Vectrex, but I split the cost on an Atari ST home computer and played Jawbreaker and SunDog.
I just my vectrex today and it was the last day of my school (as of this comment) so today was a pretty good day, it's awesome me and my buddy played it so much before he had to leave it kicks major major but I gave mine a hug because it deserves it. Also it's alot smaller and doesn't weigh as much as I thought it would. But its still awesome.
I'm 35 tomorrow and i remember playing this at my mates house (lol i remember he had a Madonna poster and Dire Straits where all over the radio!) , great fun but it wasnt a patch on my 48K Sinclair Spectrum .
oh man! 4:22..... That song haunted my dreams. I played my Vectrex almost every day for the first 5 years I Owned it. Nearly as much as my N.E.S. I use to bring the old beast to classic game parties in the mid '90s...... one day my cousin knocked it off the shelf and broke the screen. I sold my cart's and wept in the corner.
Before I got an NES, this was my very first console. Not only was Cosmic Chasm the balls, but there was also a pretty sweet light pen add-on that I had. I remember doing crude animation with it and being the (brief) envy of my friends.
I just got mine today, waiting for the controller and the multi-cart to come in. Haven't been so excited to play a system since the day i pre-ordered a Dreamcast.
I created a portable battery which fits into a backpack that fits onto the bottom of the Vectorex. I have walked into my local pie factory plugged some headphones in and played some Vectorex on the go. So yes, you can carry the Vectorex and play it on the go.
Nice review. I actually bought one of these at a Toys 'R' Us around 1981, on sale for only $50. Had about 4 or 5 carts for it, and loved it a lot. I later loaned it to a friend who kept it. It's a great system and a lot of fun; there was always a rumor of there being a BASIC programming cartridge floating around, but I haven't ever seen or heard anything definite.
I remember seeing some Vectrex screen overlays in a second hand store and having no idea what they were. Vectrex was a little before my time and my first system was an NES. But this does look really cool.
Mine Storm was the first video game I ever played. About 1982, Berlin. I was 4, my parents were buying a VCR and one of the sales guys brought me over to this thing for me play. I thought it was really cool. We didn't get a video game system for another 2 or 3 years (2600 Jr), after we had moved to Canada. I remembered that day and thinking I recognized it, for a long time I thought the first game I played was Asteroids. About 3-4 years ago I was in retro games store, they had a Vectrex in good condition and on a whim, I decided to buy it. I'd known about the Vectrex since I read about it in a magazine in the late 80s or early 90s, having no idea I'd already played it. I'm not a huge collector, I just thought it'd be a neat, uncommon item. But when I got home and turned it on and that ship flew over dropping the mines and I heard that music, I was instantly brought back to that electronics store in Berlin 30 years prior and I realized; holy shit! _This_ was the first video game I ever played. Not Asteroids, *Mine Storm!* On a *Vectrex!* I'm glad I didn't think too much about it and just got the thing. I paid about $50 more than they were going for on eBay at the time and I doubt I would've bought one if I'd thought it through. Hell, I doubt I would have even realized yet that it was my first gaming experience.
Yes a VECTREX ! I'm french i have one, gave by my best school friend in the middle 80's, the best video game i love it ! In europe Vectrex is a MB (Milton Bradley) product.
Nice video! A friend of mine had one of these - his dad got it cheap when they were discontinued, and he had pretty much every game released for it. It was pretty mind-blowing in the early 80s! I've played some of the games on an emulator. Here in the UK, they're really uncommon and go for hundreds of pounds on eBay.
I had a mint condition 1981 Vectrex until 4 years ago when a friend left the screen on for 2 days and burnt the tube. I played it often and miss it more than the friend who is no longer my friend after destroying my Vectrex.
Im 49 years old and i lived in this era i was 12 when vetrex came out it was the coolest console they made in the eighties just hearing this console brings back the eighties memorys the greatest gaming decade !!
Had one back in the day in fact it was my first game console. Only downside was the lack of games and the video time base buzzed through the audio. Wish I still had one it was fun.
I miss my Vectrex! I had Star Trek, Spike, Rip Off, Scramble, Cosmic Chasm, and Berzerk. Spike had the most advanced graphics with characters instead of just shapes, although they were pointy characters. And Rip Off was one of my favs, you have a little tank like ship and lots of LOOT in the middle of the screen, then bots come in and try to steal the loot... i.e. rip you off. Thanks for the memories dude. Great work.
Vectrex, cheaper to own and less in demand than other retro consoles? Wow, 2009 really was a long time ago, wasn't it?
My dad was a sales-rep and Vectrex was one of his lines, so when I was 4 (1982) I was fortunate to have a Vectrex system in the house. My brothers and I would still play it even after we got a NES and then the SNES. One day when I was thirteen I went to closet because we wanted to play Blitz! only to find out my mom "donated to charity" claiming we never played with it. I still bring it up twenty years later.
The graphics are so smooth, it's awesome
It's because it is using vector graphics, zero pixels. It is using insanely fast moving electron beams to illuminate a chemical coated in the screen.
Just got mine today and I got jazzed when I heard that buzzing sound and it booted up. So awesome.
In 2009, Mark Bussler discovered Vectrex, and he was never the same ever again.
The world was never the same
This video marked the day when Mark would begin always referencing the Vectrex in a lot of reviews after this one.
I've never played a Vectrex, but I knew a guy who owned one, and it was incredible, just being in his presence.
My family had one of these growing up. We got it for Christmas 1983. Having 12 kids in the family, we had a schedule for our playtime. Wish we still had it.
Most electronics of that era were actually built to mil-spec, which meant they went through extensive testing before they were approved for sale and guiding design principle was durability. As the demand for affordable computers and consumer electronics grew the manufacturing standards and quality control went down several orders of magnitude, instead of testing each component and circuit board, manufacturers started testing only one in 10, 100..etc.
Fast forwarded to 2017 where we have Nintendo calling their Switch and bait system having dead pixels and called it completely normal.
Electronics used to be built to last now they built to ditch.
This video game was and is the system I played before getting my Genesis in 1991. I must have played it so much my original controller stopped working in the 1990s and I literally destroyed it trying to repair it. I improvised by using my original Genesis controller and it worked to an extent. My Vectrex stopped working a few years back and had it fixed a couple of years ago. I got a new controller (Gen. 6-button-based) and more games to add to the games I already had. My Vectrex play lives on.
Just love me some good old Mark Enthusiasm! I especially enjoy his love for the Vectrex!! Congrats mark on making my favorite Vectrex videos on RUclips......Ever!!
The day our Pops got us a "Veptrex" from Child World is one of our fondest memories, it was just out of the blue for no reason or holiday. We loved it, though the screen overlays became frisbees and weapons.Yea it took alot of abuse but it performed hardily, never broke or wore out. It was a really Dope machine.
when i was a kid i got such a high score on mine storm that it reset to 0 lol. oh the memories
Me too!! That was the built in the system game. That was my favorite!
I had a reason to look up the Vectrex recently and your video came up. Instant nostalgia explosion as I watched your channel when I first discovered youtube.
Man, time to go back on memory lane with these vids
4 years later and this review is still my favorite.
Make it 5 years :)
John S is it 6 years now?
zakary lakota Almost 8.
Blunt Capcom Representative #4 9 now
Now it's been 4 years since your comment lol
Picked the vectrex up at a comic book shop today! Its in great condition, especially the controller. It just doesn't have the overlay for the built in game but hey what can you do. Wouldn't have even paid any attention to that weird tv that is the vectrex if it wasn't for your show Mark!
I have bought several of these over the past 35 years from goodwill and yard sales for very little money just so they would be saved. I have a bunch of games still also. They are awesome
That was a good and fortunate plan! You will be able to pay off your house one day with those.
@@Adamchevy yea right now I have 14 consoles and numerous games and screen overlays in 6 boxes. All the consoles work perfectly. They are built so good it's crazy
@@coinslotsandjoysticks2572 I agree! I’ve owned 4 over the years and one I had shipped from the Netherlands to Utah. It arrived in great condition and fired right up! I like the controller we got here in the states much more. The European buttons felt big and to mushy in comparison. I just purchased my 5th Vectrex Yesterday with 12 games 3 controllers and a light pen for $960.00. I thought it was a good deal. I haven’t played any Vectrex in about a year and I’m going through major Vector Withdrawl! If you ever want to sell a Vectrex I would be interested! They are my favorite game system of all times!
@@Adamchevy that's why I have different types of controllers I didn't know they used different ones in different country's. Crazy huh. I'll sell you one if you want it. I'll hook you up with one and give you ten games for 500. I have seven that are in the original boxes they have been played but the people put em up afterwards. That includes the owners manual and paperwork it came with
If you still have any Vectrex systems available, I am definitely interested. Please let me know.
I have loved the video game stuff you did I have always liked what you do. I am glad you have your video game videos up. One of your early fans.
I love the part where he gives it a hug, and the Vectrex makes a sound, like it approves.
But then you realize it's the sound the game makes when you die. :(
I actually take one of these with me to Starbuck's in the mornings and play Mine Storm!
do People make fun of you?
Actually, I usually get 1 or 2 people who mistake mine storm for asteroids and start telling me stories about their selves/ their kids who used to play it back in the day
On today's episode of "Shit that didn't happen".
r/thathappened
I bet you have a handle bar moustache and wear tight flannel shirts .
The next time I go out to dinner, I'll bring my Vectrex.
Are you kidding me. I just built something like this and programed it all myself but it looks almost the same.
Mind blowen.
Just picked one of these of for 25 bucks with 2 gamepads and 4 games.
Man, you freaking scored... I saw one for the first time a few weeks ago at a store in Phoenix... they wanted over $400 for it!
xxL3gitvidzxx omg I spent $209 for mine with no games and the thumb stick broke so it's just a sharp piece of metal that sticks out instead
How
You got super lucky! It’s pretty rare to find one under $200 or more these days lol
Yeah right
we’re going to need a compilation of your vectrex play throughs
This is both a cool score, and sad at the same time. All these old machines, some designers poured a lot of their dreams into, only to have them be flash in the pans, or never catch darling status and disappear into oblivion. The whim of the public is a cruel fickle thing. I got a Milton Bradley Microvision handheld console with overlays like that one Xmas... with two games... breakout and some mine game... for the first time in my life, I felt accidentally filthy rich.
My god!! What an infernal music wass there during the scene when the Berzerk cartridge was being showed.
Vectrex, first ever console with a start screen.
My wife bought on of these back in the day. 2 generations of our family has played with this thing. It's a like a family heirloom .
This is probably one of the best systems I have ever played. My friend has one of these, and it's amazing. People who think this system sucks don't even know....
My dad and I have 2 of these sitting in the man cave down stairs BOTH WITH LIGHT PENS TOO! This is such a classic system I hold on to both like they are made of solid gold.
How about: Truxton on the vectrex.
awww yiss.
somebody, just make truxton on the vectrex and send it to lord karnage, he deserves it.
kain homan lucky
kain homan That's a steal. I saw one today for $250 and the games separate for $25 a piece. ;-;
Troll4ever31 ._. why are you everywhere
After nearly a decade of wanting one, I finally got my hands on one over the weekend.
Thanks CGR for introducing me to this awesome console!
I'm impressed, the vector graphics where so fluid on that console, unlike flash player xD
This is by far the best on RUclips. I have been a life long gamer and I am building a home arcade right now. I know you guys are always looking for the rare to review....I have a very good friend (my old school dealer...sorry, I could not help it) that runs a gane store. This store is the size of a Target Super Store. Is there anything you guys are pining after to review? If so let me know, I might be able to get my hands on it.
I just want to point out...the Vectrex has some obvious dark demons it needs to get out. He literally tried to kill you when you gave him a hug. Thank God you had more lives!
still got my vextrex and its still up and running! awesome console! my fave games were spike and scramble! when you spaceship crashed in that game it sounded like a fart!
Probably too many fava beans on board of the ship ;-)
Man I miss my Vectrex that I sold to buy an Amiga 500. All the sounds in the video brings back so many memories.
as of 2020 going into 2021, these Vectrex Systems are NOT at all affordable.
Mark! Still the best reviewer on the interweb. Once again, I have been convinced to buy an old piece of gaming history by you. Thanks for the dedication and hard work! Really enjoyed the review.
I used to sneak into my older brothers room when we where kids and play this when he went out...yeh around 83 ,screw his penthouse collection.......Vectrex trumped everything.
Good choice. Women didn't shave their crotches in those days so the Penthouse mags weren't worth it.
Thanos of Titan yeeh lol big bushes back then.
I have two systems, was going through all my boxes and found my games a few days ago, i still have fun playing it
at 6:24 it looks like spongebob and patrick chasing a jelly fish
6:24
you probably dont care but if you're stoned like me atm you can stream pretty much all of the new movies on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my brother these days =)
@Kevin Drew yea, have been using instaflixxer for months myself =)
For the noneagle-eyed viewer watch the video at 6:05 . He puts the screen overlay over the screen upside-down and then in the next shot it's right-side up. That's truly the magic of editing.
How many modern consoles will be working in 32 years time i wonder.
I think the Nintendo stuff will still work, because the build quality is insane. I just hope the Gamepad on my Wii U holds up.
Tael the Mask Salesman lcd will orobably wear out eventually like with the game gear
How many modern consoles will work after 1 year? My ps3 broke after 6 months.
+Louis The SEGA Nerd Is that so? I've had my PS3 for almost 8 years and it still works just fine.
I probably got a dud one. Ive had my xbox 360 for 4 years. My point is though, older consoles were built to last longer than newer consoles. Also, cartridge consoles are more reliable because they have no moving parts.
Just went to a game store and played a Vectrex for the first time today! It was awesome!
"They can usually be found for a fairly affordable price"
Eight years later, not anymore!
A buddy of mine had one of these in 1992 when we were in middle school. It was fucking awesome. We spent our time playing the Vectrex and Street Fighter 2. Good times.
I love to get a Vectrex. They are sweet systems!! The only negative is they are not easy to come by for a low price and the games as well. They are in such high demand. They usually run from $200-$500 on ebay.
Hey Bussler, I just bought a Vectrex because of you. I hope you're happy now!!!!!
Ok...I got it today. It's amazing. Thank you, Mark!
I don't know why, but for some reason the vertex scares me, it literally frightens me to even see one. It's not that they suck I just for some reason am terrified of these things.
Vectrex, sorry it was spell check
Have you ever played one before? If not I'd recommend finding one and giving it a try. There's nothing like it, it's so fun.
nah id just throw it away or sell it
Wait it was made by general consumer electronics!!!!! Wow !!!! Isn't that the name of the place where video game consoles are shown off!!!!!
Victoria vigeick I have no idea what your talking about.
I'd take one in ANY condition.. as long as it works! Great video and review.. I Really want a Vectrex. I've been on the fence about them for years but with new homebrews and multicarts coming out, its a lot more appealing to me nowadays. Game On!
"Haha, videogaem go bzzzzzzzz"
When i was a child, i played with this fantastic console. It must be in the mid of the 80s. Thanks for this great video. :-)
I own a vectrex!
Classic Game Room lovingly hugged a Vectrex... I've seen everything now.
The overlay served no,purpose lol
+FroztiProductions It was just something to make the screen look a little nicer.
It makes it look that little bit more like a mini arcade system.
Louis The SEGA Nerd
Pretty much.
It also showed you what each button did in the game, down in the corner if you look closely
Well that's nice but I would rather have it in a manual or something idk
Quick explanation: with a standard CRT, the ray starts at the top line, traces it left-to-right, drops to the next line, and so on down to the bottom. Repeat about 50 times a second. With a vector beam monitor, software can aim the ray wherever you want it.
How to be an ultimate hipster watch above
I finally got a Vectrex today, it's easily my favourite games console now.
I have a vectrex. My dad bought it for us so we wouldn't hog the TV.
The vector graphics work like an oscilloscope. If you turn the brightness all the way up you can see how each line is two points and a line segment in between. My favorite is how heads up soccer the guys grow and shrink to look like they are moving to the far side of the field.
Awesome review, I love the passion!!! Very endearing
In this context, "bits" refers to the largest word size the CPU can process in a single instruction. The Vectrex is an 8-bit console since it uses a Motorola 6809 CPU.
Thank you Mark for convincing me to get a Vectrex. One of the best things I ever bought.
Ha, one of my friends had one of these. I remember back then I was about 12 or 13, ...I thought the machine was super cool, even back then. I was and am still impressed by how different the graphics were from the Atari's. It was a totally different approach to gaming.
The venerable Vectrex is indeed large for her day, 1982. Back then and up until the early '90s, I would watch a 13-inch Hitachi TV set with rabbit ears and simulated wood trim. Got the local, network and UHF channels just fine. Doctor Who (Tom Baker & Jon Pertwee) came in just fine. The UHF dial broke, but lock-down pliers did the trick. I was far too impoverished to afford such things as a Vectrex, but I split the cost on an Atari ST home computer and played Jawbreaker and SunDog.
i have 36 and i didnt know this console existed until i saw it in pawn stars amazing review man!!!
Picked up a Vectrex yesterday for $10 and it had a extra controller and 7 games included I'm a happy camper.
The glow from all of the games is awesome, for some reason it has a different look from pretty much all of the systems that I own.
Vectrex Reimagined is now on iPad! Most of your classic Vectrex games are included! Mine Storm and 4 custom games are available right from the start!
Very excited. Just managed to buy a Vectrex after some time tracking one. A truly unique video, and most of my knowledge of the system came from CGR
I just my vectrex today and it was the last day of my school (as of this comment) so today was a pretty good day, it's awesome me and my buddy played it so much before he had to leave it kicks major major but I gave mine a hug because it deserves it. Also it's alot smaller and doesn't weigh as much as I thought it would. But its still awesome.
I'm 35 tomorrow and i remember playing this at my mates house (lol i remember he had a Madonna poster and Dire Straits where all over the radio!) , great fun but it wasnt a patch on my 48K Sinclair Spectrum .
oh man! 4:22..... That song haunted my dreams. I played my Vectrex almost every day for the first 5 years I Owned it. Nearly as much as my N.E.S. I use to bring the old beast to classic game parties in the mid '90s...... one day my cousin knocked it off the shelf and broke the screen. I sold my cart's and wept in the corner.
Before I got an NES, this was my very first console.
Not only was Cosmic Chasm the balls, but there was also a pretty sweet light pen add-on that I had. I remember doing crude animation with it and being the (brief) envy of my friends.
lol i had no idea there was an overlay, i never had it brand new, just the console and a few games. loved it!!
i LOVE the way the console loads on screen.
I just got mine today, waiting for the controller and the multi-cart to come in. Haven't been so excited to play a system since the day i pre-ordered a Dreamcast.
I created a portable battery which fits into a backpack that fits onto the bottom of the Vectorex. I have walked into my local pie factory plugged some headphones in and played some Vectorex on the go. So yes, you can carry the Vectorex and play it on the go.
If only every bar had a VECTREX? What a wonderful world it would be...
Brings back so many memories from the 80`s my brother had one and we rented out games from the local video store.
Nice review. I actually bought one of these at a Toys 'R' Us around 1981, on sale for only $50. Had about 4 or 5 carts for it, and loved it a lot. I later loaned it to a friend who kept it. It's a great system and a lot of fun; there was always a rumor of there being a BASIC programming cartridge floating around, but I haven't ever seen or heard anything definite.
That was probably more like in 84 or 85...
ive never heard of this system..but for its time it had excellent grapics and sounds...even now...excellent review : )
I'm blow away by how pristine the boxes are.
I remember seeing some Vectrex screen overlays in a second hand store and having no idea what they were. Vectrex was a little before my time and my first system was an NES. But this does look really cool.
Mine Storm was the first video game I ever played. About 1982, Berlin. I was 4, my parents were buying a VCR and one of the sales guys brought me over to this thing for me play. I thought it was really cool. We didn't get a video game system for another 2 or 3 years (2600 Jr), after we had moved to Canada. I remembered that day and thinking I recognized it, for a long time I thought the first game I played was Asteroids.
About 3-4 years ago I was in retro games store, they had a Vectrex in good condition and on a whim, I decided to buy it. I'd known about the Vectrex since I read about it in a magazine in the late 80s or early 90s, having no idea I'd already played it. I'm not a huge collector, I just thought it'd be a neat, uncommon item. But when I got home and turned it on and that ship flew over dropping the mines and I heard that music, I was instantly brought back to that electronics store in Berlin 30 years prior and I realized; holy shit! _This_ was the first video game I ever played. Not Asteroids, *Mine Storm!* On a *Vectrex!*
I'm glad I didn't think too much about it and just got the thing. I paid about $50 more than they were going for on eBay at the time and I doubt I would've bought one if I'd thought it through. Hell, I doubt I would have even realized yet that it was my first gaming experience.
This was the first video game system I ever had. Loved it more than any I had after. Thank you.
I had almost every system ever made in the 70s and 80s, but i never had a Vectrex. I used to drool looking at ads for this thing.
To know the Vectrex is to love the Vectrex...and life in general.
I had one for my tenth birthday. greatest present ever!!!!!!!
One day I plan on making a portable version of a Vectrex for myself. The external designing is already done!
Yes a VECTREX ! I'm french i have one, gave by my best school friend in the middle 80's, the best video game i love it ! In europe Vectrex is a MB (Milton Bradley) product.
Nice video! A friend of mine had one of these - his dad got it cheap when they were discontinued, and he had pretty much every game released for it. It was pretty mind-blowing in the early 80s! I've played some of the games on an emulator. Here in the UK, they're really uncommon and go for hundreds of pounds on eBay.
I'm trying to remember if I saw this at Sears or Montgomery Wards. I recall seeing this in the store at the time and see them sealed.
I had a mint condition 1981 Vectrex until 4 years ago when a friend left the screen on for 2 days and burnt the tube.
I played it often and miss it more than the friend who is no longer my friend after destroying my Vectrex.
Im 49 years old and i lived in this era i was 12 when vetrex came out it was the coolest console they made in the eighties just hearing this console brings back the eighties memorys the greatest gaming decade !!
Had one back in the day in fact it was my first game console. Only downside was the lack of games and the video time base buzzed through the audio. Wish I still had one it was fun.
I think I just fell in love. This console looks wonderful!
I really want to find someone involved in making the Vectrex, and give them a big hug, and worship at their feet.
the fact this this had a built in screen all in one console is revolutionary in itself
hey Mark bought your Vectrex book off Amazon cool stuff nice job
I miss my Vectrex! I had Star Trek, Spike, Rip Off, Scramble, Cosmic Chasm, and Berzerk. Spike had the most advanced graphics with characters instead of just shapes, although they were pointy characters. And Rip Off was one of my favs, you have a little tank like ship and lots of LOOT in the middle of the screen, then bots come in and try to steal the loot... i.e. rip you off. Thanks for the memories dude. Great work.