Mattel Auto Race
First all-solid-state handheld electronic game, released in 1976.
via Wikipedia: Mattel Auto Race · see source
Mattel Electronics Auto Race, released in 1976, was the first handheld electronic game to rely entirely on solid-state electronics, with no mechanical parts except the controls and on/off switch. It used calculator-derived hardware and a nine-volt battery, displaying cars as red LEDs on a small playfield. The game was designed by George J. Klose, inspired by 1970s arcade racing games, with program code written by Mark Lesser. The audio consists of beeps.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Mattel; Rockwell International
- Publisher
- Mattel Electronics
- Designer
- George J. Klose
- Programmer
- Mark Lesser
- Released
- 1976
- Genre
- Racing
- Modes
- Single-player
- Platforms
- Handheld
Facts from the source article.
Development
George J. Klose, a product development engineer at Mattel, conceived the idea of adapting standard calculator hardware to create a handheld game, using individual display segments as moving blips. He built a proof-of-concept without a microprocessor to gain approval, then sought a manufacturer. Klose and his manager Richard Cheng approached Rockwell International's Microelectronics Division, which supplied hardware and support. Mark Lesser, a Rockwell circuit design engineer, modified the B5000 calculator chip to add a display driver multiplexing scheme and a custom sound driver, creating the B6000 chip. Lesser, with no prior programming experience, wrote the game in assembly language for 512 bytes of ROM over eighteen months.
Reception
Mattel, a company then best known for Barbie and Hot Wheels, was initially wary of electronic toys. But the surprising success of Auto Race changed that. It paved the way for Mattel Football, which was often sold out, and ultimately led to the creation of a highly profitable Mattel Electronics Division in 1978.
Legacy
Mattel pioneered the handheld electronic video game category with Auto Race in 1976, the first in a line of sports handhelds including Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, and Hockey, as well as non-sports titles. The design was reworked into Missile Attack (1976), which was withdrawn after NBC refused to air its commercial due to the dark theme, then reintroduced in 1978 as Battlestar Galactica Space Alert. A 1980 Flash Gordon handheld based on the same game was not released. In 1980, a reskinned version called Ski Slalom appeared outside the US, with gears labeled SLALOM, BRONZE, SILVER, and GOLD. A Soviet clone, Elektronika IER-01, was released in 1983.
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