APF TV Fun series

Lore & Background

The APF TV Fun brand marked APF's first entry into the video game market; the company had previously developed calculators and other small electronics. The systems were sold at Sears under the name Hockey Jockari. The TV Fun series was followed by the 8-bit APF-MP1000 in 1978 and the APF Imagination Machine in 1979, which competed in the second generation of early ROM cartridge consoles such as the Atari VCS.

Multiple models were released, each with varying built-in games and features. The Model 401 and 401a (April 1976) offered four built-in games, a built-in speaker, two controller knobs, toggle switches for Professional/Amateur settings affecting angle, bat size, and ball speed, plus a game selection dial. The Model 402 (Sportsarama) added five games including Handball, Tennis, Hockey, Target Shoot, and Skeet Shoot, with options for singles/doubles, 2- or 4-player modes, two wired controllers, and a light gun. The Model 405 (February 1977) featured three two-person games and solo Handball with wireless controllers and three skill settings. The Model 406 was a color television version of the 405. Later models 442 and 444 offered four to five games with automatic serve and skill settings. An unreleased Model 500 was designed with twenty two-player space battle games and wireless controllers.

Reader's Guide

The APF TV Fun series represents an early wave of dedicated home consoles that capitalized on the Pong craze through the use of the General Instrument AY-3-8500 chip. This chip enabled numerous manufacturers to produce affordable Pong clones, and APF's entry into the market with the TV Fun line demonstrated the company's shift from calculators to video games. The series' multiple models—ranging from the basic 401 to the more elaborate 402 with a light gun and the unreleased 500 with space battle games—show the rapid iteration and feature expansion typical of the first generation of home consoles. The TV Fun's sale at Sears under the Hockey Jockari name indicates the retail distribution strategies of the era. While the series itself was dedicated and not cartridge-based, it laid groundwork for APF's later move into programmable consoles like the MP1000 and Imagination Machine, which competed directly with the Atari VCS. The TV Fun line thus occupies a place as an early, widely varied example of the dedicated console market that preceded the cartridge-based second generation.

Did You Know?

• The APF TV Fun was sold at Sears under the name Hockey Jockari.
• The Model 402 included a black plastic light gun for Target Shoot and Skeet Shoot games.
• The Model 500, which featured twenty space battle games, was never released.
• All TV Fun consoles could be powered by an AC adapter or six C size batteries.