5. VTech Creativision
In 1981 Hong Kong based electronic games and toys manufacturer VTech attempted to join the rising home videogame market by engineering an original system capable of competing against the hugely popular Atari 2600 VCS and Mattel Intellivision. Using a 2 Mhz 6502 CPU (like the NES and Commodore 64), the same video chip as the MSX and a sound chip that was later seen in the Sega Master System, it had impressive specs for the time. Despite being released worldwide, the system only achieved moderate success in Australia and New Zealand, where it was most amusingly renamed the Dick Smith Wizzard, and also in Italy where it was marketed by well-known washing machine manufacturer Zanussi. Later on, a computer version of the machine was also released, called the VTech Laser 2001, as well as a kit to turn your CreatiVision into a fully-fledged computer. The console was finally discontinued in 1986 with only 15 games ever released.
Kieren Hawken
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Kieren is from England and is a well known figure in gaming circles. As a writer he is probably best known for his work on the award-winning Retro Gamer magazine but over the years he has written for numerous publications and websites. A keen games collector himself, he is also the organiser of several UK-based gaming events and has a big social media presence.
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