How hacked and pirated on the first consoles?

Hacking consoles is usually associated with something bad, and people who do this are called pirates. Cantilee manufacturers hate such craftsmen, accusing them of bad sales, and as a result of poor profit.

Only many home engineers and programmers do not care about the monetary side of the issue, although many can believe in hacker solidarity. They are primarily interested in the very fact of hacking in order to boast of everyone: “Look what I can!”

Today, such a process with each new release is complicated for obvious reasons. Therefore, we will go into the past, where everything was easier and easier, probably.

First generation

At the beginning of the life path of the consoles, as such hacking could not exist. The entire first generation had the games built into the console, which switched with buttons or levers on the device itself. Cataters had only Magnavox Odyssey and Arcade Coleco Telstar, and they were not in the usual sense, they did not have their own memory for games, t.To. consisted of jumpers that closed certain parts of the iron of consoles.

Catrics for Odyssey

As you understand, everything that could do unscrupulous hackers is to solder exactly the same catrique and no more, which was quite costly and did not have a fit.

In the case of consoles without such catrics, can be observed as other companies “piratil” other people’s consoles. They took the original Pong from Atari, dismantled, looked, and then simply collected on a similar principle to get around the patent law. We must pay tribute that with such tactics, engineers implemented their ideas, added games, color schedule, new rules. So they pirated everything, even Atari herself “borrowed” Pong from the Odyssey, simply removing all the extra and unnecessary.

Fairchild Channel F

Channel F launched the second Casinosnogamstop.co.uk generation of consoles in 1976, having full -fledged catrics with internal memory. There was no protection against copying cades and hacking the console. Unscrupulous craftsmen quickly realized that you can copy already released games and sell at the same price, in the same stores. It was often impossible to distinguish a pirate catrique from licensed. However, t.To. The technology was new, then the copying process itself was expenditure in time, forces and means.

Atari 2600

After success, their Pong console, Atari release their Catari VCS catrique in 1977. As in the case with Channel F, there was no smell of any protection and hacking, t.To. The simplicity and cheapness of all architecture followed the old path. Hackers who filled their hands on the last piece of iron, all in the same spirit copied the games. Using a computer and special equipment, a software code was found, which was transcribed from scratch to a new catrics, or cleaned, or on his own created. Then all this was sent on sale. They tried to follow all this movement, but we fell off.

To some extent, Atari herself forced people to do something similar. If you wanted to be published on VCS, then it was necessary to go to the company itself and explain the idea of your game. Then you received a fee, made a game, you were paid for work. When everything was ready, the project was released on the console. The entire profit of Atari proudly took for her efforts.

With such conditions, several people who worked in Atari did not agree and went on free swimming, founding Activision, where they continued to make games for VCS, but take part of the revenue for themselves. Later, many other ambitious programmers will follow their example.

Intellivision

In 1979, the manufacturer of Mattel toys enters the console market for his Intellivision. And here the story is really interesting.

At the time of the launch, the catrique was 8 KB of memory and according to EXEC, for faster and more simple development. But there was one big minus – all the games worked at 20Hz, instead of 60Hz, which the console could pull.

This fact and the policy of making profits from games like at Atari made people pirate, and developers to leave Mattel to other studios. Among which were David Rolf and Tom Lauri. The second is of little interest to us, t.To. created all popular games on the platform. David is the creator of exec. In 1981, they founded Cheshire Engineering, where Activision published games on Intellivision. Through sundress radio, the rest of the companies learned about the design of catrics. As a result, the developers were able to get around EXEC and a restriction of 20 Hz and begin to release their own cades bypassing Mattel with a large memory.

There were no trials. The platform holder simply agreed with other companies on production and cooperation, dividing profit.

Atari 5200

Atari 5200 is a complete failure and one of the worst consoles, at least in terms of design. Bad library, outdated controllers and not the best iron. But they managed to stop a little on it.

The secret is simple – the released expansion for reverse compatibility from 2600 willingly swallowed pirate catrics for this very 2600. But what about the new releases? There were simply no them, and they were not needed by players who were either disappointed in video games or already switched to Nintendo NES from NES. Yes, and 5200 pirates were not interesting, t.To. 2600 was simply more popular and better, and later their attention was paid by a more popular and successful NES.

What in the end?

It’s funny to watch how the companies simply do not give a damn what people with their games and consoles did. While the sales were going on, they simply did not pay attention. Only with this attitude, ordinary players suffered, who often bought a cat in a bag. The library of the same 2600 was scored by garbage and terrible projects, which eventually destroyed the console, the company, and the entire market. Having learned the lessons of the past, the Japanese will capture the entire console market, bringing with them such things as: Protection from hacking the console, games from copying and checking the quality of manufactured projects. No matter how we relate to this, we must admit that certain quality standards and protection are necessary. Within reasonable limits, of course.

It’s only funny that I have not found any information about piracy on Colecovision. Most likely, it pirated on the same principle as 2600, and Coleco was somehow spitting on it.

And I have everything. Thank you all for your attention and good to everyone.

P.S. I also plan to do video versions here, because the format of the text blog makes certain restrictions. Yes, and I myself want to develop as. Blogger? Funny. This is what? Would you like to watch and listen to my content? If not difficult, then vote, please.

I will also add that it is more expensive in time and not at once everything will work out well. And one big blog 100% will come out with a video version, I hope. It will be a demonstration of my possibilities.

If not, then I will not publish them here, but on my YouTube channel, which I will not advertise. Now exactly everything.