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DESCRIPTION
This is one of the smallest
group presented here as only 5 compatible systems are known to exist. The original
system is the RCA Studio II released in 1977. It would have had the distinction
of being the first programmable game system, but Fairchild's Channel F beat
it to the market by mere months. So this is a very early system and graphics
are very poor, just like a pong system but with different games...
Unfortunately for the Studio
II, Atari released its VCS-2600 some months later the same year... it meant
the end for this black & white system.
But some years later color
clone systems appeared in Europe, clearly marketed as cheap systems for people
who couldn't afford "modern" systems like the Colecovision or the
Vectrex...
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HOW TO RECOGNISE THEM ?
>THE
CONTROLLERS
The
controllers are very special to these systems since they consist of only 2
numeric keypads with numbers ranging from 0 to 9 on each
controller. Their function are different for each games, but their are usually
used for the 8 directions.
While the
RCA Studio 2 paddles are on the unit itself, those of the Hanimex MPT-02 can
be removed. This is quite particular to this system since the other clones
have not removable controllers...
Something even more surprising
: the Soundic MPT-02 Victory controllers can be interchanged with real joysticks
depending on the game you want to play !

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THE
CONTROL PANEL
This is the most simple of all the control panels you could encountered, since
there is only 1 button : CLEAR.
There is not even an on / off switch !
 
There is
also a power indicator light.
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THE
CARTRIDGE SLOT
The cartridge slot is very special too ! It is unique since it has two rod
that insert into holes in the cartridge. This is common to all systems of
this group and this means too that the cartridges are physically compatible.


Note that MPT-03 systems
(Arcadia 2001 clones) use this system too, but they are complete different
systems.
Another singular feature
is that the cartridges only have connectors on one side of the circuit board.
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THE SYSTEMS
Name |
Brand |
Country |
|
|
|
Studio
2 |
RCA |
USA |

|
|
|

|
MPT-02
Victory |
Soundic |
Hong-Kong |

|

|
|

|
MPT-02
Jeu TV programmable |
Hanimex |
France |

|
|
|

|
Mustang
9016 Telespiel Computer |
Mustang |
Germany |

|
|
|

|
Sheen
1200 Micro Computer |
Sheen
|
Europe
? |

|
|
|

|
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THE GAMES
There were
10 cartridges produced by RCA for the Studio 2 but maybe some more games were
developed later for its clones... The "Concentration Match" cart
for example is a game that uses more than 2 colors and doesn't exist for the
RCA Studio 2. Thus, it is possible that other games are to be found.
There were
also 5 games built-in the RCA Studio 2. Although the MPT-02 seems not to have
these built-in games, the Mustang has them (so the Sheen must have too) !
Though the
RCA Studio 2 is only black & white, the other systems are in color ! And
when RCA Studio 2 cartridges are used with the MPT-02, they play in color
(black & white are then coded into 2 colors) !

Bowling
on the Mustang 9016
Tennis
/ Squash played on the MPT-02
Black & white are coded in 2 colors
Space War
Intercept played on the MPT-02
Black &
white are coded in 2 colors

Concentration
Match is color game !
Left screenshots are from the MPT-02
and right ones from the Mustang.
We notice that the colors are coded differently.
Kriege
Der Sterne (Space War) played on a MPT-02
Black &
white are coded in 2 colors
RCA Studio II games |
MPT-02 games |
Bowling (built-in the RCA Studio 2) |
MG-201 Bingo
|
Doodles (built-in the RCA Studio 2) |
MG-202 Concentration Match |
Freeway (built-in the RCA Studio 2) |
MG-203 Star Wars |
Math (built-in the RCA Studio 2) |
MG-204 Math Fun (School House II) |
Patterns (built-in the RCA Studio 2) |
MG-205 Pinball |
Gunfighter/Moonship Battle (TV Arcade) |
MG-206 Biorythm |
Space War (TV Arcade I) |
MG-207 Tennis/Squash |
Fun with Numbers (TV Arcade II) |
MG-208 Fun with Numbers |
Tennis/Squash (TV Arcade III) |
MG-209 Computer Quiz (School House I) |
Baseball (TV Arcade IV) |
MG-210 Baseball |
Speedway/Tag (TV Arcade ?) |
MG-211 Speedway/Tag |
Blackjack (TV Casino I) |
MG-212 Spacewar Intercept |
Bingo (TV Casino II ?) |
MG-213 Gun Fight/Moon ship |
Math and soical studies (TV School House I ) |
|
Math Fun (TV School House II) |
|
Biorhythm (TV Mystic Series) |
|
Thanks to Jean-Felix Monin for the MPT-02 games list

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LINKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
RCA Studio II :
How
to build your own switchbox
The RCA Studio
2 emulator home page (very complete information !)
Jack
Spencer Jr's RCA Studio II FAQ
Computer
Closet Collection (thanks for pictures)
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