The Coleco Telstar brand is a series of dedicated first-generation home video game consoles produced, released and marketed by Coleco from 1976 to 1978. Starting with Coleco Telstar Pong clone based video game console on General Instrument's AY-3-8500 chip in 1976, there were 14 consoles released in the Coleco Telstar series. About one million units of the first model called Coleco Telstar were sold.
Coleco Telstar series
Image: Ctelstar
Image: Coleco Telstar Classic (1976) 2
Image: 1977 Coleco Telstar Ranger Front
First generation of video game consoles
In the history of video games, the first generation era refers to the video games, video game consoles, and handheld video game consoles available from 1972 to 1983. Notable consoles of the first generation include the Odyssey series, the Atari Home Pong, the Coleco Telstar series and the Color TV-Game series. The generation ended with the Computer TV-Game in 1980 and its following discontinuation in 1983, but many manufacturers had left the market prior due to the market decline in the year of 1978 and the start of the second generation of video game consoles.
The "Brown Box" prototype is the forerunner of the Magnavox Odyssey, the first commercial home video game console.
First cartridge of Magnavox Odyssey
Image: Magnavox Odyssey Console Set
Image: Tele Games Atari Pong
