Vectrex
The Vectrex is very much an oddity within game console history with its vector-based display. The Vectrex was first released in North America in 1982, then in Europe and Japan the following year.
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About The Vectrex
The Vectrex is a unique standalone system which incorporates a 9-inch CRT screen into an all-in-one unit. The system bucked the trend of consoles of the time running in full colour, by running with a monochrome monitor, but was able to accommodate colour ‘overlays’ on the screen.
The display on the Vectrex console is very striking due to the unique vector graphics which are bright and vivid due to the clever method used to generate the vectors using a standard CRT screen.
Unfortunate timing with the release date of the Vectrex meant that, although initial sales looked strong, the lifespan of the Vectrex console was limited due to the video game industry crash in 1983 in North America.
Whilst the Vectrex console was developed by Smith Engineering, it was manufactured by General Consumer Electronics initially, then by the Milton Bradley Company (MB) up until 1984, upon which the system was discontinued.
These days, the Vectrex is very much a collector’s item, often requiring maintenance and an overhaul when bargains are picked up. A common repair for the system is the centring spring on the control sticks, this and many other spare parts are available, typically on eBay and retro game specialists.
A lifelong avid gamer and computing enthusiast, Matt has decades of Retro Gaming experience. Now over 40 years old, Matt now even considers himself retro, but fortunately, nobody has developed a Matt emulator (not yet at least!).